I just finished designing my freshman course for spring term. In an effort to post on my blog everyday, here's the catalog proposal. Can't wait to teach this!
Grey Matters: Thinking Beyond Black and White
In Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods, Cinderella sings, “Witches can be right. Giants can be good. You decide what’s right. You decide what’s good.” In this course, we’ll explore how moral choices depend on the subjectivity of the choosers. By examining texts engaged with familial, racial, and national identity, we’ll map the ambiguous grey space that frequently exists between extremist positions. Just a few of the difficult questions we’ll consider: What happens when an American soldier in Vietnam unexpectedly sympathizes with the enemy? When a child goes “bad,” how responsible are the parents? Does an illiterate war criminal deserve the chance to learn to read? We’ll deconstruct moral certainty through contemporary multi-genre study, looking closely at Stephen Sondhiem’s musical Into the Woods, Yusef Komunyakka’s book of poetry Dien Cai Dau, Doris Lessing’s novel The Fifth Child, Stephen Daldry’s film The Reader, selected short stories by Adam Haslett and George Saunders, and a smattering of fairy tales, criticism, and philosophical tracts. How easy is it to empathize in a post 9/11 world that so often defines us in opposition to an “other”?
I'm currently obsessed with Rachel Bay (not to be confused with Rachel Ray, ew) Jones' gorgeous folk rendition of the Into the Woods song "No More." She really showcases the lyrics:
I wish I could take your class! That sounds fantastic.
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