LIT 320 Elective Ties: Love, Friendship, Community
E. M. Forster famously said, "if I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country." His words suggest that, in thinking about the communities that we live within, we might distinguish between those that we are born into and those that we form by choice. Throughout the semester this course will consider both specific literary representations of chosen or "elective" ties and their broader cultural significance. The course is interested in examples of what can happen when elective ties clash with other concepts of community. Students will thus consider various philosophies of and models for friendship, including comradeship, brother/sisterhood, and loyalty. They will look not only at positive examples of elective ties but also at examples of potentially dangerous or destructive ties, such as bullying. Because one significant aspect of elective ties is the way in which they cross over national, cultural, and linguistic borders, the works studied will also cross these borders. Students will engage with a broad range of critical texts, novels and films.
Prerequisite
LC 100 and LC 110