Dates: 09/05 - 12/21
M	T	W	Th	F	Sa	Su

Subject: English (UG) (ENGL)

CRN: 42691

Online: Synchronous

Online

Old Core Requirements Met:
     UG Core Literature/Writing

Other Requirements Met:
     Writing Intensive

Matthew Harrison

Literature has a long history of imagining possible afterlives: Odysseus summons the dead in Hades; Virgil speaks to the spirit of his father in the underworld; Dante journeys deep into Hell before climbing the Mountain of Purgatory and ascending into Heaven. While acknowledging these and other precedents, this fully online course focuses on narratives of the afterlife since the late 19th century. We will discuss what recent depictions of the afterlife might reveal about the values of those still living. In what ways do afterlife narratives uphold or question dominant cultural trends? Is the afterlife exclusive or inclusive? Somber or joyful? Is it a courtroom, a ballroom, a vast field, a forest, a cloud city, an underground city, a maze, a mansion, a cosmic choir, a light at the end of a tunnel—what and why and for whom? We will begin with some representative short stories, such as Ambrose Bierce’s 1890 “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” alongside excerpts from Mark Mirabello’s historical survey of afterlife beliefs, A TRAVELER’S GUIDE TO THE AFTERLIFE. We will then read a set of novels: Kate Atkinson’s LIFE AFTER LIFE; Kevin Brockmeier’s THE BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DEAD; and George Saunders’s LINCOLN IN THE BARDO. Our films will include HEAVEN CAN WAIT (Lubitsch 1943), DEFENDING YOUR LIFE (Brooks 1991), AFTER LIFE (Koreeda 1998), and clips from WHAT DREAMS MAY COME (Ward 1998) and THE SEVENTH SEAL (Bergman 1957). Students will write weekly short papers on guided topics and a final research essay, as well as work throughout the semester to develop a map of an afterlife setting. The writing load for this course is a minimum of 15 pages of formal revised writing. This course satisfies the Writing Across the Curriculum Writing Intensive requirement.

4 Credits