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| 02/03 - 05/22 | ||||||
| M | T | W | Th | F | Sa | Su |
12:15 pm |
12:15 pm |
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Subject: English (UG) (ENGL)
CRN: 22709
Face-to-Face 51-75% of time
St Paul: Murray-Herrick Campus Center 209
Online
Old Core Requirements Met:
UG Core Literature/Writing
2020 Core Requirements Met:
Integ/Humanities
Other Requirements Met:
Writing Intensive
Buyer beware! The entrepreneurial spirit in the U.S. has always given rise to ingenious inventors, but also to tricky opportunists who have sought to profit from the marketing of fantasies versus “the real thing.” In turn, for the American public, the challenge of separating what is real from what is unreal has often itself been a form of amusement. Believe it or not?! This course will explore the complex links between the “American dream,” entertainment, and the sensationalistic claims of various marketing wizards and swindlers. We’ll discuss the sometimes hazardous attraction to “invention” in American culture: how the mantra to “dream big” and how the insatiable taste for illusion have both fueled discoveries and left people vulnerable. Our readings will include The ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, by Mark Twain; THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, by Patricia Highsmith; THE DUKE OF DECEPTION, by Geoffrey Wolff; and selected essays from HUMBUG: THE ART OF P.T. BARNUM, by Neil Harris, and BUNK: THE RISE OF HOAXES, PLAGIARISTS, PHONIES, POST-FACTS, AND FAKE NEWS, by Kevin Young. We’ll also view two films: THE IMPOSTER (2012) and THE BIG SHORT (2015). In this blended/hybrid course which meets on Monday and Wednesday and the remainder of the time online, students will complete at least 15-pages of formal revised writing, including a final research essay. This course satisfies the WAC Writing Intensive requirement.
4 Credits