Humor and Politics in Eastern Europe and Russia IAH 231A: Human Values and the Arts and Humanities (Michigan State University)
This course will explore the intersections of humor, politics, and power in Eastern Europe and Russia from the 1920s to the present. Engaging with a selection of literature, films, music, art, and performance, we will consider how artists, activists, and ordinary citizens used humor to cultivate communities and challenge the status quo. Unit I introduces theories of humor before turning to an analysis of the subversive power of satirical writing, cartoons, and jokes. In Unit II, we consider the dynamics of comic critique and absurd depictions of “real life” in a series of films. Unit III turns to public protest and the ways in which humor and play foster community solidarity. Finally, we will discuss a variety of pop culture texts from the post-socialist era and discuss how contemporary artists are reviving and revising comic traditions in the 21st century. Across these units, we will work to develop nuanced historical and theoretical perspectives with which to consider the use of humor as a response to political and social realities in the periods studied, as well as our own culture today.
Central European Cinema IAH 231A: Human Values and the Arts and Humanities (Michigan State University)
This course will explore how filmmakers from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and the former Yugoslavia use film to reflect on their past and critique their present. As we watch films from 1948 through the present, we will work to develop a nuanced understanding of the intersecting themes of race, ethnicity, and gender in the periods studied. How do filmmakers depict the trauma of the Holocaust on screen? Why did artists working under state socialism turn to experimental techniques and satire to critique their social and political realities? How do pop culture and politics interact in contemporary Europe? While focused on Central Europe, this course also asks students to make connections with their own experiences and communities as we explore issues of representation, memory, and power.
College in Popular Culture IAH 207: Literatures, Cultures, Identities (Michigan State University)
This course explores the representation of higher education in popular culture. Engaging with a variety of literature, journalism, music, and film, we will consider how and why artists, activists, and politicians tell stories about college life. How do pop culture narratives reflect questions about access, power, and belonging on campus? What types of college experiences and student identities shape public imagination? Can archival documents and creative expression help us understand ourselves and each other? Over the course of the term, we will work to develop a nuanced understanding of how depictions of campus life have evolved and diversified, as well as the ways popular narratives shape debates about the purpose and character of higher education today.
On the Road: Identity and Community on the Open Road IAH 207: Literatures, Cultures, Identities (Michigan State University)
This course explores what it means to “hit the road.” The open road – a symbol of escape, adventure, freedom, self-discovery, and danger – will provide the path for us to follow in our exploration of both individual and community identities expressed in road trip narratives. What ideas, values, and experiences are cast onto stories of the road? How do artists engage the road to interrogate issues of belonging, independence, nostalgia, change, displacement, and difference? Can travel help us understand ourselves and each other? Engaging with a variety of novels, memoirs, journalism, music, and films, we will discuss the development of narratives about the American road, how those narratives have evolved and diversified, and the ways the image of the road is employed outside the United States.
Hip-Hop in Eastern Europe and Russia HUM 311/SLAVIC 290 (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
This mini-course will explore the traces of history and struggles for the future expressed in Eastern European and Russian hip-hop. We will begin by working to develop an understanding of the aesthetics and ethos of hip-hop before examining the genre’s migration to and adaptation in Poland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Russia. Engaging musical and video examples, scholarly texts and popular journalism, and social media profiles, we will develop historical and theoretical perspectives for understanding how rap music speaks to issues of race, nation, history, class, and gender in its various national incarnations. This course will offer the opportunity to analyze hip-hop’s musical and textual structures, while also engaging their textual analysis to develop a nuanced understanding of the movement of sounds, people, and ideas in the region. Weekly topics will include influences and sampling; minority expression; rap as history; nationalist rap; battle rap; and feminist rap.
The Stories That We Tell: Memory, Narrative, Genre ENGLISH 125 (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
Our lives are shaped by the stories that we tell – about ourselves, our history, and those around us. This course examines how stories – whether in the form of memoirs, fictional narratives, journalistic and social media profiles, or academic texts – are the foundation of our perception of the world and our place within it. Reading in a variety of genres, we will consider the ways in which form shapes meaning and evaluate the authenticity of sources (and the sources of authenticity). You will be asked to actively participate in classroom discussions, explore and articulate their own ideas and arguments in written assignments, and collaborate with me and your peers to revise and polish their work.