Gorgon's Reflection: Words and Images of Terror

Gorgon's Reflection: Words and Images of Terror is a Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies class taught by Polina Barskova and Kara Lynch.

Course Description
This seminar will look at terror and the proliferation of state violence in daily life. Combining texts, images, films, and secondary readings, we will look specifically at the work of Russian and American artists to create a dynamic dialog across cultures and politics. Drawing from a rich tradition of literature and artistic practice, we will look at particular events and the artists and writers who have responded in their time. Units will include: Tolstoy and the Crimean War, Russian Terrorism as interpreted by Dostoevsky, Bely, and Shklovsky; the UC Berkeley mapping visual project, and the siege of Leningrad in art, poetry and diaries; 9/11; New Orleans; and U.S. detention centers such as Guantanamo Bay. In 'regarding the pain of others' we will deal with questions of power, privilege, position, and spectatorship. Students will respond to material regularly through written papers and visual projects. There will be one collaborative project and one final research project. This course will include a weekly screening/lab time. Prerequisites: Intro to media production or equivalent, intro to media/cultural studies and coursework in the humanities. Instructor permission required.