English 627-001
Seminar in Literature and Culture: Civil Disobedience from Walden to the Web
Instr: McKenzie, Jon
Office: CRT 584; 229-2990
e-mail: jonm@uwm.edu
Office hours: TBA
Course Information: T; 3:30-6:10pm; CRT 321
Course Description
This course explores a concise genealogy of civil disobedience, with particular attention to questions of performance, writing, and technology. We begin with texts by Roland Bleiker, Etienne La Boétie, Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. These historical readings lay the groundwork for the central question of our investigation: how do emerging forms of electronic civil disobedience extend and displace more traditional forms of popular dissent? Here we will study the work of the Guerrilla Girls, ACT-UP, Operation Rescue, Critical Art Ensemble, and Electronic Disturbance Theater. We conclude the course by focusing on the recent emergence of global activism, as well as the impact of September 11th on political dissent.
