Major Twentieth Century Writers--Summer 2000
Photo by Michael Gatlin
Psychological Depth versus Narcissism
Cyberperformance 9
Characters
Sylvia Ballweg
as NARCISSUS
Marguarette
Bolton-Blatt as the GADFLY
Terry Campbell
as ANAIS NIN
Yvette Davis
as INES
Thomas Greaney
as ANAIS NIN'S HUSBAND
Laryssa Haliv
as HUMBERT HUMBERT
Joyce Ho as WATER
Holly Hochstadt
as LOLITA
Tara Hughes
as GOLDMUND
Karen Kawa as
GOD
Michelle
Richards as LENINA
Gwen Rohena
as LOLITA
Roman Rubin
as MUSTAPHA MOND
Marie Santos-Zoughy
as ZAKEYA
Anna Scarpa
as HUMBERT HUMBERT
Avisha Uttamchandani
as THE SAVAGE
NAWAL EL SAADAWI
by Roman Rubin
.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The Twentieth Century has often been called The Age of Narcissism. Through technology we have enhanced our bodies and brains in order to worship their severed appendages, in order to fall into the electronic mirror of self, not to drown but to shatter the dream? This course combines in-depth journal writing and study of the memoir with the interface of characters in great novels to investigate the interplay of narcissism with psychological depth. When you are absorbed in your self, in psychoanalysis or memoir writing, are you narcissistic, or is narcissism an absence of self, a worship of the image, be it a model, a sports hero, an exterior that represents or symbolizes what you admire? Are the soul-less characters in BRAVE NEW WORLD narcissistic? Is an intelligent, sensuous, thoughtful, self-absorbed child molester narcissistic or deep? Do societies work more smoothly when the citizens are narcissistic? Is it not easier to manipulate narcissistic people? Is narcissism beautiful and "depth" ugly?
Back to Home Page
Back to Twentieth
Century reading list, including links to complete text
LITERARY JOURNEY (including reading list):
We will start with the diary of Anais Nin, INCEST, to explore how the confessional mingles with aesthetics, how a writer savors the beauty of everyday life and still reveals some of the sordid, ugliness and imperfection of human passion. At this point you also begin writing a journal, a confessional that you do not have to share completely with the class. Then we explore time and space with EINSTEIN'S DREAMS, reading the first three chapters, and then a chapter every week afterwards. How does time change throughout your day? Why does it speed up or slow down? What does time do when you remember the past or worry or fantasize about the future? What does time do when you are immersed in literature? How is time molded by space? We now examine one day, the day of IVAN DENISOVICH by Solzhenitzin. What repeats and what transforms the character? Can you describe one of your days this completely? Can you create a world and the history of a culture in a day?NARCISSUS AND GOLDMUND describes an intense, transformational relationship between the Apollonian and Dionysian archetypes; yet in Hesse's novel, Goldmund sees his true self in Narcissus' eyes. What are the ironies and truths of this unfolding and revelation? Let's start to examine character more deeply in LOLITA. By baring his soul and creating a sensuous world through beautiful language, can we like the narrator, understand his illicit passion, his unspeakable crime? Are we repulsed by his depth, drawn to the irony of a multi-dimensional character so tormented by the narcissism of youth? Or do we see Lolita's soul? In PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce we see the transformation, the coming of age that renders a man sensitive to his aesthetic, compelled to give it expression. Are artists narcissistic or just the images they create? Or are some images shallow and some full? Now we examine what happens to people when they become mirrors of each other, as in Jean-Paul Sartre's NO EXIT. There are no mirrors in hell.Garcin, Ines and Estelle must see their reflections in each other's eyes which is why they say: "Hell is other people." Next we look at the rape of self that occurs in GOD DIES BY THE NILE, the rape of self by Man, Religion and God, those things that should normally fill and affirm the self. Who are the narcissistic characters in this novel? Are all the characters "flat" by Western standards? What then is the depth of the message that El Saadawi conveys? Is there a difference between deep messages and deep characters? We finish with BRAVE NEW WORLD. Are all these characters just images to be manipulated by the state? Are the deepest characters the ugliest? What are the attractions, strengths, weaknesses and dangers of narcissism? We will also be analysing selected readings by Freud, Melanie Klein, Christopher Lasch etc.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
A daily journal where the student records subjective thoughts and feelings as well as reactions to the literature.
Oral Presentations with partners on chosen topics combining primary and secondary research, incorporating close textual analysis.
Critical analyses of the readings.
Creative interpretation of the theme.
Development of a character of your choice-- so that your journal adds a voice other than your own halfway through the semester.
Participation in CYBERPERFORMANCE IX: Narcissism versus Psychological Depth, August 15, 2000 at the Innovation Center.
You are graded for attendance, participation, and your critical and creative writing, not your acting or web design.
COURSE BREAKDOWN
MAY 23 INCEST
MAY 30 EINSTEIN'S DREAMS
JUNE 6 IVAN DENISOVICH
JUNE 13 NARCISSUS AND GOLDMUND
JUNE 20 Poetry Reading at the Ireland House
JUNE 27 LOLITA
JULY 11 MIDTERM -- ORGANIZE JOURNAL FOR WEBFOLIO AND WRITE A DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE, A SCENE, A STORY OR POEM, AND A LITERARY ANALYSIS AS YOUR CHARACTER
JULY 18 PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN
JULY 25 NO EXIT
AUGUST 1 GOD DIES BY THE NILE
AUGUST 8 BRAVE NEW WORLD
AUGUST 15 CYBERPERFORMANCE IX: NARCISSISM VERSUS PSYCHOLOGICAL DEPTH: 6.30, ROOM 313. WARREN WEAVER