FYSP 181 - Ridiculous Writing

FC ARHU WINT

4 credits
Why is it that serious ideas are sometimes expressed in less-than-serious ways? This seminar looks at writing that might fall under the category of the ridiculous-the silly, the whimsical, the extreme, the unheard-of. Ridiculousness has been used for any number of aesthetic, political, and philosophical purposes in writing, and together we will explore the deep interconnection of those disciplines. By identifying and repurposing writers’ “ridiculous” techniques for our own analytical and creative projects, we will investigate the ways unconventional writing unsettles our assumptions about how we decide what matters.