California Dreaming: Hollywood in the American Literary Imaginary
Course Information
Nr. | Name | Type | Time | Room | Lecturer |
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154642 | California Dreaming: Hollywood in the American Literary Imaginary | 2 PS | Mo 10:15 - 11:45 | R. 0.420 | Helm |
The most enduring myth to come out of the Hollywood Dream Factory is the one it sells about itself: anyone can move out to the coast and make it a big movie star. By contrast, Nathanael West’s modernist novel The Day of the Locust (1939) peels back the layers of glamour and fame to reveal a cesspool of greed, corruption, and exploitation. West exchanges sunny Hollywood skies for an apocalyptic vision of a city on fire. From the silent film era, through the Golden Age of Hollywood, and into the #MeToo movement, this course explores how literature responds to, represents, and critiques Hollywood’s place within the American cultural imaginary. Through a mélange of genres – like new journalism, noir fiction, and the postmodern novel – we will delve into topics as varied as celebrity culture, race, sexuality, and globalism.
Matthew Helm is a visiting instructor from the University of Iowa.
Modules
LABG | G | HRG/HRSGe | GyGe/BK | SP |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | 602 | 503 | 503 | |
2016 | 503 | 503 |
PO | B.A.ALK | B.A.AS | M.A.ALK | M.A.AS |
---|---|---|---|---|
PO ab WS 16/17 | Kern: 1c, 2abc, 3ab Komp: 1b, 2c | Kern: Komp: 2a | ||
PO ab WS 21/22 | Kern: 1b, 2abc, 3ab Komp: 1b, 2c | Kern: Komp: 2a |