Taught by

• Heidi Bojsen

This writing-intensive program will focus on the relation between politics and aesthetics at the present time. The Burkinabè rapper Smockey has coined the word pré-volution , to describe his work as a combination of premonition, revolution , and evolution . In what ways might works of art -- whether they be poems, films, paintings, songs, etc. -- not only represent episodes of political life, but also constitute a kind of pré-volutionary space in which to cultivate and experiment with new social positions and political possibilities?

To this question we will bring a set of critical reflexes that will be cultivated over the course of the program. We will explore how theory meets practice by studying a series of contemporary and historical cases in relation to a range of critical and theoretical frameworks. Cases to be considered could include (in reverse chronological order) the Arab Spring, the Soviet Revolution, and the Paris Commune. Critical frameworks are likely to include work by Édouard Glissant, Kristin Ross, the Frankfurt School, Jacques Rancière, Rosmarie Waldrop, Fred Moten, and others.

The program is designed to equip students to test the hypothesis that aesthetic artifacts have the power to transform conditions of possibility. Students will read aesthetic and political theory, analyze historical and contemporary social formations, and develop their own analysis in ongoing written work that will be shared with peers and faculty. This contextual and theoretical work will be accompanied by direct practical work. Students will be given opportunities to develop their own aesthetic practices in relation both to the cases and theories we are studying and to the shifting contexts we find ourselves in.

Frequent writing assignments and peer responses (both online and in real life) will be a primary means by which we metabolize these materials. This intensive independent and collaborative critical and creative writing and reading will be complemented by weekly seminars, small-group workshops, and weekly lectures; occasional screenings and a local field trip are possible as well.

Note: Steve Niva is only in this program for part of winter quarter. A bug in the catalog is preventing the quarter-specific indicators next to faculty names.

Quarters

Fall Open Winter Open

Location and Schedule

Final Schedule and Room Assignment

• Fall

Campus Location

Olympia

Time Offered

Day