FYS 1028 - The Other in World Literature, Art, and Cinema

Hours: 3
Introduces first-year students to academic discourse using world art (Frida Kahlo’s Self-Portraits and her Diary, literature (Lispector’s The Passion according to G. H., Oyono’s Houseboy), and film (Ozon’s The New Girlfriend, Denis’s Chocolate) to explore the relationship between the self and the other. Taking the other as it appears in the world as a concrete person, this seminar begins with Jacques Lacan’s mirror stage scenario to lay out the framework for subsequent discussions of those moments of “selfi(e)ng” and “othering” that inform our discussions of otherness in terms of gender, race, and sexuality. Going beyond Lacan’s egoistic image of the subject, we will examine the relationship between the self and the other in a wider context, in which the other’s gaze plays a crucial role in the way the subject constitutes an identity sexually, racially, ethically, or socially. These perspectives inform not only how the self relates to others in the real world, but also how this relationship should be lived ethically: How should one approach the other? How does one respond when the other is abusive or violent? Or, what can you do for the other that would have a positive impact on her/his life?

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FYS 1028 - The Other in World Literature, Art, and Cinema