Prerequisites
Bachelor literature courses
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Contents
In this course students will gain a deeper insight into the work of the Beat Generation, the group of writers who were responsible for a revolution in post-war American literature and society. Characteristic work of all the important Beat Generation authors will be discussed, including the novelists Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and John Clellon Holmes, as well as the poets Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Gary Snyder and Diane DiPrima. Attention will also be given to a number of "predecessors" and "successors" of the Beat Generation, like Ken Kesey and Richard Brautigan. The course aims to provide insight, not only into the texts themselves, but also into the period in which they originated, the fifties and sixties. On the basis of audio and video material it is illustrated to what extent the work of the Beats is related to other forms of art, like jazz, (experimental) film and (abstract-expressionistic) painting. The students must submit one satisfactory essay; they also write a number of short assignments and are expected to take part in class discussion.
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Teaching method
One two-hour weekly seminar
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Examination
Mondeling tentamen; voorwaarde voor toelating is een voldoende voor het essay.
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Literature
To be announced
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Information
Dr. J. v.d. Bent, tel. 024-3612903, e-mail
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