Literary Journalism Across Cultures
Instructor: Isabelle Meuret
Offered: First semester
Course description:
Literary journalism, also called narrative journalism, or reportage, is journalism as literature. The aim of this course is twofold: first, students will be introduced to American literary journalism as a distinctive discipline; second, a comparative approach will be adopted to explore European forms of reportage. By way of illustration, the course will address essential questions such as objectivity vs. subjectivity, fact vs. fiction, form vs. content, ethics, and the specificities of literary journalism with regards to history, anthropology, and sociology. The course will emphasize the various techniques used by literary journalists through close reading of seminal texts (e.g.: Hiroshima, by John Hersey; Slouching towards Bethlehem, by Joan Didion; In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote). Reportages by American authors in Europe and their transatlantic collaborations will also be examined (e.g.: Hemingway on the Spanish Civil War; Steinbeck and Capa’s Russian Journal; Jack London’s The People of the Abyss). Special attention will be paid to British precursors of the genre (Orwell, Defoe), as well as to French naturalists (Zola) and grands reporters (Kessel, Londres). The course will also expose students to subcategories of literary journalism, such as “New Journalism” (Tom Wolfe), “gonzo” (Hunter S. Thompson), and “New New Journalism” (Robert Boynton). The cultural history of the United States and Europe will be broached through the prism of these narratives, and the discipline redefined on the basis of this fertile ground between contact zones. Reportage will be evaluated in terms of literary quality, political commitment, and scientific relevance. Part of the course will be devoted to visual forms, such as graphic literary journalism (Joe Sacco) and photojournalism (Walker Evans, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson).
Teaching Method: Lecture and class discussion.
Evaluation:
Permanent evaluation (50%): class participation (30%) and presentation (20%).
Periodic evaluation (50%): final paper (50%)
Course Materials: A syllabus and a course reader will be provided for students to purchase.
Offered: First semester
Course description:
Literary journalism, also called narrative journalism, or reportage, is journalism as literature. The aim of this course is twofold: first, students will be introduced to American literary journalism as a distinctive discipline; second, a comparative approach will be adopted to explore European forms of reportage. By way of illustration, the course will address essential questions such as objectivity vs. subjectivity, fact vs. fiction, form vs. content, ethics, and the specificities of literary journalism with regards to history, anthropology, and sociology. The course will emphasize the various techniques used by literary journalists through close reading of seminal texts (e.g.: Hiroshima, by John Hersey; Slouching towards Bethlehem, by Joan Didion; In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote). Reportages by American authors in Europe and their transatlantic collaborations will also be examined (e.g.: Hemingway on the Spanish Civil War; Steinbeck and Capa’s Russian Journal; Jack London’s The People of the Abyss). Special attention will be paid to British precursors of the genre (Orwell, Defoe), as well as to French naturalists (Zola) and grands reporters (Kessel, Londres). The course will also expose students to subcategories of literary journalism, such as “New Journalism” (Tom Wolfe), “gonzo” (Hunter S. Thompson), and “New New Journalism” (Robert Boynton). The cultural history of the United States and Europe will be broached through the prism of these narratives, and the discipline redefined on the basis of this fertile ground between contact zones. Reportage will be evaluated in terms of literary quality, political commitment, and scientific relevance. Part of the course will be devoted to visual forms, such as graphic literary journalism (Joe Sacco) and photojournalism (Walker Evans, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson).
Teaching Method: Lecture and class discussion.
Evaluation:
Permanent evaluation (50%): class participation (30%) and presentation (20%).
Periodic evaluation (50%): final paper (50%)
Course Materials: A syllabus and a course reader will be provided for students to purchase.