SHUM 6694

Political Violence in Contemporary Fiction: Silence as Compassion or Complicity

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2024-2025.

This course examines contemporary works of fiction that depict episodes of political violence between WWII and today. During this period, there have been 344 conflicts that have killed 500 or more people, but the public attention they receive varies tremendously. New novels and stories disclose and challenge silences surrounding events neglected in global public memory. What role can these works play in altering the kinds of stories heard within and beyond the university? Which voices do they portray as empowered or neglected? How can silence around violence be both compassionate and complicit? What are the ethics of storytelling related to different forms of silence, and what does it mean to read in a way that is compassionate or complicitly silent?

When Offered Fall.

Permission Note Enrollment limited to: graduate students.

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