AH/HS 3666: The Grotesque
9:30-Noon, Tuesdays / Room 320
3 Credits / Fall Semester 2009
Hannah Höch, Grotesque (1963)
collage 25 x 17cm
Instructor: Dr. Thomas O. Haakenson
Email: [email protected] / Phone: (home) 651.894.2894 (emergency use only)
Office: MCAD Main – Room 336
Office Hours: 12:00-1:00 pm on Tuesdays (and by appointment)
Description: Bizarre? Freakish? Just plain weird? What does the term “grotesque” really
mean? Is there an art or a science to creating and to analyzing the grotesque? Since its
invention as a term for subterranean decorative paintings, the label “grotesque” has come to
describe not only the abject, but also a plethora of critical artistic practices and unusual scientific
phenomena, from supposed monstrous births to the slapstick films of Charlie Chaplin. By
exploring an interdisciplinary array of figures and theories, our course will challenge prevailing
assumptions about the relationships between art and science, and seek to understand the
critical potential of the grotesque.
Among the authors and artists we will explore are: Theodor W. Adorno, Mikhail Bakhtin, Walter
Benjamin, Francis Connelly, Charlie Chaplin, Lorraine Daston, Éugene Delacroix, Salomo
Friedländer, Eugéne Henri Paul Gauguin, Hannah Höch, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres,
Franz Kafka, Immanuel Kant, Willem de Kooning, Sigmar Polke, Vincent Van Gogh, and more!
This syllabus is available in alternative formats.
The instructor will notify students of any changes to this syllabus.
The Grotesque – Haakenson 2
Objectives:
• Become familiar with the notion of aesthetic experience and its relationship to the
the grotesque as examined in the work of various figures.
• Identify and explain theories of the grotesque, specifically the term’s origin, meaning,
and implication for art and science.
• Examine the use of various strategies of literary and visual representation to determine
the extent to which these strategies are grotesques and to what ends these
strategies are employed.
• Develop an interpretive essay on Kafka’s The Metamorphosis with a group, and
provide critiques of student-artists’ visual representations of these interpretations.
• Research a collaborative group project on the grotesque resulting in an in-class
presentation and a short research essay.
Required Texts: From the Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s Art Cellar Bookstore:
• Frances S. Connelly, Modern Art and the Grotesque (Cambridge: Cambridge UP,
2009). ISBN: 978-0-521-11576-6.
• Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis (New York: Bantam, 2004). ISBN: 0-553-21369-5.
Recommended Text: Available from Most Bookstores:
• Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th Ed. ISBN: 9781603290241.
Administrative Issues:
Attendance Policy (from the Student Handbook): Attendance in classes is mandatory. There
are no officially excused absences. For classes that meet once a week, two absences will
result in one full grade deduction. Any additional absences will result in the loss of one half of a
letter grade. Classes that meet twice a week, four absences will result in one full grade
deduction. Two additional absences will result in the loss of one half of a letter grade.
Repeated tardiness will result in the loss of a letter grade.
Laptop / Technology Policy: Cell phones must be turned off during class, unless exceptional
circumstances require use of a cell phone. Consult with the instructor for approval. Laptop
computers can be used during the course only during specified times and for specified activities.
Students engaging in non-course related computer activities during the course (i.e., “surfing the
net”) will be required to shut off their laptops, may be told to leave, and may be marked absent
for the class session.
Academic Dishonesty & Plagiarism: Academic dishonesty or plagiarism can result in a grade
of “F” for the assignment and may result in a grade of “F” for the course!
Academic integrity is essential to a positive teaching and learning environment. All students
enrolled in MCAD courses are expected to complete coursework responsibilities with fairness
and honesty. Failure to do so by seeking unfair advantage over others or misrepresenting
someone else’s work as your own, can result in disciplinary action. The Student Conduct Code
defines scholastic dishonesty as follows: Scholastic dishonesty: submission of false records of
academic achievement; cheating on assignments or examinations; plagiarizing; altering, forging,
or misusing a College academic record, taking, acquiring or using test materials without faculty
permission; acting alone or in cooperation with another to falsify records or to obtain dishonesty
The Grotesque – Haakenson 3
grades, honors, awards or professional endorsement in a dishonest manner (taken from the
Student Handbook). Within this course, a student who is responsible for scholastic dishonesty
can be assigned a penalty up to and including an “F” for the course. If you have any questions
regarding the expectations for a specific assignment or exam, please ask.
Special Needs (from the Student Handbook): Any student who has a learning disability or any
special needs should feel free to speak to Margaret McGee during office hours so that
arrangements for accommodations can be made. If you experience particular difficulty with the
writing assignments or you’re struggling to get started on your paper or develop your ideas-the
MCAD Learning Center can help. LC tutors assist students at any stage of the writing process,
including planning, pre-writing, drafting, and revision. Tutors are also available for help with
most software and with time management. Check with Learning Center for hours.
Undergraduate Credit-Work Ratio: General accreditation guidelines suggest that every credit
hour results in roughly 3 hours of course-related activity per week. Thus, for a 3-credit course,
students should expect 9 hours of course-related work, including in-class activities. In short,
students should expect to dedicate, on average, 6.5 hours of work outside of class to courserelated work (i.e., reading, presentation preparation, group work, etc.).
Assessment and Assignments:
Course Assessment (i.e., Grading): Final grades for the course will be calculated based on a
point system. There are one hundred points possible for the course. Students earn grades
based on the number of points as outlined below. Final point totals will be equivalent to a letter
grade.
Letter Grades:
100-94
93-90
89-87
86-84
83-80
79-77
A
AB+
B
BC+
76-74
73-70
69-67
66-64
63-60
59-0
C
CD+
D
DF
A - Achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet requirements.
B - Achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet requirements.
C - Achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect.
D - Achievement worthy of credit even though it fails to meet course requirements.
S - Achievement that is satisfactory, which is equivalent to a C- or better.
F (or N) - Represents failure (or no credit) and signifies that the work was either (1)
completed at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed.
I - Incompletes will not be allowed for this course.
A Note on Writing Assignments: Writing assignments should be doubled-spaced, written in
twelve-point Times New Roman font, and printed on standard (eight and one-half by eleven
inch) paper. Students should follow the Modern Language Association (MLA) style in formatting
their papers, paying special attention to issues of margin width, citation style, and layout. Unless
otherwise indicated, all written assignments should include a “Works Cited” page.
The Grotesque – Haakenson 4
ASSIGNMENTS
DUE
POINTS
Varies
20
Varies
30
Dec. 1 and Dec. 8
5
INDIVIDUAL
Presentation & Facilitation:
Written Summary (10 pts.)
In-Class Presentation / Facilitation (10 pts.)
Reading Quizzes (5 @ 6 pts. each)
Project Grotesque:
Individual In-Class Responses (5 pts.)
GROUP
Project Kafka:
Draft Interpretive Essay (10 pts.)
Draft Essay: Oct. 20
First Visual Critique (5 pts.)
First Critique: Oct. 27
Final Interpretive Essay (5 pts.)
Final Essay: Nov. 3
Final Visual Critique (5 pts.)
Final Critique: Nov. 10
25
INDIVIDUAL, PARNTER, OR GROUP
Project Grotesque:
Written Essay (10 pts.) (4-5 page essay)
Dec 1 or Dec. 8
20
Oral Presentation (10 pts.)
Total
100
Presentation & Facilitation: Each student will present once individually during the semester.
Students will either summarize / present on an assigned reading, or write about and present on
a particular course-related topic. Topics can be found on the syllabus’s reading schedule (i.e.,
Presentation #1, Presentation #2, etc.). A list of assigned presentation topics and dates will be
distributed the second week of class (i.e., September 1st). The requirements for this assignment
are fourfold:
1.
2.
3.
Students will develop 2-3 discussion questions related to their assigned reading
or course-related topic. Students should send discussion questions to the
instructor by midnight the Sunday before the relevant class session. The
instructor will post these questions to the class’s Blackboard Discussion Board
site Monday mornings. The instructor may use these questions in class as the
basis for a Reading Quiz.
Students will write a 2-3 page critical summary of their assigned reading or a 2-3
page critical essay on their assigned, course-related topic. The summary /
essay is due to the instructor in class on the day of the presentation. (See
above section: A Note on Writing Assignments).
Students will present, in class, on the date indicated in the syllabus on their
assigned reading or course-related topic. Students have approximately 10
minutes to present, and are encouraged to be as creative, inventive, and
informative as possible.
The Grotesque – Haakenson 5
4.
After their presentations, students will lead a brief – 15-20 minute – discussion on
the assigned reading or the course-related topic.
Reading Quizzes: Five times throughout the semester the instructor will ask students, in-class,
2-3 questions related to the session’s assigned reading(s). These quizzes are meant to ensure
that all students are reading the assigned texts for class. These quizzes will be unannounced,
and will be closed book.
Project Grotesque: Students will work individually, with a partner, or in small groups to
research and prepare a final, short, critical essay (4-5 pages) on a topic of their choosing.
Students will be given some time during class to work with group members on this project.
Students working individually or with a partner (i.e., 2-3 people) will meet with other students to
discuss their projects. It is expected that most of the research, writing, editing, and preparation
for the project occur outside of class.
During the last class sessions – December 1st and December 8th – students will be given time to
present on their topics. Individuals and partnered groups (i.e., 2-3 people) will be given
(approximately) 10 minutes each, while larger groups will be given 30-45 minutes. Presentations
should consist of student research areas and findings. Students are encouraged to be as
creative, inventive, and informative as possible.
Project Kafka (Group Interdisciplinary Collaborative Project on Kafka’s Metamorphosis):
Students will develop, in assigned groups, a 1000-word interpretive essay on one aspect of
Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis. Students will work to critique illustrations of their essays
produced by students in Tom Garrett’s “ILL 3080 – Illustration Topics” course. More information
about the interpretive essay and critique process will be distributed later in the semester (i.e.,
October 6th).
Late Assignments: All assignments are to be completed according the due dates provided in
this course syllabus. For full potential points, a student must submit a copy of the assignment in
class to the instructor on the day the assignment is due. Any assignment not submitted in this
fashion will be subject to penalty. Assignments will not be accepted via email.
Assignments received after the date due will be accepted as follows; arrangements must be
made with the instructor / teaching assistant:
• If received after the start of class or within 24 hours from the due date, 25% will be
deducted from the final points possible for that assignment.
• If received after 24 hours, a maximum of one-half of the possible points (50%) will be
allowed.
• If not received within three days, NO points will be given for the assignment.
• Absolutely no late assignments will be accepted after the last day of the course.
The world is not perfect and things do not always happen as planned. If you have an emergency
or extenuating circumstance, please notify the instructor as soon as possible by calling 651-8942894 or emailing [email protected]. To have the lateness or absence excused,
The Grotesque – Haakenson 6
documentation is required.
The Grotesque – Haakenson 7
Course Calendar – Fall Semester 2009
MAG-designated texts can be found in Modern Art and The Grotesque
Week 1
August
25th
Course Introduction & Overview
Week 2
September
1st
MAG: Francis Connelly, “Introduction,” pgs. 1-19.
History and
the Grotesque
Week 3
8th
Art History and
the Grotesque
MAG: David Summers, “The Archaeology of the Modern Grotesque,”
pgs. 20-46.
MAG: Francis S. Connelly, “The Stones of Venice: John Ruskin’s
Grotesque History of Art,” pgs. 156-174.
MAG: “Van Goh’s Ear: Toward a Theory of Disgust,” pgs. 47-62.
Presentation 1: Connelly, pgs. 156-174
Presentation 2: Vincent Van Gogh
Presentation 3: Chaouli, pgs. 47-62
Week 4
15th
Politics and
the Grotesque
BLACKBOARD: Peter Stallybrass and Allon White, The Politics &
Poetics of Transgression, pgs. 1-26.
BLACKBOARD: Mary Russo, The Female Grotesque: Risk, Excess,
Modernity, “Introduction” and “Female Grotesques: Carnival and Theory,”
pgs.1-16 and 53-73.
Presentation 4: Mikhail Bakhtin, especially Rabelais and His World
Presentation 5: Stallybrass and White, pgs. 1-26.
Presentation 6: Russo, pgs.1-16 and 53-73.
Week 5
22nd
The Body and
the Grotesque
MAG: Barbara Maria Stafford, “Conceiving,” pgs. 63-97.
MAG: Nina Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, “Blemished Physiologies:
Delacroix, Paganini and the Cholera Epidemic of 1832,” pgs. 98-138.
Project Grotesque Workshop #1: Introductions & Discuss Possible Topics
Presentation 7: Stafford, pgs. 63-97.
Presentation 8: Éugene Delacroix
Presentation 9: Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, pgs. 98-138.
The Grotesque – Haakenson 8
Week 6
29th
Science and
the Grotesque
MAG: Heather McPherson, “Ingres and the Poetics of the Grotesque,”
pgs. 139-155.
MAG: Elizabeth C. Childs, “Eden’s Other: Gauguin and the
Ethnographic Grotesque,” pgs. 175-192.
Presentation 10: Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Presentation 11: McPherson, pgs. 139-155.
Presentation 12: Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin
Presentation 13: Childs, pgs. 175-192.
Week 7
October
6th
Film Comedy and
the Grotesque
BLACKBOARD: John MacKay, “Walter Benjamin and Rudolf Arnheim on
Charlie Chaplin,” The Yale Journal of Criticism, pg. 310.
BLACKBOARD: Walter Benjamin, “A Look at Chaplin,” Rudolf Arnheim,
“Chaplin’s Early Films,” The Yale Journal of Criticism, pgs. 310-311.
BLACKBOARD: Theodor W. Adorno, “Chaplin Times Two,” The Yale
Journal of Criticism, pgs. 57-61.
FILM VIEWING: Idle Class, Payday, A Day’s Pleasure, and Sunnyside
(dir. Charles Chaplin) (approx. 90 min.)
Presentation 14: Charlie Chaplin
Presentation 15: Walter Benjamin
Presentation 16: Theodor W. Adorno
Project Grotesque Workshop #2: Assign Topics and Develop Work Plans
Week 8
13th
Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis
Expressionism
and the Grotesque
Guest Speaker (tentative): Rowan Pope, Kafka and the Grotesque in
Visual Form
Presentation 17: Franz Kafka
Project Kafka: Key Moments in Kafka (discussion and selection)
Week 9
20th
Dada and
the Grotesque
BLACKBOARD: Hanne Bergius, “Dada Grotesk,” Comic Grotesque: Wit
and Mockery in German Art, 1870-1940, pgs. 155-169.
BLACKBOARD: Lizabeth Exner, “Mynona: A Grotesque Humorist,”
Comic Grotesque: Wit and Mockery in German Art, 1870-1940, pgs.
The Grotesque – Haakenson 9
142-146.
BLACKBOARD: Salomo Friedländer, “Fata Morgana Machine,”
Gramophone, Film, Typewriter, Friedrich Kittler, pgs. 134-135.
MAG: Maria Makela, “Grotesque Bodies: Weimar-Era Medicine and the
Photomontages of Hannah Höch,” pgs. 193-219.
BLACKBOARD: Hannah Höch, “(The Painter) Undated, Probably 1920,”
Cut with the Kitchen Knife, Maud Lavin, pgs. 216-218.
Presentation 18: Bergius, pgs. 155-169.
Presentation 19: Exner, pgs. 142-146.
Presentation 20: Makela, pgs. 193-219.
Project Kafka: 1000-word, MLA formatted interpretive group essay
emailed to instructor before class. (Essays will be sent to students in “ILL
3080: Illustration Topics.”)
Week 10
27th
Surrealism and
the Grotesque
MAG: Kristen A. Hoving, “Convulsive Bodies: The Grotesque Anatomies
of Surrealist Photography,” pgs. 220-240.
BLACKBOARD: Klaus Albrecht Schröder, “Alfred Kubin; or, The Cruelty
of Images,” Alfred Kubin: Drawings 1897-1909, pgs. 40-54.
BLACKBOARD: Peter Assman, “Artist Sources for Another Modernism:
Alfred Kubin and His Visual Work,” Alfred Kubin: Drawings 1897-1909,
pgs. 54-67.
Presentation 21: Hoving, pgs. 220-240.
Presentation 22: Schröder, pgs. 40-54.
Presentation 23: Assman, pgs. 54-67.
Project Kafka: Drafts returned with comments. Project discussion.
Week 11
November
3rd
Post-War
Grotesques
MAG: Leesa Fanning, Willem de Kooning’s Women: The Body of the
Grotesque,” pgs. 241-264.
MAG: Pamela Kort, “Double Take: Sigmare Polke and the Tradition of
the Grotesque-Comic,” pgs. 265-280.
Presentation 24: Willem de Kooning
Presentation 25: Fanning, pgs. 241-264.
Presentation 26: Sigmar Polke
Presentation 27: Kort, pgs. 265-280.
The Grotesque – Haakenson 10
Project Kafka: Final version of 1000 word interpretive essay due via email
to the instructor. Review sketches from students in “ILL 3080: Illustration
Topics” posted to Blackboard discussion groups. Email one written
critique per group with approximately 300 words for each sketch. The
document will constitute constructive feedback for “ILL 3080” students.
November
Week 12
10th
Week 13
17th
Monsters
and the Grotesque
NO CLASS—ADVISING DAY
BLACKBOARD: Lorraine Daston and Katharine Parks “Monsters: A
Case Study,” Wonders and the Order of Nature, pgs. 173-214.
BLACKBOARD: Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, “Monster Culture (Seven
Theses),” Monster Theory: Reading Culture, pgs. 3-25.
Presentation 28: Daston and Parks, pgs. 173-214.
Presentation 29: Cohen, pgs. 3-25.
Project Grotesque Workshop #3: Research Updates and Check-Ins
Project Kafka: Review in-class the final images from” ILL 3080:
Illustration Topics” posted to Blackboard discussion groups. Develop and
email one written document per group to the instructor explaining, in 50
words or less, the group’s top selection and the group’s rationale for the
selection.
Week 14
24th
Film, Performance,
and the Grotesque
MAG: Christine Ross, “Redefinitions of Abjection in Contemporary
Performances of the Female Body,” pgs. 281-290.
BLACKBOARD: James Naremore, “Stanley Kubrick and the Aesthetics of
the Grotesque,” Film Quarterly, pgs. 4-14.
Presentation 30: Naremore, pgs. 4-14.
Presentation 31: Ross, pgs. 281-290.
FILM EXCERPTS: The Films of Stanely Kubrick)
Week 15
December
1st
Project Grotesque:
Part One
MAG: Noël Carroll, “The Grotesque Today: Preliminary Notes Toward a
Taxonomy,” pgs. 291-312.
Project Grotesque: Individual and Partner Presentations
Presentation 32: Carroll, pgs. 291-312.
Course Evaluations
The Grotesque – Haakenson 11
Week 16
8th
Project Grotesque:
Part Two
Project Grotesque: Group Presentations
Individual Presentations and Facilitation—Topics and Dates:
th
September 8 :
Presentation 1: Connelly, pgs. 156-174
Presentation 2: Vincent Van Gogh
Presentation 3: Chaouli, pgs. 47-62
th
September 15 :
Presentation 4: Mikhail Bakhtin, especially Rabelais and His World
Presentation 5: Stallybrass and White, pgs. 1-26.
Presentation 6: Russo, pgs.1-16 and 53-73.
nd
September 22 :
Presentation 7: Stafford, pgs. 63-97.
Presentation 8: Éugene Delacroix
Presentation 9: Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, pgs. 98-138.
th
September 29 :
Presentation 10: Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Presentation 11: McPherson, pgs. 139-155.
Presentation 12: Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin
Presentation 13: Childs, pgs. 175-192.
th
October 6 :
Presentation 14: Charlie Chaplin
Presentation 15: Walter Benjamin
Presentation 16: Theodor W. Adorno
th
October 13 :
Presentation 17: Franz Kafka
th
October 20 :
Presentation 18: Bergius, pgs. 155-169
Presentation 19: Exner, pgs. 142-146.
Presentation 20: Makela, pgs. 193-219.
th
October 27 :
Presentation 21: Hoving, pgs. 220-240.
Presentation 22: Schröder, pgs. 40-54.
Presentation 23: Assman, pgs. 54-67.
rd
November 3 :
Presentation 24: Willem de Kooning
Presentation 25: Fanning, pgs. 241-264.
Presentation 26: Sigmar Polke
Presentation 27: Kort, pgs. 265-280.
th
November 10 :
Presentation 28: Daston and Parks, pgs. 173-214.
Presentation 29: Cohen, pgs. 3-25.
th
November 17 :
Presentation 30: Naremore, pgs. 4-14.
th
November 24 :
Presentation 31: Ross, pgs. 281-290.
Presentation 32: Carroll, pgs. 291-312.