Week Two: Heart of Darkness

This week we will be reading and discussing Heart of Darkness. In some interesting ways, Heart of Darkness is very much like the Wizard of Oz a comparison we might develop in class discussion. We will be considering how observing the binaries in any work can be an effective tool for opening up a work for deeper reading, especially for revealing the ideology of a work. This is especially effective when considering a text like Heart of Darkness which explores many conflicts within the characters and their experience. Don't forget to ask the important first question when considering a narrative work which is "Who is telling the story and what do we know about them." That is a very interesting question in this work.

This is a novella so it is short enough to try to finish before coming to class. It is also available as an audio book. Check the course resource page for relevant materials. You can post on your blog before or after class, or both, about your experience with the text. If you have not send me the URL of your personal blog please do so as soon as possible.

Next week we will be reading the common text for all Literature and Media Studies classes this year, The Magicians by Lev Grossman. You need to acquire your own copy of this text. This an excellent work of fantasy writing that makes specific reference to some of the great works in the genre especially The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and of course The Lord of the Rings. But much of the novel takes place in a college that is not unlike art school with all its pitfalls and personal challenges. Many students have liked reading this novel and I think it is a great read for a holiday weekend.

Here is a link to a professional blog post on Heart of Darkness. It is illustrative of the perfect length for a blog post, confines itself nicely to a single major point and explores that point reasonably, giving the reader other places to go, linking them to more possibilities. 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2007/dec/05/theunjustprejudiceagainstc