info request
(DENTON@SMTPGATE.sunydutchess.edu)
Mon May 19 09:22:20 1997
Hello--I've just subscribed to the list. Next spring I will be
teaching a course with the following emphasis: the literature
and culture of the sixties and their legacies in the nineties,
with a focus on American life. We will be studying materials
that illuminate the literary and cultural movements that so
obviously influence contemporary life--the civil rights movement,
the war, political upheavals, the sexual revolution, music, the
drug culture, the media explosion--but I also want to examine the
more subtle contributions of the sixties to our current age. We
might, for instance, look at how a sixties' sensibility for humor
has affected nineties' brands of comedy.
I will enjoy following the list for the next year. For now, I
would appreciate any references from list members that would
inform my summer reading. I have visited the SIXTIES web site
and have done web searching. Is anyone aware of particularly
useful critical texts that discuss my course's topic? Any course
syllabi that speak to the issue? Other web sites? Any favorite
primary or secondary materials that have worked particulary well
with your students (I, of course, have my own list of favorites)?
I'm especially looking for thoughtful reflections on how the
sixties live in the nineties. . . or have been rejected. I'm not
sure of what I would call the defining works of the nineties . .
. I wonder about the themes and flavors of the period with which
many of our students will identify.
From my experience on other lists I know that requests such as
this one can elicit groans from long-time members. I would
appreciate any suggestions from those of you who are dying to
wrap up the semester and get your own summer plans in action.
Thanks.
Tom Denton
Professor, English & Director, Writing Center
Dutchess Community College--SUNY
denton@sunydutchess.edu