Ever wonder why a signed and dated urinal, placed upside down in a museum, gets to be called art? Or why that song sounds more like noise than music? What’s the point of a poem that resists logical meaning at every turn? Or a designer dress made out of meat? Art, in its various forms, often seeks to confront us, and this course considers what the purpose of such strange encounters might be as well as how the strange, itself, can serve as resistance and protest. We will consider a range of artistic examples from Dada to Oulipo, rap to queer camp, produced by artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Gertrude Stein, N.W.A., Harryette Mullen, Lady Gaga, and Claudia Rankine, drawing upon intellectual approaches from literary studies, philosophy, art history, gender and queer studies, and critical race theory. We will explore how weird art defamiliarizes—makes the familiar strange—and can open up new possibilities in the process. But such disruption can be uncomfortable, unexpected, and unwanted, much like protest and activism. As part of our ongoing exploration, we will consider the interplay between discomfort and effectiveness, particularly in the context of social change.

This is a course driven by questions, rather than answers; one that asks us to slow down and be fully present—not only with the strange art in front of us, but with the tensions and complex structures of the world around us. This is serious business, no doubt, but art often includes elements of pleasure and fun (I mean, a urinal! on display! in a museum!), so even as we encounter these disruptions, we will bring playfulness and a rigorous curiosity to the process, as well. Along the way, we will develop and hone our writing skills, using informal journaling, peer review, revision, research, close reading, comparative analysis, and reflection, as well as creative expression, to help us explore the fullness and possibility of the weird and strange.

Course Requirements:

No data submitted

Class Format:

Instruction wiii be half in person / half online : Zoom sessions (exact proportions TBD)

All online components will be synchronous

All assessments will be online--asynchronous essays

Conferences with instructors will be scheduled to compensate for the missed in-person seminar-type classes. Alternative activities will be proposed (response papers, etc.)