Syllabus

Poetics Off the Page (CAS 3250)

Thursday 3:30-6:00, Room 105

Corcoran College of Art + Design

Associate Professor Casey Smith, PhD

Spring Semester 2016

Poetics Off the Page: Introduction, Policies, Schedule

This course will explore the history and theory of scripted literary texts that reside outside of the traditional venues for printed poetry, namely the pages of codex books: image, sound, sculpture, installation, performance, video, signage, advertising, and so on. We will also study the history of artists and poets who have used the page and the book instrumentally. Some of the artists and writers we are likely to study include William Blake, William Morris, Robert Carlton Brown, Gertrude Stein, Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol,  L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poets, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Ann Hamilton, Kenneth Goldsmith, David Antin, Richard Prince, the anonymous graffiti poets of May 68, and too many more to list here. We will read and discuss historical and theoretical issues related to this work, and we will also work individually and collaboratively to construct our own "off the page" poetic projects.

Learning Objectives

Students who successfully complete this class will learn on three distinct but overlapping fronts: They will learn about the history and theories of alternative and experimental poetry and language-based art, especially but not exclusively in the context of the 20^th and 21^st century English-speaking world. Students will learn who the major figures were/are and why their work has influenced a wide range of artistic and poetic practice. Students will also learn by doing. They will conceive and execute their own projects, either individually or collaboratively, that engage with the ideas and materials of the historical precedents and theories they have studied. Students will leave the class with a more developed understanding of the potentialities of language-based art, including of course poetry itself.

Instructor

Associate Professor Casey Smith

kcs@gwu.edu

Office Hours: Tuesday, 1-3 and by appointment

Website/Blog

http://popcorcoranpoetry.blogspot.com/

Texts

There are no required textbooks for this course. Most of the reading assignments will come in the form of photocopied packets, pdf files, or Internet links. Please bring a USB flashdrive to class on a regular basis. We will be using the archive at www.ubu.com for many assignments. It would be smart to bookmark it on your computing devices.

Attendance

Participating in this class is mandatory. And you can’t participate if you’re not here. After two absences, excused or not, your grade will be negatively effected. We’ll have a conference to discuss the situation. Please note that you do not have a “free pass” absence during your senior thesis week.

Assignments & Grading

During the course of the semester, every student will be expected to cooperate and collaborate on exercises in class.  Participation counts.

1.  Participation (in-class and out-of class activities, debate, critique, etc.), 30%

2.  Short papers (5-6 pages), 15% each

3.  Developed project, 30%

4.  Critical essay contextualizing your project, 10%

All papers must be turned in on time, at the start of class unless otherwise announced. Out of fairness, late papers will be penalized.

Honor Code

See GW handbook for full details.

I have a zero-tolerance policy for cheating and attempted cheating, plagiarism, lying, and stealing. You may not copy and paste information for your critical essays without documenting your sources. When it comes to your creative work in this class, you are free to employ strategies of cheating, plagiarism, lying, and stealing.

Poetics Off the Page

Schedule of Classes*

Unless otherwise announced, class meets the following afternoons from 3:30 to 6:00 in room 107 (a/k/a 14b).  See the blog for details about the assignments.

Jan 14:  Course Introduction, dada poems

Jan 21:  Art & Language chapbook

Jan 28:  Historical Precedents

Feb 4:  First short paper due, discussion & debate

Feb 11: Concrete poetry; Dick Higgins & Intermedia

Feb 18: L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry & Ethnopoetics

Feb 25:  Sound & Space: John Cage and his Legacy

Mar 3:  VisPo and VideoPo

Mar 10: Digital Poetics, Grand Text Auto

SPRING RECESS

Mar 24: Second Short Paper Due, Presentations

Mar 31: Conceptual Poetry, ubu editions, Publishing the Unpublishable

Apr 7:  Preparation for Poetry/Performance at Corcoran Literary Festival, Apr 13

Apr 14: LetterFest5!

Apr 21:  Research/Writing/Conferences

May 1: Final Projects/Presentations (Group 1); Project & Paper Due

Apr 28:  Final Projects/Presentations (Group 2); Project & Paper Due

* Please note, this schedule is subject to change