Poetry and Protest                                                                                        שירה ומחאה  

Dr. Dara Barnat                                                                                         ד"ר דרה ברנאט

Advanced Course                                                                                           קורס בחירה        

In this course we will be exploring poetry of dissent, resistance, and rebellion. In the public and political spheres, as well as the private, domestic ones, poets have written to confront gender, racial, and ethnic oppression. Protest can be expressed through content, as well as structure, for instance breaking free from traditional poetic forms. Examples of protest poets include Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Muriel Rukeyser, Allen Ginsberg, Audre Lorde, June Jordan, Sylvia Plath, Adrienne Rich, Anne Waldman, Charles Bernstein, Marge Piercy, Naomi Shihab Nye, Claudia Rankine, and Yusef Komunyakaa. Alongside poetry we will read selections of criticism related to poetry, politics, and activism.

The requirements for the course will be a midterm essay and a final paper.