Thursday 5/12: Aesthetic Responses to Existential Challenge

To attend this class on Zoom, go here. Passcode is 319111.

To watch the Zoom recording of the class, go here.

Read or view before class:

● Watch: Paterson (2017), feature film about ex-Marine and his response to creativity and community in post-service life. Available for free if you have Amazon Prime. If you don't, let Mark know, and he'll mail you a DVD!

● Re-read: Notes on Critical Analysis and Semiotic Theory (below)

● Review your notes/thoughts on existentialism, homecoming, and meaning (as introduced via Camus and Junger)

Optional:

Preface and first part of William Carlos Williams poem Paterson (below)

Prepare or organize before class:

● Make lists of the following things you notice in the movie:

o Where do you see traces of military life in Paterson’s civilian existence? What kinds of signs are these (see semiotic terms)?

o How has Paterson forged a meaningful existence beyond military life? How does this related to our study of existentialism?