Global Humanities: The Politics and Poetics of Witnessing

Syllabus

READING FOR MARCH 10 & 12

Writing Assignment (due March 5 in class)

READING FOR MARCH 3 & 5

Kafka, Franz. “An Old Manuscript” Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir. From The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka, edited by Nahum N. Glatzer, with a foreword by John Updike (Schocken Books, 1988)

READING FOR FEBRUARY 20, 2008 (Session on Ariel Dorfman):

1.
Announcement by the US National Security Archive on the release of more than 16,000 secret U.S. records on Washington’s role in the violent overthrow of the Allende government and the advent of the military regime
to power in Chile.

2.
US intervention in Chile before and after the military coup.

3.
Wikipedia article on General Augusto Pinochet’s arrest and trial.

READING FOR FEBRUARY 4 (Session on Guantanamo):

1.
“Judges Dismiss Suit Seeking Damages for Guantanamo Torture”
By Jen Nessel, Center for Constitutional Rights

2.
“In voiding suit, appellate court says torture is to be expected”
By Greg Gordon, McClatchy Newspapers

3.
“Six Years of Guantanamo: Enough is Enough!”
By Andy Worthington, AlterNet

4.
Film Synopsis

5.
“War is Loud”
By David Peisner

6.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008 on whether waterboarding is a form of torture or is illegal. (Excerpts of the hearing)

7.
February 1, 2008 interview with Alex Gibney, the director of the Oscar-nominated film “Taxi to the Dark Side”, on “Democracy Now!”.
Scroll down to “Real Video Stream” to watch the 15 minute interview, which also includes the trailer and excerpts of the film.

This interview is highly relevant to our discussion on Monday, February 4.

8.
“An Iraq Interrogator’s Nightmare” (article written by Eric Fair, a former interrogator in Iraq)

Reading for January 23 (poem by Paul Celan)