Poetic Geographies

This course focuses on the comparative relationships among short literature, material, and urban space. Namely, by focusing on three cities—Chicago, Berlin and Istanbul— this course explores how twentieth and twenty-first century literature both represents urban space but also appears as short genres in the streets, on walls, public signs, trains, and other material locations. Analyzing and comparing the unique poetic geographies of urban space allows for literature to move beyond the book to a diverse set of materials and locations. Students will first be introduced to theories and methods of the sociology of literature, literary materialism, and short literary genres to push the boundaries of what is considered “literature” and where this literature can be imagined. Thereafter students will explore and compare unique literary representations of and in Chicago, Istanbul, and Berlin in order to develop their own research projects based on a comparison of literary works, material objects, or urban spaces. Throughout the semester, students will create their own research project that will conclude with a final paper and presentation.