ENGL 164S SC - Information poetics

In this course, we will explore poetry as a site of experimental argument in a cluster of contemporary American poets whose work engages with didactic, experimental, multimedia, and essayistic styles in order to document or intervene in political and social histories. We will contextualize these poems in the longer history of experimental poetics while exploring key differences between that history and these poems, discussing how and why the authors of these poems toggle between creative and argumentative registers. How do authors use experimental literary forms to make arguments about the world they see? What political histories and futures does poetry tease out? How does poetic knowledge interrupt more sedimented or institutional norms? By engaging with our class texts, we will assess the extent to which poetry and form provide critical methods for understanding our world.

Please refer to the course schedule on the Scripps Portal for current course offerings and details.