English

“Behold, I teach you the superman: He is this lightning, he is this madness!” thus spoke Friedrich Nietzsche. This course defines superheroes as the contemporary incarnation of Nietzsche’s Übermensch that calls for self-becoming and self overcoming. It traces the development of this enduring pop culture artifact, from immortal bodies of classical heroes to fantasies of the perfectible human through technoscience. With reference to cross-cultural expressions of the genre, the course dissects the concept of superheroes: What are they? Where do they come from? How can they help us change the way we think about ourselves, our environment, and the multiverse of possibilities that surrounds us? It discusses how the origins and evolution of these characters are shaped by sociohistorical factors, such as gender and sexuality, race, and society. Topics covered include good and evil, power and identity, and justice and responsibility. Students design their own superheroes and develop new ways of reading superheroes as modern myths about fears, longings, and aspirations.

This course examines four English Renaissance revenge tragedies, along with screen and stage adaptations. Through close readings and discussions, we situate each play in dialogue with questions of gender, law, and history. We also trace how the genre of revenge tragedy evolved across the period. The plays to be discussed are: Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and Hamlet, and The Revenger’s Tragedy.