What's the worst you can say or think? No matter which bad words come to mind, it's more complicated than that - and more interesting. Bad? Dirty? Vulgar? Taboo? Obscene? To whom and why? All c-words, f-words, n-words, and s-words are not the same. We'll look at social layers of offensive language and gestures, changing meanings and functions over time with examples ranging from lit to pop culture, from James Joyce's Ulysses (in 1931, the most notorious book in the world) to Go the F**k to Sleep (2011 by Adam Mansbach and Ricardo Cortes; read by Samuel L. Jackson on YouTube), as well as differences across cultures. Gender, sex, race, ethnicity, politics, class - they're all here. Think of this as a course suspending judgement and discomfort freeing us to think critically about a fascinating topic. Heck yes. Students will write two reflective essays and one on a researched topic; they will also give a class presentation.
Prerequisites
Be in the Honors Program
Semester Offered
Offer With sufficient demand