The Rock Novel
Ivan Kreilkamp
English
In this course we will read, discuss, and analyze recent/ contemporary novels that take rock and roll music (broadly construed) as part of their subject matter and inspiration. We will read the novels as responses to and commentary on music; as novels that attempt to capture musical experience and the (counter-)cultures of rock and roll and pop music and to say something about them. We will also read some rock history and criticism, and listen to music that relates to the novels, in order to help us think about the music these books come out of and the larger culture that produced them. We will consider rock and roll and fiction as crucial art forms of the late 20th and early 21st century that speak to and influence one another, and we will work on developing skills of sophisticated interpretation, analysis, and expression.
Final decisions on novels we will read have not yet been made, but they will likely be chosen from this list:
- Colson Whitehead, John Henry Days
- Dana Spiotta, Eat the Document
- Michael Chabon, Telegraph Avenue
- Hari Kunzru, White Tears
- Jaime Hernandez, The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S.
- Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad
- John Darnielle, Master of Reality
- Michael Muhammad Knight, The Taqwacores
These are fun books, but there will also be a lot of reading, so be sure you are prepared to keep up!
Graded assignments will likely include class participation; short Canvas response papers; reading quizzes; and a midterm and final paper.
Catalog Information: HON-H 233 GREAT AUTHORS, COMPOSERS, AND ARTISTS