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 Mansback and Ricardo Cortés; 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