Discourses of "Genius" in American Literature and Film

elective courses

This is an interdisciplinary course that addresses the discourses of genius as developed in American science, literary culture and Hollywood since the

19th ccentury. The rise of the science of eugenics and anthropometric testing at the end of the 19th century has led to the redefinition of genius as a property of an individual that can be objectively verified, measured and attributed to hereditarian factors. The course will look at how older theories of genius as well as scientification and biologization of genius has been mirrored in American cultural productions since the beginning of the 20th century up till now.

Genius, a central concept of the Romantic period, was given a new significance along with the publication of Francis Galton’s Hereditary Genius (1869). By analyzing the pedigrees of eminent British men and building on the theory of evolution, Galton concluded that genius is a measurable hereditary and as such should be protected and developed by a new science of eugenics. From then on, as a result of biologizing creativity and eminence, genius has become a key concept in experimental sciences and in day-to-day references. A desire to isolate it and protect it against pernicious social and hereditary influences - as well as a perceived need to compare different geniuses - led to the growth of interest in IQ testing (which pretends to summarize all the qualities of “genius” in a single number), racial anthropology, as well as quantitative psychology. In the pre-WWII period, the fascination with genius became a staple of cultural productions, which distinguished between numerous brands of genius: the visionary scientist; the unique artist; the financial genius; the athletic champion; and the racial leader. The cultural discourses of genius thrived on the longing for material success enabled by able-bodism and mental excellence, and as such merged with the ideology of American exceptionalism as well as the American dream couched in material terms. Despite the fact that post-WWII science rejected eugenics and the belief that genius could be scientifically measured, recent decades have witnessed a revival of the scientifically-motivated discourse of genius. This is due to the development of an unconditional trust in IQ testing (The Bell Curve controversy) as well as DNA testing, the rise of cognitive science, and the mushrooming of literature on the so-called business geniuses.

Topics:

1.A self-made man and an artistic rebel: Ralph Waldo Emerson, ”Self-Reliance”; Walt Whitman poetry; H.L. Mencken from Prejudices; Friedrich Nietzsche from Human All Too Human

2.Genius and eugenic psychology: Sir Francis Galton, from Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry into Its Laws and Consequences; visual materials; Havelock Ellis from A Study of British Genius;

3. American racial leader; the athlete: Jack London, The Scarlet Plague; W.E. B. Dubois, “The Negro Problem”;

4. The scientist and Hollywood: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (dir. Rouben Mamoulian, 1931).

5. The artist as a male genius: Ezra Pound, essays and poetry.

6. The artist as a female genius: Mina Loy, “Apology of Genius”; Gertrude Stein from, Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.

7. Measuring Genius: Praxis and Culture: Carl Brigham, from A Study of American Intelligence; F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Vegetable.

8. Challenging Eugenic Genius: George Schuyler, Black No More.

Genius Now

9. Cognitive Science. John Kounios and Mark Beerman, “The Aha Moment: Cognitive Neuroscience of Insight”; Margaret A. Boden, from The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms.

10. A Return to a Biologized Racial Genius? Richard J. Hernstein and Charles Murray, The Bell Curve.

11. Breeding Geniuses: Gattaca (dir. Andre Niccol, 1997).

12. Scientific Genius, A Beautiful Mind (dir. Ron Howard, 2002).

13. Genius and Race, Hidden Figures (dir. Theodore Melfi, 2016).

14. Visionary Genius, Steve Jobs (dir. Dany Boyle, 2015).

Primary Sources: See the list of topics.

Secondary Sources:

Boden, Margaret A. The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms. London. Routledge, 2004.

Chaplin, Joyce E. and Darrin M. McMahon eds. Genealogies of Genius. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

Gould, Stephen Jay. The Mismeasure of Man. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996.

Kristeva, Julia. Feminine Genius: Life, Madness, Words. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.

Luczak, Ewa Barbara. Breeding and Eugenics in the American Literary Imagination: Heredity Rules in the 20th Century. New York: Palgrave, 2015.

McMahon, Darrin M. Divine Fury: A History of Genius. New York: Basic Books, 2013.

K_W02 understand key terminology, well established methods and theories of linguistics, literary studies and culture studies within English studies

K_W03 describe methodology and recent developments in English literary studies and culture studies

K_W04 describe the relation between language, literature, and historical and cultural processes on an advanced level

K_U01 employ the terminology and methodological tools from linguistics, literary studies and culture studies

K_U02 employ the methodology of literary and culture studies within English studies, respecting the ethical norms and copyright law

K_U03 analyze linguistic, literary and cultural phenomena and draw generalizations on their basis with respect to the social, historical and economic context

K_K03 value responsibility for one’s own work and respect the work of others, adhering to the professional and ethical norms in various projects and other activities undertaken at work, voluntary services, etc.

K_K04 apply the skill to critically assess communicated content to think and act independently in various social situations

K_K05 function effectively in social and cultural interactions, through various forms and media, thanks to the ability to express oneself in a cohesive and lucid manner

K_K06 value cultural heritage and cultural diversity

Active class participation

Response papers

A final essay

Three absences are allowed

Students taking classes have to demonstrate the knowledge of English at the B2+ level

retake session: a final essay