Junkies, Robots, and Fight Clubs: Revisioning the "American Dream" in US Popular Culture

From fembots to fightclubs, this course explores our obsession with revisions of the American Dream. We examine film and literary translations of three recycled stories—Rags-to-Riches, the Open Road, and Domestic Bliss—to better understand how we narrate the "American" experience and consider how these nationalizing narratives construct race, class, and gender. Films and texts include "Stepford Wives," "Easy Rider," and "Wall Street." Enrollment limited to 17 first year students and sophomores.