Faculty: Colin Foss
Description: Justice and injustice. Punishment and redemption. Love and duty. Victor Hugo’s classic 1862 novel Les Miserables tackles major issues that persist into the present, asking us to imagine how love can combat oppression. In this course, we will read the original novel and watch recent film adaptations. Through our reading, we will learn about
the origins of income inequality, use gender to interrogate criminality and the justice system, view how the modern police state was constructed to privilege certain classes and oppress others, and form theories of revolution as an ethical response to state violence. We will also ask what Hugo’s novel fails to consider, notably colonialism and how modern forms of policing enable racism. This course is conducted in English and is open to all students.
Meeting Information: 01/03/2022-01/25/2022; M-F 10:00AM – 1:00PM; Hopkins Center, Room 210
Section Requisites: N/A
Course Fee: N/A
Out-of-Pocket Expenses: $20