MODERN LANGUAGES 5304

April 23:Social Realism, Marxism and Bertolt Brecht. Professor Lana Rings. Selected Readings by Bertolt Brecht: “The Ballad of the Dead Soldier” (1917), “The Love Market” (1920’s), “Abortion is Illegal” (1931), “Mack the Knife” (1928 from the Threepenny Opera), “Solidarity Song” (1931).; “Marxism” by Sidney Hook, from The Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas, Ed. Phillip P. Weiner.

Dear Students:

We’ll attempt to deal in two hours with that which scholars have taken decades to study. Here is my intended breakdown of the time we’ll be spending together.

5 minutes: my introduction
½ hour: theory – discussion of Brecht and Marxism through dialoguing with Douglas Kellner’s article in parts and ferreting out the core issues on the blackboard
½ hour: Five songs we’ll read, then play (Here will also occur the demonstration of how music and words interact to produce irony, among other things.)
½ hour: Five groups who will apply theory to songs
½ hour: Five groups who will present 5-minute responses to their application assignments

I am going to have Dr. Conway create five groups and provide you with a pdf file from which you can prepare yourselves for the in-class interaction that will follow.  Each group will be assigned a part of an article by Douglas Kellner (“Brecht’s Marxist Aesthetic”) which I have broken down into five parts (Part I for Group I, etc.). I wholeheartedly recommend reading the complete article. However, each group will be responsible for being “experts” on your section, and when you come to class you will discuss how best to condense/distill the essence out of your part and put it on the blackboard for all to see and learn from. These ideas will provide the basis from which you will analyze, judge, interpret the songs that you will hear/read.

I have attempted to help you dialog with the article by highlighting some important ideas and by adding the phrase KEYKEYKEYKEY wherever/whenever I’ve read a passage that I find particularly important. This does not mean that you will not find other passages equally important. What I’ve done is meant as a guide.

Above all, be sure to read the conclusion to the article as well. It helps contextualize some of the ideas.

There are five songs with which we’ll be dealing. Again, each group will be assigned one song (which you will not have seen before the class begins), and, although everyone will have read and heard all the songs, it will be up to each group to interpet your song for the others.

Finally, I’ve listed some contextualizing words and years for your to considering and begin asking questions about.

I am looking forward to working with you. Dr. Conway will “fill in the gaps,” as he is the expert in theory.

This session, while sobering because of the implications regarding even today’s events, should be a lot of fun intellectually speaking. Brecht was “hard hitting,” and it is interesting to think about the fact that he said what he did in those songs during my grandparents’ and your great- or great-great-grandparents’ time!

Lana Rings
From Dr. C, to all students:

OK, here’s the handout.

Here are the groups:

Group 1–Assigned Section 1 of Kellner article

Katy Carnahan

Zach Wingerd

John LoGalbo

G. Walker

Group 2–Section 2

C. Circelli

V. Kribs

C. Paez

V. Kobou

Group 3–Section 3

E. Eckhardt

Don Fougere

G. Gonzalez

Group 4–Section 4

C. Ortiz

J.D. Stutler

H. Pereira

S. Rushing

Group 5–Section 5

C. Moya

B. Smith

A. Hidalgo

S. Garcia

Do not forget:

“Marxism” by Sidney Hook, from The Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas, Ed. Phillip P. Weiner.