War and Representation

What is war and what particular challenges arise with the portrayal of trauma and catastrophic events? What does it mean to represent? Are all narratives about war representational? Who narrates war and how? How do narrative strategies shape our understanding not only of a war but of War? While apparently straight-forward, we will interrogate the key terms of this course through these and other similar questions. We will explore the ways in which various artists grapple with war and its representation as we examine short stories, novels, comics and films from the 20th and 21st centuries. No former knowledge is required.