Across time and cultures, humankind has struggled with taboos that obstruct the pursuit of knowledge deemed inappropriate or dangerous, but what is “forbidden” intrigues us all. In this humanities program, we will explore the ways that forbidden knowledge inspired artists throughout the ages. We will ask how the forbidden differs in the mythology of one culture to another. We will study some great works of art that have been inspired by forbidden knowledge. While powerful people and institutions have often dictated what is acceptable for us to know, the arts, literature, and mythology have been the chief mechanisms through which we have been able to explain or justify this fundamental human conflict. For example, in the creation stories of Genesis and Milton’s  Paradise Lost  we encounter one of western culture’s most enduring mythic structures.  Faust  and Mary Shelley's  Frankenstein  speak to a more modern dilemma about acquisition and use of knowledge.

In this two quarter program we will explore this complex subject through visual art, music, poetry, film, theatre and literature.  Roger Shattuck’s  Forbidden Knowledge: From Prometheus to Pornography  will provide one analysis of the stories, but we’ll read other critical approaches as well. During Winter quarter we will concentrate on the classical past; our readings will include  Oedipus,  Genesis, and Paradise Lost.  In the Spring, we will turn our attention to the modern age. Our readings will include Christina Rossetti's  Goblin Market , A.S. Byatt's  Angels and Insects , Tony Kushner's  Angels in America ,  and Alan Ginsberg's  Howl . Students will be expected to read critically and well, take excellent reading notes, and write occasional critical essays on assigned topics. They will participate in seminar, lecture, workshop, and a possible field trip. 

This immersion in the humanities is especially suited for those students planning to teach in areas of literature or the arts. It is also for students who are curious about the ways in which artists and writers working in different genres push us to understand the world and our place in it.

Credits will be awarded in literature and cultural studies.