/Popliteratur/ and the Literary Archives of Pop Culture

In 1968, a new genre of literature emerged in Germany: Popliteratur. Grounded in Dadaism, the Beat Generation, and Pop Art, its young authors attacked the literary establishment and its highbrow dogma with works bridging the gap between high and low culture. In this course, we will investigate the crossover characteristics of Popliteratur, reading it as the literary equivalent of pop music, with an eye to American influence on pop culture in postwar Germany. Through theoretical lenses ranging from Adorno's classic Kulturindustrie to Fiedler's Playboy article, "Cross the Border, Close the Gap"! we will examine primary works by Brinkmann, von Stuckrad-Barre, and Meinecke alongside other products of pop culture, particularly of the last decade. (Formerly GRMN 0306) 3 hrs. sem.