Lusia Zaitseva


Spring 2022
Dr. Lusia ZAITSEVA





EXPOS 20: LOYALTY & BETRAYAL



The aim of this course is to prepare you to write things worth reading, and writing, at the college level. We'll operate on three premises:


Writing is THINKING

Writing is a PROCESS

Writing is a CONVERSATION


To practice the essential elements of academic argument thesis, motive, stakes, and structure (among others) we'll take loyalty and betrayal as our subjects.


If you heard that someone protected their family members faithfully, you’d probably consider that person to be acting in a loyal and virtuous manner, but if you then learned that this person was a member of the Soprano crime family, you might feel a bit differently. Likewise, it’s hard to know how to act if an institution to which one has historically been loyal comes under morally bankrupt leadership or if someone close to us holds beliefs we disagree with—especially if we risk being considered guilty by association in the public eye. Clearly, then, it matters to whom or what we are loyal, under what circumstances, why, and at what cost. Perhaps it’s not all that surprising, then, that some philosophers have gone so far as to argue that loyalty and morality are fundamentally incompatible. In this course, we’ll explore some of the big questions about loyalty and its counterpart, betrayal, that have occupied humans for millennia: what role, if any, should our personal history and identity play in our loyalties? How can we act ethically when two loyalties come into conflict? Can betrayal ever be virtuous? Can one exit a group but still be loyal to it? And must loyalty entail personal cost to be meaningful?



Unit 1: TRUE FRIENDS STAB YOU IN THE FRONT





To begin to think about these questions, in Unit 1 we will read short stories from two short-story writers—Edith Wharton and Lesley Nneka Arimah—whose compelling stories provide rich material for thinking about the ties that bind us and what happens when they are tested. In “Roman Fever” by Wharton, two old friends reveal their long-held secrets. In Arimah’s “Redemption,” a young narrator tells a story that layers conflicting loyalties to one’s class and gender with betrayals by those meant to protect us.



Unit 2: PARTY OR PRINCIPLE?





In Unit 2, we’ll shift our gaze to politics. In your essays for this unit, you will have a chance to deepen your understanding of the contemporary American political landscape as you grapple with fundamental questions of the role that loyalty plays in partisanship. We will read two essays by contemporary political scientists—Russell Muirhead’s “The Case For Party Loyalty” and Steven M. Teles and Robert P. Saldin’s essay “The Future is Faction.” Taken together, these authors will help us explore questions such as: what is the promise and peril of party loyalty? Should we remain loyal to our party even if (or especially when) we see its flaws? How does one decide what is worthy of loyalty to begin with, and can one be loyal to a cause but maintain independence of thought?



UNIT 3: TRAITORS & LOYALISTS





In Unit 3, you will have the opportunity to identify an original research topic about an occasion of loyalty or betrayal (or a loyalist or traitor) that is compelling to you. Some possibilities include thinking about a divisive belief that tests in-group loyalty, a politician at odds with his or her party, a whistleblower or suspect social group, or a community experiencing the trauma of what scholars have termed “institutional betrayal.” You might even investigate how our themes play out in popular media such as television and film or consider what a particular brand loyalty reveals about the people who have it.



Fall 2020





Expos 20: Representing childhood



The aim of this course is to prepare you to write things worth reading, and writing, at the college level. We'll operate on three premises:


Writing is THINKING

Writing is a PROCESS

Writing is a CONVERSATION


To practice the essential elements of academic argument—thesis, motive, stakes, and structure (to name just a few)—we'll take childhood as our subject.


The French modernist poet Charles Baudelaire famously called genius “childhood rediscovered at will,” and painters and writers of the 20th century looked to childhood for inspiration in their works. Their interest in childhood speaks to the prevalent attitude that children have curiosity, joy, and authenticity that are often lost after the transition to adulthood.


But we didn't always see children this way, nor is our current view of childhood so one-sided. On the contrary, historians have argued that prior to the 17th century children were often seen as faulty adults, and Christian doctrine considered them born into sin. Moreover, today, many argue that not all young people get to partake equally of notions of childhood innocence, as some childhoods are valued more highly than others. There also exists a contradiction in our cultural attitude toward children: to call someone “childlike” might be a compliment and “childish,” critique, and furthermore the perception of how grown men and women partake of children’s qualities differs. As these two words suggest, we can’t seem to decide if childhood is a state to be cherished and preserved at all costs or a condition to be overcome.


In this course, we’ll take as our starting point the idea that much of what we think constitutes childhood today is actually a historical construction. As such, we see, children are particularly liable to be spoken for and about.


BUT HOW WELL DO ADULTS REALLY UNDERSTAND CHILDHOOD, OR CHILDREN FOR THAT MATTER?


WHAT DO ADULTS' IDEAS ABOUT BOTH CHILDHOOD & CHILDREN SAY ABOUT THEM?



unit 1: WRITING CHILDREN





In our first unit, we'll read short stories from three prominent writers: the science fiction author Ray Bradbury and contemporary fiction authors Lesley Nneka Arimah and Ben Marcus.


In Bradbury’s story, a father tries to spare his son the agonies of childhood and growing up. Things take a supernatural turn.


Arimah’s tells of a world with no men where women fashion babies out of dolls for older women to breathe life into (or not!).

Marcus explores the unknowability and complexity of a child's inner life.


Using the story of your choosing, you'll consider some of the following questions:



IS WHAT WE VALUE IN CHILDREN INTRINSIC TO CHILDREN THEMSELVES?

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR FIXATION ON THE YOUNGEST AND SMALLEST AMONG US TO WOMEN & TO SOCIETY AT LARGE?

WHEN DO STRUGGLES OVER CHILDREN BECOME ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE?



UNIT 2: REPRESENTATION OR EXPLOITATION?





In this unit, we’ll shift our gaze to the controversial photographs of American photographer Sally Mann as we question the limits of acceptable representation of childhood.


Mann photographed her three children for years as they grew up, capturing beautiful, whimsical, as well as violent and disturbing moments of youth. Her collection Immediate Family took the art world by storm when it was first published in the 1990s and caused an eruption of controversy.


What particularly angered some critics was the children’s nudity in many of the photos: Mann’s children, they argued, could not meaningfully consent to such photos circulating in the public sphere.


In your essays for this unit, you will have a chance to consider the fraught relationship between adults and children as you put Mann's images in conversation with theoretical texts by a cultural theorist (James Kincaid) and a cultural historian (Harvard's very own Robin Bernstein). You'll ask questions like:



CAN CHILDREN MEANINGFULLY GIVE CONSENT?

IS INNOCENCE ALWAYS WORTH DEFENDING?

WHAT TRUTH DO PHOTOS CLAIM TO REVEAL & HOW OBJECTIVE IS THAT TRUTH?



unit 3: childhood in the contemporary world





In our final unit, we’ll take our discussion into the present by exploring the many ongoing debates that have childhood at their center, from genetic engineering and climate change to global human rights campaigns and immigration reform.


More often than not, these debates are expressly political: at stake is the policy that shapes our complex social world. In your final research paper, you will have the opportunity to identify a topic that is compelling to you and present an original argument about it. You'll also gain experience translating academic writing for a broader public.