At the Limit: Violence in Contemporary Representation
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this literature and film seminar on extreme violence and transgression in novels and films from 1985 to 2010. Readings and screenings span the United States, France, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Japan and South Korea, covering serial killers, torture, rape, and reality television alongside topics like American racial history, Austrian bourgeois politeness, and the influence of manga on graphic Asian cinema. Weekly units press on what counts as violence, asking whether form mitigates or colludes with violent content, and whether these texts help audiences understand violence or frame it as something that resists comprehension. The final week asks whether we are what we see. Materials include the full syllabus, weekly reading and viewing lists, and assignment prompts, free to access through MIT's OpenCourseWare site with no certificate offered.