2008 Woodie Awards
Kerouac class relives 'beat' experience
Kristin Kunz
Issue date: 2/1/05 Section: Features
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How do you snatch cool? How do you track down that elusive quality, hold it steady and study it?
Sociology professor Audrey Sprenger offers an answer in her spring interterm class, "Jack Kerouac Wrote Here: Crisscrossing America Chasing Cool."
This first-of-its kind curriculum literally takes students "on the road" as they read selections from Kerouac's diaries, novels, plays and poetry and visit the settings and inspiration places of Kerouac novels. They will also read and discuss the literature of Kerouac contemporaries such as Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady.
The class starts in Denver and takes students to Lowell, Mass., New York City, San Francisco and back to Denver-all in 10 days-in a hands-on examination of 1950s beat culture.
"We're going to raise the ghosts [of beat culture]," said Sprenger. "It'll be a holistic experience where we'll read in our down-time, take urban hikes through the cities and have free time to explore cities and work on our documentaries."
The documentaries are a part of each student's homework for the class. Everyone will be making a short documentary of the trip and the medium is at the discretion of each creator-students can use audio, video or photography methods, said Sprenger.
In addition, students will be keeping a "postcard diary," a first-hand account of the trip taken down on postcards from along the way and mailed home.
After flying to Lowell from Denver, the class will investigate Kerouac's home town and visit his gravesite. The class then has a special invitation to Kerouac's birthday celebration, at which time there will be an unveiling of his paintings, which have never been shown publicly.
"No one's seen these things before," said Sprenger. "It's so great to be a part of it."
The highlight for Kerouac and beat culture lovers, she said will be "coming into contact with people who knew and worked with him [Kerouac]."
When the class travels to New York City, the next stop in the cool chase, students will meet with Bill Morgan, archivist for Allen Ginsberg and David Amram, jazz pianist and definitive beat musician. Living people will be a quintessential part of the experience, rather than just reading books and going to museums, said Sprenger. Students will benefit from the first-hand knowledge that these people bring to the encounter.
Sociology professor Audrey Sprenger offers an answer in her spring interterm class, "Jack Kerouac Wrote Here: Crisscrossing America Chasing Cool."
This first-of-its kind curriculum literally takes students "on the road" as they read selections from Kerouac's diaries, novels, plays and poetry and visit the settings and inspiration places of Kerouac novels. They will also read and discuss the literature of Kerouac contemporaries such as Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady.
The class starts in Denver and takes students to Lowell, Mass., New York City, San Francisco and back to Denver-all in 10 days-in a hands-on examination of 1950s beat culture.
"We're going to raise the ghosts [of beat culture]," said Sprenger. "It'll be a holistic experience where we'll read in our down-time, take urban hikes through the cities and have free time to explore cities and work on our documentaries."
The documentaries are a part of each student's homework for the class. Everyone will be making a short documentary of the trip and the medium is at the discretion of each creator-students can use audio, video or photography methods, said Sprenger.
In addition, students will be keeping a "postcard diary," a first-hand account of the trip taken down on postcards from along the way and mailed home.
After flying to Lowell from Denver, the class will investigate Kerouac's home town and visit his gravesite. The class then has a special invitation to Kerouac's birthday celebration, at which time there will be an unveiling of his paintings, which have never been shown publicly.
"No one's seen these things before," said Sprenger. "It's so great to be a part of it."
The highlight for Kerouac and beat culture lovers, she said will be "coming into contact with people who knew and worked with him [Kerouac]."
When the class travels to New York City, the next stop in the cool chase, students will meet with Bill Morgan, archivist for Allen Ginsberg and David Amram, jazz pianist and definitive beat musician. Living people will be a quintessential part of the experience, rather than just reading books and going to museums, said Sprenger. Students will benefit from the first-hand knowledge that these people bring to the encounter.