'Cannibals' Whets Students' Appetite

If you happen to miss lunch on Tuesday or Thursday, there is still a place to satisfy your appetite.

An upper-level English course, "Cannibals," meets at 2 p.m. and features many choice morsels.

In last Thursday's class, about 20 students watched a video screen as a woman marched down a hall followed by a number of cooks carrying a large food platter. The cooks then set down the platter in front of the woman's husband.

The wife pulled the sheet off the platter to reveal a steaming human corpse on a bed of lettuce, garnished with broccoli, cauliflower and lemon.

The woman forces her husband to eat the corpse, which is body of her lover, whom he killed. Then she shoots him, saying scornfully "cannibal."

While this scene from "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, Her Lover" might seem unfit to be shown in a Harvard classroom, it is the norm for one of the grizzliest classes offered at Harvard this semester, English 195z: "Cannibals."

As students gathered in Boylston 10 Thursday, they laughed and joked with each other in a casual, relaxed fashion, maintaining that atmosphere as Associate Professor of English and American Literature Graham Huggan began his lecture.

Huggan, dressed casually in brown corduroy pants and a brown and white shirt, sat with his legs crossed on the desk at the front of the room and lectured about the assignment of the day.

Huggan discussed the principle of cannibalism in historical context, jumping around from the French Revolution in the 18th century to contemporary society.

About midway into the class, Huggan played the clip from the movie.

As the film ended, Huggan turned discussion over to the students, some of whom were smiling and grinning while others hid their faces in their hands.

Students spent the remainder of the class discussing the incidence of cannibalism in the movie, calling it "a metaphor of force on many levels."

"The...movie, as I tried to explain in my lecture...deals with the appetite of contemporary consumers," says Huggan, who also calls the movie a "vicious political satire."

Huggan's entire class may well be intended as just such a "vicious political satire."

As he wrote on the syllabus, "NOTE: This course does not come with a government health warning, but it probably should!"

Why Cannibals?

When asked why a professor or student should spend a semester studying a peculiarity of human consumption, Huggan says he wanted to explore cannibalism as a metaphor in modern society.

"I came up with the idea because I wanted to inquire why cannibal metaphors are so prevalent in contemporary society," Huggan explains. "And also I wanted to examine the status of cannibalism as cultural myth which has been used in the past to justify imperial conquest and more recently has been used as an alibi for the success of modern consumer society."

Huggan says the class, which is taught for the first time this year, has a serious point, above and beyond studying cannibals for the sake of that study.

"What I am interested in is how the cultural myth has been used over time to try to test and gauge the boundaries of civilization and barbarity," he says.

"I'm less interested in cannibalism as the social practice than in the myth and how it functions in cultural and historical factors," he says. "For example, we might discuss how the myth and various metaphors that circle around the figure of the cannibal can be used to explore consumer society."

Huggan said the debate about consumer society was one topic that had received extensive discussion in class.

As another example, Huggan cites the "apparent fascination with cannibals and how cannibalism is used as a method of articulating the current fears of the body."

Some students in the class agree that they are fascinated with the focus on cannibals as metaphor.

"I don't think it's cannibals [for the sake of studying cannibals] because it hasn't been studied before," said James J. McNamara, a senior English concentrator writing his thesis on horror. "There are some interesting ways of looking at cannibal as metaphor."

As an example of metaphor, McNamara cites sexual domination or an expression of violence.

But other students interviewed were not convinced the class succeeded in focusing on cannibalism as metaphor.

"I don't think [there is a point] or I have not found one yet or maybe that is just me," says Elisabeth B. Winterkorn '98. "I have been thinking a lot about this class. I'm only halfway through the semester but as of yet I haven't found a larger theme."

Reactions

But larger point or no, all of the students interviewed say they are enjoying the course.

"It's very interesting," says Caitlin A. Roxby '98. "The reading is very varied, and I find the topic very interesting because I think all areas of taboo in society create interesting questions."

"I like it a lot," agrees McNamara. "It's probably one of the only courses where we haven't already had so much discussion on the subject that it's already dead. It's really interesting."

McNamara says his favorite part of the course is the sections.

"[Section] often goes off on these strange tangents," he says. "One of the sections we had, someone brought in something they had found on the Internet which was actually a recipe for human barbecue sauce, and it--ended up being a whole discussion on what people would taste like."

None of the students interviewed said the course met their expectations--although many said it exceeded them.

Roxby says she appreciates the creativity the course allows.

She said she wrote a story for one of her projects about "a guy who obsesses about women and them kills them and eats them."

"I wrote the story and then I made a book of it with illustrations," she says.

"The focus of the story isn't really the cannibalism as it is the fact as being a cannibal forces you to focus on people in a different way than normal, so it's [about] ways of seeing," she says.

Why Take This Class

Many of those interviewed say they decided to take the course because it was something that wouldn't normally be taught at Harvard.

"[I'm taking it] mostly just because of a very sick interest in the subject matter," McNamara confesses.

"I was casting around for an English class I could take and then I stumbled upon this one," says Caitlin Roxby '98. "The professor was interesting and he showed cool slides of people eating each other, and I thought it seemed a little bit different."

Although the material may seem off the beaten path, Huggan says it is more conventional than at first glance.

"I think the course is less controversial than it appears to be," Huggan says. "The cannibal may seem off-beat, but if you see the material that is actually looked at in class, it is actually quite conventional."

But the professor says the class is somewhat more unconventional in the variety of approaches he takes toward the material.

"I try for different approaches so I use a fair amount of film, including video clips, and interactive discussion is very much a part of the course," Huggan says. "Many topics that are introduced are introduced precisely for debate so I try to mix lecture with debate."

And although this class might seem like fodder for The Confidential Guide to Courses, Huggan says it has the rigor of a standard Harvard course.

When asked how difficult the course was, Huggan replies, "That is a leading question. I suppose I could make a joke on gut classes, but we'll leave out the cannibal jokes."

"There is a fair amount of reading and a wide range of readings. It is not concentrated on any one historical area or disciple, so from that point of view, the class can be demanding," Huggan says.

"But I have heard no complaints from students that they are asked to read too much," he says. "I figure the amount of writing and such to be in line with other Harvard courses."

For the most part, students say they agree. Still, the unconventional subject matter, combined with juicy footage from screen thrillers, can make for a strange ride.

"It is not exactly what I expected from an English class," says Winterkorn, a literature concentrator.

"I expected there to be more literature about cannibals--for example, Shakespeare or 'Silence of the Lambs,' which we are doing, but it has turned out to be more social anthropology than English.

Students spent the remainder of the class discussing the incidence of cannibalism in the movie, calling it "a metaphor of force on many levels."

"The...movie, as I tried to explain in my lecture...deals with the appetite of contemporary consumers," says Huggan, who also calls the movie a "vicious political satire."

Huggan's entire class may well be intended as just such a "vicious political satire."

As he wrote on the syllabus, "NOTE: This course does not come with a government health warning, but it probably should!"

Why Cannibals?

When asked why a professor or student should spend a semester studying a peculiarity of human consumption, Huggan says he wanted to explore cannibalism as a metaphor in modern society.

"I came up with the idea because I wanted to inquire why cannibal metaphors are so prevalent in contemporary society," Huggan explains. "And also I wanted to examine the status of cannibalism as cultural myth which has been used in the past to justify imperial conquest and more recently has been used as an alibi for the success of modern consumer society."

Huggan says the class, which is taught for the first time this year, has a serious point, above and beyond studying cannibals for the sake of that study.

"What I am interested in is how the cultural myth has been used over time to try to test and gauge the boundaries of civilization and barbarity," he says.

"I'm less interested in cannibalism as the social practice than in the myth and how it functions in cultural and historical factors," he says. "For example, we might discuss how the myth and various metaphors that circle around the figure of the cannibal can be used to explore consumer society."

Huggan said the debate about consumer society was one topic that had received extensive discussion in class.

As another example, Huggan cites the "apparent fascination with cannibals and how cannibalism is used as a method of articulating the current fears of the body."

Some students in the class agree that they are fascinated with the focus on cannibals as metaphor.

"I don't think it's cannibals [for the sake of studying cannibals] because it hasn't been studied before," said James J. McNamara, a senior English concentrator writing his thesis on horror. "There are some interesting ways of looking at cannibal as metaphor."

As an example of metaphor, McNamara cites sexual domination or an expression of violence.

But other students interviewed were not convinced the class succeeded in focusing on cannibalism as metaphor.

"I don't think [there is a point] or I have not found one yet or maybe that is just me," says Elisabeth B. Winterkorn '98. "I have been thinking a lot about this class. I'm only halfway through the semester but as of yet I haven't found a larger theme."

Reactions

But larger point or no, all of the students interviewed say they are enjoying the course.

"It's very interesting," says Caitlin A. Roxby '98. "The reading is very varied, and I find the topic very interesting because I think all areas of taboo in society create interesting questions."

"I like it a lot," agrees McNamara. "It's probably one of the only courses where we haven't already had so much discussion on the subject that it's already dead. It's really interesting."

McNamara says his favorite part of the course is the sections.

"[Section] often goes off on these strange tangents," he says. "One of the sections we had, someone brought in something they had found on the Internet which was actually a recipe for human barbecue sauce, and it--ended up being a whole discussion on what people would taste like."

None of the students interviewed said the course met their expectations--although many said it exceeded them.

Roxby says she appreciates the creativity the course allows.

She said she wrote a story for one of her projects about "a guy who obsesses about women and them kills them and eats them."

"I wrote the story and then I made a book of it with illustrations," she says.

"The focus of the story isn't really the cannibalism as it is the fact as being a cannibal forces you to focus on people in a different way than normal, so it's [about] ways of seeing," she says.

Why Take This Class

Many of those interviewed say they decided to take the course because it was something that wouldn't normally be taught at Harvard.

"[I'm taking it] mostly just because of a very sick interest in the subject matter," McNamara confesses.

"I was casting around for an English class I could take and then I stumbled upon this one," says Caitlin Roxby '98. "The professor was interesting and he showed cool slides of people eating each other, and I thought it seemed a little bit different."

Although the material may seem off the beaten path, Huggan says it is more conventional than at first glance.

"I think the course is less controversial than it appears to be," Huggan says. "The cannibal may seem off-beat, but if you see the material that is actually looked at in class, it is actually quite conventional."

But the professor says the class is somewhat more unconventional in the variety of approaches he takes toward the material.

"I try for different approaches so I use a fair amount of film, including video clips, and interactive discussion is very much a part of the course," Huggan says. "Many topics that are introduced are introduced precisely for debate so I try to mix lecture with debate."

And although this class might seem like fodder for The Confidential Guide to Courses, Huggan says it has the rigor of a standard Harvard course.

When asked how difficult the course was, Huggan replies, "That is a leading question. I suppose I could make a joke on gut classes, but we'll leave out the cannibal jokes."

"There is a fair amount of reading and a wide range of readings. It is not concentrated on any one historical area or disciple, so from that point of view, the class can be demanding," Huggan says.

"But I have heard no complaints from students that they are asked to read too much," he says. "I figure the amount of writing and such to be in line with other Harvard courses."

For the most part, students say they agree. Still, the unconventional subject matter, combined with juicy footage from screen thrillers, can make for a strange ride.

"It is not exactly what I expected from an English class," says Winterkorn, a literature concentrator.

"I expected there to be more literature about cannibals--for example, Shakespeare or 'Silence of the Lambs,' which we are doing, but it has turned out to be more social anthropology than English.