Faculty

Andrew Opitz

Visitng Instructor

Ph.D. University of Minnesota
B.A. Saint John’s University

Andrew Opitz received his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota, where he taught cultural studies courses on diverse subjects including monsters, robots and cyborgs in literature and popular culture, the politics of comedy from the ancient world to modern Hollywood and the evolution of western visions of nature. His current research involves a materialist study of the politics of satire and irony in the modern world of print capitalism. He is particularly interested in “revolutionary satires”—literary satires that helped to shape public opinion and prepare the way for significant social upheavals. Some historical examples of this include the work of Voltaire and Montesquieu in advance of the French Revolution, the satirical writings Ben Franklin and the American Revolution, and the scathing satirical novelist José Rizal and the Philippine Revolution of 1896. Opitz is also currently editing a special issue of the journal darkmatter dealing with pirates and piracy in history, literature and critical theory.

Areas of Study

• Cultural studies and comparative literature
• The politics of satire and irony
• Poetry and nature writing
• Marxist literary theory

Fall 2009 Courses

• Introduction to Poetry
• Literary and Cultural Theory

Publications

• “Voyage of the Black Joke: The Politics of Piracy and Gallows Humor in an Era of Primitive Accumulation,” darkmatter: in the ruins of imperial culture (forthcoming)
• “Atlantic Modernity and the Wreckage of History: Ian Baucom’s Specters of the Atlantic and Elizabeth Kowaleski Wallace’s The British Slave Trade and Public Memory, Cultural Critique, Issue # 68 (winter 2008)
• "Liberty and Slavery in the Francophone Atlantic: Christopher L. Miller's The French Atlantic Triangle, reviewed for the journal African American Review (forthcoming)

Recent Presentations

• Talkback on the life and work of Phillip K. Dick. The Workhaus Theater Collective. Minneapolis, June 7, 2009.
• “The Monster’s Reading List: Ruins in the Work of Mary Shelley, C.F. Volney and Walter Benjamin.” American Comparative Literature Association Conference: Harvard University, Cambridge MA, March 26-29, 2009.
• “Electronic Kudo: Cybernetics, Ecology and the Work of Tetsumi Kudo.” Walker Art Center. December 11, 2008.