Professor Toutonghi discusses course on rock ‘n’ roll novel

Pauls Toutonghi, assistant professor of English, talks with the LA Times about his course on the rock ‘n’ roll novel, which explores the interplay between literature, music, and pop culture.

The class, which included works such as Salman Rushdie’s “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” and “The Gangster of Love” by Jessica Hagedorn, was offered for the first time in the spring of 2009. 

“I think that there is a strong yearning among students for classes that connect, in some way, with their daily lives,” Toutonghi said. “Here we were looking at books that were, many of them, published within their lifetime. Compared to some of the other texts we study, these felt quite immediate to them, and so they felt perhaps a little more in control of their educational experience.”