Course Overview (in person Tu. Thrs. 1:30-2:45)
This class centers itself on American literature from the Mid 20th-Century to the present. As such, the class will cover a lot material. Throughout the course of the semester we will historicize the literary texts we are investigating as a class by placing them in their proper historical, social, political, and cultural context. For example, we will come to terms with the rise of post-world war two consumer culture, and the pressure this placed on American literature that at times had an anxiety about its emergence, and at times embraced the consumer culture they found themselves in. We will also concern ourselves with emerging social movements such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Rights Movement that certainly shaped the contours of American literature at the time. One of the primary goals of this course is to also introduce a myriad of literary movements that flourished at the times, ranging from Beat poetry, Confessional Poetry, the Black Arts Movements, Post-modern literature, Minimalist literature, and more. This class will also encourage students to not view literature in isolation from other aesthetic and artistic movements. As such, we will think deeply about American literature in relation to painting, sculpture, music, photography, and more.
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, students should be able to
– Read a text critically and actively.
– Perform close readings of literary and secondary texts.
– Discuss texts in a purposeful, intellectual, and thoughtful manner by exploring the themes, style, patterns and interpretations of a text.
– Understand the relationship between literature and culture through situating texts within their historical and cultural context.
– Write fluently and critically about literary texts.
– Trace a topic throughout a wide range of literary, philosophical, and historical texts.
– Connect historical topics to our own contemporary moment.
– Discuss literature in relation to other artistic forms like painting, photography, sculpture, and music
Required Texts
Thompson, Hunter. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Morrison, Toni. A Mercy
Reed, Ishmael. Mumbo Jumbo
Silko, Leslie. Ceremony