ENGL 052B, An English Literature \u201cGateway\u201d Course:
\n\u201cU.S. Fiction, 1945 to the Present\u201d Fall 2017
\nProfessor Peter Schmidt<\/p>\n
Introductory description of the course<\/strong>: It\u2019s an old American story: re-invent yourself on the run, without time to think about the consequences or even what you\u2019re running from and why. And yet the past keeps turning up, like your own shadow. What then? Whom do you turn to?\u2014for you can\u2019t get where you\u2019re going on your own. That\u2019s where the real story begins. <\/p>\n We\u2019ll look at major authors and emerging figures, with attention to innovations in the novel as a literary form and the ways in which writers engage with their historical context, both within the U.S. and globally. <\/p>\n Count the novels again: the reading load will be heavy, averaging a novel a week. But this will give you an intellectual feast; they\u2019re moving, exhilarating, audacious. Plus there\u2019s some really strong recent writing in the mix, as well texts by classic American authors such as Hemingway, or L\u2019Engle. We\u2019ll ignore commercial marketing categories (such as Literature vs. Young Adult Fiction, Sci Fi, or Fantasy) to gain a comparative understanding of these various story-telling strategies and social engagement of these authors. Highsmith, Baldwin, and Hemingway, in very different ways, introduce themes of gender identity, sexuality, and politics that will be taken up by a host of later works, including Marshall, D\u00edaz, and Belleza. Marshall and Whitehead represent two different but equally revolutionary strategies for representing trauma and healing in Black American memory. And in both McCarthy\u2019s and Wolitzer\u2019s novels follow a group of teenage friends (Vassar grads from the 1930s and summer arts camp friends from the 1970s) into their adult lives\u2014personal stories of friendship and betrayal, but also stories of the nation\u2019s changes.<\/p>\n Note: near the end of the semester, the author Rhoda Belleza and her editor, Swarthmore grad Tiffany Liao, will visit our class!<\/p>\n The primary reading list consists of the following 12 authors: 1980s \u2013 1990s: post 2000s: ENGL 052B, An English Literature \u201cGateway\u201d Course: \u201cU.S. Fiction, 1945 to the Present\u201d Fall 2017 Professor Peter Schmidt Introductory description of the course: It\u2019s an old American story: re-invent yourself on the run, without time to think about the consequences … Continue reading
\n1950s \u20131960s:
\nPatricia Highsmith, The Price of Salt<\/em>
\nJames Baldwin, Giovanni\u2019s Room<\/em>
\nErnest Hemingway, The Garden of Eden<\/em> [written in 1950s; published 1984]
\nMary McCarthy, The Group<\/em>
\nMadeleine L\u2019Engle, A Wrinkle in Time<\/em><\/p>\n
\nPaule Marshall, Praisesong for the Widow<\/em>
\nSandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek<\/em>
\nTed Chiang, \u201cStory of Your Life,\u201d in conjunction with the movie Arrival<\/p>\n
\nJunot D\u00edaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao<\/em>
\nMeg Wolitzer, The Interestings<\/em>
\nColson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad<\/em>
\nRhoda Belleza, Empress of a Thousand Skies<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"