English 45C

Other Readings and Media

Achebe, C.: Things Fall Apart; Conrad, J.: Heart of Darkness; Hosseini, K.: The Kite Runner; Morrison, T.: Beloved; Ramazani, J., et al: The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry (Volume I): Modern Poetry; Silko, L.M.: Ceremony; Woolf, V: Mrs. Dalloway; Course Reader

Description

This survey course of literature in English from the mid-nineteenth century to the present will consider a variety of literary forms and movements in their historical and cultural contexts. We�ll read literature in English not only by English and European American writers, but by Irish, African, Native American, African American, and Afghanistan American writers. We�ll consider the literature of colonization and imperialism and the counter literature that it inspires. We�ll examine recurrent transcultural themes: the relationship between past and present, surviving historical trauma, the transmission of oral traditions and indigenous epistemologies, and the influence of notions of race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and gender on subject formation. We�ll also do close readings. There will be three two 5-page essays, a midterm, and a final examination.