Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0197 - Post-45 U.S. Lit.

This course presents a cultural history of United States literatures from the post-World War II period to the present. We will traverse a range of literary forms (prose, poetry, essay, drama, comics), trends (e.g., postmodernism, Black Arts), and periods (e.g., the Cold War, the Vietnam era, the post-9/11 period). The goals of the course are 1) to familiarize students with both canonical and counter-canonical literary figures, trends, and texts; and 2) to practice skills of close reading and contextualized analysis. Our main text will be The Heath Anthology of American Literature, 1945-present, a revisionist anthology that counters the traditional American literary canon by emphasizing multicultural inclusivity and historical contexts. Students will give an oral/visual presentation, submit to a weekly online forum, and write a series of short essays.

Writing and Research Multiple Cultural Perspectives This course will require approximately 6-8 hours of work outside of class per week.