Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0263 - Literature/U.S. Empire

This course will examine a number of texts (novels, essays, short stories, poems, film, comics) which shaped-and contested-the notion of the United States as an empire from the mid-1850s until the early 2000s, while also complicating the notion of a nationally bound American literary canon. We will read chronologically, with readings clustered around a number of touchstones: western colonial settlement; the Spanish-American Wars; the World Wars; the Bandung conference; the Vietnam Wars; the Cuban Revolution; the Central American wars; and the "War on Terror." Authors will include Mark Twain, Henry James, Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, Paul Bowles, Gloria Anzaldua, and more. Students will write frequent reading responses, co-facilitate discussion, complete two short papers, and undertake an independent research paper that will include a proposal, annotated bibliography, draft, and revision. This course is best suited for second and third year students with some background in U.S. literature and cultural studies.

Independent Work Writing and Research In this course, students are expected to spend 8-10 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time.