Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0219 - Novels of U.S. Empire

This course will examine how the novel has shaped-and contested-the notion of the United States as an empire from the late 19th century to the early 21st, while also complicating the notion of a nationally bound American literary canon. Most of the course will focus on three novels, each of which represents (and to some extent critiques) U.S. economic and military imperialism in the 20th century: Rachel Kushner's Telex from Cuba (2008), Abdelrahman Munif's Cities of Salt (1984), and Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer (2015). These realist novels inhabit quite different points of view, and each one deals in complex ways with the lived experience of empire and resistance: Telex from Cuba narrates the coming of the Cuban Revolution from the point of view of white women and children living in the US commercial colonies in eastern Cuba in the 1950s, as well as Cubans of many stripes; Cities of Salt narrates the arrival of American oil business in the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s from the perspective of displaced and transformed Arab communities; and The Sympathizer narrates the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam in the 1970s from the perspective of a Vietnamese Communist double agent exiled to California. To enhance our understanding, we will closely read these novels next to primary sources and critical work from the fields of history, American Studies, cultural studies, gender studies, and literary studies. Students will write frequent critical response papers, co-facilitate discussion, and undertake an independent research essay that will include a proposal, draft, and revision. This course is best suited for students with some college-level background in U.S. literature, history, and/or cultural studies. Keywords:America empire imperialism novel Cuba Vietnam Saudi Arabia

Art and Politics Students should expect to spend 6-8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time Books: Title:Telex from Cuba Author:Rachel Kushner ISBN:9781416561040 Cost:17.99 Title:Cities of Salt Author:Abdelrahman Munf ISBN:9780394755267 Cost:19.95 Title:The Sympathizer Author:Viet Thahn Nguyen ISBN:978-0-8021-2494-4 Cost:$17.00