ENG 3320: American Literature, 1890-Present
In this course, we will be reading, exploring, and studying representative works of American writers from 1890 to the 21st century. We will consider the cultural contexts that inform the literature we are studying as well the literature’s influence on its own culture and how it might speak to our times. This is a reading-intensive course and covers an extensive range of genres: poetry, drama, and several novels. Assessment for the course will be based on participation in class discussions and the creation of individual websites on which students will maintain an ongoing blog in response to the assigned readings. Pre-requisite: ENG 1100. Once you have completed this course, you should be able to:
  • Identify and explain how aspects of American identity intersect with other cultural and literary concerns;
  • Understand how cultural, technological, and political conditions provoked and impacted what people wrote and how they read;
  • Understand how an author's use of characterization, setting, point of view, imagery, and other literary elements convey meaning in written texts;
  • Read thoughtfully and thoroughly, and express your interpretations about literary texts both orally and through writing.