English 147 - Winter, 2015

American Literature 1945 to the Present

Class Information

Instructor: Martín, Desirée
CRN: 93566
Time: MWF 10:00-10:50
Location: 118 Olson

Description

Through a reading of texts from 1945 to the present, this course charts several arcs in the postwar United States, such as identity movements and multiculturalism (civil rights, feminism, ethnic identity, queer/gay rights), the rise and fall of the postwar economy, and the changing status of America as superpower. We will consider how postwar literature both reflects and challenges its social and historical context, while considering what, if anything, ties these texts together as 'contemporary'� or 'postmodern'� literature.

Grading

Quizzes/class participation, one short paper, two longer papers, final exam

Texts

Beloved, Toni Morrison
Angels in America, Tony Kushner
The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
Drown, Diaz
White Noise, Don DeLillo
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov