Correspondence Directory

Majors and Courses of InstructionEnglishdiscussion of just what American literature means, it will address questions common to otherliterature classes, yet asked with a different resonance: What makes a text literary? How arerace, culture, and gender represented in literature? What are the connections between myth andcontemporary literature? What is the relationship between oral and written literature, and betweenartistic expression in writing and other artistic/cultural expression? What are the intersectionsand dissonances between Native American literature and U.S. literature? The course will bring tostudents’ attention in at least some specificity the tribal affiliations of the authors presented, and willintroduce students to resources for learning more about Native American literature, culture, andhistory. F.360. Early American Literature (Carpenter, Poremski)Studies in American Literature from the beginnings to the nineteenth century. May include notonly the traditionally studied works of the Puritans and eighteenth-century non-fiction writers, butalso popular works such as narratives of Indian captivity, Gothic tales, and narratives of seduction.362. Nineteenth-Century American Literature (Carpenter, Poremski)Studies in American literature from post-Revolutionary times through the Civil War to the turnof the century. May include not only the traditionally studied works of the American Romantics,Transcendentalists, realists, and naturalists, but also slave narratives, the sentimental novel, localcolor writing, and other popular forms of writing. F.372. Modern American Literature (Caplan, Carpenter)Studies in American literature from the early twentieth century to World War II. Focusing onselected poets and/or novelists, this course will examine the central tendencies of Americanmodernism. Attention will be given to understanding both innovations in literary form and thecultural significance of innovative works. Poets may include Eliot, Frost, H.D., Hughes, Moore,Pound, Williams, Stein, and Stevens. Novelists may include Anderson, Cather, Faulkner, Fitzgerald,Hemingway, Hurston, West, and Wright. S.374. Contemporary American Literature (Caplan)Studies in American literature since World War II. Focusing on selected poets and/or novelists, thiscourse will explore the formal and cultural diversity of contemporary American writing. Authorsmay be studied in relation to various social movements or centers of literary activity. For the poets,these include: the New York School, Black Mountain College, the San Francisco Renaissance,confessional poetry, objectivist poetics, and Language writing. For the novelists: existential realism,the civil rights movement, feminism, anti-war protest, meta-fiction, and postmodernism.(Not offered 2011-2012)Independent Study 490. Independent StudyPrerequisite for non-majors: one ENG course at the 200 level or above with a grade of B or higher.Regular courses may NOT be taken as Independent Studies.491. Directed ReadingsPrerequisite for non-majors: one ENG course at the 200 level or above with a grade of B or higher.Regular courses may NOT be taken as Directed Readings.121