Contemporary American Literature
Syllabus
This reading schedule (as well as the section titles) is meant to be suggestive and playful only. In the event we find that we need to spend more time on a text/section than originally allocated -- or allow more time for oral reports -- we can adjust our syllabus accordingly. You should also know that one of the signs of a good class discussion is that we will not have time to address all the reading that has been assigned for a certain day. Formally, the class will proceed through discussion, group workshops, and occasional lecturing. Commonly, I will announce at the end of each class the assignment for the next session.
Again, please explore CAL PAL regularly for useful links to contemporary American literature sites, as you prepare for class and research your interests. Many of these sites contain numerous other links. You might also find the (rather skeletal) Theory PAL useful on occasion. — As you find additional sites we should all know about, please let us know!
Take a plunge when you sign up for your oral reports/seminar facilitation, and please clarify the specific focus of your presentation with me in advance (such as, for example, "Neuroscience & Fiction" or "Narrative as Trauma Management After Vietnam"). I have left them purposefully open at this point. I will then also direct you (after you have done your own search) to additional specific sources, if necessary.
| Week 1-2 |
Setting the Stage - What is contemporary/postmodern American literature?
How many are there?
- (PBS), (YouTube) -- Film Screening
- Recommended background:
- Of topical interest
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- ""
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| Week 2–5 |
Divided Loyalties in the Postwar Global Village: The Red Scare II and McCarthyism
Fiction Rocks: Punk Rock, Time, and the (Future) Form of Narrative
- Jennifer Egan, Visit From the Good Squad (2011)
- Goon Squad I ____________________________________ Goon Squad II ___________________________________________
- Of topical interest
- See CAL PAL on Jennifer Egan
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- Footnote: Gilbert Sorrentino, (2011)
- y => gaps/pauses
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- "
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Vietnam - a Nation and Nation Building
- , (YouTube)
- Recommended Background:,
- (The Poetry Foundation)
- Handout, Siria Snounou & Raquelle, Vietnam War Poetry
- Bruce Weigl, "," "," and others
Yusef Komunyakaa, "," ""
Ocean Vuong, "," "y"
Vietnam War Poetry _____________________________________ Vietnam War Novels ____________________________________
- Of topical interest
- Peter Jackson, (2018)
- Vietnam War Poets Reading: ; , ; ,
- Ocean Vuong,
*** Notebook 1 due at end of week 4 ***
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| Week 6–10 |
Minority Reports Becoming Major Voices (selections)
- Film Screenings, (select, time permitting)
- ,
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- (time permitting)
- Martin Luther King,
- Malcolm X, "" (excerpt)
- Amiri Baraka, " ,
Democracy Now:
- Gwendolyn Brooks,
- Tyehimba Jess (on); "
- Malcolm X ___________________________________ Black Arts Movement _________________________________
*** Notebook 2 due at end of week 8 ***
- Of topical interest
- (Sept 19); (Oct 19)
- (NYT)
- Ron Stallworth, (NPR, 6/18), (8/2018)
- ;
- , , (4/18)
- (2/17)
- (1/19)
- Kendrick Lamar, , (from To Pimp a Butterfly); Childish Gambino, ""
- (3/19)
American Literature/Global Literature, or, of Storms and Tigers in the Sundarbans
- Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide (2004)
- Hungry Tide I ____________________________________ Hungry Tide II ________________________________________
Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide & Narrative Form
*** Notebook 3 due at end of week 11 **-
- Of topical interest
- (NYT)
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- Jonathan Franzen, (2019)
- (2019), AG: "" (NPR)
- (Thank you, Amanda!),
- (Oct 2019);
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| Week 11-13 |
Utah on the Map: Chicks, Crotch Rockets, and Performance Art
- Rachel Kushner, The Flame Throwers (2013)
- Flame Throwers I ____________________________________ Flame Throwers II ________________________________________
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- Flame Throwers -- Discussion Questions
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- Of topical interest
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- , , , , , , , (2010, film)
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| Week 13–15 |
Arboreal Protagonists, or, The Terrain of Trees
- Richard Powers, The Overstory (2018)
Overstory I _______________________________ Overstory II ___________________________________
- CAL PAL on Richard Powers
- Of topical interest
- This just in: PBS/News Hour,
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- Richard Dawkins,
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- (1/19)
- (Thank you, Christina!)
- Eadweard Muybridge,
- RP, (NYT, 3/2019)
- Suzanne Simard, - TED talk (June 2016)
- , (NBC, Sept. 2008)
- Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Cary Fowler, , TED talk. July 2009)
- Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species (1859) -
- Alan Weisman, (2007),
- Bartolomaus Traubneck: <=> Rainer Maria Rilke, (1919)
- "a religious conversion": , The Atlantic, 16 April 2019
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| Week 15–16 |
Final Essay and Final Exam Review
Please consult the Editing Checklist for essential pointers regarding your essay.
*** Paper Due Date: Monday, 2 December 2019, 11:30, in class and CANVAS ***
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Additional Information
- For an Editing Checklist, student sample papers, and helpful links visit the Toolbox webpal.
