1:00p-2:15p TR (30) 3 cr.
Since America's beginning, authors have used print media to create an
American character and
a national identity. Often the American subject has been defined in
contrast to a "negative
other," a Native American, African American, Hispanic American, Asian
American, Jewish
American, Irish American, etc. However, since the dawning of the
civil rights era, writers
increasingly have delineated their identities in relation to their
ethnicities, creating a
more diverse and productive American subject identity. This course
surveys outstanding
examples of ethnic American literature--fiction, plays,
autobiographies, and essays.
Readings will introduce the student to a variety of ethnic-American
literature and stimulate
important questions about stereotyping, voice, race, and ethnicity.
Students will keep a
reading journal, write several short papers and one long paper, give
one group presentation,
a take a final exam.
Tentative Reading List:
Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
Michael Patrick Macdonald, All Souls: A Family from Southie
Barbara Rico and Sandra Mano, editors, American Mosaic:
Multicultural Readings in
Context
Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony
David Henry Wang, M.Butterfly
John Wideman, Brothers and Keepers