4:00p-5:15p D (30) 3 cr.
This course will survey a number of texts with the intention of
examining how “America” is
imagined and portrayed. This is not a “masterpieces” course, although
all of the works we
will read have their own unique literary merit. Instead,we will focus
on the text as it
performs the cultural work of creating individual, communal, and
national “identity.” The
critical issues of race, gender, class, and the relation between
“citizen” and “nation” will
move us toward understanding competing national narratives and how we
strive to understand
ourselves in and of “America.”
Requirements: Two short papers and a take-home exam.
Texts: Course Reader, My Antonia, Dharma Bum,, Their
Eyes Were Watching
God, The Great Gatsby, The Sound and the Fury,
Beloved, ...And
the Earth Did Not Devour Him.