American Literature:

This course introduces students to both the contexts and the texts that have come to shape American literature from its earliest days to the present. We explore differing versions of American identity as they have developed through time and across the genres of prose narrative, poetry, and drama. From John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity” (1630) to Frederick Douglass’ slave narrative (1845), to American’s society’s post-9/11 struggles with what it means to be American, this course engages with the major themes of American literature. These include slavery and its inheritance, the creation of national identity, Manifest Destiny, the idea of the frontier, and American exceptionalism.

Postcolonial Literature:

Postcolonial Literature is often seen as an effort by former colonized people to “write back” to the Western colonizer and thereby contest his rule, language, and authority. However, over the years, even the title of this genre has become deeply contested as some argue that “postcolonialism” is a Western academic term reinforcing Western hegemony. This course enters into and explores the repercussions of this debate by tracing the social, political, and economic effects of colonization as represented by postcolonial authors from the African continent, the Caribbean, Ireland and South Asia.

Postmodernism:

This course explains how postmodernist literature emerged in the mid-20th century and fundamentally reshaped the perception of narrative, identity, and truth. Using novels by authors such Flann O’Brien, Don DeLillo, and Toni Morrison, we engage with literature that breaks from traditional forms, embraces complexity, and reflects the fragmentation and uncertainty of modern life. The course also includes a strong theoretical elements as the works of Derrida, Barthes, Baudrillard, and Foucault, amongst others, are used to examine postmodern ideas such as intertextuality, metafiction, self-reflexivity, playfulness, fragmentation, pastiche and rejection of grand narratives.

Capstone:

This course asks the student to undertake a research project on a literary subject of their choosing. It provides experience in research methods as well as developing project management skills in bringing a project from the embryonic stages to completion.  

Introduction to Literature 1 / Introduction to Literature 2:

These courses introduce a variety of literary styles and genres, analyzed within historical, social, and intellectual contexts. Focusing on literature of all genres drawn from the time of Shakespeare to the present-day, the chosen material in each course is critically examined with specific attention paid to literary features of the text as it relates to social and cultural issues. As a starting point for the study of literature, both Introduction to Literature 1 and Introduction to Literature 2 allow greater depth and insight into understanding the written word for students who have never taken a course in literature before.