American Lit the World

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

In an era increasingly marked by globalization, is it still productive to think of American literature and culture as defined by national borders? conventional chronologies? This class asks you to think about American literary history a bit outside of the box—to understand American literature as inherently inventive and capacious, fed by cross-currents coming from afar and deeply connected to the rest of the world. We will explore lines of affinity forward and backwards in time and space, and along different levels of prestige, to relocate American writers both canonical (Irving, Poe, Melville, Whitman, Hopkins, Hemingway, Baldwin), and contemporary (Mengestu, Didion, Lahiri, Blasim, Alexie, Ali, Powers) in new global contexts. Readings will be organized around the essential themes of war, food & drink, differing spiritualities, and travel as we discover the remarkable juxtapositions and surprising literary conversations that jostle alongside one another.