Course : American Novel from the 1960s Onwards
Course code : ENL601
(ΛΕ155) - Θεοδώρα Τσιμπούκη
Course Description
63ΛΕ155 Αμερικανικό μυθιστόρημα από το 1960 έως σήμερα
The American Novel from 1960s onwards
- Novels taught will be handed out to registered students by the teacher
| In this course we examine several landmark novels and examples of short fiction by representative authors of American literature from the 1960s until today. We take into account the aesthetic trends and formal models affecting the selected authors, as well as the multifaceted and composite character of the United States as a nation. Proceeding largely in chronological order, the sequence of readings is divided thematically. The selected novels are examined in relation to the way they oppose or reflect a world where civil movements and rights, war, terrorism, capitalism, and the increasing globalization forces destabilize and deconstruct the notion of Americanness. |  |
Upon completion of the course students should have either learned or reinforced the following objectives:
- An appreciation for the full range of American literary and artistic production during the second half of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st, along with specific knowledge of certain works and authors.
- An awareness of historical events, socio-cultural developments, and artistic movements that provided material, themes, and inspiration for writers of this period.
- The ability to critically engage a variety of texts, both verbal and visual, to ask interpretive questions, to formulate arguments and claims and to react to others’ ideas about literary devices, styles, and structures.
- The skills to research critical responses, synthesize them with their own, and produce persuasive pieces of academic writing.
Weekly sessions will be conducted in the form of lectures structured around the selected material; students are expected to come prepared to address the day’s material and participate in class discussions.
Evaluation will be based on the following criteria:
-Class Participation: 10%
-Two papers, 4-5 pages each: 25% each
1. close reading of a novel discussed during weeks 1-6.
2. close reading of a novel related to the material discussed during weeks 7-12).
- Final Exam: 40%.
Alternatively, if your maximum number of total absences will not exceed four class meetings AND you have completed both research papers ontime, you can submit a film review instead of taking the final exam.
As for the final exam, the exam questions are designed to invite comparisons of several novels, so it is important that you have completed the required readings.
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* Literature * Jamaica Kincaid, Lucy (1990) Cormac McCarthy, The Road (film) Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987) Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade (1969) Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 (1961) David Foster Wallace, "Oblivion" (2005) |
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Theoretical Texts:
John Barth, “The Literature of Exhaustion”
Fredric Jameson, “Theories of the Postmodern,” Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism
Bernard Duyfhuizen, “‘Hushing Sick Transmissions’: Disrupting Story in The Crying of Lot 49,” in New Essays on The Crying of Lot 49
Philip Gleason, “Identifying Identity: A Semantic History,” The Journal of American History (1983)
William Gleason, “The Postmodern Labyrinths of Lot 49,” Studies in Fiction 34 (1993)
Hans Varghese Mathews, “Uses and abuses: Baudrillard, simulacra and America,” Phalanx 2, (2008)
Brian McHale, “From Modernist to Postmodernist Fiction: Change of Dominant,” in Postmodernist Fiction, Chapter 1 (3-25)
Bruce Robbins. “Upward Mobility in the Postcolonial Era: Kincaid, Mukherjee, and the Cosmopolitan Au Pair”
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Date |
Material |
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Week 1 |
General Introduction and Overview. American Culture and Literature after the IIWW + From modernity to postmodernity Fredric Jameson, “Theories of the Postmodern,” Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (pp. 54-64) |
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Week 2 |
The Cold War at the dawn of the 1960s Thomas Pynchon, Crying of Lot 49 Chapters 1-3 |
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Week 3 |
Thomas Pynchon, Crying of Lot 49 (to the end) |
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Week 4 |
John Barth, “The Literature of Exhaustion” Brian McHale, “From Modernist to Postmodernist Fiction,” Postmodernist Fiction (3-25) Baudrillard, America (extracts) |
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| Week 5 | Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughter House 5 (1969) | |
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Week 6 |
Slaughter House 5 (cont.)
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Week 7 |
The Intersection of Race and Gender in the 1980s Novel Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987) |
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Week 8 |
Toni Morrison, Playing in the Dark (in docs) "Beloved": Reception History (in links) |
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Week 9 |
Toni Morrison, Beloved (con.) |
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Week 10 Week 11 |
Jeffrey Eugenides, "Extreme Solitude" (2010) Eugenides, "Bronze" (2108)
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Week 12 |
Post-apocalyptic Fictions Cormac McCarthy, The Road [text+ film] |
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Week 13 |
Conclusion |
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Agenda
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