In "The American Novel Since 1945" students will study a wide range of works from 1945 to the present. The course traces the formal and thematic developments of the novel in this period, focusing on the relationship between writers and readers, the conditions of publishing, innovations in the novel's form, fiction's engagement with history, and the changing place of literature in American culture. The reading list includes works by Richard Wright, Flannery O'Connor, Vladimir Nabokov, Jack Kerouac, J. D. Salinger, Thomas Pynchon, John Barth, Maxine Hong Kingston, Toni Morrison, Marilynne Robinson, Cormac McCarthy, Philip Roth and Edward P. Jones. The course concludes with a contemporary novel chosen by the students in the class.
Introductions
Richard Wright, Black Boy
Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood
Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood (cont.)
Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
Guest Lecture by Andrew Goldstone
Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (cont.)
Jack Kerouac, On the Road
Jack Kerouac, On the Road (cont.)
J. D. Salinger, Franny and Zooey
John Barth, Lost in the Funhouse
Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49
Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye
Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior
Marilynne Robinson, Housekeeping
Marilynne Robinson, Housekeeping (cont.)
Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian (cont.)
Philip Roth, The Human Stain
Philip Roth, The Human Stain (cont.)
Philip Roth, The Human Stain (cont.)
Edward P. Jones, The Known World
Edward P. Jones, The Known World (cont.)
Students' Choice Novel: Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is Illuminated
Students' Choice Novel: Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is Illuminated (cont.)
Review for Final Exam