Department of English

This class will explore a wide range of contemporary American fiction from postmodernism to ethnic writing. We will attempt to situate literary works within the social and historical context of post-WWII American culture, and look at the ways in which these works address questions of American national identity, the status of the individual, the changing configurations of the family and community, and constructions of race, gender, class, and sexuality. Authors to be read may include Don Delillo, Thomas Pynchon, E.L. Doctorow, Ishmael Reed, Toni Morrison, Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, Sandra Cisneros, Carolyn Chute, Jessica Hagedorn, and David Henry Hwang.