A comparative study of two influential early 20th century American writers, this course (re) examines well-known and less familiar works in light of Wharton's and Cather's aesthetic theories as well as recent criticism. Despite divergent professional and personal lives. Wharton and Cather converge suggestively in the intersections between realism and modernism, fiction and autobiography, creative standards and career demands. gender roles and social expectations, architecture and nature, Europe and America. We will read pairs of Wharton/Cather texts (such as The Bunner Sisters/Alexander's Bridge and Custom of the Country/The Professors House), screen several film versions of novels, and write three papers. Please contact lhall@english.upenn.edu for additional information.