This course examines the American myth of the outsider in the twentieth century. The outsider paradoxically stands at the center of the American novel, and we will query this lonely figure cast as an emblematic American. Starting with The Great Gatsby’s paradigmatic incarnation of the outsider set against a nativist American vision, our readings will trace this figure into changing historical and cultural circumstances. We will read novels by Ernest Hemingway, Willa Cather, James Weldon Johnson, and Nella Larsen, among others, and we will also screen two films: Rebel without a Cause and Taxi Driver.
fulfills requirements
Sector 6: 20th Century Literature of the Standard Major
last updated: March 9, 2015 - 11:19am