Department of English

We are living in a deeply conflicted time, wherein America has elected its first African American President and is witnessing a powerful conservative backlash in the candidacy of Donald Trump. This class will explore the nation's troubled relationship to its multicultural heritage. Focusing on literature and films from the late 20th and early 21st century, the class will study the spiritual of works by African American, Native American, Asian American, Latino, LGBT, Mixed-race identity, and feminist authors and filmmakers. The goal of the class is to foster respect, appreciation, and understanding of the many different cultures that together constitute American identity, while also considering the legacies of racism and biases that constantly threaten to tear the nation apart.