Course details

Name: ENGL - 338

Title: CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN FICTION

Section: 01

Semester: Fall - 2017

Credits: 3

Description:
In this course we will explore a selection of fiction writing from the late 20th century and early 21st century. We will consider a variety of themes, such as Cold War conformity and the individual, immigration, and transgressions of norms. Our readings particularly emphasize issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality. We will consider a variety of genres. A common theme in all our readings is the construction of “reality.” In these texts the “real world” may not be what it seems, and characters may have different presentations of themselves in public versus in private, and at the extreme, even take on alter egos. We will explore how these authors use such themes of subterfuge and deception to comment on our social order and get us to question our “common-sense” understandings of society as actually based in particular assumptions and adherence to norms. Authors we consider may include Philip K. Dick, Percival Everett, Chang-rae Lee, Ruth Ozeki, and others.

Schedule: Monday From 2:30 pm To 5:00 pm

Graduation requirements:

• Any Literature (1e)
• Genre Study (Fiction)
• ()
• ()
• Other American (TE 1d)
• Post-1900 (1d)
• Ethnic Studies (3b)
• Class Issues (3d)

Teaching Faculty: Cheng Emily (chenge)

Is course canceled: No