American literature: literary multiculturalism
Proposed to be offered next in 1996
E Barry
12 points * 2 hours per week * First semester * Clayton
This subject will examine the diversity of literary modes, styles, conventions, subjects and contexts produced in the western world's largest multicultural society - the `melting pot' of the United States. As part of its theoretical framework, the subject will examine some of the central premises of cultural studies generally and of postcolonial theory in particular. The texts will juxtapose `canonical' Anglo-Saxon writers with a variety of others offering different cultural perspectives on the construction of what it means to be an `American': Native American, African American, Jewish-, Hispanic-, and Chinese-American.
Assessment
Seminar paper, oral presentation (15 minutes): 20% * Seminar paper (2000 words): 20% * Long essay (5000 words): 40% * Seminar participation: 20%
Prescribed texts
Cisneros S House on Mango street Bloomsbury
Cooper J F The Pioneers Penguin
Kingston M H Woman warrior Pan
Ling A (ed.) Imagining America Persea Books (Anthology)
Malamud B Selected stories Penguin
Morrison T Beloved Picador
Morrison T Playing in the dark Harvard UP
Momaday N S The way to Rainy Mountain U Mexico P
Silko L Ceremony Penguin
Twain T The adventures of Huckleberry Finn Penguin