ENH2420

Contemporary American fiction

E Barry

8 points
* 2 hours per week
* First semester
* Caulfield and Clayton

Objectives On the successful completion of this subject, students should have developed a familiarity with some of the major works in contemporary American fiction, an understanding of the cultural issues (including those of race, gender and class) which find expression there, and an awareness of the theoretical and technological issues in reading them appreciatively.

Synopsis This subject will explore the rich field of contemporary American fiction. As a product of a self-consciously multi-cultural society, contemporary fiction in the United States reflects the diverse cultural traditions and social concerns of the American people. Texts reflecting the role of African American, Native American, Chicano, and Asian American cultures within mainstream American life will be examined. In terms of narrative form, contemporary fiction ranges from the traditional to the experimental. Hypertexts have extended the written word into multi-media fictional creations. While the main focus of the subject will be on the individual texts themselves, attention will also be given throughout to the cultural matrix from which they come, as well as the issues of literary theory and technical and technological experimentation which they raise.

Assessment Seminar paper (15 minutes, 1500 words): 20%
* Library/writing exercise (2500 words): 40%
* Exam (2 hours): 30%
* Seminar participation: 10%

Prescribed texts

Cisneros S The house on Mango street Vintage Contemporaries
Doctorow E L Ragtime Fawcett
Don deLillo White noise Picador
Hypertext: Michael Joyce Afternoon
Kingsolver B Animal dreams Harper
Kingston M H The woman warrior Picador
McCarthy C All the pretty horses Picador
Morrison T Beloved Picador
Silko L M Ceremony Penguin Viking
Wolff T The Picador Book of contemporary American short stories Picador

Preliminary reading

Balakian N and Simmons C (eds) The creative present: notes on contemporary American fiction
Bradbury M and Ro S (eds) Contemporary American fiction
O'Donnell P Passionate doubt: Designs of interpretation in contemporary American fiction
Snyder L Hypertext: The electronic labyrinth