American Literary History II
This course is a continuation of American Literary History I, although students who have not taken the previous coursｅmay take this one. In this survey of American novels, dramas, poetry, and non-fiction from the end of the 19th century to the present, multi-ethnic literature after the 1960s will be emphasized. As the dominant White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) culture weakened, especially after World War II, alternative and diverse values emerged in fresh and dynamic literary forms by authors of various ethnic backgrounds. We will examine critically identity problems, religious conflicts, changing gender-roles and such ethnic controversies as African-American, Asian-American, Jewish-American, and Native- American cultural movements.Students will be expected to think critically about serious problems of these minorities in the United States. A few films will supplement the readings to illustrate major issues of life in America. Lectures will be in English and Japanese.
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