American Literature: 1865-1945

Catalog description

This course examines the development of American literature from the end of the Civil War through the end of World War II. The course will pay particular attention to understanding literature within historical, social, political and psychological contexts. Fiction and poetry will be the central elements of the course, though drama, essays and memoir may be included. Students will also interact with literary criticism related to the primary texts studied. The significant literary movements, or modes, of realism, naturalism and modernism will provide a framework for the course.