New World Seminar

Catalog description

The immigrant experience has been richly represented in American literature since the beginning of the 20th c. Numerous narratives, in fiction and non-fiction, chart the dynamics, variations, and stages of the migration experience focused around the ur-concept of the "American Dream” and the process of "assimilation/acculturation" by which immigrants "become Americans," espousing promises of a new life. These diverse narratives constitute a fundamental part of American cultural history. More recent works also challenge the literary canon, defined by national boundaries, questioning mainstream values and representation of American identity. The New World Seminar pays special attention to a complex dynamic of cosmopolitan cities; the pull of cross-continental connections; points of tension characteristic of lives that strive to bridge two worlds, the country of origins and the adopted homeland; and the cultural impact of the massive and prolonged displacement. Many prominent, internationally recognized writers highlight the pain and conflicts resulting from such displacement, but they also explore new options and possibilities contained in the richness of bi-cultural, in-between, and trans-national identities