American Social Protest Literature

Catalog description

This course explores the long tradition of non-violent social protest in American literature. We examine how many writers have challenged their contemporaries to become aware of important issues - race, women's rights, Native American activism, the environment, war, and poverty. Students keep a journal in which they reflect on the literature and develop strategies for changing themselves and the world around them. A final project asks students to consider ways to raise awareness about a social issue at the University or in the larger community. Selected writers include Stowe, Davis, Thoreau, Crane, Douglass, Steinbeck, King, Wright, and Ginsberg.