ENGL 2309

In this course, we will embark on an introduction to the study of American literature in all its complexity, investigating key texts, writers, and literary movements of the U.S.A. Through periods of both triumph and crisis, America's writers examine what holds the country together—and warn against the forces that threaten to tear it apart. By studying selected works and paying attention to the voices that both defined and challenged how the country understood itself, we will explore the characteristics and contradictions comprising America’s literary and national identity.