LITT 219 20th Century American Writers

3 credits 45.0 hours
200 level undergraduate course

An introduction to 20th century American literature and its roots. What can be traced in that literature is a movement from idealism to cynicism or, perhaps, from idealism to realism. As America grew from an agrarian, small town culture to an increasingly urban and industrialized society, the American Dream of infinite potential and freedom for each citizen was re-mapped, just as the Western movement changed the geographical landscape of America. How the individual - the ‘little guy’ marginalized from self and society - reacted to this aloneness, this powerlessness is the focus of the course. We ask, as a new American century begins, what does it mean now to dream dreams, to endure nightmares? What truths do Americans continue to hold as self-evident in the wake of international terrorist violence and the uncharted seas of a new future? Of what use is literature in this?

Prerequisites COMP*102, COMP*102D, COMP*102E, COMP*112, or COMP*112H

This course is not repeatable for credit.
This course can fulfill a critical studies elective or general elective requirement.