American University of Beirut
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Department: English
Course Number and Title:
English 226: Contemporary American Literature
Course Learning Outcomes
By the end of the semester, students should be able to do the following:
1.
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3.
4.
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9.
10.
Outline the contemporary literary history of America
Contrast the theoretical aspects of literary genres
Define major literary movements and schools
Compare the characteristics of major literary movements
Identify the connections between contemporary American literature and culture
Apply selected theories of American literature
Summarize an argument
Compare/Contrast the thematic and structural characteristics of literary texts
Write a literary research paper
Interpret major literary works
Resources Available to Students
Required Texts:
Roger's Version, John Updike
Beloved, Toni Morrison
Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo A. Anaya
The Way to Rainy Mountain, N. Scott Momaday
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, Maxine Hong Kingston
The Middleman and Other Stories, Bharati Mukherjee
Selected Poems, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Hayden, Cathy Song, and John Ashbery
Selected Short Stories, Saul Bellow and Raymond Carver
Reserve Material:
The Norton Anthology of American Literature, volumes A, B, C, D & E
The Heath Anthology of American Literature
Bastard out of Carolina, Dorothy Allison
Black White and Jewish, Rebecca Walker
Borderlands: The New Mestiza, Gloria Anzaldúa
Children of the Roojme: A Family's Journey, Elmaz Abinader
The Color Purple, Alice Walker
Corregidora, Gayl Jones
A Curtain of Green, Eudora Welty
A Good Man Is Hard to Find, Flannery O'Connor
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
M. Butterfly, David Henry Hwang
Playing in the Dark, Toni Morrison
Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut
A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams
Through and Through: Toledo Stories, Joseph Geha
Winter in the Blood, James Welch
Sample Tests
Grading Criteria
Attendance and
Class Participation
Reading Quizzes and
In-Class Assignments
Midterm
Research Paper (5-7 pages)
Class Presentation
(5-7 minutes)
Final Exam
10%
15%
15%
20%
10%
30%
Schedule
Week
1
Topic
The Eloquence of
Nostalgia
2
Research Papers
American Realism
3
American Realism
4
Modern U.S.
Minimalism
The Mexican American
Bildungsroman
The Mexican American
Bildungsroman
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
Documentary Viewing
20/10 R. Carver, selected short stories
22/10 R. Carver, selected short stories
24/10 R. Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
27/10 R. Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima
29/10 R. Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima
31/10 Presentations
Immigrant Narratives
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
L. Jeffries, “Roots”
3/11 B. Mukherjee, The Middleman
5/11 B. Mukherjee, The Middleman
7/11 B. Mukherjee, The Middleman
5
6
Activities
Assignments
Presentations
Discussing course
goals & syllabus
Lecture & Discussion
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
Lab. Assignment
Library Tour
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
29/09 No Assignment
1/10 S. Bellow, “Looking for Mr. Green”
3/10 S. Bellow, “Looking for Mr. Green”
6/10 Review, writing a research paper
8/10 Finding and using critical
sources/electronic databases
10/10 J. Updike, Roger’s Version
13/10 J. Updike, Roger’s Version
15/10 J. Updike, Roger’s Version
17/10 Presentations
7
Magic Realism
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
10/11 Presentations
12/11 MIDTERM
14/11 M. H. Kingston, The Woman Warrior
8
Magic Realism
17/11 M. H. Kingston, The Woman Warrior
19/11 M. H. Kingston, The Woman Warrior
21/11 Presentations
9
Native American
Literature
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
Documentary Viewing
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
10
Postmodernism/NeoSlave Narratives
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
11
Postmodernism/NeoSlave Narratives
Tape Viewing
12
13
14
15
16
Surrealism and
Imagism
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
Bessie Smith’s music
Reclaiming History
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
Imagination and
Creation
Idiosyncratic Poetry
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
Printmaking: Kitagawa
Utamaro
Painting: Georgia
O’Keeffe
Lecture & Discussion
Presentations
The Hawaiian
Immigrant Past
Painting and Writing
24/11 N. Scott Momaday, The Way
PAPER TOPICS DUE
26/11 No Class
28/11 N. Scott Momaday, The Way
1/12 N. Scott Momaday, The Way
3/12 Presentations
5/12 T. Morrison, Beloved
8/12 T. Morrison, Beloved
10/12 T. Morrison, Beloved
12/12 Presentations
15/12 E. Bishop, selected poems
PAPER DUE
17/12 E. Bishop, selected poems
19/12 R. Hayden, selected poems
22/12 R. Hayden, selected poems
24/12 & 26/12 No Class
No Class
5/01 J. Ashbery, selected poems
7/01 J. Ashbery, selected poems
9/01 C. Song, selected poems
12/01 C. Song, selected poems
14/01 Concluding Notes
16/01 Review Session
Course Policy
Attendance, preparation, and class participation are a primary requirement. You are
expected to attend all classes, be prepared to discuss the required readings and participate
constructively. You are also expected to use the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers (by Joseph Gibaldi) for writing and documenting your research papers.
Every three late arrivals will be counted as one absence. Excused absences require
advance notice except in the cases of medical or family emergencies. If you miss more
than one-fifth of the class sessions of the first ten weeks, you will be required to
withdraw from the course.
Cheating and plagiarism are serious academic and ethical offenses that will result in the
failure of this course. If you have any doubts about what constitutes plagiarism, please
speak to me or consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.