Unit name | American Revolutions |
---|---|
Unit code | ENGL30108 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Theo Savvas |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of English |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit, exploring twentieth-century American literature, aims to give an overview of the richness of the ‘American century’ by focusing on moments of social change, protest and activism, and the ways in which they were represented by and / or effected through literary and cultural movements. Drawing on a range of sources – from speeches to novels, nonfiction prose to drama, poetry to journalism – it will encourage students to think about what is at stake in literary representation; how literature, theory, and action might intersect; and how contemporary ‘America’ and its literatures have been formed through cultural and political ‘revolutions’ through the twentieth century.
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
1 x 1 hour seminar
1 x 1 hour lecture
1 x 1 hour discussion / workshop
Lola Ridge, The Ghetto (1918)
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (1962)
James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time (1963)
Michael Herr, Dispatches (1977)
Gloria Anzaldua, Borderlands / La Frontera (1987)
Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States (1980)