AMERICAN NARRATIVES

AMERICAN NARRATIVES

Module level: II

Module Leader: Dr. D. Greenald

Module Credit Value: 10 Credit points

Recommended prior knowledge: None

Aims

The module aims might be described as follows:

to give the students the opportunity to develop their reading and understanding of a number of key works of American literature produced between 1850 and the present day
to enable students to develop an understanding of an American literary tradition, and of those social, political and cultural contexts which have influenced that development
to chart the changes and developments in some examples of narrative produced by American writers between 1850 and the present and suggest reasons for these
to identify and explore the constructions of a national identity in literature and also the critique of such an identity by writers writing from the standpoint of racial, cultural or gendered marginality
to explore the connections between American narrative and developments in European narrative and consider cross-currents and influences between the two
to develop individual students’ skill in detailed reading, analysis and discussion of narrative

Indicative Content

The legacy of Romanticism and nature of nineteenth century realism

Social and cultural contexts of late nineteenth century American novels

The nature of regional identity and its influence upon writing and its presence as a theme in American fiction of late nineteenth and early twentieth century

The use of landscape and nature in late nineteenth and early twentieth century fiction

The diversity of voices: civil rights, black writing, women’s writing

Realism and protest in modern American fiction

Specific Texts

H. Melville, Moby-Dick (1851)
E. Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises (1926)
F.S. Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night (1934)
W. Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! (1936)
J. Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940)
J. Baldwin, Another Country (1962)
Toni Morrison, Beloved

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the unit the student should be able to:

demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of the texts studied on the course, and be able to respond independently to issues raised by those texts
describe and evaluate some of the key determining factors in the development of theme and form in the range of texts
demonstrate a knowledge and an understanding of the literary construction of American nationhood as well as evaluating the critique of such constructions by black writers or women writers
provide evidence of having considered the connections between American narratives of this period and developments in European literature
provide evidence of having developed individual skills of detailed analytical reading and questioning, and of being able to articulate views and discuss insights with their peers

Teaching and Learning Strategies

Texts will be studied in blocks of 2 weeks. Lectures will provide essential background information and introduce general issues and perspectives. All texts will be studied in weekly seminar groups with students being encouraged to engage in close analysis of individual passages and discussion of particular issues and questions.
Individual study time will be used for the reading of texts, critical works and the preparation of seminar activities.

Assessment Strategies

The module will be assessed by coursework (60%) and examination (40%). Course work will be one 2000 word assignment related to the texts and topics covered on this course. The examination will consist of a single 90 minute unseen paper, in which students will be invited to write two essays on a range of questions. Some of these will be text specific and some will be general. Students will be assessed on their knowledge of the texts and issues covered in this course and their ability to express and support their critical insights. As appropriate to Level II study, breadth as well as depth will be required.

Bibliography

Required Reading

Bradbury, M., The Modern American Novel, (OUP, 1983)

Cunliffe, M., American Literature to 1900, (Sphere, 1973)

Cunliffe, M., American Literature Since 1900, (Sphere, 1975)

Walker, M., The Literature of The United States of America, (Macmillan, 1983)

Recommended Reading

American Literature V. 32- (Duke University Press)

Auerbach, N., Communities of Women: an Idea in Fiction, (Harvard, 1978)

Bassett, J. (ed), William Faulkner: The Critical Heritage, (Routledge, 1975)

Berkovitch, S., The Cambridge History of American Literature, (CUP, 1993)

Birch, E.V., Black American Women’s Writing: A Quilt of Many Colours, (Harvester, 1994)

Brooks, C., William Faulkner, (Yale, 1978)

Coser, S., Bridging The Americas: The Literature of Toni Morrison, Paule Marshall and Gayl Jones, (Temple, 1994)

Davies, C.B., Black Women, Writing and Identity, (Routledge, 1994)

Donald, M., The American Novel in The Twentieth Century, (David & Charles, 1978)

Donaldson, S., American Literature, (David & Charles, 1978)

Donaldson, S., The Cambridge Companion to E. Hemmingway, (CUP, 1996)

Hamburger, E., American Writers and Radical Politics 1900-1939, (Macmillan, 1986)

Howard, L., American Literature, (Boston Heath, 1955)

Lee, B., American Fiction 1865-1940, (Longman, 1987)

Macebuh, S., James Baldwin: A Critical Study, (Third Press, 1973)

McKay, N. Y., Critical Essays on Toni Morrison, (G.K. Hall, 1988)

Millgate, M., American Social Fiction, (Oliver & Boyd, 1964)

Mills, N., American and English Fiction in The Nineteenth Century, (Indiana UP, 1975)

Morse, D., American Romanticism, (Macmillan, 1987)

Salzman, J., The Cambridge Handbook of American Literature, (CUP, 1986)

Showalter, E., Daughters of Decadance: Women Writers of the fin de siecle, (Virago, 1993)

Walker, A., In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens, (Women’s Press, 1984)

Warfel, H.R., The American Mind, (American Book Co., 1963)

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