This module introduces students to some representative twentieth-century texts of American Literature in the genres of narrative prose, drama, and poetry. It examines how each text engages with the issue of American identity and enquires into its historical context. Topics covered include individualism and self-invention; community and familial conflict; the effects of war and imperial expansion; the growth of the city and the problems of urban living; the creative possibilities and social tensions of a multicultural society. Students are encouraged to consider how these forms of experience are given distinctively American literary expression, through narrative point of view, dramatic scene, and poetic voice.

Carla J. McDonough, Staging Masculinity: Male Identity in Contemporary American Drama (McFarlane & Co., 1997)
Christopher Beech, The Cambridge Introduction to Twentieth-Century American Poetry (C.U.P., 2003)
Ashraf H. A. Rushdy, Remembering Generations: Race and Family in Contemporary African American Fiction (U of North Carolina P, 2001)

Library holdings; VCR/DVD; OHP

The Blackboard virtual learning environment will be available (where relevant) to support this module. Details will be supplied in the module handbook.

Delivery is by a mixture of lectures, independent study groups, tutor-led seminars and student-led seminars. Lectures provide contextual information, summarize critical debates and suggest alternatives for interpretation; tutor-led seminars involve close-reading of texts and discussion of interpretive issues. Students will work in small groups to make a seminar presentation combining critical views with textual and contextual analysis. They will then each write a reflective commentary evaluating the strategies involved in preparing and giving the presentation.

1 X 1000 word essay [LO 1-3]
1 x 500 word reflective commentary [LO 4]