Présentation

Following S1 survey class, this course will resume literature after WWI, including compulsory readings for the lectures, ranging from the 1920s to nowadays (Gothic, The Lost Generation, The Beat Generation, Confessional Poetry, American Science-Fiction, Western Fiction, African-American Women in Literature, Literature during the AIDS Crisis, Post 9/11 Literature), and guided text commentary in classes.

Suggested reading (in no particular order):

• Maya Angelou, And Still I Rise (Poem collection)
• John Steinbeck, Of Mice & Men
• Armistead Maupin, Tales of the City or The Normal Heart (Larry Kramer) + film
• Michael McDowell, Blackwater
• Katherine Paterson, Bridge to Terabithia (children's literature)
• James Baldwin Giovanni's Room (queer literature)
• ee cummings, “I Carry Your Heart With Me” (poem)
• Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie
• Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
• Art Spiegelman, Maus
• T.S. Eliot, “Marina” (poem)
• Langston Hughes, “I, Too Sing America” (poem)
• Mary Oliver, Wild Geese
• N.Scott Momaday, “The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee” (poem)

Continuous grading

Skills

• Identify the different trends of 20^th- - and 21^st -century US literature
• Summarize the main elements of a text: characters, setting, narrative voice, focalization…
• Understand the structure of a text
• Introduction to text analysis
• Share and discuss your thoughts on your readings