Who & What is an American? Reimagining U.S Literature 

This course was taken during my final semester at UNE. It helped to fulfill an elective requirement for my English and Writing minors. I not only took this course for those reasons but mainly because the content being covered sounded really unique and interesting. It combined American literature with historical time periods and events. It allowed me to gain an understanding of how authors as well as poets were able to convey important social issues of their time into their work. Allowing me to analyze and think critically about what does it actually does mean to be an American. 

 

“Who and what is an American? These questions, still unresolved, have driven both creativity and conflict in the United States from the Civil War era to the present. Beginning with Abraham Lincoln’s call in the Gettysburg Address for Americans to complete the “unfinished work” of testing these definitions, then moving forward to the present, this course considers the vibrant and diverse body of texts that constitute literatures of the United States. We will read work that breaks rules and innovates new forms, exploring issues such as race, gender, and class relations; sexuality; immigration; Native survivance; war; and citizenship. Featured authors will include Edward Albee, Charles Chesnutt, Kate Chopin, Stephen Crane, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Maxine Hong Kingston, John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, Luis Valdez, and Zitkala-Sa, among others.”

UNE Course Catalog Description