ENGL 2730 - American Literature, 1920 to Present

Credit Hours: 3.00

Objectives:

1. Identify key elements of a Modern text, including its shift to experimentation in structures and form.
2. Provide meaningful descriptions of the characteristics of Modernism.

Outcome 2:
Upon completion of this course students will be able to understand and critically evaluate the concepts of Social Realism, Neo‐Romanticism, and Existentialism through examples found in 20th Century literature.

Objectives:

1.  Study and analyze literature representative of the Great Depression and pre‐WWII America.
2. Examine socially relevant works in various genres of 20th Century literature.
3. Explore the psychology of characters in literature as representative of the psyche of post‐WWII Americans.

Outcome 3:
Upon completion of this course students will be able to identify and articulate the concepts of Post‐modernism in American Literature.

Objectives:

1. Read and discuss literary works characteristic of post‐WWII America.
2. Examine the pattern of development of the American novel since WWII.
3. Study and analyze the use of Realism and Experimentation in Post‐modern and Contemporary Literature.
4. Explore the shift in all areas of American Literature to a less structured and more open form.

Outcome 4:
Upon completion of this course students will be able to read and analyze diverse and multicultural voices in 20th and 21st Century literature.

Objectives:

1. Recognize and discuss the influence of the various Rights movements of the late 20th and 21st centuries.
2. Explore various new voices and genres.
3. Recognize the growth of Neo‐romantic interest in Experimentation in poetry of the period.
4. Note the role of film as a mode of extending literature to an increasingly visual‐oriented America.

Outcome 5:
Upon completion of this course students will be able to write papers that combine literary analysis with standard documentation format.

Objectives:

1. Shape a controlling idea for each paper, stated in an introduction.
2. Develop the controlling idea for each paper in a body, using appropriate support and evidence.
3. Organize each paper appropriately, unifying paragraphs by means of topic sentences, linking paragraphs by a variety of transitions, and arranging the main points effectively.
4. Summarize the controlling idea of each paper in a conclusion.
5. Document sources used for each paper according to standard format.

• Communication: The graduate can communicate effectively for the intended purpose and audience.
• Critical Thinking: The graduate can make informed decisions after analyzing information or evidence related to the issue.
• Global Literacy: The graduate can analyze human behavior or experiences through cultural, social, political, or economic perspectives.
• Information Literacy: The graduate can responsibly use information gathered from a variety of formats in order to complete a task.
• Quantitative Reasoning: The graduate can apply quantitative methods or evidence to solve problems or make judgments.
• Scientific Literacy: The graduate can produce or interpret scientific information presented in a variety of formats.

1. Definition: What are the identifiable literary characteristics of literature in the 20th and 21st centuries?
2. Reading the Literature.:
   1. Modernism in 20th Century Literature.
   2. Post‐WWII Literature.
   3. Harlem Renaissance
   4. Post‐modern Literature of the 1960s and 1970s.
   5. Neo‐romanticism and Neo‐modernism.
   6. Experiments in Poetry.
   7. Socially Relevant Drama.
   8. Significant voices, styles and techniques in Contemporary Literature.
3. The Writer’s System of Values.:
   1. Common Themes.
   2. Historical Developments.
   3. Shift to Experimental Literature.
   4. Socio‐Economic Backgrounds.
   5. Multiculturalism.
4. The Writer’s Conception of the World:
   1. Movement toward Satire as a Weapon.
   2. Fragmentation of Literary Texts to Reflect the World.
   3. Creation of New Forms (antinovel and antihero) to Reflect the New World.