At the end of this course, the students; 1) will be able to investigate how American writers reflected social and cultural life in the post-World War II period, 2) will be able to explore how American fiction responded to the political and social upheavals of the 1960s.
MODE OF DELIVERY
Face to face
PRE-REQUISITES OF THE COURSE
No
RECOMMENDED OPTIONAL PROGRAMME COMPONENT
None
COURSE DEFINITION
This course examines American fiction within the context of various literary currents and major historical events from the 1940s to the 1960s.
COURSE CONTENTS
WEEK
TOPICS
1st Week
Introduction to the Modern American Novel
2nd Week
The American Novel between 1940 and 1970
3rd Week
The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger
4th Week
The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger
5th Week
The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger; Midterm I
6th Week
Introduction to the Southern Grotesque
7th Week
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, Carson McCullers
8th Week
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, Carson McCullers; Midterm II
9th Week
The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
10th Week
The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
11th Week
The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
12th Week
Revision
RECOMENDED OR REQUIRED READING
Bradbury, Malcolm. The Modern American Novel. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1983. Cusatis, John. Research Guide to American Literature: Postwar Literature 1945-1970. NY: Facts on File, 2010. Dickstein, Morris. Leopards in the Temple: The Transformation of American Fiction, 1945-1970. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2002. Donald, Miles. The American Novel in the Twentieth Century. Totowa, NJ: Barnes, 1978. Gold, Herbert. Fiction of the Fifties: A Decade of American Writing. New York: Doubleday, 1959. Hendin, Josephine. A Concise Companion to Postwar American Literature and Culture. New York: Blackwell, 2004. Kershner, R. B. The Twentieth Century Novel: An Introduction. Boston: Bedford Books, 1971. Podhoretz, Norman. Doings and Undoings: The Fifties and After in American Writing. New York: Farrar-Straus, 1964. Schaub, Thomas. American Fiction in the Cold War. Madison: Wisconsin UP, 1991. Tanner, Tony. City of Words: American Fiction 1950-1970. New York: Harper and Row, 1987.
PLANNED LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND TEACHING METHODS
Lecture,Discussion,Other
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND CRITERIA
Quantity
Percentage(%)
Mid-term
2
50
Assignment
1
10
Total(%)
60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)
60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)
40
Total(%)
100
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
English
WORK PLACEMENT(S)
No
KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES (KLO) / MATRIX OF LEARNING OUTCOMES (LO)