Studies in Multiethnic American Literature (380-0-20)

Topic

Coming to America: The Languages and Literatures o

Instructors

Ivy Wilson

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 214: Mon, Wed 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

This undergraduate course examines contemporary ethnic American literature through a comparative lens, with attention to how race, migration, and colonialism shape literary expression in the United States. Drawing from Black, Latinx, Asian American, Indigenous, South Asian, and other diasporic traditions, the course explores how writers engage questions of identity, belonging, memory, resistance, and community across differing historical and political contexts. Students will analyze fiction, memoir, poetry, and hybrid texts, with some introduction to critical theory, in order to consider both the distinctiveness and interconnectedness of ethnic American experiences. Particular emphasis will be placed on comparative reading practices, relational frameworks, and the role of literature in responding to systems of power, exclusion, and cultural formation in contemporary America. Writers may include Chimamanda Adichie, Gloria Anzaldúa, Michael Chabon, Sandra Cisneros, Jhumpa Lahiri, Tommy Orange, Ocean Vuong, among others.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for English and Creative Writing students.