Research Seminar for Literature Majors (397-0-20)

Topic

City Lit

Instructors

Sarah Dimick

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L28: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

How are cities—marked by aspirations and inequalities, shaped by memories and struggles—written? How do urban environments come to life across novels, poems, and films? This course examines contemporary literature set in Tokyo, Rome, Johannesburg, Chennai, Dakar, Kingston, Chicago, and other metropolises. As we read, we will examine urban genres like flânerie and catalogue narrative strategies used to capture the density of city life. We will ask: Who is visible in these works and who remains in the shadows? How do transportation systems, housing policies, immigration, and weather drive plots and impact characters? To increase our understanding of these cities and their literatures, supplementary readings will draw on urban studies, environmental history, and postcolonial theory. The course builds to a 15-page research paper, allowing each student to select a city and analyze its relation to a literary work.

Evaluation Method

Annotated bibliography, oral presentation, and fifteen-page final paper.

Class Materials (Required)

Readings will likely include works by Miri Yu, Jhumpa Lahiri, Dinaw Mengestu, Garnette Cadogan, Aminata Sow Fall, and Gwendolyn Brooks.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
SoC Humanities and Fine Arts Distro

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Department Majors and Minors Only. No Freshmen/First Years