AMST 40201 - American War Literature

Institution:

University of Notre Dame

Subject:

American Studies

Description:

American War Literature is multifaceted, highly charged with personal agonies and national interrogations. Viewed as a broad field, these texts offer opportunities for diverse research into national ideology, the views and interpretations of the enemy, the accounts of interior conflicts, and the historical moments that shape these tales. How should we read works that contemplate collective and individual violence? What kinds of analysis and historical recovery bring us to points of understanding and meaning? Our panoramic explorations will include the canonically familiar such as Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative; the Civil War poetry of Whitman and Melville, and The Red Badge Of Courage by Stephen Crane; the more recent such as Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse- Five, and Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried; and the ongoing such as writings from the wars in Iraq. Our texts will serve as entry points for aesthetic, historical, and theoretical studies aimed at illuminating the functions and values of war writing in the United States. This course will require several short papers, a long final essay, and active student participation.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nd.edu

Phone Number:

(574) 631-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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