From its beginning the United States has perceived itself as a nation of immigrants, but this phrase obscures the fact that a significant minority of Americans are descendants of forced migration from their native lands to Indian reservations, southern plantations, and later urban areas. Sharing a history of dislocation and discrimination on the one hand and political and cultural resistance on the other, immigrant and minority writers imagine and give voice to an alternative, culturally diverse American nation. In this course we will study works by Native American, African American, Chicano, Jewish, and Asian American writers as well as a couple of movies (Hester Street, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing and Sherman Alexie’s Smoke Signals) that give literary and cultural expression to the themes of diaspora and home(land); integration versus segregation; family and violence; memory and identity; intercultural and generational conflict and reconciliation; gender, race, and ethnicity. We will also study a few influential essays on migration and identity.
Rooster
The timetable will be available from June 1st on the Internet.
Onderwijsvorm
Two-hour tutorial per week.
A la carte- en contractonderwijs
Not available as modular course or a la carte.
Leerdoelen
This course aims to develop students’ skills in literary critical analysis through in-depth reading of literary texts and a few films. It also aims to extend their understanding of the relationship of these literary and visual texts and their social-historical and cultural contexts. Students will be asked to share analytical views on the assigned texts in class discussion and in a short oral presentation. After some extra training in research skills, students will set up their own research project for the long essay they have to write at the end of the course.
Literatuur
*Louise Erdrich, Tracks (Harper Perennial). *Thomas King, Green Grass, Running Water (Bantam). *Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Ballantine). *Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon (Vintage). *Anzia Yezierska, Bread Givers (Persea Books). *Maxine Hong Kingston, China Men (Vintage). *Lan Cao, Monkey Bridge (Penguin). *Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street (Vintage). *Richard Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory (Bantam). *Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss (Grove Press).
Toetsing
Oral presentation and participation in class discussion (25 %) and research essay of approximately 4000 words (75 %).
Informatie
English Department, P.N. van Eyckhof 4, room 102c. Tel. 071-5272144. English@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Blackboard/webpagina
This course is supported by blackboard.
Overzicht
Week 1: Introduction: Hester Street_
Week 2: Yezierska_
Week 3: Haley
Week 4: Rodriguez
Week 5: Cisneros
Week 6: Kingston
Week 7: Erdrich
Week 8: Smoke Signals_
Week 9: King
Week 10: Cao
Week 11: Desai
Week 12: Morrison_
Week 13: Do the Right Thing_
Week 14: conclusions