American Crazy: Four Myths of Violence and National Identity (FYS)
ENGL 150F
Fall 2021 not offered
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Among the industrialized nations of the world, the United States has long had unusually high levels of crime, violence, and imprisonment. This course will explore five especially prominent cultural explanations for American violence. We will consider the origins of these explanations in American myth and history, and we will investigate their appearance in literary expression, journalistic reporting, popular culture, and social science. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
Major Readings:
James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice
Truman Capote, In Cold Blood
James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans
Kathryn Derounian-Stodola, ed., Women's Indian Captivity Narratives
James Dickey, Deliverance
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave Penguin 014039012X
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God HarperPerennial 0061120065
Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time Fawcett 0449210820
Simon Ortiz, From Sand Creek
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin Norton 0393963039
Richard Wright, Uncle Tom's Children
and additional selected songs, readings, and films
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Examinations and Assignments:
This will be a writing intensive course. Students will complete five short essays (3-4pp), with revision, and a longer, research project (8-10 pp). |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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