Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Explores twenty-first century and contemporary literatures in English. May Include late twentieth-century literature. The course may cover the role of new media, transnational perspectives, contemporary critical theory, and emerging and/or mixed genres such as the graphic novel. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course examines 21st-century fiction and poetry from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, within the frameworks fin de siècle, millennialism, and globalization. Is the year of publication the only criterion of the class 21st-century or does the term presuppose current subject matters, rhetorical and narratological styles, forms, structures, and voices that are representative of the age? Can works published this century be considered truly 21st-century when their authors were born long ago in the last century? The Window Seat, and Other Stories (2009) by Archie Weller (1957- ) features original stories and stories previously published in the last century. Janet Frame (1924-1994) wrote the novel In the Memorial Room (2014) in the 1970s, but stipulated it not be published until after her death. Weller is an Indigenous Australian whose stories address cultural, territorial, and social issues facing first peoples in Australia. In Chappy (2015) Maori novelist Patricia Grace (1937- ) focuses on Daniel, who in trying to reconnect with his culture discovers the relationship of his Maori grandmother and Japanese grandfather. In Medicine Walk (2014), Ojibway novelist Richard Wagamese (1955-2017) explores the relationship between sixteen-year-old Franklin Starlight and his estranged alcoholic father, Eldon, now that he is dying. In Forage (2007), Canadian poet Rita Wong (1968- ) addresses the current environmental crisis in reference to transnational corporate domination. Lectures consider representations of culture, nature, and voice in these works of fiction and verse as typical of 21st-century digital production.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: