Instructor: Ann Bliss, University Writing Program, College of Letters and Science
Description: In this course we will study various works of literature by North American writers that depict war from different perspectives. We will consider how war is viewed by those who fight, those who stay home and those who are the victims of war. This course is intended to give students a way to discuss a difficult subject while promoting critical reading and thinking skills. We currently live in a time of war, but, as yet, we have no way of accessing this war through literature. This class will allow us to address the topic of war from a historical and literary perspective.
Format: The seminar will meet for two hours each week for ten weeks. The time will be divided between informal lecture presentations, discussion, and student presentations. The texts for this course are The Things They Carried, Obasan, Maus I and II, and a course reader available at Navin’s Copy Shop. Grading: Students will be required to write a short analytic paper (4-6 pages) on a topic to be chosen in consultation with the instructor (30%). Students will also be required to give a short presentation an author or text on the day that text is discussed (20%). The remainder of the course grade will be based on an informal reading journal (25%) and the frequency and quality of their participation in class (25%).
About the Instructor: Ann Bliss is a postdoctoral lecturer in the English Department and University Writing Program. Her research interests are in 20th and 21st century American literature and in visual culture. She is particularly interested in how the family photograph functions in contemporary literature. Her interest in the literature of war is a new venture.