ENGL 140Contemporary Literature

3 credits · English · Penn State

Writers such as Baldwin, Beckett, Bellow, Ellison, Gordimer, Lessing, Lowell, Mailer, Naipaul, Pinter, Plath, Pynchon, Rushdie, and Walker. ENGL 140 Contemporary Literature (3) (GH)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. ENGL 140 will constitute a wide-ranging study of contemporary literature written in English, including novels, short stories, poems, plays, and prose, written roughly between the end of the Second World War and the present. The class will approach this literature from a variety of thematic, historical, and/or generic vantages. Authors under consideration will vary from class to class, but may include writers such as Baldwin, Beckett, Bellow, Ellison, Erdrich, Delillo, Kingston, Lee, Pynchon, Gordimer, Lessing, Lowell, Mailer, Naipaul, Pinter, Plath, Rushdie, Silko, and Walker. Topics under consideration will vary from class to class, but may include a chronological introduction to the development of contemporary literature, a consideration of a principle theme or themes common to contemporary literature through a number of works from across the period, a consideration of a number of contemporary works in the context of historical events central to the period, a consideration of a number of contemporary works in the context of formal or aesthetic elements common to those works and their various effects. Time allotted for the study of the works under consideration will vary. This class will prepare students for advanced courses in post-modern and contemporary literatures as well as other academic courses that engage in the verbal and written analysis of complex written texts. Students will be evaluated by means of essays written in and out of class, essay exams, term-long reading journals, and class participation. Students should expect to complete a minimum of three written assignments in the course of the term. The course may be used as English major elective credit or as credit towards the English minor. Non-English majors may use this course to fulfill a General Education or Bachelor of Arts/Humanities. The course will be offered once a year with 60 seats per offering.