Courses for the online MA in Literature Studies Program, Northwestern University School of Professional Studies - Northwestern School of Professional Studies

Program Courses

Please note that course schedules may be amended due to low enrollment, faculty availability, and/or other factors.

All online literature classes (LIT-DL) consist of ten synchronous Zoom sessions held remotely at the time noted in the schedule. Attendance at these sessions is required.

LIT 480-DL : Global Pomo: Postmodernist Fiction in the U.S. and the World

Description

The 1960s and 1970s produced a wealth of new literature, usually labeled "postmodernist," that is innovative, challenging, and fun to read. In this class we will discuss novels and short stories of this period from the United States, Latin America, Asia, and Europe, in order to explore the characteristics of postmodern fiction—fabulation, playfulness, parody, and self-consciousness—and the cultural and social conditions that produced it. Participants will learn the basic concepts and examples of literary postmodernism and will have the opportunity to research and present their findings on other literature and fields of culture of the period (such as art and architecture). Students will hone research and critical skills in discussing these forms of experimental fiction in the context of their times.

Readings may include: John Barth, Lost in the Funhouse; Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony; Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire; Angela Carter, The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr. Hoffman; Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 100 Years of Solitude; Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children, Italo Calvino, If on a winter's night a traveler.

(This course may count towards the Comparative and World Literature or Interdisciplinary Studies specializations in the master of arts in literature program. This course may also count towards the Interdisciplinary Studies specialization in the master of arts in liberal studies program. It may also count as a literature course or elective in the creative writing program. Additionally, this course may count towards certificates of graduate studies.)

Note: This course meets weekly online.