ENG 220 Difference, Power, and Oppression in American Literature
Explores the writings of cultures in America that have often been underrepresented in traditional literature courses. Studies literary works that explore issues of difference, disempowerment, and/or oppression--issues that are integral to understanding and appreciating American literature's vibrancy and the nation's history more broadly. Recommended: College-level reading; WR 121Z Composition I; and ENG 104 Literature Fiction or ENG 106 Literature: Poetry is strongly recommended for success in this course.
Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Critically read, analyze, and interpret the literature of underrepresented American writers. Explain how difference is socially constructed. Using historical and contemporary examples, describe how perceived differences, combined with unequal distribution of power across economic, social, and political institutions, result in discrimination. Analyze ways in which the interactions of social categories, such as race, ethnicity, social class, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and age, are related to difference, power, and discrimination in the United States. Identify and analyze complex practices, values, and beliefs, and culturally and historically defined meanings of difference.