HENB01402U English - Elective 3, topic 2: Different Worlds in Contemporary American Literature

What happens when there are several ‘worlds’ represented in a literary text? What if they collide or would seem to cancel each other out? What if characters cross over from one to the other? What if authors do?

In this course, we will look at epistemological and ontological levels of literary texts and discuss the ways in which contemporary American writers allow and sometimes flaunt the crossing of boundaries between different worlds in their fiction. We will discuss relevant theories by Patricia Waugh, Brian McHale, Erin James and others, and apply them to such literary texts as Ronald Sukenick’s The Death of the Novel, 1969, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, 1987, Nicole Krauss’ The History of Love, 2005.