This course will survey a few major works of postmodernism, the most prominent American literary movement since World War II. Postmodernism is a widely used, even cliché term, that appears in such a wide variety of disciplines, including architecture, art, philosophy, religion, sociology, history, film, and, of course, literature. Students, therefore, undoubtedly use the word “postmodern” without really knowing what it means.
We’ll read a few theoretical essays, which will provide some grounding in the history and development of postmodernism’s ideas. Then we’ll read three “postmodern” novels, Don DeLillo’s White Noise, Tim O’Brien’s In the Lake of the Woods, and Louise Erdrich’s Tracks. These novels, as you’ll see, are innovative in form; sometimes violent and other times funny; often questioning American culture’s relationship to science and technology; and nearly always questioning the functions of language, narratives, and stories.
Instructor: David McGlynn, assistant professor of English, Lawrence University