Dr. Fagan 3 credits

          This course explores the most recent developments in American literature, focusing particularly on the idea of “fracture.” We will study the literary impact of elements of postmodernism in a variety of texts that are, in one way or another, fractured. Some examples will include narratives that take on the concept of fractured narrators, characters, and identities, and others will play with narrative modes that formally fracture the reading experience, such as story cycles and metatexts. Still others will present themselves as materially fractured, both intentionally and unintentionally, arriving to readers in multiple, competing versions. As we explore these divisions, splits, and fault-lines, we will ask how the theme of fracture uniquely describes the contemporary moment in American literature. Authors may include David Foster Wallace, Raymond Carver, Rosario Ferre, Matthea Harvey, Dave Eggers, Trey Ellis, Tim O’Brien, Suzan Lori-Parks, Mia Kirshner, and Mark Marino.             

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