Studies in Contemporary Literature: Fall 2012 book list

Studies in Contemporary Literature
LTWR 513 Section 01
Wed 5:30-8:15
Mark Wallace
Office Hours: W/Th 3:00-4:00

Texts (in alphabetical order):

Kevin Davies, The Golden Age of Paraphernalia
Junot Diaz, Drown
Debra Di Blasi, The Jiri Chronicles and Other Fictions
Electronic Literature Collection, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (online resources)
Brian Evenson, Fugue State
Gurlesque, ed. Glenum and Greenberg
Bhanu Kapil, Humanimal
Philip Levine, What Work Is
Bernadette Mayer, Scarlet Tanager
Lynn Nottage, Ruined
Patrik Ourednik, Europeana
Rodrigo Toscano, Collapsible Poetics Theater
Ubu Web (online resource)

Note: Many of these books we'll be reading in their entirety, but from some I'll be making selections (specific selections available at a later time).

Course Description: This advanced level multi-genre course will focus on key works and issues in literature produced within the last 20-25 years. Fiction, poetry, drama, and mixed genre work will be considered. Emphasis will be placed on difficult and inventive works, and on exploring the connections and conflicts between differing narrative, poetic, and dramatic structures (both conventional and non-conventional) and the relationship between literary conventions and cultural context. Students will also be required to attend several public literary readings.

It is strongly suggested that undergraduates taking this course have completed 308b or 309b.

General Reading Schedule

Weeks 1-3: Fiction (Diaz, Di Blasi, Evenson)
Weeks 4-7: Poetry (Levine, Gurlesque, Mayer, Davies)
Weeks 8-9: Drama (Nottage, Toscano)
Weeks 10-12 Mixed Genre Work (Kapil, Ourednik, Electronic Literature and Ubu Web collections)