The course will focus on contemporary literature published from 1945 until the present. Significant to the study will be how contemporary authors create an overall sense of identity for their characters and speakers in an increasingly complex society—a society in which the nature of truth is often questioned. Students in the class will interact with a variety of genres and media that reflect the contemporary experience. Texts may include Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Mamet’s Oleanna, Irving’s The World According to Garp, Yoshimoto’s Kitchen, O’Brien’s In the Lake of the Woods, and selected short stories from authors such as Alison, Braverman, Carver, and Oates.

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