EN2E9/EN3E9 States of Damage: C21 US Writing & Culture
Stephen Shapiro (convenor)
Module Description
The module aims to provide a survey of recent American writing and culture, a period now roughly demarcated by the economic crash of 2008/11. It surveys different modes of American writing (fiction, poetry, social analysis, graphic narrative, video and digital/online media) and focuses on a variety of themes: the individual in a mediatized and information-saturated global market; the uncanny non-death of neoliberalism; state terror and mass incarceration; the return to overt forms of military imperialism; the family as focal point for registering global change, and as site for social reproduction of class struggle; and the (sociopolitical, aesthetic) problem of envisioning future alternatives to the status quo.
likely syllabus for 2022-23 can be read hereLink opens in a new window.
Assessment
Intermediate years:
- 1st 3000-word essay, probably due in week 1 of term 2. Questions hereLink opens in a new window. (40%)
- Citation/bibliographic exercise, due in week 10 of term 2 (20%). Rubric hereLink opens in a new window.
- Critical Graphic Essay, due in term 3 (40%)
Finalists:
- 1st 3500-word essay, probably due in week 1 of term 2. Questions hereLink opens in a new window. (40%)
- Group video essay, due in week 10 of term 2. Rubric hereLink opens in a new window. (20%)
- Critical Graphic Essay, due in term 3 (40%). Rubric hereLink opens in a new window.
2022-23 deadlines:
Please see the Undergraduate English essay pages for deadlines.