Much of this literature is appropriate for use in the high school classroom. All texts were written in the twentieth century, although some portray periods prior to that time. Emphasis is on characteristics of style, politics, and culture evoked in these works and aspects of contemporary literary theory pertaining to African literature today. The focus of this course is on relationships between culture and society as works by three groups of Americans are considered against historical, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Discussion may concern questions of identity, family, initiation, politics and ideology, education, gender, aggression, and violence.
Special attention is paid to the novel as a popular art form in aesthetic and social terms.
Women as a force in society are the focus of this cross-discipline course. The political, social, and economic issues concerning women are subjects for student research. Areas explored include anthropology, business, education, history, literature, philosophy, psychology, sociology, science, and the arts. The roles of church, politics, family and nature are discussed in this sampling of Latin American fiction. The course offers an introduction to the literature through the major themes of different geographical and cultural areas of Latin America.