How to Read the Present? Literary Forms of 21st Century America. 4219-SC0026
The central aim of the course is to introduce students to the diversity of genres, themes, and possible classifications within twenty-first-century literature, as well as to teach them how to interpret literary texts in relation to wider contexts of American society. Through the analysis of selected texts, students will learn to apply a range of theoretical frameworks drawn from different critical traditions, such as New Criticism, Queer Theory, and Marxism, using them to develop and support their interpretations. Ultimately, the course encourages students to continue exploring contemporary American literature that is not yet part of the canon. It gives the participants orientation in major tendencies, movements, and authors, and equips them with tools to formulate and articulate their own critical perspectives.
The course adopts a practical, skills-based approach, emphasizing hands-on work in literary analysis. Students will engage with a smaller number of texts through close and sustained reading, organized into thematic clusters spanning two to three class sessions. Particular emphasis will be placed on close reading, in-class analytical exercises, and discussion. Students will read short literary texts as well as two novels over the duration of the semester. The students’ reading of one chosen novel will form the basis of a final group presentation, in which students will apply the analytical tools introduced in the course to produce an in-depth interpretation of their selected text. The work on this project will be a guided process subject to helpful consultations and feedback sessions from the teachers before the final deadline.
Term plan (The specific texts from the suggested examples are subject to change and will be selected with a consideration for students' preferences):
1. Introduction + the New Criticism interpretation method on the example of a poem.
2. The short story
3. Poetry
4. Novel (fragment)
5. In-depth discussion of one novel.
6. In-depth discussion of one novel part 2.
7. Introduction to literary approaches to Feminist Criticism and Queer Theory
8. Introduction to literary approaches to Feminist Criticism and Queer Theory part 2
9. Introduction to New Realism
10. Introduction to New Realism part 2
11. Guided group work on end-of-term presentations.
12. Group consultations of en-of-term presentations.
13. Presentations with feedback from the whole group.
14. Presentations with feedback from the whole group.
15. Presentations with feedback from the whole group.
Course coordinators
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
Knowledge:
*The student possesses comprehensive knowledge and understanding of cultural products of contemporary U.S. literature and its characteristic historical, social contexts, as well as the understanding of processes guiding contemporary cultural, social and political life in the United States.
*The student knows and understands the terminology of the study of literature, selected methods and research tools, selected theoretical traditions and schools of thought, as well as directions of development to the study of contemporary literature for researching cultural and literary phenomena in the United States
*The student knows and understands the social specificity of the United States and how multiculturalism and multi-nationality of its inhabitants condition the dynamics of cultural development and potential difficulties in such development
Skills:
*The student is able to formulate and discuss complex problems relating to contemporary American literature, drawing on their ability to select appropriate sources and methods necessary for understanding the processes and mechanisms of cultural production.
*The student is able to apply their theoretical knowledge to describe and analyse contemporary cultural phenomena occurring in the United States.
* The student independently analyses texts from various literary genres (short stories, novels, poetry, essays) using a range of different methods (queer theory, ecocriticism, etc.)
* The student develops skills in independently gathering and selecting information, as well as structuring said information in order to coherently defend their own views.
Social Competences:
* The student is capable of organizing and participating in teamwork.
* The student takes part in discussions, being able to competently justify their views.
* The student is prepared to engage with literature critically.
* The student recognises the value of literature beyond academic contexts (in social and political contexts) and understands the importance of independent study in the field of contemporary literature.
Assessment criteria
1. Group presentation of a novel (25 points)
2. Preparation for the presentation (25 points)
3. Two short responses - written in class (2 x 15 points)
4. Attendance and active participation (20 points)
Grading scale:
0-60 points – 2
60-70 points – 3
71-75 points – 3,5
76-85 points – 4
86-90 points – 4,5
91-95 points – 5
96-100 points – 5 !
Bibliography
Primary Sources (the list is subject to change. The teachers will also be receptive to the group's preferences):
DeLillo, Don. Zero K. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016.
Everett, Percival. James. New York: Doubleday, 2024.
Foer, Jonathan Safran. Here I Am. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016.
Franzen, Jonathan. Crossroads. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021.
Long Soldier, Layli. Whereas. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2017.
Marcus, Ben, ed. New American Stories. New York: Vintage Books, 2015.
Moshfegh, Ottessa. My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Dublin: Penguin Random House, 2021.
Nelson, Maggie. The Argonauts. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2015.
Rankine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2014.
Orange, Tommy. There There. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018. (fragments)
Saunders, George. Vigil. New York: Random House, 2026 / or selection of stories
Shapland, Jenn, My Autobiography of Carson McCullers. New York: Tin House Books, 2020.
Wallace, David Foster. “E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction.” Review of Contemporary Fiction 13, no. 2 (1993): 151–194.
Vuong, Ocean. selection of poems
Secondary texts (fragments):
Butler, Judith. This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019.
Butler, Judith. Who’s Afraid of Gender? New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024.
Genette, Gérard. Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method. Translated by Jane E. Lewin. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1980.
Greenwald Smith, Rachel. Affect and American Literature in the Age of Neoliberalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Jameson, Fredric. The Political Unconscious: Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1981.
Kelly, Adam. New Sincerity: American Fiction in the Neoliberal Age. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2025.
Manshel, Alexander. Writing Backwards: Historical Fiction and the Reshaping of the American Canon. New York: Columbia University Press, 2023.
Snitow, Ann. A Feminism of Uncertainty. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2015.