ENG 330 Studies in Special Topics: Literature of War |
Modern Literature of War
A character in Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam Novel, Going After Cacciato, comments that “things may be viewed from many angles. From down below, or from inside out, you often discover entirely new understandings.” This course will examine the age-old theme of conflict in general and war in particular (WWI and Vietnam) as viewed from various angles and presented in different literary and media forms (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and film). We will also study the biographical, literary, historical and cultural contexts in which the various works are written. Through research, panels, readings, critical papers, films, slides, and discussion, our principal goal will be an in-depth assessment of the literary treatment of this major theme across time and genres. Writers and texts studied in this class will be Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness; Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front; Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms; Graham Greene, The Quiet American; World War One British Poets; Bao Ninh, The Sorrow of War; Tim O’Brien, Going After Cacciato; Pat Barker, Regeneration; and Larry Heinemann, Paco’s Story.
Prerequisite: One English Literature course, taken at Wabash.