120059 PS Literature: Introductory Seminar (304) (2009S)

While the modern literary scene in the South was dominated by male writers (Faulkner, Wolfe, Warren etc.), the contemporary literary scene is "inhabited" by female writers, such as Welty, McCullers, O'Connor, or, more recently, Anne Tyler, Lee Smith, Alice Walker, Bobbie Ann Mason or Josephine Humphreys.
In this class, we will try to find out about cultural concerns common to southern women of different backgrounds. Sense of place and history, issues like race and family, questions of emotional development and identity will be at the centre of attention. The place or placelessness of individuals in their families is a major concern in the texts chosen. In contrast to earlier writers, these female authors have de-romanticized the image of the Southern family. No Southern belles or black mammies can be found in their depiction of family life. Instead, more realistic, "ordinary" characters make up these life stories.
We will deal with novels and their film adaptations, as well as with short stories, poetry and drama.