America is a World

Reading series from April to December 2015

I got this reading list from the Bread Loaf School of English. It is a intensive summer course taught by Professor Nash.The course description is as follows: "In this course we will explore fiction by authors of various ethnicities that examines the issues of interaction with and integration into “American life.” Under that broad rubric, we will discuss a range of topics including the processes of individual- and group-identity formation and erasure; experiences of intergenerational conflict; considerations of the burden and promise of personal and communal histories; examinations of varied understandings of race, class, and gender; and interrogations of “Americanness.” Grounding our discussions in a common historical text, Ronald Takaki’s A Different Mirror, we will examine works by Sherman Alexi, Arturo Islas, Philip Roth, Julie Otsuka, Jhumpa Lahiri, Junot Diaz, and Dinaw Mengestu."

TEXTS
Ronald Takaki, A Different Mirror: A Multicultural History of America - April and May
Julie Otsuka, The Buddha in the Attic - May
Julie Otsuke, When the Emperor Was Divine - June
Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven - July
Arturo Islas, The Rain God - August
Philip Roth, The Human Stain - September
Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake (Mariner) - October
Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - November
Dinaw Mengestu, How To Read the Air - December