An introduction to the literature and literary representation of
war. Novels, poetry, memoirs, and film will be read closely for
technique and in order to analyze the capacity of stories and
different genres to convey the lived reality and effects of war
on bodies, psyches, political culture, and national identity.
Athena Title
Literature and War
Prerequisite
ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1103 or ENGL 1050H or ENGL 1060H
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Students will identify the myths, symbols, and tropes that recur in war literature from various genres.
Students will contextualize and analyze examples from multiple literary genres and will practice analyzing literary form and thinking critically about literature and culture. Students will discuss the historical and literary contexts of wars.
Students will reflect on the ethics of “aestheticizing” war and violence and will recognize literature’s (in)capacity to humanize others.
Students will understand the effects of war on national identity and political culture.
Students will understand literature’s role in collective memorialization and forgetting.
Students will practice engaging in collaborative discussion with their peers, in small groups and/or full-class discussion. They will improve their ability to express their ideas cogently and effectively.
Students will improve their abilities to argue persuasively, use textual evidence, and write vigorous prose that adheres to conventional standards of grammar and usage.
Topical Outline
• Violence and Representation
• Propaganda and Entertainment
• Atrocity and Bearing Witness
• Empire and Race
• War, Gender, and Sexuality
• Veterans and Trauma
• Memory and Forgetting
Depending on the instructor, the course may consider literature and war in a particular national, cultural, or historical context (for instance, war and American literature from the Civil War to the War on Terror), or may approach the topic through a particular theme or problem (for instance, the soldier in wartime and peacetime).
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
