Frequently linked with Updike is the novelist Philip Roth. Roth vigorously explores Jewish identity in American society, especially in the postwar era and the early 21st century. Frequently set in Newark, New Jersey, Roth's work is known to be highly autobiographical, and many of Roth's main characters, most famously the Jewish novelist Nathan Zuckerman, are thought to be alter egos of Roth. With these techniques, and armed with his articulate and fast-paced style, Roth explores the distinction between reality and fiction in literature while provocatively examining American culture. His most famous work includes the Zuckerman novels, the controversial Portnoy's Complaint (1969), and Goodbye, Columbus (1959). Among the most decorated American writers of his generation, he has won every major American literary award, including the Pulitzer Prize for his major novel American Pastoral (1997).
backgrounds of american literary thought pdf
In the forward to a recent book on new theories and methods for studying race, class, and gender, Lynn Weber [6] describes how American women of color in the 1970s and early 1980s, many from working class backgrounds, came to critique the patriarchy tradition within gender studies for privileging gender over race and class (and subsequently critiqued the stratification tradition for privileging class over gender and race, etc.). They argued that these axes of inequality are in fact analytically inseparable, and that "the multidimensionality and interconnected nature of race, class, and gender hierarchies were especially visible to those who faced oppression along more than one dimension of inequality" [6:xii]. These scholars envisioned axes of inequality pertaining to gender, race, and class that intersect with one another, i.e., that are interlocked, dependent upon one another, and mutually constituted [7]. Power relationships along the lines of gender, race, and class were thought to be mutually defining and mutually reinforcing rather than analytically distinct systems of oppression, together forming a "matrix of domination" [8]. By the mid-1980s, lesbians of color had bridged the gap between gay and lesbian studies and the growing body of race, gender, and class research that had to that point ignored heterosexism [6], and axes of inequality pertaining to national origin, citizenship status, religion, disability, and age also received some attention. The contributions of these various scholars gave rise to what is now known as "intersectionality theory." Landry [9] notes, however, that intersectionality theory does not provide a set of propositions that together form an explanation; rather, intersectionality theory currently consists of a loose set of principles or assumptions that are being applied and tested by many researchers in a variety of contexts.
The analysis of a literary work, unlike that of a chemical compound or mathematical equation, often engages the subjective interpretation of the reader. For centuries, scholars, academics and critics have fought over the terms and methods of literary analysis. These divergent views have resulted in the founding of several famous schools of thought, fifteen of which are summarized here.
EMU's master's program in literature combines a traditional, period-focused approach to literature with an emphasis on literary and cultural theory and graduate level research and writing skills. One of the great strengths of the program is the diversity of backgrounds its students and faculty bring to the classroom. Our faculty is globally educated, with international faculty from Canada, Germany and Serbia, as well as faculty who have trained in countries ranging from Switzerland to Jamaica. The program brings together traditional students at the beginning of their careers and non-traditional students advancing to the next stage of their careers. This range of perspectives and career goals creates dynamic classrooms, where lively debates are enhanced by our award-winning faculty's active scholarly agendas. All our classes are offered in the evenings to accommodate students with full-time jobs.
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