Course Description from Syllabus – Jessica Hoover
Introduction to Ethnic American Literatures
Ethnicity. What is it? What does it mean to be Slovak American? American Indian? Irish
American? African American? Jewish American? How does one experience being any one of
these? What does literature by “ethnic” authors tell us about identity in America and how
ethnicity, in particular, shapes how we tell stories? How it shapes historical perspectives? And,
what about what is on the other side of that hyphenated identity – the “American”? What does
that mean in such an increasingly diverse nation? These are some of the questions that guide us
this semester as we read and discuss samplings of contemporary American ethnic literature for
both adults and young adults: poetry, novels, music, film, and scholarly articles. Through these
venues, we will examine the history, depth, and persistence of the complex cultural attitudes
toward race and ethnicity in America. We will analyze the elements of the texts, as well as
understand and problematize the idea of these texts only being considered to be representational
of “ethnic” or “ethnicity.” While these texts do, indeed, demonstrate a unique perspective of
ethnicity and representation, as well as ideologies within our society, they are also pieces of
literature that display humanness and history that should be revered and acknowledged for their
contributions to the literary canon. Another aim of this course is to provide a general introduction
to fiction and nonfiction in both adult and young adult literature, including an examination of the
major literary movements, periods, techniques, and genres, as we will be reading and conducting
analyses of short stories and novels from different historical periods and cultures. In this course,
you will not only learn about ethnic literatures and their elements, but you will also get an
opportunity to open your mind and understanding of the homogeneity of our nation and the
social issues that are most prominent in our society, as well as the aesthetic styles that said texts
portray through their lenses of ethnicity, race, and culture.
This course will help you do the following:
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Develop critical judgments and analysis skills of ethnic works.
Understand literary meaning, form, value, terms, and themes.
Understand textual analysis of ethnic texts.
Be able to recognize the theoretical concepts of race and racism, as well as ethnicity that
influence the creation of ethnic literature.
Inspect and understand the crucial connections between historical eras and events, and
the creation of the literary works.
Learn to interpret literary texts within various historical, philosophical, and cultural
contexts, studying a wide selection of canonical and non-canonical texts from different
literary periods.
Inspect and understand the crucial connections between historical eras and events, and
the creation of the literature.
Expand your critical understanding of ethnic, as well as racial identity, and how it is
constructed and reconstructed by individuals and groups over time.
Develop tools that help with critically analyzing any literary text.
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Broaden experiences through imagination, empathy, and engagement with diverse
narratives and perspectives.
Understand the reciprocal relationships between literature and culture, becoming aware
of the ways that literature effects culture and that culture effects literature in turn.
Discern the difference between themes in Adult and Young Adult Literature
Stimulate and teach strategies for critical thinking, active learning, interactivity,
collaboration and communication among students.
Gain strong writing, and analytical, skills.