English Literature: US Literature - Culture & Value: Revolution to Empire – (M.Sc.)

The course examines a range of US literary and historical contexts, introducing ways in which the production of an idea of 'America' is variously achieved and contested between 1776 and the present. It asks students to consider the ways in which key texts - literary, cultural, political and philosophical - have contributed to the development, interrogation and revision of notions of American identity and culture. A particular focus is on the relationship of literature and criticism to problems of national historiography.

Students who successfully complete this programme will gain:

* a detailed knowledge of a range of literary writing that responds to and informs concepts of American identity;
* an understanding of the role of political and ideological structures in the production of national historiographies;
* a grounding in the research methods of literary studies.