ENGL 253 - Southern American Literature

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: Completion of FW requirement. A study of selected fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction by Southern writers in their historical and literary contexts. We practice multiple approaches to critical reading, and students develop their analytical writing skills in a series of short papers.

Fall 2015, ENGL 253-01: Southern American Literature: Region and the Real South (3). William Faulkner’s 1936 novel Absalom, Absalom! famously demanded, ‘Tell about the South. What’s it like there. What do they do there. Why do they live there. Why do they live at all.’ We might find an answer to this demand in Houston-based UGK’s 2007 instruction to “Quit Hatin’ The South” or in Mississippi native Big K.R.I.T.’s 2013 declaration, “We make it cool to be southern.” From Faulkner to country music to southern hip-hop, the South has long been a contested space, and regional identity has been an important element of its literary production. This class focuses on two main questions: What happens when we consider geographical region as a major element of literary analysis? And how has the region of the South–and the idea of the “Real South”–been constructed in relation both to other regions and to other (less “real”?) Souths? We look at writing from regionalist authors at the turn of the century (Chesnutt, Freeman, Chopin, and others), as well as southern regional writing at mid-century (Faulkner, O’Conner, Walker, Toomer), before concluding with contemporary hip-hop and country music (OutKast, Goodie Mob, UGK, Big K.R.I.T., Yelawolf, Hank Williams, Jr., Bake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Cadillac Three, Brad Paisley, and others). (HL) Bufkin. Planned Offering: Fall