English: ToniMorrisonLiteraryOffspring

Interdisciplinary topics examining issues in twentieth-century American culture. Representative topics include: Poe's Children; The Literary Vampire; Jazz. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Prerequisites: Three hours in English numbered 1010 to 1990; minimum Sophomore standing.

Prereqs: 3 hrs ENGL between 1010- 1990; Minimum Sophomore standing PACE students by permission and override Title: Toni Morrison and her Literary 'Offspring'

Given that Morrison would have turned 95 in the new year, a course devoted to not only her own seminal texts but also those writers and books upon whom she had a clear influence seems timely. While Morrison herself balked at being compared to William Faulkner, Morrison would not deny the impact she had (and continues to have) on younger writers and the American literary canon. This course will begin with four of Morrison’s novels – beginning with her 1973 Sula and ending with her penultimate novel Home (2012) – and then will turn to three contemporary writers (Jesmyn Ward, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, and Percival Everett) whose own work continues conversations begun in Morrison’s work – however, these writers are not derivative – instead they are building upon and responding to questions and issues raised in Morrison’s work and life.