English

ENGL5144Poverty and American Literature (O)3 ch (3S) [W]
A striking feature of the United States is the weakness of its welfare state. One reason for this weakness is many Americans' belief that welfare recipients fall into the category of the undeserving poor: citizens who are responsible for their poverty. This course explores literary texts that address causes and effects of poverty and grapple with the problem of representing it. The course asks questions like the following: How have the aesthetics of poverty changed since the early twentieth century? How might writers represent the poor without abjecting them?

Prerequisite: B+ average in ENGL; open to ENGL Honours students.