Most of us in the US understand "American" literature as the work of writers born and raised in the United States, overlooking both the rich literary traditions of Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America and the centuries of political and cultural history we share with those peoples. This course will present the methods and issues involved in studying the literature of the American hemisphere, from the fundamental (what is meant by "America"?) to more nuanced issues of identity and cultural agency, while examining key texts written from 1492 to the present. Our work will be comparative, drawing texts from different linguistic traditions-English, French and Spanish-into dialogue with one another. We will consider both the interrelations of American peoples and the many cultural forms that have developed in response to our common colonial heritage. Topics to be considered include: Colonial Beginnings, Slavery and Its Aftermath, Nation Building, the Frontier, the War of 1898, Afro-American Modernisms, Ghosts in Twentieth-Century Fiction, Latino Writers in the US. Readings may include: Cabeza de Vaca, Mary Rowlandson, Juan Francisco Manzano, Wheatley, Sarmiento, Twain, Palma, Whitman, Cather, Marti, Guillen, Cesaire, Hughes, Faulkner, Rulfo, Morrison, Maryse Conde, Junot Diaz. All readings in English. Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: attendance and active participation, oral presentations, two 5- to 7-page essays, proposal and a 10- to 12-page final paper. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 19). (Cultural Studies)