Offered Spring of 2027 (Semester 2)

The feeling of isolation or alienation from society is a basic condition of humanity, and especially of modernity. Accordingly, modern literature is filled with characters who don’t fit in, either because they are defiantly iconoclastic or because society has deemed them an outcast of one kind or another and relegated them to the social margins. This junior/senior comparative literature elective proposes a semester-long exploration of the theme of social alienation. The texts for the course are mostly novels with a sprinkling of short stories, poetry, narrative non-fiction, and films. They address realms such as the relationships between the individual and the state; race, class, gender and sexuality; wilderness and society; and the social pressure to conform to dominant attitudes and values. The course is both a comparative literature and creative writing intensive. As students read about outcasts, iconoclasts, and pariahs, they will write and workshop original poetry and fiction about the same theme.