ENG 48A: American Immigrant Narratives - Literature of Migration in the USInstructor: Howie Tam Prerequisites: None Course Description: With its essential role in U.S. society and history, immigration figures prominently in the American literary canon. This course traverses varied immigrant tales of twentieth-century and contemporary United States, set in the frontier of westward expansion, the Golden West, and the Eastern Seaboard. Some classics of this vast cultural corpus will anchor our critical inquiries into subject and nation formation, citizenship, and marginalization under powerful political forces both at home and abroad. We will engage with major works of fiction of various genres (novel, short story, poetry, and film) along with scholarship tracking and theorizing American society's changing attitude toward issues of migration over a century. By probing the complex aesthetic modes and narrative strategies in these texts, we will investigate deeply felt impacts of ever-shifting American cultural politics shaping immigrant experiences. Assignments include close reading, critical analysis, and progressive steps toward a final research paper. Session: Session II Day: M, T, Th Time: 1:50pm - 4:20pm Credit Hours: 4 Credits Course Format: Remote Learning Course for Summer 2026 Brandeis Graduation Requirement Fulfilled: DEIS-US, HUM, WI Enrollment Limit: Course Classification: Undergraduate Level Course Course Tuition: Course Fees: None Open to High School Students: Yes |
