LT 351 - American Expatriate Writers

This course explores how expatriation provided American writers of the 1920s and 1930s with a vantage point from which to critically engage notions of American identity and to shape the definition and development of American literature and culture. It places this literary movement in historical context by considering how the American volunteer effort prior to the U.S. official entry into World War I, literary culture in Paris, and racial segregation in the U.S. were catalysts for the migrations of American writers to France and eventually, for their views of “America” and “Europe.” In addition to reading novels, memoirs, criticism, and news articles, we will watch contemporary film and television that help us think about the visual and cultural production of American expatriate Paris and its enduring appeal.