Description
This course will explore the approaches which authors have used to write about the nature, causes, and effects of war throughout the history of literature. The focus will be on the unique capacity of poetry, the short story, the novel, and drama to examine different aspects of war. Students will read representative texts that span from the Trojan War to the Wars in Iraq/ Afghanistan with an emphasis on recurrent themes, conflicts, and images. Topics will include: the nature of honor and heroism, the combat experience and its consequences, moral ambiguity in war, lost innocence, bonds forged by combat, the soldier/officer dynamic, the effect of deployment on families, the challenges of homecoming, the role of memory in trauma and healing, and the functions of war literature itself. Prerequisite: ENG 102.