December 13, 2013: Semester Recaps: Historical Fiction

[Wednesday is my last day of classes, so all week I’ll be highlighting some AmericanStudies takeaways from the Fall 2013 semester. Add your thoughts and fall recaps in comments, please!]

On three works from my favorite grad class, and the dark American histories they help us remember.

1)      Catherine Maria Sedgwick’s Hope Leslie (1826), and the Pequot War.

2)      Charles Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition (1901), and the Wilmington coup and massacre.

3)      Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2008), and the U.S. relationship with Trujillo.

Special weekend post tomorrow,

Ben

PS. What do you think? Fall classes, work, or other happenings you’d recap?