“Maybe you have to go far away/ To learn where it is that names you” suggests poet W.S. Merwin, and there is a long literary tradition of writers writing about their homes while far from them. This course will use modern and contemporary works about Americans abroad as a lens for our introduction to literary studies. Via multiple genres (novels, short stories, essays, poetry and drama) we will consider themes of exile, estrangement, patriotism, and nostalgia as we explore the discipline, practice, and methods of studying literature.

Authors we will read in this class include Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, David Sedaris, and Junot Díaz.