This course investigates some of the most important novels, short stories, and memoirs from what many consider to be the most dynamic and original literary movement to come out of the United States. Ranging from the 19th-century to 20th-century modernism, situated at the crucial juncture where oral traditions meet the written word, “Southern Literature: Language and Culture” focuses on the many “Souths” that narrate cultural forms of value and justice. It crosses lines demarcating race, gender, religion, and sexuality to look anew at histories of cultural formation in relation to political struggle, as well as language battles (at the origins of rap music), documentary film, food culture, and family rituals. Faulkner is revealed as part of a literary pantheon comprised largely of women and writers of color, including Chesnutt, Chopin, Hurston, Wright, Crews, Toomer, Faulkner, Porter, McCullers, O’Connor, Welty, and Walker.