This course orients students in the concepts underlying literary trends from 1900 to the present and enables them to analyze these trends within their historical and cultural context. Examining trends reveals the evolution of concepts underlying shifting literary themes such as self and identities; gender, race, and sexuality; immigration and citizenship; memory and memorial culture; nature and the environment. This inquiry demonstrates how texts and writers engage in dialog with their time period and an increasingly global literary culture. Prerequisite: GRMN 203 or higher or placement.