76-317 Contemporary American Fiction

9 units, Carnegie Mellon University

No one seems to know quite how to define contemporary American fiction. It's clear that fiction has changed since the 1960s and 70s, the heyday of postmodernism, but it's hard to pin down what characterizes the work that has come since. In this course, we will read a selection of American fiction from the 1980s to the present and try to get a sense of its main lines. In particular we'll look at the turn to "genre," the expansion to multicultural authors, and the return to realism. Also, we will consider how it relates to American society. Authors might include authors like Alison Bechdel, Jennifer Egan, Emily St. John Mandel, Weike Wang, and Colson Whitehead.

Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)

Offered: Spring 2027, Spring 2026

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