20th-Century American Fiction

By: Arnold Weinstein, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Arnold Weinstein

Hemingway. Fitzgerald. Faulkner. These and other giants of literature are immediately recognizable to anyone who loves to read fiction and even to many who don't.

Now, thanks to these 32 lectures, you can develop fresh insight into some of the greatest American authors of the 20th century. Professor Weinstein sheds light not only on the sheer magnificence of these writers' literary achievements but also explores their uniquely American character as well. Despite their remarkable variety, each author represents an outlook and a body of work that could only have emerged in the United States. As such, the aim of these lectures is to analyze and appreciate some of the major works of American fiction, using as a focal point the idea of freedom of speech.

The works you'll investigate here include Winesburg, Ohio (among the most poignant descriptions of life at the beginning of the century); Light in August (which depicts the ravages of racism in the American South); Their Eyes Were Watching God (the first – and perhaps the best – account of growing up black and female in America); Slaughterhouse-Five (a poignant and wacky take of mass destruction and aliens); Sula (an experimental novel that makes rubble out of the conventions of black and white culture); and White Noise (which depicts our encounter with the technological madhouse in which we live).

These American fictions, seen together, tell a composite story about coping, about fashioning both a story and a life. Much is dark in these stories, but the honesty and integrity of these writers makes us realize that reading is as much a lifeline as it is entertainment or education.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1996 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1996 The Great Courses

Great way to find new reads

Good analysis. I use the lectures to identify things I would like to reread (Faulkner and Morrison) and to identify authors I haven't explored yet (DeLillo and Hurston). Great stuff 😀.

Disappointing

when I began this course I hoped to gain some insight into contemporary American Lit, but it seemed that all selections were about sex; after listen to a few lectures he seemed to find sex in every author's work. Highly suspicious and thus disappointing.

Remarkable performance by Weinstein

Deftly navigating a series of brilliant close readings to share a lifetime of study, Weinstein demonstrates a mode of critique that dialectically links critical theory with previous styles of critique that are less suspicious of the text. A must-listen for anyone interested in 20th century US literature or culture.

Weinstein is an artist

Great Courses couldn't possibly be paying this lecturer enough. I never give 5 stars, much less in all available categories. But Prof. Weinstein's lectures not only reveal profound insight into the material, but also shows his diligent prep through his fluency which makes the difficult concepts so very accessible. Truly admirable.

Great Experience

I hadn't read half of the authors discussed in this course but now feel I have a great introduction to their work. I was surprised about the authors that were not included like Steinbeck.