This course will study American literature and culture during the Great Depression (1929-1939), focusing on how art responded to this extraordinary period of acute class and race consciousness, and examining the responses of the American people and their leaders to modernity’s apparent collapse. We will read and analyze a variety of types of responses to the crisis: historical documents, first-person narratives, photographs, fiction, memoirs, and movies, paying particular attention to the art that emerged from public arts programs funded through the patronage of FDR and the New Deal. We will also consider how the controversies of the 1930s continue to have an afterlife in contemporary life.
Please use the comment space below to introduce yourself to the class!
Hello everyone! My name is Candi Metzger. I am an English/Journalism major in my junior year and I'm trying to catch up on the English classes I need to take. This semester I have about 20 books to read, therefore, I told my family I will see them in May. It's nice to be in class again although I miss sleeping in already. I will see you all in class!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Nick Henard. I am an English graduate student from ASU. I am interested in American literature of this period, so am therefore greatly looking forward to the reading list. I hope everyone else enjoys the semester as well.
ReplyDeleteHello! My name is Tyler McBride, and I'm an English and Journalism major. I've taken more many more English literature classes than I have American literature classes, so I'm looking forward to this semester to get a look at some American writers. See you in class!
ReplyDeleteHey Everyone!!! I'm Landry Underwood! I'm a Sophomore... I'm and English/ Creative Writing Major/ Pre-Law!!! I took a class last semester With Dr. Hinrichsen and loved it, so I decided to take another one of her classes! I am also really into History and the Literature written in major historical time periods!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm from Choctaw, Oklahoma! I'm an only Child, and I'm an AOII at The U of A!!! :)
Hello! I'm Rachel Hancock, born and raised in El Dorado, AR. At 25 years old, I am the youngest of four children. My oldest sibling is closer to my mother in age than he is to me (people often thought he was my father). I'm looking forward to this semester, especially when I will have graduated in May. I'd like to apply to the graduate program here, so if any of you have any advice I'm all ears!
ReplyDeleteHi! I am Rachel Hawryluk , and i am a junior at the university! I am an english major here, and hope to do the MAT program after my senior year in order to be a teacher one day : ) I grew up in Dallas my whole life but recently my dad and mom had to move to New York City for my dad's job so Christmas breaks are spent in the Big Apple which is very new, different, and fun ! I am a Pi Phi here on campus and live in the house. Interesting fact: I have a pet bunny named Bunbun who is currently living at my boyfriends house since Pi Phi doesn't allow pets haha..needless to say he does not like being a college guy with a fluffy bunny living in his room.I am excited about the class because I have yet to take an english class about american authors. Ok See ya in class!
ReplyDeleteDear cyber-class:
ReplyDeleteHey, there. I'm Brandie. Right now, I'm sitting in Kimpel's writing lab, enduring some pretty intense stink-eye action. I just printed about sixty pages of syllabi and required readings from blackboard, and I get the feeling that if I print one more page, the moderator's brain is going to explode.
In other news: My new roommate is moving in this Friday. She seems to be thoughtful and friendly, so I'm super excited. I'm 3-3 for awful roommate experiences right now. The first was a mooch who never paid for anything and invited a 38 year old woman he met online into my apartment for Thanksgiving weekend. The second refridgerated my peanut butter and canned goods and terrorized my dog. The third... I can't even summarize the misery of living with her in one sentence. But I promise, it sucked. So, I'm really hoping this new roommate works out.
About me: I'm originally from Elkins, AR, which is 20 minutes away from Fayetteville but feels like it might as well be another world. I like camping, hiking, and taking a canoe out on the river. I also enjoy baking, scrapbooking, reading/writing, and gardening. I'm a pretty big nerd when it comes down to it, and I'm pretty awful at telling jokes. In conclusion:
Love,
Brandie
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ReplyDeleteHey everyone! I'm Laura Cox. I'm a new, English grad student this semester. I'm from Hot Springs, and I studied English at OBU. I spent the summer teaching English in Kosovo and decided that is what I want to do with my life (teach English, not necessarily overseas).
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to getting into the reading list. It's going to be a great class!
Hi classmates! My name is Molly Carman, and I'm an English graduate student. Fun facts: I am the second of seven children, and I grew up on a summer camp. I like to read all kinds of books, but my favorites are children's and YA lit (especially Harry Potter). I'm trying to get into the MAT program because I want to teach secondary English.
ReplyDeleteHey all. My name is Josh Kimrey, I am also an English major, Creative Writing emphasis. I wish that we could have a Creative Writing major, so I could stop saying I am an English major, Creative Writing emphasis. On the other hand, I do enjoy long and unnecessary titles.
ReplyDeleteI'm 26 years old, and I was at the University for a couple of years out of High School, but had to drop out so I could work and pay rent and get married and get a mortgage and all the good stuff adults are wont to do. I promised myself that the next time I went back to school to finish my degree, it'd be my one focus. After 4 years of doing a couple of jobs I really didn't enjoy, and realizing that without a degree, those kind of jobs are all I could do, I decided to come back to school, and here I am.
I have never read any of the lit in this course (not even "To Kill a Mockingbird"! GASP) so I'm looking forward to finding out out what all the hubbub is. I am well into As I Lay Dying, after misreading the syllabus, and am enjoying it far more than I expected (I've never been a big Faulkner fan). I'm looking forward the discussion.
Have a good evening, see you all on Friday.
Hi all. I'm Brittany Evans, a Junior English major from Hot Springs, AR. I'm really looking forward to delving deeper into this class! Both the works and the history really interest me, so it should be a good time..
ReplyDeleteUmm random, fun facts: I could eat macaroni and cheese every day. I love sparkly earrings. HUGE Steelers fan. I love making lists and crossing things out when I'm done. Oh, I always make room for dessert. See you around!
Hello fun class! I have so enjoyed reading all of your posts about yourselves! What an interesting group of people!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Mollie Webb. I am a 5th year (SUPER SENIOR!!!) English and Communication major. While most of my closest friends have graduated to move on to bigger and better things, I am so glad that I have taken an extra year!
I am from Benton, Arkansas, and I think it is just about the best place in the whole world! However, I took a trip to NYC with my family during Christmas break and fell in love with the city!
I am a resident assistant (RA) on campus in a freshmen and sophomore dorm. I love it because I have gotten to relive freshman year every year with them! They are just so excited to be here and it is so fun to watch them grow and adapt to college life.
Random facts: I am a big Dallas Cowboys fan. And a big Hogs fan too. I enjoy musicals (Hairspray, Hair, and Wicked are my favorites). And my car's name is Toya.
I'm excited to be in the class and I have a feeling it's going to be a great semester!
Good afternoon...
ReplyDeleteBut I digress...
My name is David Koehler. I'm a junior majoring in English and Anthropology, with a minor in Religious Studies. I'm from Sherwood, AR, and am the youngest of four boys and (since everyone else is sharing interesting facts) the thirteenth consecutive male in my family.
I've always been interested in southern literature, and since the Great Depression had such a powerful impact on the south, I thought this would be a really great class to take.
Thanks,
David
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ReplyDeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Laura Porter and I'm a freshman English major with maybe a minor in marketing. I'm from Hamburg, a small town in Southeast Arkansas. I've always loved writing and literature since I was a child. My mother graduated from U of A with an English degree and now teaches senior English. I hope to one day become a lawyer and work with writing contracts. I'm excited about the class and can't wait to dig into the material!
I hope everyone has a marvelous week.
Hi everyone!
ReplyDeleteI am Rebekah Holyfield and I'm a junior majoring in English. After I graduate, I hope to get into the MAT program so I can become a high school English teacher. I am very intrigued with the works from the Great Depression so I am really looking forward to this class!
Have a wonderful night!
Hey everybody,
ReplyDeleteI'm Daniel Ford, a junior English and Spanish double major with pre-law tendencies. At least for now.
As for the interesting things about me, I guess the most interesting and unexpected aspect of my life is that I'm in a rap group. In fact, a fellow member of my group, Helen Cox, is also in this class. You all should ask her about it. In other news, my mom is disappointed in my extracurricular activities. Go figure.
What attracted me to this class was the reading list. I love Grapes of Wrath and As I Lay Dying and have been wanting to read some other books on the list for quite some time. I'm pumped.
- Daniel Ford
Hello, everyone! I'm Amanda Edgar. I'm in my second semester as a graduate student in the COMM department, where I study film and cultural studies and teach COMM1313 in my spare time. Before moving to Arkansas, I got a master's in theatre (music theatre emphasis) from a tiny University called Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas. I came to U of A to increase my marketability as a (someday) professor. I plan to continue my studies by working towards a Ph.D. in comparative literature and cultural studies.
ReplyDeleteI am probably being (just a little) boring, so I'll wrap up by saying I have a husband and two cats in Springdale. . . and I love the culture of the 30's. . . and I love studying classes of the opressed. Looks like I've come to the right place! :)
It's so wonderful to read all your introductions! We'll start our regular posting shortly....for now, check out the William Faulkner on the web links in the next post!
ReplyDeleteHey everybody! I'm Liz Hall and I'm a junior majoring in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. I'm pretty excited about the class, I've been wanting to read some of these books for a while.
ReplyDeleteI'm from Mountain Home, AR, which isn't interesting at all. Something that IS interesting is that I have the memory of a goldfish, which, incidentally, is why I'm doing this today. Whoops!
Hello class. I was just looking at the links posted on Faulkner and realized I had forgotten to introduce myself on this post. Oops. Well here it is...My name is Meghan Lee and I'm a junior majoring in english. I'm from Houston, TX. Originally I was biochemistry major and I did that for two years before I realized I absolutely hated it. My dad keeps telling me I'm going to starve the rest of my life majoring in english but I would rather starve then have to convert isotopes anymore. Looking forward to the class.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Greg Goddard and I am a junior English major at the University of Arkansas. When I was young, I would catch crawdads with a net in a creek down the street at a park with my friend, Zach. Nowadays, I don't do that anymore.
ReplyDeleteBeing an English major, I am naturally in the process of writing multiple epic books; for all thirteen of them, think Lord of the Rings meets Sherlock Holmes meets Star Wars fan-fiction meets Anna Karenina. Chances are I will be rich in the future due to thirteen obvious reasons.
I came from Saint Louis but now live in Fayetteville with my grandpa and grandma and we frequently chill.
I really enjoy reading books and decided to become an English major so I could learn how to read books correctly.
I am looking forward to this class and am excited to read books which reflect my grandpa's mindset. Maybe I will finally begin to understand why he lets leftovers rot in the fridge forever and yells at me when I try to throw them away.
hey, my name is Helen Cox and I am a junior creative writing major. I used to be an english major, but I am much more of a writer.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting fact about myself; I love to backpack and the summer before I started college I backpacked 160 miles through Alaska. I would really like to take another trip like that, but time and money are something I am lacking. Also, I really like to bake, especially when I am stressed out. My recipes turn out well 90 percent of the time, but in the event of that other 10 percent my roomates know better than to tell me. They sit there politely choking back whatever burned, bottomless, calories I have shoved in front of them, knowing I must be really pissed if I cant turn out an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.
lastly, my computer is almost entirely worthless. many of the keys do not work (such as the five key and the apostrophe/quotation key), and it basically has a mind of its own. dont judge me, or my computers lack of punctuation.
Hi all!
ReplyDeleteJeff Ayers here, a junior English Major/History Minor. I'll be getting married in May, and it can't get here soon enough. My favorite book that I have read for any class is The Great Gatsby, and I'm a big fan of Stephen King. Looking forward to a great semester!
Hmmm... I thought I had posted on here but it appears I forgot to press the 'Post Comment' button.
ReplyDeleteAs most everyone else, I am an English major with a concentration in Creative Writing with a minor in Anthropology. Say that five times fast. Aka when I graduate I will be jobless. :) But I will have read great literature!
I am especially interested in American literature within that Southern literature and within that the gothic/grotesque. I have a love affair with Poe and the likes. I hope to write stories in the Southern grotesque vein. Yay death, the macabre and disturbing!
Hey everyone! My name is Emily Sonaty and I am in my last semester as an English major. I also have a minor in African and African American Studies because I love African American Literature, especially that associated with Black Nationalism and Black Masculinity.
ReplyDeleteInteresting facts about me: I have a newfound love of drama and I was in my first play on campus last semester (I played a black female in the midst of a family crisis!) Needless to say, it was a very challenging experience, but incredibly fun and exciting. My surname is Hungarian and nearly everyone mispronounces it! I have two younger brothers, one is a sophomore here at the U of A. I absolutely love baseball and will never be cured of my undying love for the Chicago Cubs so if there are any Cardinals fans present, do not attempt to convert me because it is impossible:)
guess I have the pleasure of rounding out the introductions. Successfully posting to the blog has proved a greater chore than expected.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Geoffrey Storm. I'm a Junior English + Political Science major from Tulsa, OK. I'd say that I am really in to Sports, Lit, and Politics, but that tag could probably be applied to most fields of entertainment. I feel like I hold just enough interest in ranging topics to make a complete fool of myself in conversation... My favorite book is "All the King's Men" by Robert Penn Warren, and I especially like both political and southern literature. I'm looking forward to reading "Grapes of Wrath" and the rest of the reading list for the class...