Reading Literature in the Age of Trump

Jeff VanderMeer’s Area X is a strange zone of transformation and transition.  How does one cope with living between the binary of humanity and nature?  Is it better to resist or assimilate to environmental change?  What does VanderMeer’s novel tell us about the limits of science and human control?  Can “annihilation” also be an act … Continue reading Podcast Episode #5: Jeff VanderMeer, “Annihilation” (2014)

How has race become both (in)visible and hyper-visible in the Age of Trump?  How is race experienced as spectacle and everyday reality? Join Makeila, Michael, Chriselle, Marissa, and Rodney – – five students from “Reading Literature in the Age of Trump,” an undergraduate course at San Francisco State University as they discuss Claudia Rankine’s poetry … Continue reading Podcast Episode #4: Claudia Rankine, “Citizen: An American Lyric” (2014)

What does it mean to migrate?  How does one fashion an identity suspended between two places – – home and destination? How is the king always (not) “above the people”? Join Sosse, Julie, Luis, and Clare – – four students from “Reading Literature in the Age of Trump,” an undergraduate course at San Francisco State … Continue reading Podcast Episode #3: Daniel Alarcon, “The King Is Always above the People” (2017)

Does absolute power corrupt absolutely?  How would the world change if women gained new, unprecedented powers?  What is the relationship between power, freedom, and gender? Join Amanda, Beth, Geordi, Kilanii, and Mandolyn – – five students from “Reading Literature in the Age of Trump,” an undergraduate course at San Francisco State University – – as … Continue reading Podcast Episode 2: Naomi Alderman’s The Power (2016)

A bookforum on J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy for English 602, Reading Literature in the Age of Trump, at San Francisco State University.