ENGH355

Examines the literary and cultural exchanges between Great Britain, Europe, Africa, and the Americas that shaped the development of both British and American literature. Reading work by authors who lived in multiple countries, or drew influences and formative experiences from a life of travel, exploration, slavery, or forced migration, it grapples with such questions as: How have national histories shaped our understanding of literature? How does the history of transatlantic exchange inform the way we read and understand "national" literatures? And how have contemporary voices reflected upon this complex and still resonant legacy? Authors may include Aphra Behn, Olaudah Equiano, Daniel Defoe, Herman Melville, C.L.R. James, Frantz Fanon, Sam Selvon, and Jamaica Kincaid.