ENGL 251

Spring 2026 Part of Term 1

Part of Term 1
Jan 20-May 6

The Twentieth-Century American Novel

Credit: 3 hours.

Critical study of selected American novels from the twentieth century.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Composition I requirement.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2022 for:

Humanities – Lit & Arts

Cultural Studies - Western

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ENGL 251 class schedule data for spring 2026
	CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
	32065	Lecture-Discussion	Z	10:00AM -10:50AM	MWF	125 English Building	Hutner, G	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Degree Notes: Humanities - Lit & Arts, and Cultural Studies - Western course. Section Info: SP26 ENGL 251 - 20th-Century American Novel - Gordon Hutner - This course studies the development of the novel in the US through its various phases: realism, naturalism, modernism, and postmodernism. We will be covering many of the classics of the genre, including novels by Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Willa Cather, William Faulkner, and Richard Wright, as well as writers closer to our own time, like Toni Morrison and Philip Roth. Throughout, our aim will be to survey how their novels respond to various political, economic, and cultural crises during the period that was called the American Century, the era that marks the emergence of the nation as the predominant English-speaking world power. To that end, we will especially examinine how these writers address some of the great contradictions—of identity and community— animating American society, in all its diversity and oppositionality. Restriction(s): Restricted to Undergrad - Urbana-Champaign.