Turning Society Inside Out The 1930s in Literature and Film

The Great Depression of the 1930s profoundly shook the economic, political, and social foundations of the industrialized United States, causing leaders and authors to question America's implementation of democracy, capitalism, and individualism. Unlike Germany, Italy, and Spain, which turned to fascism during this era of crisis, American politics swung to the left, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiating a plethora of government agencies. The outpouring of highest quality literature (for instance, works by the Big Trio of Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck) tended to bring attention to Americans hardest hit by the economic slump - Steinbeck's epic novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939) about the desperate Oklahoma farmers who headed west to the supposedly Golden Land of California is just the best-known example. Theater plays reflected the plight of the urban workers/unemployed (e.g. Odets, Waiting for Lefty, 1935) or the loss of American innocence (Lillian Hellmann, The Children's Hour, 1934). Hemingway and others committed themselves to the cause of stemming European fascism (cf. his novel about the Spanish Civil War, For Whom the Bell Tolls, 1940). Radical experiments in narrative techniques often accompanied the proletarian or subaltern stance, as in Dos Passos' documentary collage trilogy USA (1930-36) or Faulkner's modernist study of marginalization in a Southern town in Light in August (1932). Richard Wright began his bitter publications about racism in America, joined by Langston Hughes (both African American); Black activist Mary McLeod Bethune paved the way for the later civil rights movement, while African American sportsmen Jesse Owens and Joe Louis became folk heroes. Indeed, surprisingly the arts flourished during this time of economic misery, not least because of federal programs which supported authors, artists, and musicians. We will scrutinize some of the interviews of the 'common people' conducted by the -Federal Writers' Project-, these interviews comprising a rich 'oral history' of the era. The counter current to the critical literature and politics of the 30s can be found in escapist cinema (Gone With the Wind, 1936; first Disney films), the golden age of mystery novels, small town idylls (Thornton Wilder's play Our Town, 1938), the timeless children's literature of Dr. Seuss, and the popularity of the fashionable 'capitalist' board game Monopoly. In the seminar we will shuttle between the primary literature and media products of the 1930s and recent literature and countless films about the 1930s. This approach, combined with historical background, will provide access to the era of the 1930s and to its reception in our own time 80 years later. This is particularly relevant during our present time of economic crisis with its ongoing international debate on laissez-faire vs. federal government regulation. Is Barack Obama a 21st-century FDR? And who is our contemporary Steinbeck? We will read John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men (1937) in its entirety (if you read this during your 'Gymnasium' years, please substitute the mammoth Grapes of Wrath instead!), as well as William Faulkner's Light in August. All of the plays, short stories, excerpts from novels, and theory/secondary literature/history will be included in the semester reader. Please purchase any edition of John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men (1937); if you read this during your -Gymnasium- years, please substitute Grapes of Wrath instead!; also, please purchase any edition of William Faulkner’s Light in August (1932). All of the plays, short stories, excerpts from novels, and theory/secondary literature/history will be included in the semester reader. Englisch, LA Berufskolleg, PO 2004 Universität Siegen WiSe 2010/11 Literature, Culture and Media, LCM-Englisch, Master, PO 2005 Literaturwissenschaft: Literatur, Kultur, Medien, Englisch, Master, PO 2009 Ph.D. Waegner Cathy Ph.D