The legacy of the U.S. Civil War consists of at least three major and competing narratives: reconciliation, emancipation, and the so-called “Lost Cause.” Through most of the 20^th century, the emancipation story had been undercut, erased, or otherwise subsumed by the other two. Now in the 21st century, as the U.S. continues to wrestle with the twin problems of racism and white supremacy, two of our greatest novelists continue to be relevant. We will read Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! and Toni Morrison’s Beloved as “in conversation” with America about its slavery past and the causes of war.

Required Reading: Absalom, Absalom!, William Faulkner; Beloved, Toni Morrison

Registration deadline: Sept. 9