Postwar American Literature and Culture

Education facts

Code: 5EN524

This course explores U.S. literary culture from the end of the Second World War to 1980. Through selected readings of both canonical and lesser-known texts, it offers theoretical perspectives on the rise and decline of postmodernism, and the emergence of the literary neo-avant-gardes. It examines how writers reflected on and responded to major social and political shifts, such as the Cold War, Civil Rights Movement, and the counterculture of the 1960s. Committed to interdisciplinary thinking, the course examines literature in relation to broader cultural movements, including the rise of Abstract Expressionism in art, the evolution of jazz and rock in music, and Hollywood and avant-garde film. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, we consider how new methodologies, periodizations, and thematics have redefined the study of postwar literature alongside developments in other artistic fields.

Entry requirements

120 credits. English A1, B1 and C1, or 90 credits in a language subject or in literary studies.

Education offerings

Each offering has its own dates and conditions. Closed offerings are retained as history and do not mean that a new application is open.

• Postwar American Literature and Culture

  Uppsala University

  Start date: 31 August 2026

  End date: 1 November 2026

  Pace of study: 50 %