Does literature illuminate or distort our understanding of modern history? This course looks at a range of literary works from the 20th and 21st century, including historical fiction, memoir, longform journalism. We tackle specific challenges writers face when writing about the past: estimating (and narrating) the truth from fragments, balancing narration and exposition, moving across time periods, and drawing stories out of archives whether the archive is in a library or a collection of old letters, photo albums, family anecdotes, objects, or souvenirs. We discuss work from several exemplary modern writers, including E.L. Doctorow, James Baldwin, and Joan Didion.

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