[ Faculty in this Area ] Primary Faculty Samuel Cohen Albert J. Devlin Frances Dickey Elisa Glick Joanna Hearne Andrew Hoberek Timothy Materer Christopher Okonkwo Karen Piper Associated Faculty Scott Cairns Clenora Hudson-Weems Maureen Konkle Trudy Lewis Lynne McMahon Speer Morgan Rod Santos

Program Description

Modern and Contemporary studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia's Department of English include literary periods from the English and American turn of the century to contemporary world literature. Our professors specialize in modern and contemporary American poetry, post-World War II American fiction, African American literature, Native literatures in the U.S., postcolonial literatures in English, film studies, modern drama and gender and sexuality studies. Critical studies in twentieth century literature are also enriched by the participation of prize-winning poets and fiction-writers in the creative writing Ph.D. program.

Faculty Overview

Specialists in areas such as theory, film, folklore, and creative writing regularly teach courses of interest to students in twentieth-century literature. This range of courses gives students flexibility in designing their own research projects. For instance, a student might work with specialists in postwar American fiction, African-American literature, and postcolonial theory on a dissertation reading contemporary African-American fiction as a postcolonial literature. Or a student might select a committee composed of specialists in fiction, poetry, and film in order to trace a particular theme across several genres. Students currently in the program are pursuing such dissertation projects as the legacy of regionalism in twentieth-century fiction and the formal parallels between fiction and film.

Course Offerings