After the Unimaginable: Five American Works Shaped by Catastrophe

In this course, we explore how American writers confront experiences that strain the limits of language and understanding. Moving from intimate forms of personal loss to the large-scale ruptures of the twentieth century—the end of World War II and the height of the AIDS crisis—we examine how literature responds to moments when ordinary narratives no longer suffice. The selected works trace how individuals and communities endure, remember, and attempt to rebuild after catastrophe. Readings include short fiction by Willa Cather, John Hersey’s Hiroshima, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, and Paula Vogel’s The Baltimore Waltz. Together, these works reveal why we turn to literature in difficult times—to understand what has happened, to find comfort in shared humanity, to bear witness, and to search for meaning in a changed world.