This course will examine diverse representations of “living on the edge” in post World War II American literature, film, popular media, and other discourses. We will pay particular attention to novels and short fictions and the events that they represent: eg., subsequent wars in Asia and the current “war on terror,” as well as domestic “states of emergency” and their impact on those perceived as threatening the well being of the nation, community or family. We will describe and evaluate the alternate worlds that many of these subjects attempt to fashion, and we will do the same with the world(s) we inhabit. Students will be expected to participate in class discussions, produce short critiques of assigned readings (probably 5) and a final 7-8 page paper that draws on these critiques and discussion. Required texts will include a course packet and the following novels: Himes, If He Hollers Let Him Go; Robinson, Housekeeping; Alamedine, KOOLAIDS: The Art of War; and Beatty, White Boy Shuffle.