Quote:
Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar
19th Century novel:
Charles Dickens - Great Expectations
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
Post-1914 drama and prose
William Golding - The Lord of the Flies
George Orwell - Animal Farm
|
Those are the books I read in High School English class in the US. There are others that I read not covered on that list (Wuthering Heights was pure torture) and I know plenty of folks who read a slightly different mix. It depended on the teacher and the school.
My college English classes covered authors from all over the globe who wrote in the English language. I did take a class on American Authors and Expatriots in Paris: 1920's that focuses on American authors who lived in Paris but even then, we discussed other authors, English speaking and otherwise, who influenced the Americans abroad. And the art, music, politics and party scene. It was an awesome class.
So, English Literature to me means anything written in the English language. Classes on American authors were titled as such. You could even specialize in American authors if you wanted but you still had classes that covered the entire English language.
I don't have a problem with the Brits focusing on British authors but it seems to me that an English degree is not about a specific country but the language as a whole and that includes how the language is used in outside of the UK or Great Britain.