Introduction: American Fiction Abroad

Abstract

This chapter outlines the purpose and scope of Contemporary American Fiction in the European Classroom: Teaching and Texts, a collection of essays offering insight into the ways students enrolled in European higher education come to understand American experience through its literary fiction. Mazzeno and Norton provide a brief history of the study of American fiction in European universities, where traditionally it has been a component of broader American Studies programs, and explore the fluidity of the concept contemporary American fiction. They explain the purpose of the collection, reflected in some way in each of the sixteen chapters included in the volume: What makes certain works and writers invitingly teachable in European contexts? Why do European lecturers and professors regard particular authors as important enough to share with their students? What are European students learning about America from this body of literature? And what role does a European mindset play in the selection and interrogation of writers and texts? Collectively, these chapters bring such questions to bear on their examinations of literary critiques and classroom techniques. They explore the perceptions of America formed by contemporary students—many of them future leaders and stakeholders in business, government, sciences, and the arts.