Ralph Clare, an associate professor of English, published the essay “Westward the American Literature Survey Takes its Way” in the book “Approaches to Teaching the Works of David Foster Wallace.”
The book is published by the Modern Language Association, the U.S.’s largest and most prestigious professional organization in language and literature. The essay considers ways to teach David Foster Wallace, one of the most influential authors of the last few decades, in the American literature survey and considers his place within the larger context and lineage of American literature.