Watch this History of American Literature after World War 2 video entitled Power and Alienation to the 1980s to study American prose and poetry published during the 40 year period following World War 2, and examine how accelerating technological changes and an increasing public advocacy of human rights and social responsibility shaped these American literary works. Learn how literary works combining both fictional material and accounts of personal experiences and other factual data, such as those by Norman Mailer, reflect a focus on realism and the relationship between an individual and society.
Use this online K12 History of American Literature video to study and examine how the outcome of World War 2 affected the sensibilities of American writers and artists, and look at the implications of America's new postwar image as the most powerful nation in the World.