ENG 219 Introduction to American Literature before 1900
A survey of major writers and literary trends from the period of exploration to the Naturalists. We will study the forging of the American literary and social consciousness in the writings of the early explorers, through the Native American oral tradition, and in works by Bradstreet, Edwards, Franklin, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Jacobs, Melville, Douglass, Whitman, Dickinson, Twain, James, Crane, and Chopin. Guiding our study will be questions like “What is ‘American’ about American literature?” and “In what ways do myths generated by our formative literature continue to shape our personal and national identities?” This course is offered in the fall semester.
Credits: 1
|