ENGL313 American Literature

An overview of American literature from the seventeenth-century to the present, with a focus on major works and key literary movements.

We will consider historical contexts (debates on slavery, race, immigration, and other matters), along with strategies of close reading and interpretation. Readings will include Benjamin Franklin's “Autobiography,” Herman Melville's “Bartleby,” Frederick Douglass’s Narrative, Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, Ann Petry’s The Street, poetry by Whitman and Dickinson, and other short works. Three 4-5 page papers, ongoing "reader-response" assignments, and a final exam.

The course is a detailed study of selected major texts of American literature from the 17th century to the 20th century. Issues such as race, gender, and regionalism. Authors such as Franklin, Hawthorne, Dickinson, Hemingway, and Morrison.

Section(s):
0201 - Robert Levine

Schedule of Classes
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