Spring 2010

E 337 • American Lit: From Begin to 1865

Course Description

This course surveys the role of writing in colonial North America and in the early years of the United States. Its focus is on how what came during this period to be called "literature" shaped power, culture, and identity among the many groups that generated written works in and about North America. We will examine Native American representation, the literature of slavery and the growth of racialism, evolving and competing religious movements, the expansion of print culture, and the publications that came out of imperial competition. Among others, we'll read Cabeza de Vaca, William Bradford, Mary Rowlandson, Cotton Mather, Benjamin Franklin, Olaudah Equiano, Susanna Rowson, Thomas Jefferson, William Apess, Lydia Maria Child, and Walt Whitman. With luck, we will watch and discuss a couple of films.

Grading Policy

Two tests; three short written assignments. Brief focused response writings and/or reading quizzes. There is a strict attendance policy.

Texts

Bedford Anthology of American Literature; PDFs of other readings available on Blackboard.

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