American Literature from the Colonial Period to the Civil War
ENGL 203
Fall 2012
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
AMST 243 |
This course surveys American literature and culture through the middle of the 19th century. Readings will span the full range of genres as we move from European fantasies and narratives of the conquest of the New World to representations of slavery, industrialization, and U.S. national expansion. We will begin by considering the role of "America" (both the idea and the real continents) in world history; the questions we raise will return often as we look closely at the literature. Whether sermon, imperial report to the metropole, memoir, poem, or novel, the forms of our texts differentiate them as much as their content sometimes unites them, therefore we will examine the consequences, both political and aesthetic, of literary conventions. We will pay special attention to the relationship between texts and images (illustration, painting, iconography). |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Lecture | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST)(ENGL)(ENGL-Literature) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Among others: Columbus, Cabeza de Vaca, John Winthrop, Mary Rowlandson, Edwards, Franklin, Wheatley, Crevecoeur, Equiano, Charles Brockden Brown, Irving, David Walker, Emerson, Thoreau, Poe, Margaret Fuller, Melville, Douglass, Dickinson, Fanny Fern.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Two medium-length papers (5-7pp.), two exams, two short reading exercises (3pp.). Class visits to Special Collections in Olin Library to examine and discuss early editions of key texts. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course contributes to the American Literature concentration of the English major and is recommended by the American Studies major as a pre-1900 course that introduces students to a wide range of cultural and historical as well as literary concerns. |
| Instructor(s): Garrett,Matthew Carl Times: .M.W.F. 10:00AM-10:50AM; Location: JUDD116; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 67 | | SR major: 5 | JR major: 5 | | |
| Seats Available: 7 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 5 | JR non-major: 5 | SO: 28 | FR: 19 |
| Web Resources: Syllabus |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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