Culture Performs: The American Revolution to the Civil War
ENGL 309
Spring 2013
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
AMST 300 |
What were the intersections among literature, performance, and culture that explained, shaped, and defined the first century of the American nation? We will consider this question through the lenses of dramatic and non-dramatic literature as well as through performance history. Topics include how dramatic literature helped define the early nation as distinct from its British heritage (through playwrights such as Royall Tyler and Mercy Otis Warren, and events such as the Astor Place Riots). We will analyze the relationship between the dramatization of Native Americans and national policies of Indian Removal (reading playwrights John Augustus Stone and James Nelson Barker). Reading works by such authors as William Henry Smith and Edgar Allan Poe, we will think about the wider cultural potential of melodrama. Finally, we will examine the intersections between literature and performance that illuminated issues of the Civil War and its aftermath, including works by William Wells Brown, Bronson Howard, William Gillette, Herman Melville, and Julia Ward Howe. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Dramatic literature includes:
Mercy Otis Warren, THE GROUP
Royall Tyler, THE CONTRAST
John Augustus Stone, METAMORA; OR, THE LAST OF THE WAMPANOAGS
James Nelson Barker, THE INDIAN PRINCESS
William Henry Smith, THE DRUNKARD
William Wells Brown, THE ESCAPE
Bronson Howard, SHENANDOAH
William Gillette, SECRET SERVICE
Among others: Selections from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Edgar Allen Poe, Julia Ward Howe, and Herman Melville. Essays in history, theory, and criticism.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Attendance at one on-campus event outside of class time (specifically, Friday, February 1, from 7-10). In-class presentation. Reading responses. One research paper (10-12 pages). All research papers will require an annotated bibliography and one complete draft due before the final deadline. Students choosing the research option will write a research paper of 20-25 pages and should inform the instructor of their plans by the second week of classes. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
English Major Concentration Requirements: American Lit and Theory & Literary Forms and Research Option for Honors Thesis candidates. |
| Instructor(s): Moore,Alice Rebecca Times: ...W... 01:10PM-04:00PM; Location: ALLB304; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 8 | JR major: 7 | | |
| Seats Available: 12 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 0 | JR non-major: 0 | SO: 0 | FR: X |
| 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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