American Literary Traditions (270-2-01)

Instructors

Julia Ann Stern
847/491-3530
University Hall Room 415
Office Hours: Mondays 1:1:50; Tuesdays 10-11; and Thursdays 12:20-1

Meeting Info

University Hall 102: Mon, Wed 1:00PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

This course is the second part of a survey of American literature covering the decade preceding the Civil War to 1900. In lectures and discussion sections, we shall explore the divergent textual voices--white and black, male and female, poor and rich, enslaved and free--that constitute important strands of the literary tradition of the United States in the nineteenth century. Central to our study will be the following questions: What does it mean to be an American in 1850, 1860, 1865, and beyond? Who speaks for the nation? How do the tragedy and the triumph of the Civil War inflect American poetry and narrative? And how do post-bellum writers represent the complexities of democracy, particularly the gains and losses of Reconstruction, the advent of and resistance to the "New Woman," and the class struggle in the newly reunited nation?

Teaching Method

Two lectures per week, plus a required discussion section.

Evaluation Method

Evaluation will be based on two short (3-page) essays, in which students will perform a close reading of a literary passage from one of the texts on the syllabus; a final examination, involving short answers and essays; and active participation in section and lecture. Attendance at all sections is required.

Class Materials (Required)

Herman Melville, "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street"; Rebecca Harding Davis, "Life in the Iron Mills"; Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl; Emily Dickinson, selected poems; Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself" and other selected poems; Charles Chestnut, selected tales; Kate Chopin, The Awakening.

Class Notes

Note: English 270-2 is an English Literature major and minor requirement; it is also designed for non-majors and counts as an Area VI WCAS distribution requirement.

Class Attributes

Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
SDG Reduced Inequality
SDG Gender Equality

Associated Classes

DIS - University Hall 318: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM

DIS - University Hall 318: Fri 1:00PM - 1:50PM

DIS - NO DATA: NO DATA