This course provides a general overview of American literature from 1492 to the present. It examines this literature in its historical context and emphasizes close reading and analysis skills. We’ll look at representative writers from seven major periods in American literature:
-
-
- Pre-colonial and Colonial Literature
- Literature of the New Republic
- American Romanticism
- Local Color and Realism
- Turn-of-the-Century and Early Modernist Literature
- Modern Literature
- Post World War II Literature.
-
English 207 should not only increase your knowledge of American literature, but it should enhance your appreciation for and enjoyment of the literature as well. Students completing this course should demonstrate knowledge of the literary and cultural history of the United States from 1492 to the present, which includes awareness of the wide range of literary texts that were written in this period; familiarity with topics, themes, and literary techniques of some of these works; and familiarity with some of the ways these works of literature have been interpreted by others. Students will develop skills in analyzing and interpreting literary texts and in writing, critical reading, and oral communication.
Books
The textbook we’ll be using for the class is the Norton Anthology of American Literature, shorter 10th edition, volumes 1 and 2. Additional course readings are available on this website.
General Education Humanities Learning Outcomes
This course counts as a general education humanities credit. Such courses share the following student learning outcomes:
-
- Students analyze how ideas are represented, interpreted, or valued in various expressions of human culture.
- Students examine relevant primary source materials as understood by the humanities area under study and interpret the material in writing assignments (or alternatives that require equally coherent and sustained analysis).
These outcomes will be assessed using the Paper 2–Critical Analysis.