Course Description
The growth of the novel in America from its inception in the Romantic to the development of the Realistic novel. Writers may include Cooper, Hawthorne, Melville, Twain, Simms, James, Howells, Stowe, Chesnutt, Dreiser, Norris, and Crane.
Athena Title
The American Novel to 1900
Prerequisite
Two 2000-level ENGL courses or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 3000-level ENGL course) or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 2000-level CMLT course)
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
At the end of the course, students, having read a substantial body of literature, will be able to discuss the assigned works (orally and in writing) with a considerable degree of critical sophistication, to read them with pleasure, to read and enjoy other works from the period, and to converse with fellow students about texts and issues related to the subject matter of the course.
Topical Outline
The choice and sequence of topics will vary from instructor to instructor and semester to semester. The topics will consist of selected works by various authors to be read outside of class and discussed in class and to be examined individually and comparatively in the context of the times and the circumstances of their composition. Periodically during the semester, students will perform a number of graded tasks, including some combination of tests and out-of-class papers. A possible series of topics and assignments might resemble this: Brown, Wieland; or, The Transformation Cooper, The Deerslayer or The Pioneers Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables Melville, Redburn Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin Twain, Roughing It or Adventures of Huckleberry Finn James, The American Howells, The Rise of Silas Lapham Chesnutt, The Marrow of Tradition Chopin, The Awakening Dreiser, Sister Carrie Crane, Maggie Students would be expected to write between three and six out-of-class essays during the term, totalling between 20 and 25 typed pages of work. In-class essay exams and oral participation in class discussion will also constitute ongoing, graded assignments.