The course examines selected
examples of American literature from pre-Columbian Native American
documents through nineteenth-century literary writing. Taught in seminar
format and based on reading, discussion, and active participation, the
course places literary texts in their historical and cultural contexts.
Readings include early exploration narratives and selected texts from
colonial America, samples of nineteenth-century short fiction, Nathaniel
Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and selected poems by
prominent authors, such as Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Students
are expected to read and actively prepare the assigned texts.
Course requirement: oral presentation, incl. presentation handout, PowerPoint presentation optional. Credit requirement: an 8 to 10-page (3,500 to 4,500-word) research paper in English. Required text: Baym, Nina et al., eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature.
8th ed. Vols. A, B, and C. New York: Norton, 2012 (or newer editions of the Norton Anthology). Additional
required texts will be announced in the first course session.