English 343-001

Survey of American Literature to 1860

Spring 2008

 

Prof. Philip F. Gura                                                             gura@email.unc.edu      

Greenlaw 426                                                                               962-4033

 

 

Text: Nina Baym et al., The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 7tth ed.  (Package 1).

 

Course Description and Requirements: This is a chronological survey of American literature, broadly conceived, from the period of English settlement through the poetry of Dickinson and Whitman. Students are expected to familiarize themselves not only with the texts but also with the development of the varieties of American literature over time (including biographical information about authors). Some of this material will be covered in class, but I will take some of the exam questions from the introductory sections of the Anthology.

 

There will be two-in-class examinations (February 21 and March 27), an eight-to-ten page paper (due in class April 24), and a final examination, on a topic I choose. The in-class exams will have two parts: an essay section, with questions handed out earlier and your essays handed in at the exam time, and shorter answers, written in class. Attendance and class participation are expected. I will factor attendance and participation into the final grade. After your third unexcused absence, I will start deducting from your final grade.

 

Plagiarism: The Honor Code is in effect in this class and all others at the University. I am committed to treating Honor Code violations seriously and urge all students to become familiar with its terms (http://instrument.unc.edu). If you have questions, it is your responsibility to ask me about the code’s application. All exams and other written work must be submitted with a statement that you have complied with the requirements of the Honor Code.

 

Readings/Schedule:

January 10th:  Introduction. Definitions and terms. Period of Contact and Exploration. (non-required reading: Volume A: 31-55).

 

January 15 and 17: Colonization: The Chesapeake and New England. Volume A: 48-71, 104-137, 144-66.

 

January 22 and 24: New England Puritanism: Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor. Volume A: 187-216, 267-287.

 

January 29 and 31: New England Puritanism: Second and Third Generations. Native Americans and Witches. Volume A: 235-266, 307-342.

 

February 5 and 7: The Eighteenth Century: Religion and National Character. Volume A: 378-436, 472-534.

 

February 12 and 14:  The Eighteenth Century: Volume A: 595-615, 674-710 , 751-763.

 

February 19 and 21: Early Romanticism (Irving, Cooper, Bryant).  Volume B: 951-1009, 1044-1051. In-class exam, Feb. 21.

 

February 26 and 28: Emerson and the Transcendentalists. Volume B: 1106-1251.

 

March 4 and 6: Henry David Thoreau. Volume B: 1853-1924, 2027-2046..

 

March 11 and 13: NO CLASS: BREAK.

 

March 18 and 20: Other Versions of the American Self (Douglass and Apess). Volume B: 2060-2140, 1051-1058, 1637-1659. Paper topics handed out.

 

March 25 and 27: Nathaniel Hawthorne. Volume B: 1272-1352. In-class exam March 27.

 

April 1 and 3: Herman Melville. Volume B: 2304-2320, 2363-2388, 2468-2524.

 

April 8 and 10: Antebellum Women Writers (Stowe, Fern, Jacobs). Volume B: 1698-1829.

 

April 15 and 17.Whitman, Volume B: 2195-2266. 2275-2296.

 

April 22 and 24: Dickinson. Selections announced in class. Paper due in class.

 

 

 

 

English 347-002: The American Novel

                   

Prof. Philip F. Gura                                                                            Spring 2008

Greenlaw 426                                                                                        962-4033

 

Required Texts:

 

            Charles Brockden Brown, Wieland

            Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance

            Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin

            Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn

            Herman Melville Moby-Dick

            William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying

            Elizabeth Stoddard, The Morgesons

            William Dean Howells, A Modern Instance

            Harold Frederic, The Damnation of Theron Ware

           

 

This course is meant to introduce you to the variety of the American novel, from the late eighteenth through the early twentieth century. Beginning with one of the earliest American novels, Brown's Wieland (1798), we will move on to Hawthorne's account of a radical utopian experiment, The Blithedale Romance (1852); Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), instrumental in galvanizing opposition to slavery; and Moby-Dick (1851), Melville's masterpiece. We then will turn to and Elizabeth Stoddard’s complex psychological portrait of a young woman in The Morgesons (1862) and William Dean Howells's path-breaking exploration of divorce, A Modern Instance (1881). Next come Mark Twain’s classic Huckelebrry Finn (1884) and Harold Frederic's scathing portrait of a fallen minister, The Damnation of Theron Ware (1896). We will end with William Faulkner’s modernist experiment. As I Lay Dying (1930).

 

In no way is the course meant to be inclusive. If anything, it is minimal, with the titles chosen to suggest the different ways that authors have thought about the project of fiction, and about how fiction related to the United States of America at different points in time. In lecture I will try to suggest more about the great range of novels which we simply do not have time to sample and as well to provide some cultural and historical background to each of the works. The reading assignments at times will be lengthy, so when you have spare time, read ahead.

 

There will be two in-class examinations (February 28th and March 27th) and a final examination. You also will have pop quizzes now and then, to make sure that you keep up with the reading assignments. Attendance and class participation is expected. After your third unexcused absence, I will start deducting from your final grade. Your final grade will be based on the two in-class exams (33% each) and the final (33%). I also will factor attendance, participation, and your performance on the quizzes into the final grade.

 

Honor Code: Students are required to familiarize themselves with the Student Honor Code regarding plagiarism. Refer to http://instrument.unc.edu/

 

Assignments:

 

January 10: Introduction; and Brown’s Wieland.

 

January 15, 17: Wieland.

 

January 22, 24: Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance.

 

January 29th, 31: Blithedale Romance; start Melville, Moby-Dick.

 

February 5, 7: Moby-Dick.

 

February 12, 14: Moby-Dick.

 

February 19, 21: Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

 

February 26, 28. Uncle Tom’s Cabin. IN-CLASS EXAM on the 28th.

 

March 4, 6: Stoddard’s The Morgesons.

 

March 11, 13: VACATION WEEK

 

March 18, 20: Howells, A Modern Instance.

 

March 25, 27: A Modern Instance; In-CLASS EXAM on the 27th.

 

April 1, 3: Twain, Huckleberry Finn.

 

April 8, 10: Huckleberry Finn; Frederic, Damnation of Theron Ware.

 

April 15, 17: Theron Ware; start Faulkner, As I Lay Dying.

 

April 22, 24: As I Lay Dying.