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Course overview |
Apocalyptic Hope: Literature of the American Renaissance Tuesday and Friday, 3:30 - 4:50, D38
This course will center on the American Renaissance -- that period between, roughly, 1830 and 1870 that witnessed the burst of intense intellectual and artistic energy that produced some of the most memorable and enduring American literature. We will examine as much of that literature as we can, in a range of genres: slave narratives from Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, essays from Emerson and Thoreau, novels from Harriet Beecher Stowe, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne and others, poetry from Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Our goal in examining these works will always be double: on the simplest level, we will be interested in how these writers interpreted and responded to the places and times in which they lived; on a deeper level, though, we will consider how each of these works -- and all of them together -- helps to create something we might call now an "American consciousness," as it attempts to invent, or to re-invent, America.
The point of the course is to read as much as we can, more than anything else -- to develop a firm understanding of both canonical and non-canonical 19th century American literature, and to consider how that literature has helped to shape not just the literature that followed it, but the way we think about ourselves as Americans. This will NOT be a writing seminar: it will involve far too much reading for that. Consider this fair warning: the reading load for this class will be heavy, averaging 250 pages a week. Students still working on the Writing Requirement, or students taking another heavy reading or writing course, should take this course another time.
• Emerson, The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson • Thoreau, Walden • Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl • Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass • Melville, Moby Dick • Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin • Hawthorne , The Scarlet Letter • Whitman, The Complete Poems • Dickinson , The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
This course will be reading-centered, so the chief requirement is that you make a commitment to keeping up with the reading, and that you come to class prepared to discuss what you have read. You will also be asked to write a two-page (and no more than two-page) reading response for every class: that will amount to a substantial pile of writing by the end of the semester, but spread out in small stages. At times I will assign topics for these responses, but more often I'll allow you to respond in whatever way seems appropriate to you, as long as you keep your responses focused on the texts you're reading. The idea is to develop your own written conversation with the authors you're reading: so, while I don't expect “formal papers” – i.e., researched and lengthy – I do expect you to write clear, articulate and original responses to the texts and to the things people are saying about them. This daily writing will often form the basis for our class discussions, and will be graded on a check/plus/minus basis.
As much as is possible, I would like our class discussions to be student-led and student-generated. With that in mind, I will divide the class into groups in the first week, and groups will rotate responsibility for centering class discussions and directing outside reading.
GradingYour grade for the course will be based on the following percentages:
• Daily response papers -- 60% • Participation (class discussions, online discussions and online group discussions) -- 30% • Average BTU of inner fire -- 10%
Resources on the Web
Tentative Course Calendar
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