Course details

Name: ENGL - 228

Title: AMERICAN LITERATURE I: BEGINNINGS TO 1890

Section: 01

Semester: Fall - 2018

Credits: 3

Description:
America may be the land of the free, but one freedom that few of us have, it seems, is the freedom not to work. Is this the case universally or is it especially so in the United States? How did we get here?

This introductory section of the literature of early America will serve as a historical guide to the development of the Anglo-American work ethic. The historical period we will focus on, the decades before and after the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence, tends to be remembered by popular histories as a time of globally unprecedented freedom. Yet the texts we read will reveal not only how certain Americans were denied those innovative freedoms, but they will also illuminate how those individuals who did acquire the blessings of free legal personhood were simultaneously subjected to more intense and laborious disciplines than they had been before. By the end of the course, we will see how Enlightenment liberty turns out to be quite a bit more complicated than we had thought.

Along the way, we will develop our skills of close reading—that is, not only of reading a text for what it means, but also better understanding how it makes that meaning through its specific use of language. Through several informal writing exercises, we will practice treating texts as evidence, and practice also building claims supported by that evidence. By the conclusion of the course, students will be able to demonstrate their mastery of close reading through one exam and a final essay that will analyze the specific relevance of these themes for our twenty-first century lives.

Last updated on 2018-04-27 By Greenberg Jonathan (greenbergj)

Schedule: Wednesday From 5:30 pm To 8:00 pm

Graduation requirements:

  • Any Literature (1e)
  • Pre-1900 American (TE 1c)
  • Other American (TE 1d)
  • Pre-1800 (1b)
  • Pre-1900 (1c)
  • Ethnic Studies (3b)
  • Class Issues (3d)

Teaching Faculty: Friedman Rob (friedmanro)

Is course canceled: No