We shall start the course by tracing American literature to its Puritan beginnings, focusing on the spiritual autobiography and the Indian captivity narrative, two Puritan genres that greatly influenced some of the later works we are reading. The main focus of the course, however, will be on the American Renaissance (1836-1861). In this era of Romantic revolution, the philosopher-poet Ralph Waldo Emerson became an important agent of cultural change and a major influence on many of his contemporaries, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and even the more critical Herman Melville. With the publication of The Scarlet Letter (1850), Moby-Dick (1851), and Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), the literature of the young American nation for the first time came to rank with the classics of world literature, while Whitman and Emily Dickinson produced poems that, advanced beyond their own age, signaled the advent of modern poetry. The period also marked the beginning of an African-American literary tradition, as Frederick Douglass and other fugitive slaves published autobiographical narratives that had a great impact on black and white writers in the twentieth century. We shall study the authors of the American Renaissance not only in their literary-historical context, but also in the context of the political and social developments of the time, such as the anti-slavery and women’s rights movements.
Rooster
The timetable will be available from June 1st on the Internet.
Onderwijsvorm
Two-hour seminar and discussion per week.
A la carte- en contractonderwijs
More information for students who are interested in taking this course as a Contract student (with exam).
This class is not available as A la carte course.
Leerdoelen
This course aims to give a survey of early American Literature in the context of intellectual, cultural, social and political developments in American society from its colonial beginnings to the end of the Civil War. Students will be introduced to a variety of literary strategies and genres such as the spiritual autobiography that had a profound impact on American literature in later periods.
Literatuur
Norton Anthology of American Literature (NAAL), 7th ed., vol A and B.
Herman Melville, Typee (Penguin).
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Penguin).
Note: Students who are taking this course as part of the minor in American Studies can opt to extend the course to 10 ects by reading extra texts and writing a second essay:
Extra literature for 5 extra ects (minor):
James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans (Penguin).
Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Norton Critical Edition, 2nd ed.
Extra literatuur uit de Norton Anthology of American Literature
Toetsing
Essay of 2500 words (40%) and written exam (60%).
Informatie
English Department, P.N. van Eyckhof 4, room 102c,
Tel. 071-5272144. English@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Blackboard/webpagina
This course is supported by blackboard.
Overzicht
Week 1: Poems by Bradstreet and Taylor
Week 2: Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative
Week 3: Selected chapters from Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography
Week 4: Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Week 5: David Henry Thoreau, Walden
Week 6: Melville, Typee_
Week 7: Melville, Typee_
Week 8: Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
Week 9: Short stories by Edgar Allen Poe
Week 10: Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Week 11: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Week 12: Poems by Walt Whitman
Week 13: Poems by Emily Dickinson; deadline essay
Week 14: Conclusions