ENGL 208(S) Introduction to American Literature

This course is designed to provide an introduction to-rather than a survey of-literature in the United States from colonial times to the present. Beginning with Ralph Waldo Emerson, we will read a series of representative American texts (fiction, poetry, essays) that articulate what Walt Whitman called "the knit of identity." What does it mean to "be" an American? How does literature "knit" together race, ethnicity, gender, region, and cultural memory into an American identity? Readings will include work by such writers as Emerson, Twain, Whitman, Jacobs, Hart Crane, Stevens, Stein, Faulkner, and Morrison. Requirements: two papers, a midterm exam, and a final exam. This course will be taught in two sections, with enrollment in each section limited to 40. Prerequisite: English 101.

Hour:  KENT