Course Description & Objectives

It has always seemed to me a rare privilege, this, of being
an American, a real American, one whose tradition it has taken
scarcely sixty years to create. We need only realize our parents,
remember our grandparents, and know ourselves, and our history
is complete.
The old people in a new world, the new people made out of the old,
that is the story that I mean to tell, for that is what really is and
what I really know.

--Gertrude Stein
The Making of Americans

The course title and the above quotation define the main objectives of this course: to see the story of American writers within their history. This course will introduce you to American literature through a careful reading of a variety of representative short stories viewed in their historical, cultural, and biographical contexts. During the course of the quarter we will read and reflect on three centuries and four literary periods of American short fiction. As we move through these literary timeframes we will attempt to connect American eras and authors with the substance and style of the stories penned.

By the end of the quarter, you should have a sophisticated understanding of what American literature "really is" as well as what more you'd like to read after course completion to "really know" past and present “Americas” that help to configure you in our contemporary American era.

Goals

Surveying American literature through cultural and historical lens
Enhancing your critical reading approaches to American literature
Introducing to you to a variety of American authors, styles and literary movements
Enriching your critical abilities, both in speech and in writing, to analyze, interpret and evaluate American literature

Requirements

Engaged, prepared, in-person participation of in-class prose analyses, individually and in small groups; short analytical writings; a midterm and a final examination
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