In his essay, “Discourse and the Novel,” Mikhail Bakhtin wrote: “literary language becomes a dialogue of languages that both know about and understand each other.” Often described as a quintessential product of modernity, the novel reflects in its form the various processes of cultural integration. Emerging out of a nation of immigrants, American literature provides many rich examples through which to examine how different genres interact within the category of fiction as a way of producing national narratives. As Benedict Anderson points out, it is no coincidence that the rise of modern nationalism occurred simultaneously with the rise of the novel as a dominant literary form during the 18th and 19th centuries; the ability of fiction to amalgamate a number of seemingly disparate cultural perspectives into a singular form is part of what made it possible to create a coherent national identity out of such a diverse population.

The goal of this course is to examine a few examples of influential novels and short fiction that reflect some of the different cultural dialogues apparent in American culture during the 18th and 19th centuries. We will read these works alongside other forms, such as drama, poetry and ethnography, to discern how different discourses function in the American novel and, subsequently, how these various works function to create various national narratives. Fenimore Cooper’s The Prairie will offer some examples of how “natives” and Europeans are imagined in an idealized American landscape. Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Wilson’s Our Nig will offer a few different social commentaries on slavery, segregation and class, while Rowson’s Charlotte Temple and Chopin’s The Awakening will continue discussions of class along with issues of womanhood in American culture. These core readings will be supplemented by a number of critical secondary works, as well as other works of literature by John Winthrop, Mary Jemison, Herman Melville, Royall Tyler, and others.
In this W (writing) course, students will be expected to write and revise a 10-15 page paper, along with a number of assignments that will include GoPost weekly responses, presentations, quizzes, and grammar exercises. Because this is a seminar course, students should also prepare for a heavy reading schedule and to participate every day in class.

Required Texts:
James Fenimore Cooper- The Prairie
Harriet Wilson- Our Nig
Mark Twain- Huckleberry Finn
Susannah Rowson- Charlotte Temple
Kate Chopin- The Awakening
Course Pack, available at the Ave Copy Center