We'll read and discuss an assortment of novels, stories, poems and memoirs by American writers in the period preceding the Civil War. Students will be expected to attend class regularly, keep up with reading assignments and take part in open discussion. Written work will consist entirely of a series of between five and ten brief in-class essays written in response to study questions handed out in advance.

Texts: The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Volume B; Herman Melville, MOBY-DICK; Harriet Beecher Stowe, UNCLE TOM'S CABIN; James Fenimore Cooper, THE PRAIRIE