ENGL 222 - American Literature To 1865

1. Develop an ability to read and appreciate literature and literary thought as reflections of universal human concerns.
2. Develop an awareness of historical, sociological, and aesthetic influences that affected authors and led to the development of a distinctive national literature.
3. Understand and analyze early influences on and within American literature, such as Puritanism, Neoclassicism, the Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, Transcendentalism, and freedom and slavery in American rhetoric.
4. Examine the issues, conflicts, and themes in early American literature through multiple frames of reference, such as Native American cultural texts, contributions by women authors, slave narratives, political treatises, and religious tracts.
5. Identify characteristics of key literary genres in early American literature, such as short fiction, poetry, narratives, novels, and nonfiction.
6. Demonstrate an awareness of the tools and terminology of literary analysis and literary criticism to conduct close readings, develop interpretations, and produce effective academic writing with the use of primary and secondary sources.

• Key texts from early periods of American literature (Colonial Period, Early National Period, Revolutionary Period, and Romantic Period)
• Major literary developments (such as the literature of settlement, Transcendentalism, the American Gothic, emergence of diverse literary voices)
• Genres and subgenres (such as short fiction, poetry, narrative, novel, essay)
• Literary elements and literary devices (theme, symbol, form, style)

 
Course Addendum - Syllabus (Click to expand)