English 142 - Winter, 2011

Early American Literature

Class Information

Instructor: Loar, Christopher
CRN: 22558
Time: TR 9:00-10:20
Location: 106 Olson

Description

This course begins from the premise that "Early American literature" did not exist--at least not as a stable, easily-defined entity. The culture and literature that we now call "American" was fashioned from textual and cultural transactions among English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish, and European colonists; African immigrants and their descendants, both enslaved and free; and indigenous "Indian" nations. In this course, we will examine this term--"American literature"--not as a stable set of texts that give birth to a later, more fully "American" literary tradition, but rather as a sequence of nodes in patterns of cultural exchange between and among English-speakers living in the British Isles, North America, and the Caribbean. Focusing on writings from the 1680s through the late 18th century, our attention will be given in particular to texts that pose questions about mixture and hybridity: what happens when previously distinct languages, bodies, cultures, and literary forms come together and mingle in new ways? How does the experience of relocating English cultural and literary practices to new geographies shape those practices and those places?

Grading

Grades will be based on two essays (approx. 15% and 25%, respectively), in-class exercises (approx. 15%), short writing assignments (10%), midterm
(approx. 15%), and a final (approx. 20%).

Texts

Oroonoko, The Rover and Other Works, Behn
CARIBBEANA, Krise
FEMALE AMERICAN, Winkfield
ALGERINE CAPTIVE, Tyler
WOMEN'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY NARRATIVES, DEROUNIAN
LETTERS FROM AMERICAN FARMER, CREVECOEUR
COMMON SENSE, Paine
Secret History, Sansay
, Course packet with additional readings
History of the Life and Adventures of Mr. Anderson, Kimber