Skip to main content
Department of English
Search
Log in
Navigation
About
Current Office Hours
Diversity Resources
English Library
Faculty Statement Archives
Internal Dept Resources
Medieval and Early Modern Studies
University Writing Program
Video Guides & Worksheets
Visit us on Facebook
Major/Minor in English
Advising
Creative Writing Application
Honors Program
Internships
Literary Magazines
Major Requirements Guide & FAQ
Minor Requirements
Study Abroad
Why Major in English?
MFA in Creative Writing
Admissions
Events, Prizes, and Resources
MFA Program Faculty
Newly Admitted Grad Students
Resources
Ph.D. in Literature
About
Admissions
Newly Admitted Grad Students
PhD Alumni Directory
Resources
Courses & Schedules
People
News & Events
Off the Syllabus Podcast
Recent News
Contests
Contest Winners
Previous Contest Winners
Newsletters
You are here
Home
»
Courses & Schedules
English 142 - Winter, 2013
Early American Literature
Class Information
Instructor:
Ziser, Michael
CRN:
52747
Time:
TR 12:10-1:30
Location:
118 Olson
Description
This course will focus on prose narratives—mostly fictional—written in the late colonial and early national periods of American history (approximately 1760 to 1812), ranging from tales of captivity to seduction stories, picaresques, historical romances, and gothic novels. Their authors’ preoccupations—sexual politics, colonial encounter, and racial ordering—will be ours as well for the quarter, with lecture material and limited optional background reading on the historical circumstances most relevant to each book. Primary readings will be fairly heavy but enjoyable—perfect for the cold winter months.
Grading
3 short assignments: 3@5% = 15%
2 papers, the second with a research component (5-6pp and 6-8pp): 25% and 35%
Final Exam: 25%
Texts
The Coquette
, Hannah Webster Foster
The Power of Sympathy
, William Hill Brown
Charlotte Temple
, Susanna Rowson
Reuben and Rachel
, Susanna Rowson
Modern Chivalry
, Hugh Henry Brackenridge
Life of Olaudah Equiano
, Olaudah Equiano
Sovereignty and Goodness of God
, Mary Rowlandson
The Algerine Captive
, Royall Tyler
The Female American
, Unca Eliza Winkfield (pseud.)
Wieland
, Charles Brockden Brown
Adventures of Jonathan Corncob
, Jonathan Corncob (pseud.)
Autobiography
, Benjamin Franklin