AJL15101 American Literature 1: Beginnings-1890

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Jeffrey Alan Smith, M.A., Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Jeffrey Alan Smith, M.A., Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 12:00–13:40 D22, except Mon 15. 4.
Prerequisites (in Czech)
( AJL01002 Practical English II || AJ01002 Practical English II ) && AJL04003 Intro. to Literary Studies II
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 27/50, only registered: 0/50, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
A survey of American literature from the colonial period to about 1890. The course prepares students to identify key authors, developments and movements in early and 19th-century American literature and culture and to explain their significance and interrelationships. It also lays the basis for further study of American literature and culture, both in the subsequent courses in the American literature sequence and in other courses and thesis work.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to identify important authors, issues, developments and movements in early American literature and culture and to explain their significance and interrelationships. They will be better able to analyze particular literary works in their cultural context, and will be prepared for further study of American literature and culture, both in the subsequent courses of the American literature sequence and in other courses and thesis work.
Syllabus
  • This is a tentative list of topics to be covered. Assigned readings have in most cases been excerpted and arranged specifically for the course, and therefore should be accessed on the course ELF site in the folder indicated for each week.
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  • WEEK 1
  • BACKGROUND AND CONCEPTS FOR STUDYING EARLY AMERICAN LITERATURE
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  • WEEK 2
  • ENVISIONING THE “NEW-FOUND-LAND”
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  • WEEK 3
  • THE AMERICAN FOUNDING
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  • WEEK 4
  • NEOCLASSICISM AND CHANGING STYLES
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  • WEEK 5
  • INVERSIONS AND SATIRES
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  • WEEK 6
  • RACE AND SLAVERY
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  • WEEK 7
  • THE HAUNTED PAST
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  • WEEK 8
  • THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE I -- TRANSCENDENTALISM
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  • WEEK 9
  • READING WEEK: NO CLASS MEETING
  • ---------------------------------------------------------------
  • WEEK 10
  • THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE II -- REVOLUTIONARY WRITERS OF THE 1850s
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  • WEEK 11
  • OPPRESSION, PROTEST, AND CIVIL WAR
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  • WEEK 12
  • THE POSTWAR ERA AND LINCOLN MYTHOLOGY
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  • WEEK 13
  • THE "GILDED AGE," UTOPIANISM, REALISM AND REGIONALISM
Literature
    recommended literature
  • The Cambridge introduction to early American literature. Edited by Emory Elliott. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, viii, 198. ISBN 052152041X. info
Teaching methods
Class presentations and discussions; readings, film/video viewings; postings on ELF.
Assessment methods
Final exam, one week after the final class meeting: 85%
Optional "supplemental" assignment to raise the final exam grade
Three ungraded but required "Short Response" postings (following instructions on ELF): 15%
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2024/AJL15101