1. Help students build a solid foundation for their study of American English, and American Literatures, in keeping with the requirements and objectives of required courses in the English Majors program. Included as part of this agenda, students will examine major literary figures and periods and gain knowledge of the relationship between each writer and his or her respective social moment and its historical significance. American literature and culture are influenced by diverse human backgrounds and experiences, deriving from the underlying socio-economic forces that drove world exploration and colonialism, and continuing through industrialization, modernity and globalization. The literature tracing every development is rich with social testimony, and offers a window to the significance and complexity of American society and its practices.

2. Study the process whereby different social aspects of American Society, including democracy, the rule of law, civil rights, property rights, freedoms of speech and conscience, and the progress of a modernizing world have lead to innovations in human thought and social practice, as well as to deep social divisions and dissent. Many of these cultural developments derive their origins from the Western Tradition, (e.g. Greek political ideals, the Roman legal tradition, Christianity, the medieval concept of chivalry, the industrial revolution, European colonialism, modernity, etc.). American literature provides a lens by which to view how America came to exert important influences on world history. The reverse of this process, viz. the ways in which American culture has been influenced by other world civilizations, will also be examined. While exploring this issue, the benefits and problems of intercultural and intercivilizational encounters and outcomes will also be investigated. Of particular focus will be issues of race, class and gender, ethnicity and systems of belief.

1. Help students build a solid foundation for their study of American English, and American Literatures, in keeping with the requirements and objectives of required courses in the English Majors program. Included as part of this agenda, students will examine major literary figures and periods and gain knowledge of the relationship between each writer and his or her respective social moment and its historical significance. American literature and culture are influenced by diverse human backgrounds and experiences, deriving from the underlying socio-economic forces that drive world exploration and colonialism, and continuing through industrialization, modernity and globalization. The literature tracing every development is rich with social testimony, and offers a window to the significance and complexity of American society and its practices.

2. Study the process whereby different social aspects of American Society, including democracy, the rule of law, civil rights, property rights, freedoms of speech and conscience, and the progress of a modernizing world have lead to innovations in human thought and social practice, as well as to deep social divisions and dissent. Many of these cultural developments derive their origins from the Western Tradition, (e.g. Greek political ideals, the Roman legal tradition, Christianity, the medieval concept of chivalry, the industrial revolution, European colonialism, modernity, etc.). American literature provides a lens by which to view how America came to exert important influences on world history. The reverse of this process, viz. the ways in which American culture has been influenced by other world civilizations, will also be examined. While exploring This issue, the benefits and problems of intercultural and intercivilization encounters and outcomes will also be investigated. Of particular focus will be issues of race, class and gender, ethnicity and systems of belief.

This course introduces students to American literature, from Native American literary traditions before Columbus up through the present day, and the historical concerns that mark particular literary epochs. What vision do American writers have of their country, and how do they express
their own relationship to it? We will also consider these issues in a larger sense, so that students not only develop an understanding of American literary history but also how any particular country developes a vision of itself through its literature.

This course introduces students to American literature, from Native American literature traditions before Columbus up through the present day, and the historical concerns that mark particular literature epochs. What vision do American writers have of their country, and how do they express
their own relationship to it? We will also consider these issues in a larger sense, so that students not only develop an understanding of American literature history but also how any particular country develops a vision of itself through its literature.

The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym, et. al. Shorter 7th Ed.
New York: WW Norton & Company, 2009.

The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym, et. al. Shorter 7th Ed.
New York: WW Norton & Company, 2009.