LIT 210H - American Literature I

Credit(s): 3

This survey course is designed to give students a broad overview of the evolving canon of influential literary works produced in America from approximately 1600 through 1865. Students will read a variety of exemplary texts from a historical perspective in order to critically analyze the formation of our American identity. (Fall Semester)

Course Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of the course, students will be able to

Explain how contemporary America by studying the literature that helped shape the nation they see around them.
Identify outstanding American writers, their themes, and their major works.
Identify characteristics of Romanticsim in a work of literature.
Use literary terms discussed and in the course.
Read, discuss, and evaluate a variety of texts ranging from the pre-colonial period through the Civil War.
Situate and interpret literary texts in a national context.
Describe the impact of a national literature on culture and history and vice versa.
Write critically about a national literature as it is informed by a historical and cultural perspective.
Examine the nature of human experience and/or artistic expression.