ENGLISH 7760, AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE:
Crosscultural Conversations In Early America
Office: Haley 9080
Office Hours: MW 11-12:30 & by appt.
Office Phone: 844-9080
email: wysshil@mail.auburn.edu
TEXTS:
William Apess, A Son of the Forest and Other Writings. U Mass Press.
Susan Castillo and Ivy Schweitzer, The Literatures of Colonial America: An Anthology. Blackwell Press.
Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative… Penguin Classics
Hannah Webster Foster, The Coquette. Oxford
Roger Williams, A Key into the Language of America… Applewood Books
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
In this course we will look at the evolving nature of American identity in the colonial and early national periods, focusing on the ways in which writers conceived of this emerging category of “the American.” We will explore the ways in which America and American literature exist as a series of negotiations between various racial, cultural, and political identities, and the ways those identities are represented in the literature of the day.
We will focus on writing by and about people broadly identified as “Americans,” a category that is, as we shall see, highly contested throughout this period. This writing ranges from early contact materials to early American fiction and political documents. As we survey this material, we will formulate questions for ourselves about the nature and politics of race, identity, and expression, using relevant critical and theoretical materials to complement our close readings of primary texts.
As a class we can only begin to uncover the issues involved. To help all of us in this task and to give shape to our discussions, you will each become an “expert” on a particular aspect of early American literature or culture that interests you. In the first few weeks of class you will decide what your area of specialization will be--it can be a geographical area, an issue, an ethnic group, or a historical event. Throughout the semester you will research your topic, digging deeply into the resources available and sharing your knowledge with the class through both written and oral presentations. You will prepare a set of “teaching notes” to share with the rest of the class midway through the semester, and the week before Thanksgiving you will present your ideas for your final paper. By the end of the semester you will produce a twenty-five page seminar paper of publishable quality on the topic you have chosen.
The primary format of this course will be discussion. To enrich our discussions, each student will present one article/ book chapter relevant to our reading in the course of the quarter. We will talk at greater length about this, but you should expect to hand out to the class a short synopsis of the article in question with a brief assessment of its value as a critical or teaching tool. You will receive a more detailed assignment sheet for each project as the semester progresses, and you should feel free to talk with me at any point if you have questions or concerns about any of the assignments. Keep in mind that you must hand in all assignments to pass the course. Missing class or not doing the assigned reading carefully and ON TIME is not only unprofessional but is also a strong indication that you are not taking the class seriously enough.
GRADING:
class presentation(s) and
accompanying materials ..……………….30%
final paper (25 pages).....................…......50%
participation..............................................10%
article and handout……………………….10%
SPECIAL NEEDS:
Please feel free to stop by after class or in my office hours to discuss any learning disabilities, physical disabilities, or special circumstances of which you feel I should be aware.
SYLLABUS:
· INTRODUCTION
· UNIT ONE: A New World
M-27 ENCOUNTERS:
Columbus Letter <http://www.usm.maine.edu/~maps/columbus/toc.html>
Native Creation Stories, Literatures, 8-22
Genesis, Ch 1-3
*Colin Calloway, New Worlds for All (2 chapters)
*Michael Warner, “What’s Colonial about Colonial America?” in Possible Pasts, ed. Robert Blair St. George
M-3 NO CLASS
M-10 LANGUAGE:
Roger Williams, A Key Into The Language of America
John Eliot, The Indian Grammar Begun (Handout)
New England Primer, Literatures, 293-298
M-17 WAR
Mexican Conquest, Literatures, 40-73
Mary Rowlandson, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God…
*Mary Louise Pratt, “Transculturation and Autoethnography: Peru, 1615/1980” in Colonial Discourse/Postcolonial Theory (ed. Francis Barker, Peter Hulme, Margaret Iversen)
· UNIT TWO: Christianity
Manuel Da Nobrega, Literatures, 81-92
Cotton Mather, Literatures, 327-29; 333-37
M-1 TEACHING NOTES; student presentations
John Winthrop, Literatures, 243-50
Anne Bradstreet, Literatures, 281-93
Jonathan Edwards, Literatures, 411-21
Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative…
*Henry Louis Gates, The Signifying Monkey, chapter 4
William Apess, A Son of the Forest and Other Writings
· UNIT THREE: Independence
M-29 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
Thomas Jefferson, Literatures, 523-37
Sally Hemmings <http://www.monticello.org/house/index.html>
John and Abigail Adams, Literatures, 485-92
*Elaine Forman Crane, “Political Dialogue and the Spring of Abigail's Discontent.” In William and Mary Quarterly 1999 56(4): 745-774.
Phillis Wheatly, Literatures, 581-91
Lemuel Haynes, Literatures, 572-80
*Kirstin Wilcox, “The Body into Print: Marketing Phillis Wheatley” in American Literature, March 1999, vol 71, #1.
November
M-19 – F-23: THANKSGIVING
Judith Sargent Murray, Literatures, 554-58
*Cathy Davidson, Revolution and the Word, chapters 4 and 6
· CONCLUSIONS
M-3 SEMINAR PAPER DUE
TEACHING NOTES AND HANDOUTS
PRESENTATIONS:
This semester you will produce a set of “teaching notes” that you will share with the rest of the class on October 1. Remember that the point of these presentations is to introduce other members of the class to materials with which they are not familiar, and to give them a sense of how the materials you have examined are important and can be taught to undergraduates. Plan to spend about 10 minutes.
HANDOUT: (Remember to bring 16 copies to class.)
Depending on the topic you have chosen, you will want to focus on very different things. I will leave it up to each person to decide what to stress most in his/her particular handout. At a minimum, however, you must address the following:
Ø Names and dates of key figures in question. This may also involve a general chronology if you are focussing on a war or some other kind of event.
Ø Historical context. A few paragraphs on the context of your topic; tribal history, contemporary political issues that might relate, etc. Use your judgement about what would be useful.
Ø Annotated list of primary texts related to your topic. Be sure to give a clear sense of how we know what we know; in other words, are these reliable sources? What is missing? What do they present?
Ø Annotated list of crucial secondary sources. These may include web sites. Remember that these are TEACHING NOTES; don’t recommend huge volumes of material, but sources that provide accessible, manageable approaches to the material or perhaps new and interesting perspectives on old approaches. Think in terms of 3-5 articles, books, or web sites.
Ø Recurring themes or issues. What are some of the main points of interest? Try to include some relevant quotes from your primary sources so that we can get the flavor of this material.
Ø Recommended audience. In what kind of course might you teach this? Why? What are the limitations/strengths of this material? Who would find this appealing? Why?
Try to keep this handout compact, focussed, and easy to read. Aim for no more than 2 front-and-back pages, less if you can manage it.