Roemer (UT Arlington)

Abstract

This course has three objectives: 1) to examine the diversity of early American literatures and the diverse ways to study this topic; 2) to discuss how the study of Early American Literature relates to the development of the American literary canon; and 3) to enhance students' ability to compose (1) a reader-response paper and (2) a short research paper that demonstrates the ability to analyze texts convincingly while integrating discussions of secondary sources.

The pace of the course varies between close examinations of individual texts and overviews of many. I hope this approach will create a course that has both intensity and breadth.

Texts

Selections from Heath Anthology of American, Vol. 1, Lauter, et. al. eds.

Charles Brockden Brown, Wieland

Handouts: see specific assignments listed below (HO)

READINGS

Unit #1

The First American Literatures; 3 class sessions

Native American Oral Literatures Native American Traditions (22; 2641); Night Chant ; Mexican-American Oral Tales (771).

Unit #2

The European "Discovery" of "America": 1 class session

Definitions, Utopian Visions, and Cultural Clashes (Focus on Hispanic Perspectives (67) Columbus (69), Virgin of Guadalupe (80), Gentleman of Elvas (99), Pedro de Avilés (106), Fray Marcos de Niza (114), Pedro de Casteñeda (117); John Smith (146-50, 156-59) ; John Winthrop (188-99).

Unit #3

Colonial Public and Private Forms of Expression (3 class sessions)

Euro-American Culture and Colonial Literature Lecture; First Exam

PUBLIC HISTORIES: Iroquois (56), William Bradford (310), Hopi (52), Pueblo Revolt (431), Perez de Villagra (120), Cotton Mather (399- 401, 406-14), Thomas Morton (176), WIlliam Byrd (491), Thomas Jefferson (957-60, 964-71), Francisco Palou (762).

PRIVATE HISTORIES: Diaries, Journals & Life Stories (470-472) Northeast: Mary Rowlandson (371), Samuel Sewall (385), Sarah Kemble Knight (472); Mid-Atlantic: Elizabeth Ashbridge (579), John Woolman (590); African & Native American Voices: Gustavus Vassa (694), Samson Occom (728-36), Francisco Palou (762), Mexican-American Oral Tales (771).

Unit #4

American Revolutions: (447-69, 774-76); 4 Class Sessions

A PRIVATE REVOLUTION: Edward Taylor (342) A PRIVATE-PUBLIC REVOLUTION: Jonathan Edwards (512-66)

Reader-Response Paper Due

A PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SYNTHESIS: Benjamin Franklin , from Autobiography (776-83, 823-81) PUBLIC MANIFESTOES Thomas Paine (936-45); Thomas Jefferson (960-64); Hector St. Jean de Crèvecoeur (890); Patriot and Loyalist Songs and Ballads (994); Tecumseh (HO); Prince Hall (685-94)

Unit #5

Euro-American Literary Genres; 4 Class Sessions

The Role of the Poet (See also Native American and Taylor): The Bay Psalm Book (295); Michael Wigglesworth (HO); Anne Bradstreet (256); Nathaniel Ward (312); Ebenezer Cook (614-as much as you'd like), Jane Colman Turell (642); Anonymous (674); Phillis Wheatley (712); Jupiter Hammon (682-85); Judith Sargent Murray (1024-29 + essay); Philip Freneau (1042), (679); Joel Barlow (1071-73, 1078- 87).

Research Paper Due

DRAMATIC MANNERS, SATIRIC BARBS: Royall Tyler , The Contrast (1089-as much as you'd like).

THE 'AMERICAN' NOVEL? Susanna Rowson , Charlotte Temple (1153); Hannah Foster , The Coquette (1131); Charles Brockden Brown, Wieland.

Reader Response Papers

INSTRUCTION: Select a text from the reading list that, on your initial reading, you responded to strongly (positively and/or negatively). Reread the text, noting places where you respond strongly and jotting down possible reasons for your responses. Look over your notes. Drawing upon them, identify the five most important influences (e.g. reading tastes, people you know, personal experiences, previous courses, religious, economic, or other general attitudes, immediate circumstances). Order the influences from the least to most important. In your description of each include (1) a definition of the influence, (2) indication of which part or parts of the text was shaped by the influence, and (3) the nature of the response.

Research Papers

Brief Instructions: Use the "new" MLA form described in MLA Style Manual (1985) and the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (1984). This paper will offer you the opportunity to do intensive independent study about a relatively narrow topic of interest to you and will help you to develop your ability to analyze texts and to use bibliographic and critical studies. The paper is not intended to be a bibliographic essay; I expect you to develop and articulate an argument that will be clarified and supported with textual analyses and well-integrated allusions to relevant critical studies.