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ENGL 250 A: American Literature

Telling American Narratives©

Meeting Time: 
TTh 11:30am - 1:20pm
Location: 
SAV 156
SLN: 
13808
Instructor:
Dr. Laurie George
E. Laurie George

Additional Details:

It has always seemed to me a rare privilege, this, of being
an American, a real American, one whose tradition it has taken
scarcely sixty years to create. We need only realize our parents,
remember our grandparents, and know ourselves, and our history
is complete.
The old people in a new world, the new people made out of the old,
that is the story that I mean to tell, for that is what really is and
what I really know.

--Gertrude Stein
The Making of Americans


When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax a little and use more normal means of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock—to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost-blind you draw large and startling figures.

--Flannery O’Connor
“The Fiction Writer and His Country”

The course title and the above quotations define the main objectives of this course: to use the stories of American literature as startling narratives that reflect American history, culture, ideology, and writers’ attitudes about those matters. We will read and reflect on three centuries and four literary periods of American short fiction so as to analytically consider their historical, cultural, aesthetic, and biographical contexts. As we move through these literary time frames, we will attempt to connect American eras and authors with the substance and style of the stories penned such that by the end of the quarter, you should have a sophisticated understanding of what American literature "really is" as well as what more you'd like to read after course completion to "really know" past and present “Americas” that help to configure you in contemporary America.

The course title and the above quotation define the main objectives of this course: to see the stories of American writers in context. This course will introduce you to American literature through a careful reading of a variety of representative short stories viewed in their historical, cultural, and biographical contexts. In the next 10 weeks we will read and reflect on three centuries and five literary periods of American short fiction: (1)1819 to 1860; (2) 1861 - 1899;
(3) 1900 - 1940; (4) 1941 to 1965, and (5) 1966 to the present. As we move through these historical, cultural, and literary time frames, we will attempt to connect American eras and authors with the substance and style of the stories penned.

Requirements include active, consistent, vocal, and critically-informed discussion; essay-focused midterm and final exams; pop quizzes, presentations.

The syllabus will be distributed in person on the first day of the course, and auditing is not an option.

Catalog Description: 
Introduces American culture through a careful reading of a variety of representative texts in their historical contexts.
GE Requirements: 
Arts and Humanities (A&H)
Other Requirements Met: 
Status: 
Active
Last updated: 
March 24, 2016 - 11:24am
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