English 251-01: Major American Authors, Colonial through Romantic Eras

Spring 2015 ● TTR 11:00 – 12:15 • Curry 312

Professor Karen Weyler

Office: MHRA 3121 ● Telephone: 334-4689 ● Email:

Office hours: TR 12:20 – 1:50. Wednesday hours by appt.

Required Text

Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Volume 1. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013.ISBN: 9780312678685

Course Description

In English 251, we'll read literary texts drawn from the time of European exploration of North America through the fracturing of the United States in the 1860s. We will acquaint ourselves with the consequences of European exploration, both intended and unintended, for the Native American, African, and European populations. The period of English settlement was beset with difficulties, and the dominant status of English language, culture, and laws emerged slowly over the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This English culture was always a creolized culture, however, inflected by the diverse cultures that populated the New World. Even after the Revolution, the status of the United States remained contingent, fraught by divisive questions about religion, race, slavery, gender, and citizenship; polemical as well as belletristic texts engage with these issues in a rich and varied fashion. We will explore these questions by reading in a variety of genres. Some, such as poetry, will be familiar to you; others, like the captivity narrative and spiritual autobiography, may be new to students.

This class will rely on a mixture of lecture and discussion. Students have a responsibility both to speak and to listen to their instructor and their classmates. Students will be expected to participate by engaging in small group and whole class discussions, being attentive to discussions, asking questions, and reading aloud passages from our text.

Student Learning Goals

In this course, students will consider important questions about the development of American literature. By the end of the semester, students will be able to

  • describe the historical and cultural contexts in which pre-1865 American literature has been produced by diverse groups of people;
  • discuss how literary texts intervened in important religious, political, and cultural debates;
  • speak and write knowledgably about the different genres used by early writers (such as sermons, captivity narratives, and histories) as well as more familiar genres such as poetry and fiction;
  • explain changes in aesthetic values from the period of settlement through the nineteenth century.

Course Requirements and Evaluation

You must complete and turn in all assignments on the dates that they are due in order to pass this course. The final grade for this course will be based on the following:

Blackboard quizzes (two, at 10% each)20%

Midterm examination20%

Final examination20%

Take-home final essay10%

Essay20%

Participation and in-class writing 10%

Accommodation for Disabilities

If you would like to request accommodation for a disability that could affect your performance in this course, please contact the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services at 334-5440. OARS designs all classroom and testing accommodations, and I am happy to work with them to facilitate your success in this class.

Office Hours and Conferences

You are welcome to visit my office at any point during the semester or to schedule an appointment outside of my usual office hours in order to discuss reading assignments, papers, etc.

UNCG Writing Center

The Writing Center (located at 3211 MHRA Building) is a wonderful resource; I encourage you to visit it for assistance with your writing. For more information, call 334-3125.

Departmental List-serv

If you would like to join the English Department listserv, send the following message to : Subscribe English-l yourfirstname yourlastname (note that is a lower case L, not the numeral 1, following English).

Student Code of Conduct and Academic Integrity Policy

I expect every student to abide by the principles of the Student Code of Conduct and the Academic Integrity Policy, which can be found at Students will need to sign the Academic Integrity Pledge on all major work. In addition, you must always properly document any use of another's words, ideas, or research. Unacknowledged use of someone else's thoughts is plagiarism. Work that is not properly documented will receive a zero; further penalties may be assessed according to the criteria established under the Academic Integrity Policy. If you have questions concerning documentation, please consult me.

Use of any form of unauthorized electronic device (e.g. cell phone, mp3 player, etc.) during quizzes or exams will result in an automatic zero.

Attendance Policy

Attendance is crucial to this class: Good discussions are its lifeblood. If you aren’t present, you can’t participate. Further, I will draw test and quiz questions not only from the assigned reading but also from our discussions and additional material presented in class. Students who miss class frequently will be at a tremendous disadvantage on these assessments.

As a matter of both courtesy and practicality, I expect students to arrive on time. Late arrivals are distracting and disrespectful to everyone. Students who are not present when roll is taken will be marked absent.

If you are ill, you should certainly stay home; it is your obligation, however, to determine what you have missed and to make up any missed work promptly. Please be aware that in-class work cannot be made up. Students will be allowed to make up missed work from excused absences only; arrangements must be made in advance of the absence and written documentation is required. Grounds for excused absence include such events as illness, death in the family, or religious holidays.

Requests for excused absences for religious observance must be made at least one week in advance. Per university policy, students are limited to a maximum of two excused absences for religious observances; documentation is required, and any work that will be due during the absence must be submitted in advance.

You must attend at least 75% of the scheduled class meetings in order to be eligible to pass this class. Students who miss seven or more classes, regardless of excuse, will receive a failing grade.

Classroom Courtesy

All of us are responsible for creating a productive, civil learning environment. I will give you 100% of my attention, and I expect the same in return. Especially in a large class, the ringing of phones and pagers, the click of texting, the presence of headsets, earbuds, and laptops open to Facebook and other such sites are disrespectful and distracting. Please turn off and put away all such devices when you enter our class. If you really need to use a laptop, please discuss it with me privately. If you are an emergency responder and need to be on call, please turn your electronic devices to vibrate and alert me.

What Can You Expect from Your Professor?

I will encourage your participation in this class, listen carefully to what you have to say, and challenge your thinking. You can also expect me to evaluate your work fairly, offer constructive criticism and praise of your oral and written work, and return your work in a timely fashion.

Electronic resource: If you can’t remember what an allegory is, or if you can’t tell an allusion from an illusion, here’s an excellent (free!) online literary handbook for you:

Additional electronic resources: Check out this website if you would like more author information, or to see holograph copies of manuscripts, additional images, etc. Be sure to click on the link for Vol. 1.

Course Calendar and Reading Assignments

Please complete each day's readings before coming to class. You should always bring your book and printouts of any electronic readings to class. In case of inclement weather, you should be guided by UNCG's adverse weather policy. If classes are cancelled for any reason, please continue with the scheduled readings; I will notify you via Blackboard of any schedule adjustments.

Tuesday / Thursday
Jan. 13
Course introduction / Jan. 15
Exploration and Settlement of the New World: Handsome Lake, “How America Was Discovered” (BB, under Course Documents); Introduction 73-78; Columbus 78-81;“Letter” 81-86
Jan. 20
English settlement: Introduction 107-119, Smith 120-23; from Generall Historie 123-32 / Jan. 22
Smith, “A Description of New England” (BB)
Revel, “The Poor, Unhappy Transported Felon” (BB)
Jan. 27
Bradford 142-45; from Of Plimoth Plantation 145-64; “Modern Lens” 165-66 / Jan. 29
Winthrop 171-72; “A Model of Christian Charity” 173-84
Feb. 3
Winthrop continued if necessary; Williams, “Letter to the Town of Providence” (BB) / Feb. 5
Bradstreet 185-87; “Prologue” 188-89; “The Author to Her Book” 199; “Upon the Burning of Our House” 202-03
Feb. 10
Captivity and Conflict: Rowlandson 213-15; The Sovereignty and Goodness of God 215-31 / Feb. 12
Rowlandson, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God 231-51
Blackboard Quiz #1
Feb. 17
The Great Awakening: Edwards 331-333; “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” 345-58 / Feb. 19
American Identity and the American Revolution: Crèvecoeur 539-40; from Letters from an American Farmer 540-43
Feb. 24
Introduction, 368-81; Franklin 398-400; from The Autobiography, Part 2, 449-64 / Feb. 26
Paine 548-49; from Common Sense 549-52; Jefferson 557-58; Declaration 558-62
Mar. 3
Wheatley 599-601; “On Being Brought from Africa to America” 602; “To the University of Cambridge, in New England” 602-03; “Letter to Samson Occom” 612 / Mar. 5
First Examination
Mar. 10
Spring Break / Mar. 12
Spring Break
Mar. 17
Cultures of Reform: “The Era of Reform” 727-35; “‘I Will Be Heard’” 736-37; Apess 759-60; “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man” 760-65 / Mar. 19
Douglass 1006-08; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass 1008-38
Mar. 24
Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass 1039-1107 / Mar. 26
Emerson 778-80; “The American Scholar” 811-24; “Self-Reliance” 824-42
Mar. 31
Thoreau 943-44; “Resistance to Civil Government” 945-60 / April 2
Fern 1209-11; “Hints,” 1212-13; “A Law More Nice Than Just” 1216-17; “Blackwell’s Island” 1217-23; “Independence” 1224; Stanton, “Declaration of Sentiments” 753-56
April 7
Poe 1160-62; “The Tell-Tale Heart” 1186-90; “The Black Cat” (BB)
Blackboard Quiz #2 / April 9
Hawthorne 1091-93; “Rappaccini’s Daughter” 1139-60
April 14
Romantic poetry: Poe, “Sonnet—To Science” 1204; Whitman, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” 1452; Dickinson, “‘Faith’ is a Fine Invention” 1473 / April 16
Essay due in class
Romantic poetry continued: Whitman 1388-1390; “The Wound-Dresser” 1455-1457
April 21
Dickinson 1469-72; “These are the days when Birds come back—” 1472; “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church” 1479 / April 23
Dickinson, “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” 1478-79; “The Soul selects her own Society” 1479;“Much Madness is divinest Sense” 1483; “The is my letter to the World” 1483; “This World is not Conclusion” 1485-1486; “The Spider holds a Silver Ball” 1488-1489; “A narrow Fellow in the Grass” 1494; Letters 1502-03
April 30
Final Examination: 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
The take-home essay is due at the beginning of the exam.