English 251-03: Major American Authors, Colonial through Romantic Eras
Spring 2011 ● MWF 9:00 - 9:50 ● MHRA 1214
Professor Karen Weyler
Office: MHRA 3121 ● Telephone: 334-4689 ● Email:
Office hours: MWF 10:00 – 10:45. Additional times by appt.
Required Texts
Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Volume1. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008.
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. In reading these texts, 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 valuesfrom 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:
First examination15%
Second examination15%
Take home final exam15%
Quizzes(varied format) and in-class writing20%
Essay (4-5 pages)25%
Participation10%
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 HHRA Building) is a wonderful resource, and I encourage you to visit it for assistance with your writing. For more information, call 334-3125.
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 Disability Services at 334-5440.
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 may be found on line 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 an exam 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 kinds of assessments.
As a matter of both courtesy and practicality, I expect students to arrive on time. Late arrivals are distracting and disrespectful to your classmates. 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 writing assignments 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.
Ten or more absences, regardless of excuse, will result in a failing grade.
Classroom Courtesy
All of us are responsible for creating a productive, civil learning environment. The ringing of phones, texting, and the wearing of earbuds in the classroom are all disrespectful and distracting behaviors. Please turn off and put away all such devices when you enter our class. Please turn off your laptop as well, unless you have a really good reason that you’re willing to discuss with me.
What Can You Expect from Your Professor?
You can expect that I will treat you as an adult, 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.
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.
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.
M Jan. 10Course introduction
W Jan.12Exploration and Settlement of the New World: Handsome Lake, “How America Was Discovered” (Blackboard, under Course Documents); Introduction 61-65
F Jan. 14Columbus 66-68;“Letter” 68-73
M Jan. 17No class: Martin Luther King Holiday
W Jan. 19English settlement: Introduction 93-106, Smith 106-09; from Generall Historie 110-19
F Jan. 21Bradford 124-27; from Of Plimoth Plantation127-46; “Modern Lens” 147-48
M Jan. 24Winthrop, 153-54;“A Model of Christian Charity” 154-66
W Jan. 26Williams, “Letter to the Town of Providence” (BB)
F Jan. 28Bradstreet, 167-69; “Prologue” 170-71, “The Author to Her Book” 181; “Upon the Burning of Our House” 184. If you’d like to hear some of these poems read aloud, check out Eighteenth-Century Audio at quiz
M Jan. 31 Bradstreet continued; Taylor, 229-30; “Upon Wedlock and Death of Children” 238
W Feb. 2Rowlandson 190-92; The Sovereignty and Goodness of God 191-206
F Feb. 4Rowlandson 206-228
M Feb. 7The Great Awakening: Edwards 276-278, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” 291-303
W Feb. 9Occom, 403-04;“A Short Narrative of My Life” 404-409
F Feb. 11Crèvecoeur, 429-30; from Letters from an American Farmer 430-33
M Feb. 14The American Revolution: 312-30; 437-38; Common Sense 438-41; quiz
W Feb. 16Franklin, 340-44; from The Autobiography, Part I, 344-360
F Feb. 18Franklin, Part II 361-371
M Feb. 21Wheatley, 503-05; “On Being Brought from Africa to America” 505-06; “To the University of Cambridge, in New England” 506-507; “Letter to Samson Occom” 516
W Feb. 23Wheatley continued
F Feb. 25FirstExam
M Feb. 28Bryant, 567-60; “Thanatopsis” 569-71; “The Yellow Violet” 571-72; “The Prairies” 574-77
W Mar. 2Cultures of Reform: Introduction, 607-16; Apess, 639-40; “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man” 640-45
F Mar. 4No class meeting: Instructor at a conference
Mar. 5 – Mar. 13 Spring Break
M Mar. 14Emerson 653-55, “The American Scholar” 671-83
W Mar. 16Emerson, “Self-Reliance” 683-701
F Mar. 18Thoreau, 792-93; “Resistance to Civil Government” 794-809
M Mar. 21Thoreau, from Walden, “Economy” 810-815
W Mar. 23Fuller, 725-27; “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” 727-733
F Mar. 25Stanton, “Declaration of Sentiments” (BB); quiz
M Mar 28Walker, 619; from “An Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World” 619-621
W Mar. 30Douglass 855-57; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass857-91
F Apr. 1Douglass,Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass891-922
M Apr. 4Poe, 1018-20, “The Tell-Tale Heart” 1044-48, “The Black Cat” (BB)
W Apr. 6Poe continued; Hawthorne 966-968; “The Birth-Mark” 1007-17
F Apr. 8Hawthorne, “The Minister’s Black Veil” 997-1006
M Apr. 11Melville 1072-74, “The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids” 1102-1118
W Apr. 13In-class draft workshop
F Apr. 15Romantic poetry: Poe, “Sonnet—To Science” 1223; Whitman 1234-36;“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” 1293; Dickson 1312-1314; “‘Faith’ is a Fine Invention” 1317; quiz
M Apr. 18Essay due in class; Whitman, “The Wound Dresser” 1296-1298 and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” 1299-1306
W Apr. 20Dickinson, 1312-15; “These are the days when Birds come back—” 1315; “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church” 1323; “Apparently with no surprise” 1342; “I taste a liquor never brewed—” 1318; “This Was a Poet—It is That” 1328; “I dwell in Possibility—” 1335; “Poets light but Lamps—” 1338; “The Soul selects her own Society—“; “Publication—Is the Auction” 1336; “This is my letter to the World” 1327; “I heard a fly buzz—when I died—” 1329; Letters 1344-1347
F Apr. 22No class meeting: Spring Holiday
M April 25Dickinson continued; wrap-up
T April 26Second Exam [note that UNCG follows the Friday schedule on this day]
Take-home Final Exam due by noon on Friday, April 29.