Course Description: In this course, students are introduced to the main characteristics of the different significant periods of American Literature from the colonial period to the early 20th century. Ages and phases that are covered in this course are: the Age of the Puritan, the Neo-Classical Age, the Romantic Movement, The Rise of Realism, the Civil War and Slaves Narratives, and other new directions in the modern period of American literature. The main focus of the course is on the cultural changes which took place in the different periods of American history and literature and how these changes influenced both the form and the content of the literary texts of these periods. The influence of European
movements and philosophies, like Classicism, Romanticism, Naturalism etc. on American literature will also be addressed. Close reading of essays, short stories, and poems helps student explore and understand American Literature. In the reading task, students are expected to identify themes and literary patterns using appropriate terminology.
The list of writers intended for discussion in this course includes, but is not limited to, the following names: William Bradford, Anne Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, Jonathan Edwards, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Emily Dickenson, Walt Whitman, Fredrick Douglass, Mark Twain, Jack London, and Ernest Hemingway.
Course Outline
Week Date/ Hejri Date/ Gregorian Assignment
1 22-28 TH 2-8 SEPT Introduction to American Literature
2 29 TH-5 MUH 9-15 SEPT The Beginning of the American Tradition (to 1760)
3 6-12 MUH 16-22 SEPT Analysis of given texts
4 13-19 MUH 23-29 SEPT The Revolutionary Period (1760-1800)
5 20-26 MUH 30 SEPT-6 OCT First Harvest (1800-1840)
6 27 MUH-4 SAF 7-13 OCT Analysis of given texts
7 5-11 SAF 14-20 OCT The Flowering of New England (Romanticism)
(1840-1860)
8 12-18 SAF 21-27 OCT Analysis of given texts
9 19-25 SAF 28 OCT-3 NOV
*A House Divided and Restored (Civil War Narratives) (1860-1890)
10 26 SAF-2 RI 4-10 NOV Analysis of given texts
11 3-9 RI 11-17 NOV Realism and Naturalism (1890-1914)
12 10-16 RI 18-24 NOV Analysis of given texts
13 17-23 RI 25 NOV-4 DEC Literature in Modern America
14 24 RI-1 RII 2-8 DEC Analysis of given texts
15 2-8 RII 9-15 DEC Analysis of given texts
16 9-15 RII 16-22 DEC
Final Exams
17 16-22 RII 23-29 DEC
Umm Al Qura University (Course Code) : 371370-2
School of Social Sciences (Course Title): American Literature
Department of English First Semester 1440 H. 2018-19 G.
Instructor: Dima Abduljabbar Email: [email protected] Office Hours: 7th&8th (Sun. &Tues.) 8th (Mon. & Wed.)
18 30 RII 6 JAN
Second Term Begins
*Midterm exams period. Subject to departmental plans.
Text Book
• Hodgins et al (1996). Adventures in American Literature. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: New York.
Class Procedure:
Throughout the term, in one meeting we discuss the main historical, cultural, and literary features of an age in American Literature, and in the subsequent meeting we read texts relevant to the age/phase discussed. When we read any text, our task in is to relate these features to the text in concern while also highlighting those themes, styles, images, rhetorical devices and other literary features characteristic of that age/phase and of its writers. Slideshow presentations will be used for the delivery of the lectures.
All presentations will be uploaded to our e-class on e-Learn. Educational documentary movies will also be used to facilitate students understanding and appreciation of American Literature.
Course Regulations:
You are expected to attend all your classes regularly and on time. Failure to do so will result in lowering your grade.
I expect students to be keen at taking notes and to be highly attentive in the class. iAnnotate app from Apple is good for note taking.
I expect students to come fully aware of the reading text(s) I assign. Their participation is highly graded and valued.
A Midterm Exam will be conducted according the department given time.
I give NO make-up exams.
The Final Exam will be conducted according to the UQU given time.
You are expected to visit our e-class on e-Learn regularly to be aware of courses’ updates and activities.
Students are advised to regularly visit King AbdulAziz Library in Building A and to make use of its facilities in order to widen and solidify their knowledge and understanding of American Literature.
Assessment
Mid-term Exam 35%
Final Exam 50%
Other Assignments & Participation 15%
Suggested Readings
• Bayan, Nina. Et al. eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature Vol 1&2.
• High, Peter B. An Outline of American Literature. Longman: New York.
• Hart, James D. The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford U.P.: New York.
• Foerster, Norman. Image of America: Our Literature from Puritanism to the Space Age, University of Notre Dame Press: London.
Electronic Resources https://elearn.uqu.edu.sa/
https://uqu.edu.sa/lib http://www.jstor.com
http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/publication/2011/07/20110727110855su0.6739575.html#axzz3 BiiTFDnS
http://www.learner.org/amerpass/howto.html
