Description
C: Early American Literature
One of the best ways to expand our worldview is to engage the rich variety of perspectives offered to us in literature. Through such reading, different beliefs, views and locations come alive, and we can situate our own values and ethics in relation to those espoused by literary figures. In this survey course, we will explore either British or American literature from its earliest origins to the present day – reading multiple genres, authors, movements, styles, and themes. We will read canonical texts to ask how they explored the social, cultural, and political issues of their times but also trace the contributions of marginalized voices. Our readings will emphasize how such works successively reinforced and challenged mainstream identify and values in the separate English-speaking literary traditions. Prerequisite: ENGL 120