American Literature

Projects

Course Description

This course focuses on American literary selections. Topics include the critical evaluations of the literary genres: story, poetry and drama.

Course Competencies

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Broaden personal perspectives through the study of literature.
2. Develop critical thinking skills through reading, writing, and discussion.
3. Explain how to assess certain issues and ideas and make reasoned judgments about them.
4. Analyze imaginative acts that convey specific values and ideals.
5. Identify certain themes and trends that have been important to American culture through the years.
6. Reflect on the similarities and differences among groups and cultures.
7. Develop and Refine interpretive skills.
8. Examiine the ways in which various works of imagination address certain social, historical, and ethical problems.

Topics Covered

• Week 1
• American Literature – Introduction
• The World Before the Reformation
• The Age of Exploration and Colonization
• Pre-Colonial and Colonial America
• The Age of Reason
• The Cultural Transformation of British North America
• The Age of Revolution
• The Rising Glory of America and the Birth of American Literature
• The Romantics
• The Spread of the Written Word
• “Creating an American Culture
• The American Mystique
• The Realists
• The Industrial Machine
• An Ever-Changing World
• The 20th Century

Software Utilized

• Microsoft Word