ENGL G150: American Literature through the Civil War (1865)

Course Outline of Record
Item	Value
Curriculum Committee Approval Date	05/04/2021
Top Code	150100 - English
Units	3 Total Units
Hours	54 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 54)
Total Outside of Class Hours	0
Course Credit Status	Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee	No
Basic Skills	Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable	No
Grading Policy	Standard Letter (S), Pass/No Pass (B)
Local General Education (GE)	GWC Arts, Lit, Phil, Lang (GC)
Diversity Requirement (GCD)	Yes
California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC)	Cal-GETC 3B Humanities (3B)
Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)	IGETC 3B Humanities (3B)
California State University General Education Breadth (CSU GE-Breadth)	CSU C2 Humanities (C2)

Course Description

This course is a study of early American literature through the Civil War. This course will introduce students to many of the key American writers from the Colonial Era up until the Civil War. PREREQUISITE: ENGL C1000 or ENGL C1000E. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC. C-ID: ENGL 130. C-ID: ENGL 130.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

Course Outcomes
Explain and/or compare and contrast the major theories of relevant critics in this field and compile these theories in written work to create a more developed and scholarly analysis of a subject relevant to American literature through the Civil War.
Examine and explain the relationship between literary works and the literary movement associated with the period before the American Civil War.
Select relevant and appropriate scholarly sources and compose a paper synthesizing these sources to augment, strengthen, and complement an original analysis.
Investigate literary, historical, social, and/or cultural significance to critically interpret texts of American literature through the Civil War to discover artistic and/or historical contributions to literature by evaluating the stylistic, formal, thematic, and/or rhetorical elements of texts.

Course Objectives

1. Read and analyze American literature from its beginnings to the second half of the nineteenth century, including diverse voices from indigenous, European, and other cultures.
2. Recognize the literary contribution of selected American authors.
3. Analyze readings critically to show relationships among literary texts, historical documents, and philosophical assumptions of the era, and compare/contrast these with current ideologies.
4. Develop appreciation for the function of literature as an art form in American culture.
5. Write cogent and persuasive arguments in and out of class.
6. Conduct independent research on issues discussed in class.

Lecture Content

Literature of Exploration and Discovery--pre-colonial texts Literature of the Colonies and the Revolution, including but not limited to The Puritan culture: Bradford Winthrop Edwards Bradstreet Taylor Mather Pre-colonial texts: Native American trickster and creation stories Cabeza de Vaca, and de las Casas Diarists and observers: Knight, Woolman St. Jean de Crevecoeur Rowlandson Equiano Reason and Revolution: Franklin Paine Jefferson Freneau Wheatley Sigourney The New Nation, including but not limited to Romanticism Irving Cooper Bryant Alcott Douglass Stowe Apess Schoolcraft Jacobs Transcendental idealism: Emerson Thoreau Fuller Douglass Watkins Harper Symbolic and ethical idealism: Hawthorne Poe Melville New directions in poetry: Whitman Dickinson

Method(s) of Instruction

Lecture (02)
DE Live Online Lecture (02S)
DE Online Lecture (02X)

Instructional Techniques

Lectures on authors and texts, and historical, intellectual, philosophical and cultural contexts. Close reading and analysis of selected texts. Small group discussions of study questions and texts by students. Evaluation of student writing. Films and other audio-visual materials for supplemental instruction and class discussion.

Reading Assignments

Required reading such as selections from an anthology of literature. Selected works from unanthologized sources. Selected historical and cultural texts. Selected novel(s)/novellas.

Writing Assignments

Writing at least two critical documented papers Writing critical open-book essays in class on relevant works of literature Completing written quizzes and examinations (midterm and final) Analyzing literature in class discussions Writing journals and/or reflective freewrites Doing additional library research and integrating this research for support

Out-of-class Assignments

Short Essays Long Essays ReadingJournals Short response papers

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

Analyzing and evaluating literature in class discussions Evaluating the various aspects of historical and regional contexts Completing written examinations (midterm and final)

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

Writing at least two critical documented papers Writing critical open-book essays in class on relevant works of literature Completing written quizzes and examinations (midterm and final) Analyzing literature in class discussions Writing journals and/or reflective free writes Doing additional library research and integrating this research for support

Eligible Disciplines

English: Masters degree in English, literature, comparative literature, or composition OR bachelors degree in any of the above AND masters degree in linguistics, TESL, speech, education with a specialization in reading, creative writing, or journalism OR the equivalent. Masters degree required.

Textbooks Resources

1. Required Levine, Robert S. (General Editor). The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Volumes A B., 9th ed. New York: Norton, 2017 2. Required Belasco, S., Johnson, L. . The Bedford Anthology of American Literature, Volume One: Beginnings to 1865, 2nd (Latest) ed. Bedford/St. Martins, 2013 Rationale: A good alternative to The Norton Anthology. 3. Required OConnor, Millikin. Digital American Literature Anthology, Virtual ed. http://digitalamlit.com/: Millikin University, 2019

Other Resources

1. Instructor prepared materials.

Academic Catalogs