American Renaissance

Catalog description

This course examines major and lesser known writers of nineteenth-century America, emphasizing the works of Emerson, Melville, and Catharine Sedgwick. The focus is on Romantic literature and culture, with particular emphasis on the following subjects: Nature and transcendence; capitalism and its discontents; utopianism and reform; slavery and antislavery; the problem of history and national culture; and transatlantic relations. Readings include Transcendentalist essays, slave narratives, romance novels, autobiography, fiction, and lyric and epic poetry. Improved student writing is a main goal of the course.