Course Catalog

ENG240E American Literature (4 credits) 9611

COURSE DESCRIPTION
A survey of American literary tradition from its origin to the present.

LEARNING RESULTS
The learner will be able to:
• Analyze classic American literature from a Christian point of view.
• Differentiate between stated and implied thematic messages.
• Assess the universality of guiding themes expressed in American writings.
• Articulate an understanding of the connection between works of American literature and the socio-intellectual climate in which they were produced.
• Identify biographical factors that influenced the creation of American fiction, poetry, and drama.
• Compare/contrast static and dynamic forms of characterization.
• Extend texts as they relate to personal/contemporary frames of reference.
• Evaluate works of literary criticism in a discerning fashion.
• Generate insightful critical responses that evidence an authentic voice.
• Integrate interpretive and analytical strategies to appraise the merits of reading selections.

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS
• Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2003. (ISBN 0-87352-986-3) The MLA Handbook provides citation information necessary for the successful completion of your research essay. However, you do not need to purchase this textbook if you already own a handbook that contains up-to-date MLA documentation materials.

=• Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The House of the Seven Gables. 1851.
• Perkins, George, and Barbara Perkins, eds. The American Tradition in Literature: Shorter Edition. 11th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2005. (ISBN 007322152X)

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ALL READING SELECTIONS (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES) ARE FOUND IN THE AMERICAN TRADITION IN LITERATURE: SHORTER EDITION.

INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING
The study of literature provides a unique opportunity to view people, places, and situations from an informed perspective. Our understanding of the human condition deepens as we interpret the meaning of universal themes common to us all. Many of the assigned readings for this course explore the importance of maintaining values in both individual and societal contexts. Throughout this course, activities will prepare students to contemplate theological implications of literary creations possessing both aesthetic and spiritual merits. Class members will consider ways that highlighted authors testify to God’s grace through the thoughtful exercise of artistic gifts.

LEARNING DOCUMENTATION
To determine if the course learning results have been attained, students document their learning by submitting the following items:
• Essay evaluating purpose of colonial writings.
• Essay analyzing nationalistic strains in selections by Franklin, Wheatley and Freneau.
• Passage interpretations on writings by Irving, Cooper, and Bryant.
• Abstracts on Emerson and Thoreau essays.
• Essay on views of sin in works by Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville.
• Research essay on The House of the Seven Gables.
• A poetry journal (Whitman and Dickinson).
• Essay examining views of human nature in realistic/local color contexts.
• Reaction paper to Frost poem.
• Essay comparing/contrasting Eliot's pre-conversion and post-conversion poems.
• Monologues of protagonists featured in stories by Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Cheever, O'Connor, and Walker.
• Critique of twentieth-century American novel.
There are 11 lessons and 0 examinations for this course.

LEARNING EVALUATION
Evaluation is on a point system (see next page):