English 132

Upper Division Coursework: American Novel

Other Readings and Media

Hawthorne, N: The Scarlet Letter; Melville, H: Moby Dick; Twain, M: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; James, H: The Portrait of a Lady; Hemingway, E: The Sun Also Rises; Barnes, D: Nightwood; Faulkner, W: Light in August; Ellison, R: Invisible Man

Description

"This will be a quick survey of eight major American novels and their authors, from Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter to Ellison's Invisible Man, paying some attention to the development of the novel as a form, from its origins in Europe through its American permutations. The course will consist mostly of lectures, though I'll try to accommodate as much discussion as class size will allow.



Required Writing: Two short papers (8-10pp) and a final exam. Suggested paper topics will be distributed in the second week of the course. These will be only suggestions, and you will be free to invent your own paper topic. You are strongly encouraged to consult with the instructor or reader before committing yourself to a paper topic. The final exam will require you to write three essays, each one comparing two novels from our reading list, one from the 19th century and one from the 20th. Your two term papers, averaged together, will count for 60% of your grade, the final exam for the remaining 40%. "

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