English 190

Book List

Hawthorne, Nathaniel: Selected Tales and Sketches; Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Blithedale Romance; Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Scarlet Letter; Melville, Herman: Billy Budd; Melville, Herman: Moby-Dick; Melville, Herman: The Piazza Tales; Melville, Herman: Typee

Description

This course takes a close and critical look at the literary careers of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville.  We will read their works in relation to each other and within their historical and intellectual contexts, with special attention to the role of the author in the literary marketplace, to the practices and habits of nineteenth-century readers, and to the particular way Hawthorne and Melville address the problems of writing in their own writing.  At the same time, we will ask how these authors respond to crises of representation in a period of capitalism, slavery, and war—crises that bear on both the specific problems of authorship and the broader fate of individual expression in a democracy.  In all of our readings, including Moby-Dick, we will take up Melville's own challenge to go deeply, and to appreciate those moments of recognition that may only come when we surrender to feeling "at sea." 

Please read the paragraph about English 190 on page 2 of the instructions area of this Announcement of Classes for more details about enrolling in or wait-listing for this course.