Chemeketa Online
Distance Education & Academic Technology
Course Outline

Last Updated: May-25-06

Course Identification: ENG254 3 Credits
Course Title: Introduction to American Literature
Total Instructional Hours: for the course per term
Lecture: 33 Hours
Laboratory: 
3 Credits
0 Credits
Prerequisite
Course(s):
None
Required Text: Not listed here. Go to: http://bookstore.chemeketa.edu/ to find out the current textbook requirement.
Course Description: Focuses on the literature of the 19th Century, with attention given to the themes and issues of slavery, abolition, Native American and women?s rights, the Civil War, westward expansion, and industrial and urban growth. Genres studied include journal, narrative, speech, poetry, short story, novel and essay.
Notes: What a student might gain from the study of American literature circa 1800-1900: Exploration of literature as a source for revelation, enrichment, expression of human experiences. Cultivation of ability and confidence to respond to literary texts through discussion and writing. Enjoyment and appreciation of literary forms. Understanding of conventions, terminology, classifications. Deeper awareness of the American experience, American psyche, American identity through its body of literature. (What does it mean to be American? What are the roots of that identity? Where do I place myself in this context? How does literature help us to explore these questions?) Awareness of 19th century responses to and applications of the American Revolution and its founding documents. Understanding of the major movements and events of the 19th century (e.g., Civil War, Westward Expansion, Industrial Revolution).
Performance Based Learner Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:
  1. Demonstrate ability to read a literary work at a literal level;
  2. Demonstrate ability to read a literary work at a figurative level;
  3. Identify and define the literary devices covered;
  4. Demonstrate the ability to differentiate in the literary text(s) among content issues such as literary periods, styles themes;
  5. Write compositions/essays using a controlling thesis statement, textual support, documentation, and standard grammar/mechanics;
  6. Articulate and defend plausible interpretations of reading assignments orally and in writing.
Course Content:
  1. Relevance of studying American literature
  2. Historical/Cultural Contexts
    (circa 1800-1900)
    1. Voices from the Margins: Women, Blacks, Abolitionists, Native Americans
    2. Transcendentalists
    3. Civil War
    4. Westward Expansion
    5. Growth of Agriculture and Industry
  3. Literary Forms and Elements:
    1. Short Fiction (Plot, Theme, Character, Style, Narrative Form, Point of View, Setting, Tone, Figurative Language, );
    2. Poetry (Theme, Forms, Rhythm and Meter, Diction, Figurative Language, Sound and Meaning);
    3. Drama (Plot and Theme, Character, Structure, Style, Setting, Figurative Language, Stage Direction);
    4. Expository, Religious and Political Prose (Content, Style, Point of View, Tone, Figurative Language).
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