FALL 2000
This information effective for Fall 2000.
Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes.
Instructor: Prof. Kirsten Silva Gruesz
Fall 2000
Office: Oakes 304
Phone: 459-2225
e-mail: ksgruesz@cats
Class Meetings: TTh 2-3:45 lecture + required discussion section
NOTE: A complete version of the syllabus will be made available on the instructor's website this summer: http://wwwcatsic.ucsc.edu/~kgruesz
In the turbulent decades before the Civil War cemented a strong sense of nationalism, what did it mean for a writer to define himself or herself as "American"? Responses to this question will be drawn not only from well-known sources (Bradstreet, Franklin, Irving, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, Douglass, Whitman) but from the works of less canonical writers as well (Equiano, Child, Sedgwick, Copway, Apess, Stowe, Wilson, Fuller, Varela). We will particularly emphasize alternative versions of the standard history of the nation's literary development, looking at geographical centers outside New England and at the cultural expressions of those excluded from its founding social contracts--women, American Indians, slaves and freemen of African descent, and dwellers on the Mexican border.
Requirements:
In addition to a challenging reading load, there will be two short papers (3-5 pages), informal journal/email writing assignments, and possible in-class reading quizzes. Final evaluation will be based either on a 7-10 page research paper or a final exam.