HIS 1905 - AMERICAN HISTORY THROUGH POPULARLITERATURE

credits: 3.0
Will explore the following questions: what constituted popular literature in the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century? Who authored and read this literature? What central concerns and values did this literature articulate? In exploring the last question, students will examine how the popular literature of antebellum America treated the following issues: people’s relationship with God and with nature; sexuality; marriage and childrearing; race and slavery. Discussion of these issues reveals an important cultural development in antebellum America: the emergence of a Victorian code of values. Students will discuss the role of popular literature in promoting as well as reflecting Victorian values in nineteenth-century America. Objectives: A)To explore major cultural concerns in American society during the first half of the nineteenth century; B) Introduce students to popular American literature and to explore this literature from a historical perspective; C) Develop a student’s analytical skills, especially through written assignments and critical readings of required books. Method of Instruction: Class lectures and student discussion, with emphasis on the latter. Method of Evaluation: Several short essays based on assigned readings and one or two exams. Meets *WEP Distribution Requirements.