the course:
u.s. literature to 1865 is a course in the "literary traditions" category of the english major. the course provides students with an historical perspective on "traditional" literary artifacts. in this period, we traditionally examine "american" culture from 1607, the founding of jamestown, to 1865, the end of the civil war. other than some early puritan poetry and poems of the revolutionary period, most "literary" materials produced in american before 1800 would not be considered "literary" at all by most post-romantic critics and readers, and so this course has typically considered a variety of textual documents. our emphasis, in this section, will be on how these texts answer several important cultural questions: what is literature of the "united states"? And what is "american" about "american literature?" What are the literary antecedents of "american" culture--especially with regard to competing views of the "new world" in this period: spirit, nature, and religious (in)tolerance; nationhood; slave or free peoples, equality of the sexes; cultural and literary nationhood. what students should be prepared to approach literary materials offered here with fresh eyes and significant intellectual energy. in addition, students need to be familiar with the internet; course materials and research materials will be available on-line. if you are having trouble with web access to materials, contact me immediately via email.

text:
Lauter, P., et al. Heath Anthology of American Literature, 4^th edition, volume I (Heath)

requirements:
one major essay for the course, 10-12 pages. the essay will demand a synthesis of materials and approaches, and will require reading in secondary materials. the essay will be completed in "steps": proposal and bibliography, then draft, revision, and final draft. in addition, reading quizzes will be given at least once per week. quizzes will require detailed answers to very specific questions; no makeup quizzes. no late papers unless arrangements are made in advance or you have a documented medical excuse. the workload is demanding; be prepared to meet the demands of the course every class meeting.

grading:
essay will account for 60% of final grade (5% proposal, 5% bibliography, 10% draft; 40% final); quizzes will account for 40% of final grade. grades will be posted on the course webct site (class.kent.edu) so that you can monitor your progress during the semester.