1. January 21 st through 29 th

2. Thursday, January 21 st Go over syllabus Introductions Assign books

3. Friday, January 22 nd American Literary Periods Personal essays, narratives, and memoirs

4. American Literary Periods and their characteristics

5. Literary Periods Puritan/Colonial Revolutionary/Age of Reason Romanticism American Renaissance/Transcendentalism Realism Modernism Harlem Renaissance Post Modernism Contemporary

6. Puritan/Colonial (1650- 1750) Genre/Style Sermons Diaries Personal Narratives Written in plain style

7. Puritan/Colonial Effects/Aspects Instructive Reinforces authority of the Bible and Church Historical Context A person’s fate is determined by God All people are corrupt and must be saved by Christ

8. Puritan/Colonial Examples Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation Rowlandson’s “A Narrative of the Captivity” Equiano’s narrative Though not written during Puritan times, The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter depict life during the time when Puritan theocracy prevailed.

9. Revolutionary Age/Age of Reason Genre/Style Political pamphlets Travel writing Highly ornate style Persuasive writing Effect/Aspects Patriotism grows Instills pride Creates common agreement about issues National mission and the American character 1750-1800

10. Revolutionary/Age of Reason Historical Context Tells readers how to interpret what they are reading to encourage Revolutionary War support Instructive in values Examples Writings of Jefferson, Paine, and Henry Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac Franklin’s “The Autobiography.

11. Romanticism (1800-1860) Genre/Style Character sketches Slave narrative Poetry Short Stories Effect/Aspects Value feeling and intuition over reason Journey away from corruption of civilization and limits of rational thought toward the integrity of nature and freedom of imagination Helped instill proper gender behavior for men and women

12. Romanticism Historical Context Expansion of magazines, newspapers, and book publishing Slavery debates Industrial revolution brings ideas that the “old way of doing things are now irrelevant. Examples Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” Poems of Emily Dickinson Poems of Walt Whitman

13. American Renaissance/ Transcendentalism Genre/Style Poetry Short Stories Novels Hold readers’ attention through dread of a series of terrible possibilities Effects/Aspects True reality is spiritual Comes from 18 th century philosopher Immanuel Kant Idealists Self-reliance and individualism

14. American Renaissance/ Transcendentalist Historical context Portrayals of alluring antagonists whose evil characteristics appeal to sense of awe Stories of persecuted young girl forced apart from her true love People seeking the true beauty in life and in nature A belief in true love and commitment

15. Realism (1850-1900) Genre and Style Novels and Short Stories Characteristics Examines realities of life, human frailty, local color Depiction of ordinary people in everyday life Objective narrator Does not tell reader how to interpret the story

16. Realism Historical Context Civil War (1861-1865) brings demand for “truer” type of literature that does not idealize people or places Dialogue includes regional voices Examples Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

17. Modernism Genre and Style Novels Plays Poetry Experimental as writers seek a unique style Use of interior monologue and stream of consciousness Characteristics Pursuit of the American Dream America as the land of Eden Soon that optimism and a belief in the importance of the individual is overwhelmed by themes of alienation and disillusionment

18. Modernism Historical context Writers reflect the ideas of Darwin and Marx Overwhelming technological changes of 20 th Century Examples Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath Eliot’s The Wasteland Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms Williams The Glass Menagerie Chopin’s The Awakening

19. Harlem Renaissance (1920s) Genre and Style Outgrowth of Modernism Allusions to African-American spirituals Uses structure of blues songs in poetry (repetition) Superficial stereotypes revealed to be complex characters Characteristics Gave birth to gospel music Blues and jazz transmitted across America via radio

20. Harlem Renaissance Historical Context Mass African-American migration to Northern urban centers African-Americans have more access to media and publishing outlets after they move north Examples Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun Wright’s Native Son Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God Ellison’s Invisible Man

21. Post-Modernism (1950 to present) Genre/Style Narratives: both fiction and non- fiction Metafiction Magical Realism Mixing of fantasy with nonfiction; blurs lines of reality for reader No heroes Humorless Characteristics Concern with individual in isolation Social issues as writers align with feminist and ethnic groups Erodes distinctions between classes of people Insists that values are not permanent but only “local” or “historical”

22. Post-Modernism Historical Context Post-World War II prosperity Media culture interprets values Examples Feminist and social issue poets: Plath, Angelou Capote’s In Cold Blood Stories of Bradbury and Vonnegut Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye Beat poets: Kerouac, Ginsberg

23. Contemporary (1970s to present) Genre/Style Continuation of Post- Modernism Narratives: fiction and non- fiction Autobiographical essays Anti-heroes Emotion-provoking Humorous Irony Characteristics Concern with connections between people

24. Contemporary Historical context Beginning a new century Media culture interprets value Influence of war (Vietnam; Gulf; Iraq) Examples Poetry of Dove, Cisneros, Soto Walker’s The Color Purple, Haley’s Roots, Morrison’s Beloved Nonfiction by Didion, Dillard, and Krakauer O’Brien’s The Things They Carried Megastars: King, Crichton, Grisham, Clancy

25. Personal Writings Personal essay Focused on belief or insight about life that is significant to the writer Personal narrative Focused on a significant event (can be in the present) Personal memoir Focused on a significant relationship between the writer and a person, place, event or object (reflective)

26. This I Believe http://thisibelieve.org/essay/4108/

27. Life is fair

28. Words can hurt.

29. What goes around comes around

30. How you act in a crisis shows who you really are

31. Love conquers all

32. An eye for an eye

33. People learn from their mistakes

34. You can’t depend on anyone else; you can only depend on yourself.

35. If you smile long enough, you become happy.

36. Miracles do happen.

37. There is one special person for everyone

38. Money can’t buy happiness

39. Doing what’s right means obeying the law.