Download American Renaissance

 English 380: Major American Authors to the Civil War (American
Renaissance, 1830-1865)
Dr. Steven Frye
Spring 2008
Office Hours: 1:00-3:30 MW, and by appt.
Office: Faculty Office 315
Office Phone: (661) 952-5095
E-mail: [email protected]
Course Description
In this course we will focus on major works of American Romanticism from the era
referred to by F. O. Matthiessen as the “American Renaissance.” We will explore how
American authors attempted to establish what Emerson called “an original relation to the
universe” by adapting European ideas and forms to new settings and situations in
America. We will attempt to understand the diversity of thought operative in the period,
as represented in the works of Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Hawthorne, Poe, Melville,
and Dickinson. Our goal will be to understand the period itself and to comprehend its
pervasive influence on the literary and intellectual culture of the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries.
Course Goals and Objectives
This course prepares students to accomplish a portion of Goals/Objectives I, II, V under
the CSUB English department’s “Goals and Objectives for the B. A. in English.”
I)
II)
V)
Upon completion of the course students should demonstrate familiarity with
major genre in American literature, romanticism, and the American Renaissance.
Students should be able to analyze, interpret, and compare literary works in a
written argument, demonstrating a high level of understanding of textual form and
theme.
Students’ written work should demonstrate an understanding of the writing
process as well as an awareness of audience. Students should also display a
mastery of standard written American English.
Course Requirements
Students must complete all assigned work on time. Required work is due at the
beginning of class. Late work will not be accepted without significant penalties.
Grading will be as follows:
 One two page essay 15%
 One five page essay 20%
 Quizzes 15%
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Final examination 25%
Critical Reaction Journal 15%
Attendance and participation 10%
Required Texts
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The Norton Anthology of American Literature: 1820-1865. Volume B. Sixth Edition.
Melville, Moby-Dick. Norton Critical Edition
Recommended Texts
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Pearsall, The Oxford Concise Dictionary
Murfin and Ray, The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms
Hacker, A Writer’s Reference
Schedule
The following schedule identifies only the primary texts to be read. In addition, students
are expected to read all author headnotes AND all introductions to periods. All readings
must be completed by the class period assigned.
Week One: Introduction
3/24: Background: American Literature Before 1830
3/26: American Romanticism: F. O. Matthiessen and Morse Peckham--The
Romantic Mood and “Negative” and “Positive” Romanticism
Week Two: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Transcendentalism, and Positive
or “Light” Romanticism
3/31 Holiday
4/2: Nature (1836): “Introduction”; “Chapter I: Nature”; “Chapter II:
Commodity”
Week Three: Emerson Continued
4/7: Nature (1836): “Chapter III: Beauty”; “Chapter IV: Language”
4/9: “The Poet”
Week Four: Henry David Thoreau
4/14: Walden, “Economy,” pgs. 1807-1810”; “Sounds”
4/16: Walden, “Solitude,” “Higher Laws”; “Resistance to Civil Government”
Week Five: Walt Whitman
4/21: “Preface to the 1855 Edition of Leaves of Grass,” “Song of Myself” (1881
Edition on pg. 2232). Not the 1855 Edition.
4/23: “Song of Myself,” continued; “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking”
Week Six: Walt Whitman, continued
4/28: “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry”
4/30: “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”; “When Lilacs Last in the
Dooryard Bloom’d”
Essay #1 Due
Week Seven: Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Negative or “Dark”
Romantics
5/5: “Preface to the House of Seven Gables”; “The Custom House Introduction to
The Scarlet Letter”; The Scarlet Letter. The novel must be complete by this date.
5/7: The Scarlet Letter, cont’d
Week Eight: Emily Dickinson
5/12: “Tell all the Truth but tell it Slant”; “Much Madness is divinest Sense”;
“These are the days when Birds come back”; “Some keep the Sabbath going to
Church”
5/14: “My Life had stood---A Loaded Gun”; “The Soul selects her own Society”;
“I died for Beauty—but was scarce”
Week Nine: Herman Melville
5/19: “Hawthorne and his Mosses;” Moby-Dick. The book is to be read in
completion by this class meeting
5/21: Classes Cancelled (Dr. Frye at American Literature Association
Conference)
Week Ten: Herman Melville
5/26 Holiday
5/28: Moby-Dick, cont’d
Week Eleven: Emily Dickinson
6/2: Moby-Dick, cont’d
Final Examination During Scheduled Exam Time
Final Research Essay Due with Final
Writing Assignments
Essay #1 – Close Reading. Explore the use of nature as symbol in one work written by
either Emerson, Thoreau, or Whitman. Discuss the representation and use of natural
imagery in the work of either author, both of whom are associated with the
Transcendentalist movement. Be sure to distinguish between symbol and image and deal
with the thematic import of the author’s use of nature. Two pages. Due: Wednesday,
Week Six
Essay#2 – Research Essay. Explore the theme of “quest” in Melville’s Moby-Dick.
Think of Ishmael, Ahab, or Bulkington (in “The Lea-Shore” chapter). Consider Morse
Peckham’s notion of “negative” or “dark” romanticism as we discussed in class. You
may want to re-read Melville’s “Hawthorne and His Mosses.” Consider Hawthorne’s
“power of blackness” as Melville defines it. Use article length criticism, scholarly books
and book chapters, biographies, and histories. Use world wide web sites only minimally
Seven sources minimum. Five pages. Due with the Final Examination.
In all your essays, be sure to consider form as well as content.
Essay Recommendations and Format
In this class (and in virtually all your literature classes), you will write academic essays.
Your essays should be formal. They should have tight structure: clear introductions with
argumentative thesis statements, sets of paragraphs that directly support main ideas, and
conclusions that effectively synthesize major points. The essays should contain detailed
analyses of the texts in question. You should quote judiciously, never allowing your
quotes to overwhelm your analysis. Attempt to move beyond class discussion and
discover something about the work that isn’t immediately obvious, even to an intelligent
reader. Consider form and literary device as well as theme.
Your essays should be printed clearly on 8 ½ x 11 inch paper, in a standard font at 10 or
12 points. You should have one-inch margins top and bottom, right and left.
You must present your essays and carefully and correctly document all your sources
using MLA format. Essays must be presented professionally, with appropriate
formatting and correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style. Grades will be
reduced on essays that are presented haphazardly and poorly.
A word about plagiarism. Failure to acknowledge the work of other scholars constitutes
an egregious breach of ethics and is a violation of civil law. You must in all cases do your
own work, acknowledge your sources, and document them appropriately. Any incidents
of plagiarism will result in an “F” for the course. Also, the sanctions imposed by the
University Catalog will be applied. If you have any questions about plagiarism, please do
not hesitate to contact me.
Quizzes and Examinations
On a regular basis you will be given quizzes to evaluate your comprehension of the
reading material. To prepare for the quizzes simply do all required readings carefully and
judiciously.
The final examination will cover all the required readings. Your performance will be
enhanced by attending all classes, participating in discussions, and doing all the required
reading carefully. The examination will require that you know dates of publication, dates
of periods and authors, basic critical terms related to the periods, and have an in-depth
grasp of the readings. There will be three sections:
1) Quote Identification (25%)
2) Definition (25%)
3) Essay. This section will involve a broad yet detailed textual and contextual analysis
in which you demonstrate an understanding of the various periods and movements as
they appear in the assigned readings. (50%)
Critical Reaction Journal
After finishing each work (in the case of poetry, the day’s reading), you should compose
a typed-written critical reaction. This reaction need not be thesis driven, but neither
should it be a mere summary. Assume that your reader has read the text (s). Focus on a
specific aspect of the work that interests you and compose a two-page response. There is
freedom here. But be thoughtful and inquisitive. Your journal will be evaluated based
upon the thought, detail, interest, and insight you put into the process of composing your
reactions. Present them professionally, making sure to proofread and edit for
correctness. Compose the reactions right after reading the works, since the primary
purpose is to give you something to contribute to our discussions in class. You will
turn this reaction journal in with your final essay and final examination, but you are
welcome to bring them to me to see if you are composing them correctly.
Attendance and Participation
Participation in class involves demonstrating an interest in the reading material and
sharing insights with others in class discussions. All reading is to be completed by the
due date on the syllabus. Success in the course is dependent upon attendance;
attending a class means arriving on time, coming back to class promptly from
breaks, and staying for the entire class period. Leaving early or missing any part of
class will count as an absence. Any missed class sessions may naturally affect your
performance, but you may miss two class meetings without formal penalty. Additional
absences will affect your grade unless there are clear and verifiable extenuating
circumstances. If you miss more than five classes you will not pass the course.
As a courtesy to your fellow students and instructor, please turn off all pagers and cellular
phones for the duration of class. If you respond to a pager or a cellular phone in class,
you will be asked to leave the class for the remainder of the meeting; furthermore, you
will not receive attendance credit for the day.
Computers are permitted in class for legitimate academic purposes (specifically for
note taking and website searches directly pertinent to the topic being discussed in
class). You may not use them for unrelated web searches or for checking email. If I
find that computers are being used inappropriately I will ask you to leave class for the
day.
Waiting List Policy
On a waiting list, you are eligible for a place in the class
1. if you come to every class and
2. if you turn in the work while you are there
Being on a waiting list does not mean you are guaranteed a place in the class. It simply
means you are welcome to wait for an opening in the class if you desire. If no one drops
out of the section you’re attending, no students can add.
As a result, you should be aware of the last day to add and have a back-up class chosen if
you need another class. This plan is especially important for financial aid recipients, who
Instructor-Initiated Drop Policy
This course is subject to the policy on instructor initiated drops. If the class is full and
has a waiting list, I have the right to have you administratively dropped from the class by
the end of the second week of the term if you have missed three consecutive class
sessions during the first week of the term and have not contacted me with alternate
plans. However, you should not assume that you will be automatically dropped from the
course due to non-attendance.
Grading Criteria as defined by the English Department, CSUB
An “A” paper—unusually competent
1. Avoids the obvious and thus gains insights on an analytical level that are illuminating
and stimulating to an educated reader.
2. Develops ideas effectively and purposefully with appropriate evidence, examples, and
illustrations.
3. Progresses by clearly ordered and necessary stages with paragraphs that are coherent
and unified.
4. Uses a variety of punctuation conventionally and purposefully.
5. Has sentences which are skillfully constructed, concise, forceful, effective, and varied.
6. Demonstrates a concern with the right words and a willingness to be inventive with
words and structures in order to produce a clearly identifiable style, even though at times
the efforts may be too deliberate or fall short of the writer’s intentions.
A “B” paper—demonstrably competent
1. Usually avoids the obvious and offers interesting interpretations, but lacks the
imaginative insights of the A paper.
2. Develops an idea with a clear and effective sense of order.
3. Progresses by ordered stages with paragraphs that are coherent and unified.
4. Uses mechanics and punctuation to help communicate the meaning and effect of the
prose.
5. Has sentences which are correctly constructed with efficient use of coordination and
subordination; demonstrates an understanding of variety.
6. Draws upon words adequate to express the writer’s own thoughts and feelings and
demonstrates an understanding of alternate ways of expression as a means of making
stylistic choices possible.
A “C” paper—competent
1. Functions on the literal level, often depending on the self-evident.
2. Develops ideas minimally, often leaving the reader with unanswered questions.
3. Has a discernible, if mechanical organization.
4. Conforms to conventional grammar, mechanics, and punctuation.
5. Has sentences which are correctly constructed, though perhaps tending toward
repetitious patterns with minimal or mechanical use of coordination and subordination.
6. Works with a limited range of words and thus becomes dependent on the clichés and
colloquialisms most available; is also generally unaware of choices that affect style and
thus is unable to control the effects a writer may seek.
A “D” paper—lacking competence
1. Exploits the obvious either because of a lack of understanding, an inability to read, a
failure to grapple with a topic, or, in many cases, a lack of interest.
2. Wanders aimlessly because of a lack of overall conception or, in some instances, has a
semblance of form without the development that makes the parts a whole.
3. Has a plan or method that is characterized by irrelevancy, redundancy, or
inconsistency.
4. Frequently lacks careful mechanical and grammatical distinctions although some
papers contain correct (if simple) sentences.
5. Has sentences which are not correctly constructed or which are monotonous or
repetitious.
6. Is characterized by convoluted sentences that are close to the rapid associations of
thought or by “safe” words (ones the writer ordinarily speaks or can spell) and by
excessively simple sentence structures.
An “F” paper—incompetent
1. Doesn’t fulfill the assignment; is unclear overall.
2. Lacks specific development; tends to wander aimlessly
3. Lacks logical and coherent progression.
4. Consistently lacks conventional grammar and mechanics so that communication is unclear.
Dates, Periods, Movements
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Events in Social History, 1816-1866
Second Bank of the United States, 1816
Erie Canal constructed, 1817-1825
Panic and depression, 1819
Missouri Compromise, 1820
Mexico wins independence from Spain, 1821
Monroe Doctrine established, 1823
American Society for the Promotion of Temperance founded, 1826
Noah Webster publishes An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828
Joseph Smith publishes The Book of Mormon
Systematic removal of Native Americans from the South, 1830-1838
Nat Turner leads slave rebellion, 1831
American Anti-Slavery Society founded, 1831
Nullification Crisis, 1832-1833
The Seminole War, 1835-1842
Texas declares independence from Mexico, 1836
Depression, 1837-1843
Liberty Party formed by abolitionists, 1840
Brook Farm established, 1841
F. B. Morse sends first telegraph message, 1844
Congress declares war on Mexico, 1846
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organize women’s rights convention, 1848
Compromise of 1850
Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854
Bleeding Kansas, 1855-1856
Dred Scott Decision, 1857
Panic of 1857
Lecompton Constitution defeated, 1858
Lincoln-Douglas debates, 1858
John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, 1859
Abraham Lincoln elected president
American Civil War, 1861-1865
Emancipation Proclamation abolishing slavery in all confederate states, 1863
The Thirteenth Amendment abolishing chattel slavery, 1865
Abraham Lincoln assassinated in Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth, 1865
National Labor Union founded; labor movement is fully born, 1866
Selected Bibliography of Secondary Criticism for Romanticism and the
American Renaissance
Abrams, M. H. Natural Supernaturalism: Tradition and Revolution in Romantic
Literature. New York: W. W. Norton, 1971.
Abrams, M. H. The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 1953
Bell, Michael Davitt. The Development of American Romance: The Sacrifice of Relation.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.
Boler, Paul F. American Transcendentalism 1830-1860: An Intellectual Inquiry. New
York: Putnam’s, 1971.
Buell, Lawrence. Literary Transcendentalism: Style and Vision in the American
Renaissance. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1973.
Buell, Lawrence. New England Literary Culture: From Revolution Through
Renaissance. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1986.
Budick, Emily Miller. Fiction and Historical Consciousness: the American Romance
Tradition. New Haven: Yale UP, 1989.
Chase, Richard. The American Novel and its Tradition, Baltimore. Johns Hopkins UP,
1957.
Christy, Authur. The Orient in American Transcendentalism: A Study of Emerson,
Thoreau, and Alcott. New York: Columbia UP, 1932.
Colacurcio, Michael. The Province of Piety: Moral History in Hawthorne’s Early Tales.
Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1984.
Curti, Merle. The Growth of American Thought. New York: W. W. Norton, 1951.
Davidson, Kathy N. Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 1986.
Dekker, George. The American Historical Romance. Cambridge UP, 1987.
Ekirch, Arthur A. The Idea of Progress in America, 1815-1860. New York: W. W.
Norton, 1944.
Frothingham, Octavius B. Transcendentalism in New England: A History. New York:
Putnam’s, 1876.
Frye, Steven. Historiography and Narrative Design in the American Romance: A Study
of Four Authors. New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2001.
Hochfield, George. “An Introduction to Transcendentalism.” American
Transcendentalism: An Anthology of Criticism. Ed. Brian Barbour, South Bend:
University of Notre Dame Press, 1973.
Howe, Daniel Walker. The Unitarian Conscience: Harvard Moral Philosophy, 18051861. Middletown: Wesleyan UP, 1970.
Koster, Donald N. Transcendentalism in America. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1975.
Lewis, R. W. B. The American Adam: Innocence, Tragedy, and Tradition in the
Nineteenth Century. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1955.
Marx, Leo. The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 1964.
Matthiessen, F. O. American Renaissance: Art and Expression in the Age of Emerson
and Whitman. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1941.
Miller, Perry. The Transcendentalists: An Anthology. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1950.
Miller, Perry. Nature’s Nation. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1967.
Neufeldt, Leonard N. The Economist: Henry Thoreau and Enterprise. Oxford: Oxford
UP, 1989.
Peckham, Morse. The Triumph of Romanticism. Columbia: University of South Carolina
Press, 1970.
Hoffman, Michael. The Subversive Vision. Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press,
1972.
Porte, Joel. In Respect to Egotism: Studies in American Romance Writing, Cambridge:
Cambridge UP, 1991.
Reynolds, David S. Beneath the American Renaissance: The Subversive Imagination in
the Age of Emerson and Melville. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1988.
Rose, Ann C. Transcendentalism as a Social Movement, 1830-1850. New Haven: Yale
UP, 1981.
Swift, Lindsay. Brook Farm: Its Members, Scholars, and Visitors. London: Oxford UP,
1900.
Thompson, G. R. Poe’s Fiction: Romantic Irony in the Gothic Tales. Madison:
University of Wisconsin Press, 1973.
Thompson, G. R. The Art of Authorial Presence: Hawthorne’s Provincial Tales.
Durham: Duke UP, 1993.
Thompson G. R. and Eric Carl Link. Neutral Ground: New Traditionalism and the
American Romance Controversy. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press,
1999.
Tompkins, Jane. Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 17901860. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1985.