Our textbook is the Norton Survey of American Literature, Volume 1, Fifth Edition (VCU Bookstore)

Week 1
8/27  Course introduction: Themes to explore.
Nature: Friend or Foe, Setting or Symbol ?
What IS an American? Questions of Identity and the American Dream
Conflicting American Voices and Values

John Smith : (Historie, pp.102-20); Sample Review
Article on Nature and the American Identity
8/29  The Not-so-New World: de Vaca (text, p. 40-), Barlow (text, p. 67-), Hariott (text, p. 76-) 

Week 2 Unit I. The Colonial--and Colonizing--Experience: Background (text, pp.153-61)
9/3  Setting the patterns: Colonizers, William Bradford ("Of Plimouth Plantation," 164-) John Winthrop ("A Model of Christian Charity," 214-)
9/5  The Puritan Poetic: Anne Bradstreet:"The Prologue," "The Author to her book", "Contemplations," 262, "Here Follows Some Verses," 278
Edward Taylor ("Prologue," 332, "The Preface," 340, "Huswifery" 349)
Michael Wigglesworth("The Day of Doom," 283--)

Week 3 Moving Toward Revolution
9/10  Two directions of the 18th century: Rationalism: Benjamin Franklin:Preface to "The Way to Wealth," 491-98, "Information for Those Who Would Remove to America," "Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America," 510-20, "The Autobiography," 524-96)  Questions to consider on "The Autobiography
9/12  "The Great Awakening":Jonathan Edwards:"Personal Narrative," 440-52,"Sinners in the Hands," 474-

Week 4
9/17   Defining America: Thomas Jefferson ("Declaration" 714-, "Notes on the State," 720-), Thomas Paine, Common Sense (691-), Crevecoeur , from Letters...(640-65: from Letters III, IV, IX, X, XII))  Study questions
9/19 Phillis Wheatley (Poems: Hypertext: "On Being Brought," 825, "To S.M.," "On Imagination") 833,  Equiano (751-)
Moving into American Romanticism: Washington Irving: "Rip van Winkle," 936, William Bryant (on-line poems).   Notes on the pre-romanticism of Irving and Bryant [these readings will be part of paper 2]

Week 5 Unit II. Finding the American Literary Voice
9/24: Paper 1 Due
Edgar Allan Poe:"Sonnet--to Science," 1483, "Israfel," 1485, "The Raven, "1492, [Essay on "The Raven"] "Annabel Lee" 1498
9/26 Poe:"Ligeia," 1499-, "Usher," 1508-, with Usher study hypertext ,  "Imp of the Perverse, 1563- Read this Introduction to Poe

Week 6
10/1  Transcendentalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nature" (1072-), study hypertext
10/3  "Self-Reliance," (1126-), "The American Scholar"(1101-)

Week 7
10/8  "The Poet," (1144-), "Experience" (marked text)1159-, "Fate" in hypertext(1184-)
10/10  Henry David Thoreau, Walden, chapters 1-3 (hypertext) (1768-) Questions to consider

Week 8
10/15  Thoreau, Walden (to end) (1826-) Hypertext on the "nature chapters" Questions to consider 
10/17  Protest: Resistance to Civil Government (1752-) with hypertext; "Walking" (1953-) with hypertext

Week 9
10/22  Margaret Fuller (1590-1626), Harriet Beecher Stowe (from Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1645-)
10/24  Harriet Jacobs (Incidents, 1719-) ,Frederick Douglass (Narrative, 1990-)

Week 10
10/29 Transcendentalism's finale: Walt Whitman , Preface, 1080- (with study notes), "Song of Myself," Webtext 2198-2241, 1881 edition (see study questions
10/31  Whitman ( "Out of the Cradle," with webtext, 2161- , "When Lilacs... with webtext," 2175-)

Week 11 Unit III. Romanticism and Realism
11/5 Romantic Fiction: A Darker Side: Nathaniel Hawthorne:"My Kinsman," 1223
11/7 "Young Goodman Brown, "1236-," with critical review;  "The Minister's Black Veil," 1252-

Week 12
11/12 Hawthorne: "The Birth-mark," 1261-,  "Rappaccini's Daughter," 1285- critical review
11/14 The Scarlet Letter (1331-)  Here's an NYU hypertext  Study Questions 

Week 13
11/19 Herman Melville: ("Bartleby," 2330- and hypertext, "Hawthorne and His Mosses," 2261- 
11/21 from Moby Dick (2273-)

Week 14
11/26  Melville {"Billy Budd," 2432-)

Week 15
12/3 Emily Dickinson, Discuss #303: "The Soul Selects, Annotate: #448,#754, #986, #1624 and   #185, #199,#528, #593
12/5 Rebecca Harding Davis (Life in the Iron Mill, 2531-), Harriet Spofford ("Circumstance," 2574-)