American Literature

Credit Units

Credit Hours 

Course Title

Course Code

Theory:  2

Practical: 0

Clinic, Field,: 

2

American Literature

English

ENGL 451

الأدب الأمريكي

Arabic

Corequisites

Prerequisites

Study Level

-

Romantic & Victorian Literature ENGL 307

7

Course Main Objective (concise and precise statement without bullets): 

The main objective of course is

The course offers a brief introductory survey of American Literature concentrating on major writers, works, trends and genres. The course examines the major literary movements of: Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Realism, Naturalism and ending with the Harlem Renaissance. At least one novel, one play, and a collection of poems to be closely studied of the works of writers such as Longfellow, Poe, Melville, Dickinson, Whitman, Twain, Lames, Frost, O’ Neill, Hemingway, O’ Connor, Stevens, Hughes, Cullen, Wright, and others.  

Course Learning Outcomes (CLO) (limit 4-6 CLOs):

By the end of this course, the student will be able to:

1

Knowledge and Comprehension

Aligned PLOs*

1.1

Discuss historical background of American literature and representative texts of Mainstream and Minorities literature.

K.2

2

Skills 

2

2.1

Critically analyze the selected representative texts within their historical contexts.

S.1

2.2

Present critical views toward literary works effectively in speech and/or in writing.

S.4

3

Values

3

3.1

Demonstrate self-discipline, ethical standards and academic integrity in performing assigned tasks.

V.2

Course Content:                                                                                                                                               

• Brief survey of American history: colonial period - The Founding Fathers – slavery and emancipation – imperialism - World War I - Great Depression - World War II – Cold war - Civil Rights Movement – 9/11 – Great Recession 
• Short History of American Literature I: The Period of Colonization and Revolution - The Period of Romanticism - The Period of Realism - American Naturalism 
• Short History of American Literature II: Modernism in America – Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States (including African American literature, Asian American literature, Native American lit., Chicano and US latino literature, as well as other so called hyphenated or immigrant writers with non-US background like Indian writers, Arab American writers, European American writers, etc.). 
• American Poetry 
• African-American Poetry 
• American Poetry (Nineteenth century) 
• American Poetry (Twentieth century) 
• American Short Fiction 
• Edgar Allan Poe: “The Fall of the House of Usher” 
• Stephen Crane: “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” 

Textbook (s) (include the latest references with full details using standard format e.g. APA, MLA etc):

Levine, R. S., Elliott, M. A., Gustafason, S. M., Hungerford, A., & Loeffelholz, M. (Eds.). (2016). The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Volume A and B (Vol. 1). WW Norton & Company.