Introduction to American Literature

Introduction to American Literature

10 CP

6 Major Time Periods1. Beginnings to 18002. American Romanticism3. The American Renaissance4. Realism5. Modern Period6. Postmodern/Contemporary Period

1. Beginnings to 1800• Begins with Native American oral

tradition– Navajo– Sioux

1. Beginnings to 1800• Puritan Literature–William Bradford–Mary Rowlandson

1. Beginnings to 1800• Colonial Literature– Jonathon Edwards–Benjamin Franklin

2. American Romanticism 1800-1860

Washington Irving William Cullen Bryant

2. American Romanticism1800-1860

• Gothic Literature– Edgar Allan Poe– Nathaniel Hawthorne– Herman Melville

3. The American Renaissance1840-1860

• Emerson • Thoreau

4. Realism1850-1900

•Mark Twain

5. Modern Period1900-1950

• F. Scott Fitzgerald• John Steinbeck

5. Modern Period1900-1950

• The Harlem Renaissance– Langston Hughes– Countee Cullen– Zora Neale Hurston

6. Contemporary/Postmodern1950-Present

• Elie Wiesel• Tim O’Brien• Toni Morrison• Amy Tan

At Jefferson…

• We do not study literature in chronological order

• The units are grouped by the pillars of character

• We will begin with the pillar of Citizenship