The student will be able to:
A. demonstrate knowledge of major writers, key texts, documents, and debates of American literature from 1865 to the present by analyzing the development of America's political and aesthetic culture as reflected in the major writers and texts of this period.
B. identify major literary genres, and trace the development of literary forms during this period.
C. apply relevant critical and theoretical frameworks to evaluate the literature within historical, multicultural, and philosophical contexts.
D. demonstrate orally and in college-level writing an analytical understanding of the literary texts.
E. demonstrate appropriate formatting and documentation.

A. Major writers and canonical texts
1. Development of experimental verse forms by poets, such as Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman
2. Use of satire, dialect, and first-person narration by authors, such as Mark Twain and Stephen Crane
3. Fictionalized portraits of vaqueros, cowboys, and frontiersmen by Latino and Anglo American authors
4. Psychological realism in the fictions of authors, such as Edith Wharton and Henry James
5. Studies of African American culture and politics by authors, such as Washington and Dubois
6. Native American autobiographies by authors, such as Winnemucca Hopkins, Zitkala Sa, and Standing Bear
7. Early Asian American fiction by authors, such as Sui Sin Far and Onoto Watana
8. Portraits of Spanish California by authors, such as Helen Hunt Jackson and Joaquin Miller
9. Modernist poetry and poetics by authors, such as Pound, Eliot, Stevens, H.D., and Moore
10. Modernist fiction by authors, such as Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, and Stein
11. Harlem Renaissance aesthetic and political texts by authors, such as Cullen, Hurston, McKay, and Hughes
12. The literature of social criticism as practiced by authors, such as Dreiser, Sinclair, and Steinbeck
13. Poetry and prose by Beat Generation authors, such as Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Snyder
14. Native American texts by authors, such as Momaday, Erdrich, Silko, and Alexie
15. Asian American fiction and poetry by authors, such as Bulosan, Hong Kingston, and Chaeng-Rae Lee
16. Latino/a texts by authors, such as Anzaldua, Cisneros, and Anaya
17. Postmodern texts by authors, such as Vonnegut, Pynchon, and Morrison
B. Literary genres and forms
1. Satire
2. "Free" and other experimental verse
3. Drama
4. Fiction
5. Political manifestos
6. Modernism
7. Postmodernism
8. Realism
9. Naturalism
C. Relevant critical and theoretical frameworks
1. Analysis of the role of literary representations in fostering significant social movements, such as the civil rights movement, the women's rights movement, the gay rights movement, and the sexual revolution
2. Historical perspectives, including dominant ethical, philosophical, political, religious, social, and aesthetic perspectives in the literature of this period
4. Gender studies
5. Queer theories; sexuality studies
6. Psychological theories (Freudian, Jungian)
7. Marxian and other socioeconomic frameworks
8. Theories of race and ethnicity
9. Postcolonial and neocolonial studies
D. Analytical understanding of the literary texts
1. Class discussion regarding analytical reading of literary texts
2. Composition of literary analysis essays on literary texts
3. Research to supplement understanding of the literary texts
E. Formatting and documentation
1. Modern Language Association (MLA)
2. American Psychological Association (APA)

Not applicable.

A. Quizzes (comprehension, basic interpretation)
B. Participation in class discussion
C. In-class essays and tests, including final exam (analysis, argument, self-analysis, new synthesis)
D. Formal papers (analysis, argument, self-analysis, new synthesis)
E. Preparing and leading discussion groups
F. Oral presentations, critical reading journals, and similar activities

A. Lecture presentations on the history and interpretation of the assigned texts
B. In-class discussion of the assigned texts, including instructor-guided interpretation and analysis
C. Group presentations on inquiry projects focusing on key tools and skill sets in literary interpretation

Baym, Nina, ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th ed. Volumes C, D, and E. Champaign, IL: Norton, 2011.
Lauter, Paul, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 6th ed. Volumes C, D, and E. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2009.
Levine, Robert S., ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter 9th ed. W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.
 

A. Reading assignments include selections from the Norton Anthology of American Literature, 8th edition (ed. Nina Baym), or from recognized canonical works in American literature.
B. Brief introductory and literary critical readings designed to familiarize students with ongoing debates and perspectives in the study of American literature.
C. Bi-weekly journals requiring research, summary, interpretation, analysis, and synthesis of original texts.
D. Weekly essay examinations requiring in-depth analysis and synthesis of assigned texts.
E. Writing assignments can include in-class midterm and final exams in which students closely analyze key passages and link the passages to an author's body of work, addressing historical and literary contexts. Writing assignments also include out-of-class essays analyzing how a text reflects a particular literary movement, style, or period, or an author's literary and/or cultural contributions to American literature.