Nineteenth-Century American Novel
“Though a child, [Eva] was a beautiful reader;—a fine musical ear, a quick poetic fancy, and an instinctive sympathy with what's grand and noble, made her such a reader of the Bible as Tom had never before heard. At first, she read to please her humble friend; but soon her own earnest nature threw out its tendrils, and wound itself around the majestic book; and Eva loved it, because it woke in her strange yearnings, and strong, dim emotions, such as impassioned, imaginative children love to feel.”
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
“When I think about how I understand my role as a citizen [. . .] the most important stuff I’ve learned I think I’ve learned from novels. It has to do with empathy. It has to do with being comfortable with the notion that the world is complicated and full of grays, but there’s still truth there to be found, and that you have to strive for that and work for that. And the notion that it’s possible to connect with someone else even though they’re very different from you.”
Barack Obama, New York Review of Books
This course will explore literary fiction in the nineteenth-century United States, focusing specifically on novels, in an effort to expand students understanding of this era’s history, culture, and story-telling. We will begin by discussing the features of the novel as a literary form. How do we define a novel? Where did the form originate and what are its features? Why are novels worth studying? Our readings will then progress in roughly chronological order through several novels and novellas from the early nineteenth century to the turn of the twentieth century. The course will be divided into three units. The first unit will focus on cross-cultural tales of adventure written by James Fenimore Cooper, John Rollin Ridge (Yellow Bird), and Edgar Allan Poe. The second unit will consider mid-century New England Abolitionism in two novels, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig, one of the earliest known African American novels. Our third and final unit will explore views of “new women” in the late-nineteenth century gilded age, as we read Henry James’s novella Daisy Miller and Charles W. Chesnutt’s The House Behind the Cedars.
Reading these texts, students will develop an appreciation for how a diverse set of authors expressed themselves through the novel and shaped the tradition of the genre within the United States. Course readings, discussions, and writing assignments (both formal and informal) will allow students to demonstrate and build upon their skills in literary analysis. Ultimately, students will leave the course with a broad knowledge of nineteenth-century literature as well as techniques for interpreting, discussing, and writing about the American novel.
Required Texts:
James Fenimore Cooper. The Last of the Mohicans. (Penguin Classics, 1986).
Yellow Bird (J. R. Ridge). The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta. (Oklahoma, 1977).
Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. (Broadview, 2010).
Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom’s Cabin. (Norton, 2010).
Harriet E. Wilson. Our Nig. (Penguin, 2009).
Henry James. Daisy Miller. (Penguin, 2007).
Charles W. Chesnutt. The House Behind the Cedars. (Penguin, 1993).
Course Objectives:
At the completion of this course, students should be able to:
Describe the features of the novel as a literary form, and the effects such features may have upon a reader;
Understand how works of art both reflect and respond to particular historical and cultural contexts;
Assess literary texts using appropriate critical and technical vocabulary;
Discuss American literature thoughtfully, sharing insights and listening to the interpretations of others;
Write well-organized papers that integrate close reading of the literary text, awareness of historical context, and attention to secondary criticism.
Schedule
Wed, 9/7: Introduction
What Is a Novel?
Mon, 9/12: Ian Watt, from The Rise of the Novel.
E.M. Forster, from Aspects of the Novel
Wed, 9/14: George Lukacs, from The Theory of the Novel. (Bb)
Cross-Cultural Tales of Adventure
Mon, 9/19: James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 (1826)
Chapters 1-8.
Wed, 9/21: Cooper, Last of the Mohicans. Chapters 9-17.
Mon, 9/26: Cooper, Last of the Mohicans. Chapters 18-25.
Wed, 9/28: Cooper, Last of the Mohicans. Chapters 26-33.
Mon, 10/3: John Rollin Ridge (Yellow Bird), The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta (1854).
Pages 1-52.
Wed, 10/5: Ridge, Joaquin Murieta. Pages 52-96.
Mon, 10/10: Fall Weekend Holiday, No Class
Wed, 10/12: Ridge, Joaquin Murieta. Pages 97-159.
Mon, 10/17: Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838).
Preface and Chapters 1-9
Wed, 10/19: Poe, Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. Chapters 10-16.
Mon, 10/24: Poe, Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. Chapters 17-25, and Note.
Wed, 10/26: Recap: Cross-Cultural Tales of Adventure
Assignment 1 Due
New England Abolitionism
Mon, 10/31: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly (1852).
Chapters 1-9.
Wed, 11/2: Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Chapters 10-18.
Mon, 11/7: Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Chapters 19-34.
Wed, 11/9: Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Chapters 35-45.
Mon, 11/14: Harriet E. Wilson, Our Nig: Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, in a Two-Story White House, North (1859). Chapters 1-6.
Wed, 11/16: Wilson, Our Nig. Chapters 7-12, and Appendix.
Mon, 11/21: Recap: New England Abolitionism
Assignment 2 Due
Wed, 11/23: Thanksgiving Recess, No Class
Views of “New Women” in the Gilded Age
Mon, 11/28: Henry James, Daisy Miller (1879). Part 1.
Wed, 11/30: James, Daisy Miller. Part 2.
Mon, 12/5: Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars (1901).
Chapters 1-11.
Wed, 12/7: Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars. Chapters 12-22.
Mon, 12/12: Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars. Chapters 23-33.
Final Project Due