Between the Civil War and World War I, the United States of America underwent tumultuous changes, many of which still make their presence felt today. New definitions of personal success and failure; new understandings of work and play; new attempts at closing American borders and extending American imperialism; new ideas about what it means to be a man, a woman, and an American; new technologies--all of this newness attended the nation as reinvented itself in the final decades of the nineteenth century for life in what came to be known as the “American Century.” Throughout this process, American writers reflected, critiqued, and created. In this course, we will read selected works in order to develop an understanding of the period’s historical and literary importance.

We will focus on how authors represent, view, and shape debates about the following questions of the period: What will life be like after the Civil War? What is success and how can it be achieved? What is poverty and who is to blame? Who can be an American citizen? At all times, we will attend closely to matters of language and form. The reading list will probably include the following:

• Whitman, Walt. Selected poetry
• James, Henry. The American
• Howells, William Dean. The Rise of Silas Lapham
• Twain, Mark. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
• Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wall-Paper
• Chopin, Kate. The Awakening
• Dreiser, Theodore. Sister Carrie
• Johnson, Charles Weldon. The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
• Sui Sin Far, Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings

I will lecture often but briefly. Discussion is expected. Written work will include participation in an e-mail discussion group, two analytical essays (5-7 pages), and a final examination.

Pre-requisites:
None except some experience in writing college-level literary analysis.