Jeanne Holland
University of WyomingSyllabus for Graduate Seminar in Early American Literature
NOTE: Readings below are listed on the days we will be discussing them. Abbreviations:
IC = Imagined Communities; EL = The English Literatures of America 1500-1800; HS = History of Sexuality. The designation (x) indicates that the reading will be on a xeroxed handout given to you.(1) M, A 25 Course introduction and orientation.
EL: Marco Polo, Sir John Mandeville, Niccolo Machiavelli, 7-11 (x)(2) W, A 27 IC: "Introduction" and Chapter 1, 1-36
EL: "The Expansion of Europe," 3-6; Columbus' and Vespucci's letters,
11-28; "Leaming to Say 'America' in English," 39-41; various
texts, 42-46; George Best, 54-58; Francis Bacon, 97-99M, S I LABOR DAY. No class.
(3) W, S 3 IC: "The Origins of National Consciousness" and "Creole Pioneers," 37-65
EL: "A Case of Cannibalism Among the English, 1536," Richard Hakluyt the
Younger, 90-91
"The English Diaspora," 101-103
John Smith, from A Map of Virginia, 108-15; from A Description of New
England, 116-22; from The Generall Historie of Virginia, 146-48
five letters from America, 122-29["Introduction" and Chapter I of Mary Dearborn's Pocahontas's Daughters]
** Thursday, September 4 is the last day to drop or change sections.
(4) M, S 8 IC: "Patriotism and Racism," 141-54
(x) Susan Manning, "Calvin's Theology and the Puritan Mind"
EL: John Winthrop, from "A Modell of Christian Charity," 151-59; John
Cotton, from God's Promise to His Plantations, 160-61; Thomas Morton,
from New English Canaan, 168-74; William Bradford, "Another Version
of the Maypole Episode," 175; William Bradford, from Of Plymouth
Plantation, 176-191[Francis Jennings, "'We Must Burn Them,"' Alan Simmons, "Cultural Bias in
New England Puritans' Attitudes Toward the Indians"]** Monday, September 9 is the last day to add, late register, or change grade options.
(5) W, S 10 EL: "Seventeenth Century Anglo-America: Virginia and the Indies," 195-97; two
accounts of Bacon's Rebellion, 224-32; Aphra Behn, The Widow Ranter, 233-91
(x) "The Insight of Literary History," 46-66, from A Guide to Literary Criticism
and Research, Bonnie K. Stevens and Larry L. Stewart[critical essay on Aphra Behn's play]
(6) M, S 15 EL: "Seventeenth-Century Anglo-America: The Trials of Puritanism," 429-33; the
Antinomian Controversy, 434-42; Nathaniel Ward, from The Simple Cobler,
451-56; Samuel Danforth, A Brief Recognition, 461-74; Increase Mather, Essay
for the Recording, 504-14[Kai Erikson, "The Antinomian Controversy"; Amy Schrager Lang, from Prophetic Woman, "Unnatural Conceptions"]
(7) W, S 17 EL: "Poetry: The Seventeenth Century," 527-30; Anonymous, "New England's
Annoyances," 538-40; Anne Bradstreet, all, 548-63 Anne Bradstreet, "To My Dear
Children," 322-35[critical essay on Anne Bradstreet's poetry]
F, S 19 SHORT PAPER #1 DUE in my mailbox in 201 Hoyt no later than 4:30 pm.
today.(8) M, S 22 HS: Parts One and Two
EL: Edward Taylor, all, 581-9[critical essay on Edward Taylor]
(9) W, S 24 HS: Parts Three, Four, and Five
(x) Thomas Shepard, "The Autobiography"
EL: Michael Wigglesworth, from the diary, 319-21; from The Day of Doom(x)[Jeffrey Hammond, "'By Ladders of Your Own"']
(10) M, S 29 EL: Mary Rowlandson, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, 349-82
[James Axtell, "The White Indians of North America," Mitchell Breitwieser,
"'Lot's Wife: Looking Back"](11) W, 0 1 EL: John Winthrop, 314; Deodat Lawson, A Brief and True Narrative, 475-81;
Robert Calef, from More Wonders, 482-87
(x) xeroxed documents from the Salem witchcraft trials and controversy[Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, "Salem Possessed," Carol Karlsen, "New England's Communities," Kai Erikson, "Salem Witchcraft"]
(12) M, 0 6 EL: "Religion in the Enlightenment," 597-600; Jonathan Edwards, [Of Being],
601-05, "Personal Narrative," 605-15 (x) "Panopticism," Michel Foucault(13) W, 0 8 Take-home midterm given out.
EL: Jonathan Edwards, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," 616-27;
"Concerning the Nature of the Will," 628-30; :Of Self-Love," 631-38[David Leverenz on Edwards and Franklin.]
(14) M. 0 13 IC: "Official Nationalism and Imperialism," 83-111
EL: "The Literature of Politics," 813-16; Samuel Sewell, The Selling of Joseph,
817-20; John Saffin, A Brief and Candid Answer, 821-24; two popular
broadsides, 842-45; Thomas Jefferson, A Declaration by the Representatives of
the United States of America, 858-64; Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, #1,
868-73(15) W, 0 15 Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography, Part One
[critical essay on Benjamin Franklin]
H, 0 16 Take-home midterm due by 4:30 pm. in my mailbox in 201 Hoyt Hall.
(16) M, 0 20 Franklin, The Autobiography
[critical essay on Franklin]
(17) W, 0 22 Franklin, The Autobiography, "Essays and Letters," 200-60
[critical essay on Franklin]
(18) M, 0 27 Finish Franklin, "Essays and Letters," 200-60 plus BF selections in EL
T., 0 28 SHORT PAPER #2 DUE no later than 4:30 pm. in my mailbox in 201 Hoyt
Hall.(19) W, 0 29 IC: "Census, Map, Museum," and "Memory and Forgetting," 163-206
EL: Timothy Dwight, "Columbia," 1085-86; Joel Barlow, from The Vision of
Columbus, 1094-97; Philip Freneau, all, 1104-11*Friday, October 31 is the last day to withdraw from individual classes.
(20) M, N 3 EL: "Belles Lettres," 949-51; J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, from Letters
from an American Farmer, 973-81; Phillis Wheatley, all, 1076-80; Olaudah
Equiano, from The Interesting Narrative, 792-96(21) W, N 5 EL: "Alphonzo," 986; C.B. Brown and T. Jefferson, 987-88
Charlotte Temple[Shirley Samuels, "The Family, the State, and the Novel in the Early Republic"]
(22) M, N 10 Charlotte Temple
[Larzer Ziff, "Gaining Confidence"]
(23) W, N 12 EL: C.B. Brown, "'A Receipt for a Modem Romance,"' 993-94; "'Remarks on
Reading," 994-1000
Wieland[Cathy Davidson, from Revolution and the Word]
(24) M, N 17 Wieland
[Shirley Samuels, "Wieland: Alien and Infidel"]
(25) W, N 19 Wieland
[Cynthia Jordan, "The 'Folly of Precipitate Conclusions"']
(26) M, N 24 No class. Study Day.
*Tuesday, November 19 is the last day for special class withdrawals.
W, N 26 - F, N 28 = THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS.
(27) M, D I EL: John Filson, from The Adventures of Daniel Boon, 781-91; Stephen
Burroughs, from Memoirs of the Notorious Stephen Burroughs, 801-12*Tuesday, December 2 is the last day to withdraw from the university.
(28)W,D3 Presentations--each student will read a 15 minute version of her/his paper to the class. Discussion and questions will follow.
(29)M,D8 Presentations--each student will read a 15 minute version of her/his paper
to the class. Discussion and questions will follow.W, D 10 No class. Study Day.
Research paper due in my mailbox in 201 Hoyt no later than 4:30 p.m. Thursday,
December 11.Short answer, open bookfinal exam to be given in this classroom (Hoyt 302) on Tuesday, December 16, from 8:00-10:00 am.