Jeanne Holland
University of Wyoming

Syllabus 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, 97-99

M, 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.