EL230
AMERICAN LITERATURE
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students to assist with unit selection.
Elements of this outline which may change with subsequent offerings of
the unit include Content, Required Texts, Recommended Readings and
details of the Assessment Tasks.
Students who are currently enrolled in this unit should obtain the outline
for the relevant semester from the unit lecturer.
Unit Name
American Literature
Unit Code
EL230
Awards
Bachelor of Education (Secondary) - English teaching area
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Education (Secondary) - English major
This unit is able to be undertaken towards other CHC awards according to course
rules and the meeting of prerequisite requirements, as applicable.
Core/Elective
Elective
Prerequisite
20 credit points of 100-level EL units
Mode
Internal
While American writers have appeared relatively late on the scene when
compared with the great literary traditions of Europe, the last two hundred years
have seen the development of a thriving literary culture which has played an
influential role in shaping the direction of English literature. Indeed, one could
argue that the “New World” provided an invigorating environment in which to
develop innovative approaches to universal themes, uncluttered by the cultural
baggage of the centuries. The rapid expansion of America from a frontier society
to a world superpower, and the unique social circumstances created by material
prosperity and the ethnic “melting-pot”, have created fertile soil for literary
creativity and social commentary.
SA
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Unit Rationale
33 hours
44 hours
63 hours
140 hours
PL
E
Delivery/Contact hrs Class contact
Engagement with unit materials
Assignment preparation
Total
This unit introduces students to the major themes and authors of the American
literary tradition. They will examine works by leading writers from a range of
periods and genres. As well as providing a general chronological presentation of
the development of American literature and society, a number of important interconnecting themes and motifs will be highlighted, such as man‟s relationship with
the natural environment, the search for spiritual meaning, the American Dream,
race relations, social conflict, and the journey motif.
In order to introduce students to as wide a range of authors and perspectives as
possible, the focus of this unit will be on poetry and short stories, supplemented by
longer pieces of prose. In this way, students will be given a broad introduction to
the dominant concerns, interests, styles and settings of American literature. As
American culture, and therefore American literature, film, and television continue
to penetrate the whole of Western culture, a knowledge, understanding and
appreciation of American literature is essential for students of English.
Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this unit, students will have provided evidence that they have:
1. Discussed the works of leading American writers of various periods and genres.
2. Applied Christian perspectives to the study of American literature, including critical review of key
themes in the works of leading American writers.
3. Compared and contrasted individual works of literature in terms of their themes, characterisations,
imagery and stylistic features.
4. Related the works of literature to the political, social, spiritual, economic and intellectual history of
America.
5. Appreciated the importance of social commentary and criticism as a major purpose for American
writers.
6. Presented cogent, well-written arguments observing the conventions of literary criticism.
7. Written at an appropriate tertiary standard (with special attention to correct grammar, punctuation,
spelling, vocabulary, usage, sentence structure, logical relations, style, referencing and presentation).
Content:
1
Topic
Introduction: Overview of American literature, and review from Christian perspectives
2-3
Transcendentalism
4-5
Slavery and Society
6
America in 1900
7
The 1920s
8
The 1930s
9-10
11
Black Writers
C20th Poetry and Contemporary Themes
Set Text Requirements:
PL
E
Week
Fitzgerald, FS 1950, The Great Gatsby, Penguin, Hammondsworth, UK.
Oates, JC (ed.) 1992, The Oxford Book of American Short Stories, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
Nelson, C 2000, Anthology Of Modern American Poetry, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
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Plath, S 1988, The Bell Jar, Canbrook.
Potok, C 1966, The Chosen, Penguin, Hammondsworth, UK.
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Thoreau, HD 1983, Walden and Civil Disobedience, Penguin, Hammondsworth, UK.
Twain, M 1966, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Penguin, Hammondsworth, UK.
Recommended Readings:
Borney, G 1993, Classic American Drama, Sydney University Press, South Melbourne.
Bradbury, M 1992, The Modern American Novel, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
Burt, DS (ed.) 2004, The Chronology of American Literature: America’s Literary Achievements from the
Colonial Era to Modern times, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Cain, WE (ed.) 2004, American Literature, Penguin Academics, New York.
Carlson, P & Hawkins, PS 1994, Listening to God: Contemporary Literature in the Life of Faith, Augsburg
Fortress, Minneapolis, MN.
Cunliffe, M (ed.) 1993, American Literature to 1900: Volume 8 of the Penguin History of Literature, rev.
edn, Penguin, London.
Cunliffe, M (ed.) 1993, American Literature Since 1900: Volume 9 of the Penguin History of Literature,
Penguin, London.
Gray, Richard 2003, A History of American Literature, Blackwell, London.
Kazin, A 1996, An American Procession, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Krasner, D 2005, A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama, Blackwell, Malden, MA.
Laskin, D 1996, A Common Life: Four Generations of American Literary Friendship, University Press of
New England, Hanover, VT.
Lee, H 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Collins, New York.
Ruland, R & Bradbury, M 1991, From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of American Literature,
Viking, New York.
Wagner-Martin, L (ed.) 1995, The Oxford Book of Women’s writing in the Unites States, Oxford University
Press, Oxford, UK.
Assessment:
Assessment Item
Essay
(1500 words)
Topic/s
Choose one of the following
topics:
Learning Outcomes
assessed
Week Due
Weighting
1-7
Week 6
30%
1-7
Week 11
30%
1-7
Week 16
40%
a) A particular theme of
nineteenth century American
literature is the view that the
New World should produce a
new kind of character. Discuss
the features of this American
„type‟.
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b) Nature and the natural world
have a major part to play in
the work of Emerson, Thoreau
and Whitman. Discuss the
uses these authors make of
American Nature in their
writings.
Respond to the following
statement:
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Essay
(1500 words)
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c) Emerson, Thoreau and
Whitman each have strong
views about both the
limitations and the potential
qualities of American society.
Discuss the ways in which
these two „sides‟ of America
are presented in Nature.
For any writers, the conditions of
the societies in which they live
provide the basis for the works
they produce. With reference to
The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, “A Clean, Well-lighted
Place”, and The Great Gatsby,
discuss the ways in which Twain,
Hemingway and Fitzgerald
express their views concerning
the material and spiritual qualities
of the worlds which they inhabit.
Examination
Unit Overview:
This unit is a broad introduction to American Literature, examining and exploring the major themes,
authors and genres over a number of historical eras. It examines in some depth recurring American
themes and motifs, and examines some poetry, short stories, and longer prose works.