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Dec 21, 2024
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ENGL 146S SC - Theory of the American Novel
This course offers a history of the development of the novel genre in the United States. The main focus of the class will be reading significant American novels from the 1790s through the early 20th century. The class will examine how these novels both participated in and were shaped by various social, political, and cultural developments of the long nineteenth century, including(among many others) the contest to define democracy in the early republic, the explosion of writing by and for women in the 1840s and 50s, the antebellum struggles over slavery, and the rise of modern social movements. The class will also consider writing about novels-from both 19th-century writers and later scholars-giving particular attention to accounts of what distinguishes “the American Novel” from other national traditions, especially the English novel. It will also consider the limitations of accounts that understand the development of the novel in such national terms. In addition, this course will offer an introduction to the subfield of 20th and 21st-century literary theory known as “theory of the novel.” We will both consider how these theories of the genre illuminate the novels that we are reading and consider the ways in which these grand theories of the novel cannot account for the genre as it developed in the US. This course meets the senior seminar requirement for Scripps English majors (please see “Senior Requirement in the English major” in the catalog) but is open to all students.
Course Credit: 1.0
Offered: Every other year
Please refer to the course schedule on the Scripps Portal for current course offerings and details.
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