21L.702
Studies in Fiction
Intensive study of a range of texts by a single author or by a limited group of authors whose achievements are mutually illuminating. Some attention to narrative theory and biographical and cultural backgrounds. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication. Previously taught topics include Stowe, Twain, and the Transformation of 19th-century America, and Joyce and the Legacy of Modernism. Approved for credit in Women's and Gender Studies when content meets the requirements for subjects in that program. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor if content differs. Limited to 12.
Fall 2007 · Studies in Fiction: Rethinking the American Masterpiece
What has been said of _Moby-Dick_—that it's the greatest novel no one ever reads—could just as well be said of any number of American "classics" like _The Scarlet Letter, Uncle Tom's Cabin_, or _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_. This course reconsiders a small number of nineteenth-century American novels by presenting each in a surprising context.
Readings
- Rowlandson, Mary. The Sovereignty and Goodness of God . New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1997. ISBN: 9780312111519.
- Child, Lydia Maria. Hobomok and Other Writings on Indians . Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1986. ISBN: 9780813511641.
- Melville, Herman. Benito Cereno . Edited by Wyn Kelley. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. ISBN: 9780312452421.
- Whitman, Walt. Complete Poems . New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 1977. ISBN: 9780140422221.
- 2 · Mary Rowlandson, Narrative
- 3-4 · Lydia Maria Child, Hobomok
- 5-7 · Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
- 9-11 · Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
- 12-13 · William Wells Brown, Clotel
- 14-15 · Herman Melville, Benito Cereno
- 16-18 · Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl · Essay two (10 pages) due in Ses #18
- 19 · Rebecca Harding Davis, Life in the Iron Mills
- 22-24 · Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Fall 2004 · Studies in Fiction: Stowe, Twain, and the Transformation of 19th-Century America
Topics
- Introduction
- Frederick Douglass, Narrative (1845)
- Douglass
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)
- Stowe
- Stowe (cont.)
- Wells Brown, Clotel (1853)
- Brown
- Melville, “Benito Cereno” (1853, 1856)
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Dred (1856)
- Martin Delany, Blake (1861)
- Delany
- Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861)
- Jacobs
- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885)
- Twain
- Twain (cont.)
- Frances Harper, Iola Leroy (1892)
- Harper
- Conference Day
- Mark Twain, Puddn’head Wilson (1894)
- Charles Chesnutt, The Marrow of Tradition (1901)
- Chesnutt
- Conclusion
Readings
- Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, ed. The Classic Slave Narratives . New York: Mentor/Penguin, 1987. ISBN: 0451627261.
- Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom’s Cabin . New York: Penguin Books, 1986. ISBN: 0140390030.
- Melville, Herman. “Benito Cereno.” In The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Selected and Edited by Paul Lauter, et al. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. ISBN: 0618109196.
- Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, ed. Three Classic African-American Novels . New York: Vintage Books, 1990. ISBN: 0679727426.
- Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Dred . New York: Penguin Books, 2000. ISBN: 0140439048.
- Delany, Martin. Blake: or, the Huts of America . Boston: Beacon Press, 1970. ISBN: 080706419X.
- Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . New York: Penguin Books, 1986. ISBN: 0140390464.
- Twain, Mark. Pudd’nhead Wilson and Other Tales . Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN: 0192818066.
- LEC #: 2 · TOPICS: Frederick Douglass, Narrative (1845) · READINGS: Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, ed. The Classic Slave Narratives . New York: Mentor/Penguin, 1987. ISBN: 0451627261.
- LEC #: 4 · TOPICS: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) · READINGS: Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom’s Cabin . New York: Penguin Books, 1986. ISBN: 0140390030.
- Wells Brown, Clotel (1853)
- LEC #: 10 · TOPICS: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Dred (1856) · READINGS: Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Dred. New York: Penguin Books, 2000. ISBN: 0140439048.
- LEC #: 13 · TOPICS: Martin Delany, Blake (1861) · READINGS: Delany, Martin. Blake: or, the Huts of America. Boston: Beacon Press, 1970. ISBN: 080706419X.
- Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861)
- LEC #: 17 · TOPICS: Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) · READINGS: Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Penguin Books, 1986. ISBN: 0140390464.
- LEC #: 20 · TOPICS: Frances Harper, Iola Leroy (1892) · READINGS: Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, ed. Three Classic African-American Novels . New York: Vintage Books, 1990. ISBN: 0679727426.
- LEC #: 23 · TOPICS: Mark Twain, Puddn’head Wilson (1894) · READINGS: Twain, Mark. Pudd’nhead Wilson and Other Tales. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN: 0192818066.
- LEC #: 25 · TOPICS: Charles Chesnutt, The Marrow of Tradition (1901) · READINGS: Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, ed. Three Classic African-American Novels . New York: Vintage Books, 1990. ISBN: 0679727426.
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: Two subjects in Literature U (Spring) 3-0-9 units. HASS-H Can be repeated for credit.
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Fall 2007
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Fall 2004
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.