Topics in 19th-Century American Writing

3 units

The exultant but conflicted period that followed the success of the American Revolution initiated themes and began to weave cultural strands still familiar in the 21st century: American heroes and scoundrels; the role of women in public life; Christianity vs. Islam; the psychology of moralism and delusion; race as caste and subversive voice. Course readings will include Franklin's Autobiography and the autobiography of Henry Tufts, a confidence man; Parson Weems' cherry tree biography of Washington; Tyler's The Algerine Captive (novel) and Susanna Foster's Slaves in Algiers (drama); other fiction and drama by Hannah Foster (The Coquette), Charles Brockden Brown (Wieland), Royall Tyler (The Contrast) and William Dunlap (Andre) - in which Washington weeps while ordering a spy's hanging; narratives by enslaved Africans Briton Hammon and John Marrant; the narrative of Samson Occam, a Mohegan; selections from "The Gleaner," Judith Sargent Murray. Satisfies 1700-1900 requirement.