LITR 215 - American Literature II

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
Laboratory Hours: 0

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 100 or ENGL 200

Restriction(s): None

Corequisite(s): None

This course surveys American literature from 1860 to the present. As in LITR 200, the focus is on major authors and historical movements with attention to recurrent themes, literary styles, and philosophic problems.

Student Learning Outcomes of the Course:

After reading an assigned work of fiction, the student is expected to state the plot, conflict(s), major characters and theme(s) of the work. (See NOTE below 2.)
After reading an assigned poem, the student is expected to identify and discuss important elements of style, figurative language, prosody and theme.

NOTE: The student is expected to enter this course with some basic knowledge of the techniques of interpreting fiction and poetry. Therefore discussion of these techniques will be kept to a necessary minimum. Any student who has difficulty reading and/or understanding the assigned selections is expected to seek additional help from the instructor.

After reading an assigned selection, and hearing lecture and discussion about it, the student is expected to:

analyze the structure of the work, showing the relation of any significant part to any other part and to the whole work;
compare and contrast the work with others by the same author, showing similarities and differences in the use of language, underlying attitude of the author, and theme;
compare and contrast the work with works by other authors, showing those relationships among authors and works which would place them in the same literary period;
identify and describe those theses and underlying attitudes which reflect one or more of the major areas of social, philosophical or ethical concern which recur throughout American literature after the Civil War, and during the 20th century.