ENGL 353 - American Realism and Regionalism

Institution:

University of Richmond

Subject:

Description:

American fiction of the late 19th century, with attention to the formation of a national literary culture and the concomitant development of regional voices. Authors studied may include Henry James, Mark Twain, and Edith Wharton. Prerequisite(s): English 297 or 298 or American Studies 201 with a grade of C or better. Unit(s): 1 Additional Information: Most scholars of American literature have identified realism as the dominant mode in fiction of the late nineteenth century. However, many of the writers who have been lumped together under this rubric, such as Edith Wharton and Mark Twain, would seem to have little in common, either in the formal qualities of their work or in the issues they hoped to address in their writing. Why, then, have critics insisted that the late nineteenth century witnessed the emergence of a "movement" called realism This course includes a variety of texts from the general period in order to explore literary realism as a problem. What is at stake in defining literary works as "realist," and what elements of texts must be suppressed, ignored, or neglected in order to make them fit into this category The course also pays special attention to the relationship between "realism" and "regionalism," asking why some writers are relegated to the status of regionalists while others are given national importance. A closely related concern is the work of literature in the reformation of the national political culture of the United States following the Civil War.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.richmond.edu

Phone Number:

(804) 289-8000

Regional Accreditation:

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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