LIT 3691 - Lively Literary Massachusetts

Institution:

Babson College

Subject:

Description:

4.00 credits Weeks 1 - 6 TR Week 7 T Final Exam Thu, July 2 1:30-3:30pm LIT3691 Lively Literary Massachusetts Advanced Liberal Arts Until the early 19th Century, the majority of American writers imitated both the style and the substance of European writers; in other words, there was simply nothing uniquely American about their work. That history of imitation was to change after the poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, a lifelong Massachusetts resident, delivered his famous essay The American Scholar in 1837. In it, Emerson argued that in order for there to be a uniquely American Culture and Literature, there must not only be a uniquely American subject, but also a new way of writing. Emerson proposed that the subject be Nature. The great Naturalist Henry David Thoreau heeded Emerson's call and headed out to the banks of Walden Pond, where he lived in relative solitude for two years. In a quiet house in Amherst, Emily Dickinson ignored the popular sonnet form with its rigid rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter and revolutionized poetry. In Salem, Nathaniel Hawthorne confronted the history of the Puritans and the Salem Witch Trials in his short stories and novels. In western Massachusetts, Herman Melville looked up at Mount Greylock and conceived his most famous novel Moby Dick. In Boston, Margaret Fuller considered the state of women in the 19th Century. Together, in less than fifty years, these six writers composed some of the most famous works of American Literature. In this course, we will not only read essays, poems and novels by these writers, we will also venture out of the classroom and journey to the historic sites that inspired them. We will take three exciting field trips. Our first will be to Concord where we will walk out to Walden Pond, visit the Writer's Section of the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, tour Emerson's House and visit the Concord Museum. Our second will be to Amherst to see Emily Dickinson's house and the Amherst History Museum, among other sites. Our third will be to Salem where we will tour The House of the Seven Gables, the oldest surviving 17th century wooden mansion in New England in which Hawthorne based his novel of the same name; and the Custom's House where Hawthone once worked. On the days we are in the classroom, we will discuss a plethora of these authors' great works. Students will be responsible for admission and parking fees, which will run no more than $60. Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts (CVA, LVA, HSS)

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

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Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

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Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.babson.edu

Phone Number:

(781) 235-1200

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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