English 39 - Early American Literatures:Conquest,Captivity,Cannibalism

Institution:

Dartmouth College

Subject:

Description:

Not offered in 2008-2009, may be offered in 2009-2010 The "invention" of America changed the world forever and precipitated the beginning of the modern era. This course explores that invention, covering the period of about 1500 to 1800 and surveying a wide range of cultural attitudes towards the imagination, exploration, and settlement of the Americas: Native American, Spanish, French, and English. Our reading, including oral tales, letters, diaries, captivity narratives, poetry, personal narratives, political tracts, and secondary criticism, will focus on the themes of conquest, captivity, cannibalism in the shaping of a particularly "American" identity. We will use historical sources and early books and manuscripts to illuminate attitudes towards power, identity, race, gender, and nature prevailing in the multicultural landscape of the early Americas that shaped the emerging literature and culture of British North America. We will also look at recent cinematic representations of this early period in our examination of the shifting and contentious meaning of "Ameri ca." Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Course Group I. CA tags Multicultural and Colonial/Postcolonial Studies, National Traditions and Countertradit ions. Schweit

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.dartmouth.edu

Phone Number:

(603) 646-1110

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Quarter

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