Online Course. This course serves as both an introduction to as well as an exploration of American literature from the nineteenth century to the present. We will ask many questions of these texts, not the least of which is “what do we mean when we say ‘American?’” Given the wide range of the body of work that comprises American literature, however, we will also periodically ask in passing what we mean by “literature,” so as to consider what roles the literary plays in creating and shaping the possibilities of social imagination, private and public discourse, as well as one’s own identity. Emphasis on analytical reading, critical writing, and class discussions. Authors include Melville, Poe, Hawthorne, Whitman, Dickinson, Barnes, Toomer, H. Crane, W. C. Williams, L. Hughes, and M. Robinson.