Vorlesung: V History of American Literature

This lecture will provide a survey of American literature from the colonial period to the present. The lecture will help students place literary texts in their historical and cultural contexts and understand the broad contours of the development of American literary tradition.* Primary texts are selected to reflect processes of canon-building as well as the diversity of American literary production.

Lectures on background and context will be complemented by discussions of passages from prose, poetry, and drama (synchronous) and tasks for independent study (asynchronous), so students can not only test but also apply their newly gained understanding of American literary history.

*(in the English language)

For a selection of texts that will be central to the lecture, please consult the institute's reading list. The majority of texts can be found either in the Heath Anthology of American Literature, the Norton Anthology of American Literature (5 vols.), or the Broadview Anthology of American Literature. Also recommended is H. Zapf (ed.) Amerikanische Literaturgeschichte. All assigned texts and a collection of complimentary material will be available via Moodle.