LFU:online

Department of American Studies Department of American Studies

Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Christian Quendler Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Christian Quendler, +43 512 507 41605

610003

American Literature: Early American Fiction

PS 2

5

weekly

each semester

English

To become familiar with the historical and theoretical aspects of novelistic genres, gain proficiency in the narrative and cultural analysis of literary texts

This course deals with the beginnings of the US novel and related fictional genres at the end of the 18th century and traces their development into the middle of the 19th century. The comparatively late rise of novelistic genres in the United States falls into turbulent times of extensive political, religious, social and economic changes. Reading short stories and excerpts from novels, we will explore the manifold ways literary fiction reflects these changes and examine the most important functions novels assumed during the early Republic. We will look at the novel as a means of educating the future mothers of a young nation, a venue for sensational gossip, an alternative format for gospel and historiography, a romantic laboratory of philosophy and science, an artform and a form of cultural self-expression as well as a parody of all of the above.

Presentations, discussions, reading and writing assignments

Active participation, presentation, research paper