American Literature

The American Literature Course surveys prose and poetry written in the United States from colonial times to the present.  It emphasizes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry and is primarily a presentation of knowledge about literary works—their content, their backgrounds, and their authors—but it also is concerned about and requires familiarity with the concepts and terminology used by literary critics and literary historians.    

One should survey American literature and its basic literary periods to gain a sense of the historical development of American literature while making personal observations and analyses. Traditional American writings will be selected from a diverse group of authors and will be presented and analyzed to gain an understanding of how American authors were influenced by, and also influenced, the heritage of the United States. For each time period, we will discuss a sample of works and authors while also digging deeply into a few selected works.  

Our study of American Literature will explore the theme of “The American Identity.” The course examines this theme while contemplating related questions. What is America? What does it mean to be an American? What does it feel like to be an American? And what does it feel like to be an outsider in America? 

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Recognize literary elements and devices in various types of American Literature  
• Identify different figurative language and how it conveys the author’s message 
• Recognize a given passage’s theme, plot, and setting in connection to the time period 
• Distinguish between literary periods and their historical context  

• Explain the American experience through history and literature 
• Identify and evaluate various writers’ backgrounds, noting the basic characteristics of each author's style and writing genre 
• Interpret and explain interpretations of literary passages 
• Compare and Contrast issues, themes, and characters in literature 
• Produce written essays based on analysis of literary texts and historical context exploring the American Identity 
  

This course features extensive reading. Each Module has a short E-book reading, and most Modules also have an additional text.

The list below covers the works that you will read in full:

Module 1: E-book Unit 1

Module 2: The Iroquois Creation Story, Narrative of the Captivity and the Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and E-book Unit 2

Module 3: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards and E-book Unit 3

Module 4: Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson, O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman, and E-book Unit 4

Module 5: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain and E-book Unit 5

Module 6: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes, I, Too by Langston Hughes, and E-book Unit 6

Module 7: Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor and E-book Unit 7

Module 8: This is Water by David Foster Wallace, Prayer for Words by N. Scott Momaday, and E-book Unit 8

If you are struggling with a term or concept, you can utilize the links below to search for the concept or term to find additional resources and explanations.

[Link Removed]

Modern States Education Alliance American Literature Course

Washington State University: Dr. Donna Campbell's American Literature Page

Lecture videos and extra resource videos have automatic closed captioning. These captions are generated by computer algorithms. To utilize closed captioning, you can click on the CC button at the bottom of a video.

Gateway Education is committed to the belief that every individual should have an equal opportunity in education. Gateway Education seeks to assure access by providing accommodations to individuals with a disability as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). Accommodation includes, but is not limited to: aids or modification to courses, materials, or testing; and other services that allow better access by individuals with disabilities.

Individuals requesting accommodation should submit a request in writing or in an alternative format appropriate for their limitations. The request should include documentation of the disability, including information with recommendations of appropriate accommodation. Once eligibility has been established, accommodations must be requested on a course-by-course basis.

Requests can sent to the student services department at [email protected]