This course will examine important figures, theories, and works during the period of American realism and naturalism in the nineteenth century. We’ll consider the emergence of realism and its formal variants in the broader context of cultural, economic, and technological change. At the same time, we’ll also engage realism in dialogue with other aesthetic and technological developments in print media, visual art, telegraphy, photography, and early sound recording. Course requirements include active participation, informal blog posts, one presentation, two short papers, and a final conference paper.
Required Texts:
Louisa May Alcott, Work: A Story of Experience
Charles Chesnutt, Tales of Conjure and the Color Line
Kate Chopin, The Awakening and Other Stories
Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage and Other Stories
Rebecca Harding Davis, Life in the Iron Mills
Henry Blake Fuller, The Cliff-Dwellers
William Dean Howells, The Rise of Silas Lapham
Henry James, Turn of the Screw and In the Cage
Mark Twain, The Great Short Works of Mark Twain
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Louisa May Alcott, Work: A Story of Experience
Charles Chesnutt, Tales of Conjure and the Color Line
Kate Chopin, The Awakening and Other Stories
Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage and Other Stories
Rebecca Harding Davis, Life in the Iron Mills
Henry Blake Fuller, The Cliff-Dwellers
William Dean Howells, The Rise of Silas Lapham
Henry James, Turn of the Screw and In the Cage
Mark Twain, The Great Short Works of Mark Twain
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
