American Classics

This subject is not offered in 2013.

Total expected time commitment is 102-hours across the semester, including class time.

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106-228 American Classics

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

What causes some literary works to be consistently read by large numbers of people? In this subject, students study a selection of works commonly regarded as classics of 19th century American literature, looking at how the works have challenged or contributed, as the case may be, to some of the prevailing myths of American society. The aesthetic and historical contexts in which the texts were written will be a major focus, as will themes such as Puritan culture, the Gothic undercurrents in American writing, slavery, the American frontier and westward expansion, the American South, the concept of individualism, the retreating wilderness, the growth of American cites and mercantilism, the new woman and male and female sexuality. We will also study the texts' relation to romanticism, realism and naturalism. Students who complete the subject will have a better appreciation of why these and other so-called 'classic' texts consistently attract readers and why they continue to form the substance of teaching programs and literary criticism.

On completion of the subject students should have:

• the ability to demonstrate a familiarity with some of the classic texts of 19th century American literature;
• a broad understanding of the concepts of the American wilderness and the American frontier and how these have been portrayed in 19th century American literature;
• some knowledge of Puritan culture and how this has been portrayed in 19th century American literature;
• a knowledge of the literary conventions used in captivity narratives and slave writings and the impact these had on contemporary readers;
• an understanding of the different ways in which 19th century American writershave treated the themes of slavery and racism;
• an understanding of what 19th century American writers had to say about Southern Culture, male and female sexuality, female emancipation, and the institution of marriage;
• developed their capacity for carrying out independent research;
• developed their capacity for applying critical thinking and analysis to the texts they read;
• developed their ability to communicate in writing using the essay form.

Written work of 4000 words, comprising one essay of 1500 words due mid semester (40%), one essay of 2000 words a take-home examination due in the examination period (50%) and one 10 minute class presentation of 500 words (10%). This subject has a minimum hurdle requirement of 75% attendance and regular participation in tutorials. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

A subject reader will be available.

• The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne)
• Benito Cereno and Billy Budd (Melville)
• Uncle Tom's Cabin (Beecher Stowe)
• Huck Finn (Twain)
• Collected Poems (Dickinson)
• Daisy Miller (James)
• The Awakening and other Stories (Chopin)
• Walden and Civil Disobedience (Thoreau)
• The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym (Poe)

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Students who successfully complete this subject will:

• have the ability to critically analyse and discuss a wide range of reading materials through participation in class discussions, the reading of critical essays and the writing of scholarly essays;

• have the capacity for independent and targeted research as a result of preparing for class discussions and writing scholarly essays;

• have the capacity for creative thinking through participation in discussions and the writing of essays that apply critical and theoretical ideas to the reading and interpretation of texts;

• have the capacity for critical self-awareness through participation in discussions and the reading of critical texts;

• have the capacity for lucid and logical argument as a result of careful essay planning and writing;

• be competent in the use of library and other information sources such as on line websites and search engines through the researching and writing of essays that require the use of these resources.

Students who have undertaken 673-343 American Classics are not eligible to enrol in this subject.