American Neoclassicism

This module examines the American Neoclassicism movement, covering:

• The characteristics of Augustan and neoclassical poetic styles
• Key figures such as John Dryden, Alexander Pope, and Samuel Johnson
• An analysis of Aristotle's Poetics and the concept of mimesis
• Phillis Wheatley's contributions to neoclassical poetry
• Francis Scott Key's Defense of Fort McHenry as a neoclassical work

Course Lectures

• Introduction

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module introduces students to foundational concepts in American literature, including:

  • Cosmopolitanism and its role in literature
  • Deliberative democracy and its impact on cultural discourse
  • Raymond Williams's model of culture, emphasizing dominant, residual, and emergent elements
  • The influence of Puritanism and Jeffersonianism on American thought
  • Understanding the horizon of expectations and aesthetics of reception
  • Canonization processes and the role of ideology
  • Exploring the theme of American Exceptionalism
• Moby-Dick (I)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module delves into the intricate themes of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, focusing on:

  • The depiction of New York as a cosmopolitan hub
  • Literary devices such as paralipsis, exempla, synecdoche, and metonymy
  • The application of New Historicism, particularly through Stephen Greenblatt's lens
  • Michel Foucault's influence on understanding humanism
  • An in-depth analysis of the opening chapter of Moby-Dick
• The Literature of Settlement

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module examines the literature surrounding the settlement of America, including:

  • Contrasts between oral and written literary traditions
  • Exploration of Native American creation stories
  • Understanding typological hermeneutics in the context of early American literature
  • Theological concepts such as the covenants of works and grace
  • Discussions on original sin and its implications
  • Insights into John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion and the Synod of Dort
  • A focus on the acronym TULIP and its significance
• American Puritanism (I)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module focuses on the themes and styles of American Puritanism, including:

  • Typology as a key interpretive method
  • John Calvin's theological influence
  • Contrasting Arminianism with Puritan beliefs
  • Materialism versus idealism in Puritan thought
  • Understanding the phenomenal and noumenal realms
  • The characteristics of Puritan "plain style" writing
  • The structure and impact of Puritan sermons
  • The Great Migration and its significance
  • Key figures such as William Bradford and John Winthrop
• American Puritanism (III)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module highlights the poetic contributions of the American Puritans, discussing:

  • Puritan poetry's unique characteristics
  • The significance of The Bay Psalm Book
  • Influences of English metaphysical poets like John Donne and George Herbert
  • Richard Crashaw's contributions to Puritan poetry
  • Samuel Johnson's views on wit in poetry
  • Intertextuality and its role in Puritan literature
  • Key poets such as Michael Wigglesworth, Anne Bradstreet, and Edward Taylor
• American Neoclassicism

  Cyrus Patell

  Playing

  This module examines the American Neoclassicism movement, covering:

  • The characteristics of Augustan and neoclassical poetic styles
  • Key figures such as John Dryden, Alexander Pope, and Samuel Johnson
  • An analysis of Aristotle's Poetics and the concept of mimesis
  • Phillis Wheatley's contributions to neoclassical poetry
  • Francis Scott Key's Defense of Fort McHenry as a neoclassical work
• Edwards and the Transition to Enlightenment

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module explores the transition from Puritanism to Enlightenment thought, discussing:

  • Raymond Williams's cultural model and its implications
  • The works of Edward Taylor and Jonathan Edwards
  • Benjamin Franklin's influence on American ideology
  • George Whitefield's role in the Great Awakening
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on American literature
• The American Enlightenment

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module focuses on the American Enlightenment, including:

  • John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and its significance
  • The concept of perfectionism in American thought
  • Deism and its influence on Enlightenment thinkers
  • Benjamin Franklin's contributions to Enlightenment philosophy
  • Thomas Jefferson's role in shaping American ideals
  • John Locke's philosophical contributions, particularly on syllogisms
  • The Declaration of Independence as a product of Enlightenment thought
• American Gothic (I)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module investigates the American Gothic tradition, covering the transition from Neoclassicism to Romanticism, including:

  • Alexander Pope's poem Windsor-Forest and its implications
  • The emergence of pastoralism in American literature
  • The graveyard school and its influence on Gothic themes
  • The concepts of fancy and imagination in Romantic literature
  • Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
  • Wordsworth's preface to Lyrical Ballads and its impact on Romanticism
  • William Cullen Bryant's contributions to the Gothic genre
  • The concept of the Doppelgänger in American literature
• American Gothic (II)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module continues the exploration of American Gothic literature, focusing on:

  • The Copyright Act of 1790 and its implications for authors
  • The marketplace for books and literature of virtue
  • Influential figures in the English Gothic novel such as Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe
  • The works of Matthew Lewis and their Gothic elements
  • Edmund Burke's contributions to Gothic theory
  • Samuel Richardson's influence on the genre
  • Charles Brockden Brown's Edgar Huntly and its significance in American Gothic
• American Gothic (III)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module examines the later developments in the American Gothic tradition, focusing on:

  • Copyright law and its impact on the profession of authorship
  • Further analysis of Charles Brockden Brown's Edgar Huntly
  • Philip Freneau's poem "To a New England Poet" and its significance
  • Washington Irving's literary contributions, including History of New York, Rip Van Winkle, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
• American Transcendentalism (I)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module introduces American Transcendentalism, focusing on key themes and figures such as:

  • Ralph Waldo Emerson and his philosophies
  • Ontological individualism and its implications
  • The concept of the state of nature
  • Alexis de Tocqueville's observations on American society
  • Immanuel Kant's influence on philosophical idealism
  • The role of Unitarianism and its connection to Transcendentalism
  • Lockean psychology and its impact on the movement
  • Neo-Platonism as a philosophical backdrop
• American Transcendentalism (II)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module continues the exploration of American Transcendentalism, emphasizing:

  • Further works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, including "The American Scholar" and "Self-Reliance"
  • Philosophical implications of Emerson's ideas
  • John Locke's perspective on property and its relation to Transcendentalism
  • The concept of possessive individualism and its critiques
• American Transcendentalism (III)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module explores the later works of American Transcendentalism, focusing on:

  • Ralph Waldo Emerson's philosophical contributions
  • Henry David Thoreau's seminal work, "Resistance to Civil Government"
  • Thoreau's reflections on civil disobedience and social justice
  • The influence of Walden on American thought and literature
• American Transcendentalism (IV)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module further investigates the connections between Emerson, Thoreau, and Walt Whitman, covering:

  • Emerson's influence on Whitman's poetic ideals
  • Thoreau's reflections on nature and individuality
  • Whitman's contributions to American poetry and identity
  • Exploration of themes such as democracy and self-expression in their works
• American Transcendentalism (V)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module examines the intersection of Transcendentalism and the issue of slavery, discussing:

  • Emerson's and Whitman's perspectives on slavery
  • The political climate surrounding the Wilmot Proviso
  • Key figures such as Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Daniel Webster
  • The Compromise of 1850 and its implications for American society
  • The Fugitive Slave Law and its impact on literature and activism
  • Lemuel Shaw's contributions to the legal discourse on slavery
• Frederick Douglass

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module focuses on Frederick Douglass and his contributions to American literature, emphasizing:

  • Douglass's 1845 Narrative and its significance
  • John Locke's Second Treatises of Government and its relevance
  • Exploration of ontological individualism and its critiques
  • Orlando Patterson's concept of social death
  • Douglass's role in the abolitionist movement and American rhetoric
• Uncle Tom's Cabin (I)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module explores Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, focusing on:

  • The historical context of the Fugitive Slave Law
  • The role of sentimental fiction in shaping public opinion
  • Anti-slavery narratives and their impact on American society
  • The portrayal of domestic slavery and its implications
  • Stowe's influence on the abolitionist movement
• Uncle Tom's Cabin (II)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module continues the examination of Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, emphasizing:

  • Further analysis of the Fugitive Slave Law and its consequences
  • Sentimental fiction's role in American literature and society
  • Stowe's character development and narrative techniques
  • The impact of the novel on contemporary abolitionist movements
  • Stowe's legacy in American literature and social justice
• Nathaniel Hawthorne (I)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module analyzes Nathaniel Hawthorne's short stories, focusing on:

  • The themes of American romance and allegory in his works
  • The use of dream-visions and their significance
  • Connections to Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene
  • Influences from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress
  • The moral and philosophical undertones in Hawthorne's narratives
• Nathaniel Hawthorne (II)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module delves into the intricate layers of Nathaniel Hawthorne's work, particularly focusing on the themes of allegory and romance. Students will explore:

  • The logic behind allegorical narratives and their significance in literature.
  • The concept of liminality and how it affects character development and plot structure.
  • An in-depth analysis of "The Scarlet Letter," examining its historical context and moral implications.

  Participants will engage in discussions that reveal the complexities of Hawthorne's storytelling and its relevance in American literature.

• Moby-Dick (II)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module offers a comprehensive examination of Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick," paying particular attention to its intertextual connections and cultural significance. Key topics include:

  • An analysis of Owen Chase's first-hand account of the Essex whale ship disaster.
  • The exploration of cenotaphs and their representation in literary narratives.
  • A study of biblical culture and typology within the text.

  Students will gain insights into Melville's narrative techniques and the broader implications of his work in American literature.

• Moby-Dick (III)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module continues the exploration of "Moby-Dick," emphasizing themes of agency, free will, fate, and destiny. Students will engage with:

  • The philosophical debates surrounding principal and agent dynamics in the narrative.
  • Character motivations and the larger existential questions posed by Melville.
  • The implications of fate and free will in the context of the whaling industry.

  Discussions will facilitate a deeper understanding of how these themes resonate within Melville’s work and American literature as a whole.

• Moby-Dick (IV)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module presents a critical analysis of race and slavery in 19th-century America as depicted in "Moby-Dick." Key areas of focus include:

  • The portrayal of racial dynamics within Melville's narrative.
  • The historical context of slavery and its implications for American identity.
  • The figure of Lemuel Shaw and his relevance to the discussions of race and law.

  Students will explore how these themes affect interpretations of Melville's work and contribute to the broader discourse on race in American literature.

• Moby-Dick (V)

  Cyrus Patell

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  This module culminates the study of "Moby-Dick" by examining its legacy and the concept of the Great American Novel. Discussions will cover:

  • The idea of cosmopolitanism and its role in shaping American literature.
  • Raymond Williams' critical theories and their application to Melville's work.
  • The Melville Revival and its impact on contemporary literature.
  • The philosophical underpinnings of Zoroastrianism as reflected in Melville's narrative.

  Students will reflect on the evolving interpretations of "Moby-Dick" and its place in the canon of American literature.