Dec 08, 2024  
College Catalog 2024-2025 
    
College Catalog 2024-2025
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ENGL 2720 - American Literature, 1865 to 1920

Credit Hours: 3.00


Prerequisites: ENGL 1220  or ENGL 1190  

This course presents a study of major cultural and literary developments between the end of the Civil War and the end of World War I. We will consider Reconstruction, Western Expansion, industrialization and urban growth, the role of the new immigrants, the “woman question” and how these issues found literary expression in what is commonly referred to as Realism and Naturalism. Authors to be discussed may include Whitman, Dickinson, Twain, Davis, James, Howells, Dreiser, Crane, Norris, Cahan, Dos Passos, Gilman, Chopin, Wharton, Freeman, Jewett, Sinclair, Dunbar, and Chesnutt.

Billable Contact Hours: 3

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Transfer Possibilities
Michigan Transfer Network (MiTransfer) - Utilize this website to easily search how your credits transfer to colleges and universities.
OUTCOMES AND OBJECTIVES
Outcome 1: Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the concepts of Realism.

Objectives:

  1. Explain Realism as a literary technique and as a historical construct.
  2. Recognize the continuation of Romantic attitudes and techniques in the works of this period.
  3. Identify and explain the growing international awareness of American writers and the impact of this awareness upon their work.

Outcome 2: Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the concepts of Naturalism.

Objectives:

  1. Explain Naturalism as a literary technique and as a historical construct.
  2. Analyze the increasing concern of some writers with social issues.

Outcome 3: Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to write papers that combine literary analysis with correct standard documentation format.

Objectives:

  1. Shape a controlling idea for each paper, stated in an introduction.
  2. Develop the controlling idea for each paper in a body, using appropriate support and evidence.
  3. Organize each paper appropriately, unifying paragraphs by means of topic sentences, linking paragraphs by a variety of transitions, and arranging the main points effectively.
  4. Summarize the controlling idea of each paper in a conclusion.
  5. Document sources used for each paper according to acceptable standard format.

COMMON DEGREE OUTCOMES (CDO)
  • Communication: The graduate can communicate effectively for the intended purpose and audience.
  • Critical Thinking: The graduate can make informed decisions after analyzing information or evidence related to the issue.
  • Global Literacy: The graduate can analyze human behavior or experiences through cultural, social, political, or economic perspectives.
  • Information Literacy: The graduate can responsibly use information gathered from a variety of formats in order to complete a task.
  • Quantitative Reasoning: The graduate can apply quantitative methods or evidence to solve problems or make judgments.
  • Scientific Literacy: The graduate can produce or interpret scientific information presented in a variety of formats.
CDO marked YES apply to this course:
Communication: YES
Critical Thinking: YES
Global Literacy: YES
Information Literacy: YES
COURSE CONTENT OUTLINE
 

  1. Realism
    1. Early Realism
    2. The Gilded Age
    3. Regionalism
  2. Naturalism
    1. Urban growth and industrialization
    2. Immigration

Primary Faculty
Brinker, Ludger
Secondary Faculty

Associate Dean
Ternullo, Annette
Dean
Pritchett, Marie



Primary Syllabus - Macomb Community College, 14500 E 12 Mile Road, Warren, MI 48088



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