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27426-01 - Lecture: American Literature Survey II/IV: American Renaissance to Naturalism (2 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Philipp Schweighauser (ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | For generations of Americanists, 'real' American literature began only with Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Melville. More recently, critics have begun to point out the gender, ethnic, and regional biases of that selection and added Margaret Fuller, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Frances E. W. Harper, sentimental women poets, and the fireside poets to the list. This semester will take us from these writers—the representatives of a newly configured 'American Renaissance'—to Stephen Crane's naturalist dissection of urban and martial plight. Along the way, we will encounter some of the classics of American literary history (most prominently "Moby-Dick" and "The Scarlet Letter"); the 'Dean' of American realism (William Dean Howells); Henry James; the rise to stardom and fall of Theodor Dreiser's Sister Carrie; and the shocking but intelligible brutality of the eponymous protagonist of Frank Norris's "Mc Teague." |
| Learning objectives | You are introduced to a formative period of American literary and cultural history. |
| Bibliography | Recommendations for voluntary, moderate weekly readings are taken from the seventh, eighth, ninth or tenth edition of Volumes B and C (1820-1865; 1865-1914) of Nina Baym (gen. ed.), "The Norton Anthology of American Literature" (New York: W. W. Norton). Copies are available at the Labyrinth book store. If you plan to attend more than one part of this four-part lecture course and intend to do the recommended reading, it makes sense to buy all volumes (A-B + C-E) of "The Norton Anthology of American Literature" because this is the cheaper option. Make sure you bring along the handouts for each session, including the first. They are available on ADAM, contain the lecture slides, and will facilitate your note-taking. |
| Comments | I am offering a BA seminar on Whitman and Dickinson that relates to this survey lecture. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | None |
| Course application | Not required |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 18.02.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 25.02.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Fasnachtsferien |
| Wednesday 04.03.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 11.03.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 18.03.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 25.03.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 01.04.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 08.04.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 15.04.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 22.04.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 29.04.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 06.05.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 13.05.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 20.05.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Wednesday 27.05.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 118 |
| Modules |
Modul: Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's Studies - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Slavic Studies) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: German Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Latin Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's Studies - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) Modul: Introduction to Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: Koordinaten der Kreativität (Master's degree program: Cultural Techniques) Modul: Literaturgeschichte (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) |
| Assessment format | record of achievement |
| Assessment details | Written test (90 mins) toward the end of term. The test is based on the lectures; the recommended weekly readings are not part of it. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | one repetition, repetition counts |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |