This is a FLEX version of my very popular live American Literature course.  This class can coordinate with my United States history course if desired.  

This 8 week, semester course will explore the 1st half of American Literature.  We will begin with early, colonial pieces, and trace the development on this literature into the mid 19th century.  This course will explore the historical context for each piece within the US, as well as the literary features of the writings.  We will read a variety of genres of writing from the most significant American writers of the 18th and early 19th centuries.  Our focus each week will be a particular author or piece as representative of each greater literary movement.  Students will be expected to read outside of class and come to class prepared to discuss their reading.  There will be writing assignments each week that students can submit for additional feedback and assessment.  This class is perfect for literary lovers, history lovers, or anyone just curious about American history and literary culture. 

As a flexible schedule version of my American Literature course, this course will offer no live class meetings.  Instead, your student will have access to a class recording weekly to watch, as well as additional written and visual documents to augment the recording.  Each week, students are expected to respond to a discussion question on the message board, as well as to respond to at least 2 other student's responses.  We will create a healthy group discussion through messages to engage with the contents of the recordings.  The student will also have various quizzes and interactive assignments to check their understanding of the video content.  This course will involve group brainstorming projects to be completed interactively, as well as a peer review process to ensure maximum interaction during the class, creating a workshop feel during the 8 weeks.  Also each week, student's will have an opportunity to complete their own longer writing assignments related to the class content and to receive individualized teacher feedback.  I will be available for office hours and meetings throughout the course by appointment to work with your schedule and your time zone. 

For parental guidance, the works we will read might have moments of violence or deal with sensitive subjects such as slavery.  In particular, Rowlandson addresses a violent encounter with Native Americans, Poe often alludes to violence in his stories, and Twain addresses the issue of slavery.

I highly recommend you take my Literary Analysis Essay writing class prior or concurrent to this class to develop your literary analysis writing skills.  

From a former student, "Your literature classes really prepared me well for college but also continued developing my critical thinking skills, world view, and love of learning."

Week 1-Colonial Era--Mary Rowlandson and Phillis Wheatley
Week 2- Early American literature--Washington Irving and Benjamin Franklin
Week 3- American Gothic--Edgar Allan Poe
Week 4- Romanticism-Nathaniel Hawthorne
Week 5- Herman Melville
Week 6- Poetry--Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson
Week 7-  Transcendentalism--Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau 
Week 8-  Realism--Mark Twain