Topics in Americal Literature: American Studies 60 co-listed with English 79.5

American Material Culture



The aim of this course is to examine what Simon J. Bonner (1986) has described as the "tangible things crafted, shaped, altered, and used across time and space" in the United States (American Material Culture and Folklore ,n.p.). Our purpose is to explore some of the ideas and images describing or invoking these "tangible things in a selection of nineteenth and twentieth century as well as current texts, drawn from literature semiotics, social history, the history of the fine and decorative arts.

Students will
  • write an analytical paper in which they explicate a material object of their choice (five pages not including bibliography);


  • write a research paper on a specific product or commodity and its impact on American cultur (12 pages not including bibliography);


  • deliver a class presentation on their research topic;


  • write a critique of an art exhibit, play, performance or film bearing on the course (three pages).
The course may include a final examination.

BOOKS WHICH WE READ Book




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