English 4/5/6 College American Lit and Comp

This online course offers a comprehensive survey of American literature, from the writings of early Puritan settlers to twentieth-century Modernist movements. The course covers a range of authors, styles, and themes, including the gothic Romanticism of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe, the philosophies of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, the poetry of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, and the realism of Ambrose Bierce and Jack London. Students will examine the impact of social structures and philosophical struggles on American literature, analyzing novels such as "Black No More" by George Schuyler and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. The course will also discuss the Native American voice in early American literature, as well as the Latin American and Asian American experiences in the twentieth century. Through essays and research, students will explore the connections between literature, history, and culture.

The course is designed as a full-year course and is pre-approved for college credit from Belhaven University. It is approved for California A-G credit and is open to students with flexible scheduling options. While the course has a strong focus on literature, it offers a historical and cultural context that also makes it relevant to studies in history, social sciences, and philosophy.