Fachbereich 7

Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft


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Vorheriges Semester

American Literature of the Progressive Era: 1890-1920


DozentIn: Jatin Wagle

Veranstaltungstyp: Seminar

Ort: 41/215

Zeiten: Di. 14:00 - 16:00 (wöchentlich)

Beschreibung: In his dystopian novel from 1908, _Iron Heel_, Jack London describes a "society in so terrific flux" as never before, as "swift changes in our industrial system are causing equally swift changes in our religious, political, and social structures. An unseen and fearful revolution is taking place in the fiber and structure of society". Although describing a fictional world that is about to fall prey to tyranny, he is evidently referring to the many challenges facing the American society during the turn of the century. This was an age of unprecedented economic reorganization associated with the advent of Taylorism and corresponding exploitative working conditions in the industries, corruption in high places in the Government, as well as unfettered urbanization and what was seen as influx of foreign migration. Many of these excesses were viewed to be the aftermath of the laissez-faire Gilded Age and gave rise to widespread dissatisfaction. In the last decade of the nineteenth century, diverse movements and voices advocating resistance and social equality as well as temperance and regulation ushered in what came to be known as the Progressive Era. Although profoundly shaped by the "progressive" workers', women's and African-Americans' movements toward equality and civil rights, this age is also marked by rise in xenophobic rhetoric against immigration and a racist backlash, especially during the Wilson presidency (1913-21), against the economic and political gains made by African Americans in the post-Reconstruction period.
In this American Studies course, we will explore the varied, and at times contradictory, facets of the age of social reform in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the United States. In particular, we will examine salient developments in American literature that responded to these unprecedented economic and social developments and accompanied the "progressive" movements.
In order to take and enjoy this class, you should be willing to read, analyze, and discuss narrative fiction, as well as historical and critical texts. Please note that this seminar is recommended for fourth and fifth semester students of English and American Studies, since it builds on students' sound awareness and understanding of critical and narrative approaches to fiction.
We will be discussing the following texts of narrative fiction in our course.
Stephen Crane's novella, _Maggie: A Girl of the Streets_ (1893)
Frank Norris's book of short stories, _A Deal in Wheat and Other Stories of the New and Old West_ (1903)
Upton Sinclair's novel, _The Jungle_ (1906)
Several free or low-cost editions of these texts are available (e.g., on Project Gutenberg). Please see to it that your editions are complete and usable in classroom discussions. Whenever in doubt, buy the Norton Critical editions, which are available for Crane's _Maggie_ and Sinclair's _The Jungle_.


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