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English 3700  History of Reading in America before 1800

Beginning with the texts used to teach reading in colonial New England and moving on through the communities created by magazines, imported books, and the earliest American novels, we will explore the ways a wide range of Americans experienced reading in the earliest period of our national history. We will read some of the same texts they did, and we will also read what various people had to say about their reading (including typical white middle-class readers, free African Americans, political leaders like Franklin and Jefferson, and even a few young adult readers).   Requirements: Regular reading and occasional short response essays; two exams; a traditional research project; and a nontraditional project connecting course material to students’ individual areas of interest (creative and/or professional writing, pedagogy, cultural history, political history, visual culture, drama, music, visual arts, etc.) (Group 3A)