A study of the literatures of the U.S. from the pre-Colonial period to the Civil War, which may include Native American Oral Tradition, the literature of New Spain and the Colonial period, the cultures of New England, and the social issues of gender, class, race and slavery as represented in nineteenth-century poetry and prose, including excerpts from the popular press. Students will trace many of our burning contemporary issues to their roots as we use literature to investigate the effects of colonialism, enslavement, the move west, and family structures as brought to the U.S. by immigrant groups.