A survey of American literature from the Encounter to the Civil War. Readings and discussion focus on writers such as Columbus, Wheatley, Hawthorne, Apess, Emerson, Douglass, Jacobs, Whitman, and Dickinson. Students will reflect critically on literature, evaluate and acknowledge the possibilities and limitations of the authors' worldviews, and construct arguments about the texts using evidence from primary and secondary sources. Three class hours. Prerequisite(s): English 101 with a C or better, placement into English 200, or instructor permission.