In Great American Books we will read and discuss a variety of texts that range from the middle of the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. The texts have been grouped into pairs that share similar themes and ideas,
including (very broadly): the American landscape; American Indian life; human nature; and race. These larger
themes will serve as sounding boards for our discussions of the texts and will help us to put paired texts into “conversation” with each other. We will also consider what makes a book both “great” and “American,” and will explore how the texts chosen for the course fit these labels, or how they perhaps challenge traditional notions of what makes a book “great” or “American.”
This is a learner-focused course, which means there will be a small amount of lecturing done on the instructor’s part, and a great amount of student-led discussion. Please note that you are expected to participate in class
discussions on a regular basis. Plan to complete all readings by the assigned dates and be prepared to discuss the material and answer any questions that may be posed by the instructor and/or your classmates. Participation will be
tracked each class period.
Great American Books will be reading-intensive. The reading load will be quite substantial, and you are expected to come to class having completed all required reading and prepared to discuss the material. Students who do not keep
up with reading assignments (and, in turn, cannot participate in class) will find it difficult to do well in this course.
Texts required for this course (available at Von’s) are: Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, Zitkala-Ša’s American Indian Stories, Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Herman Melville’s Typee, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, and Toni Morrison’s Beloved.