Literature of the American Civil War
Course #: ENGL 375
Description:
Despite Walt Whitman's declaration that ''the real war will never get in the books,'' Americans have produced a rich and still hotly contested archive of depictions of the Civil War. Course readings include novels, poetry, and political tracts, with selections on nursing, mourning, and funerary practices; photography and journalism; and women's experience on the northern ''homefront.'' We will begin with the explosive 1850s, when guerrilla violence broke out in the streets of Boston, the halls of Congress, and on the Kansas prairie, examining in particular how Black-led activist movements won the eventual victory of abolition. We will learn how the South ''won the peace'' during Reconstruction and after, including the development of modern policing and prisons. We will look to our own moment with analyses of Hollywood film and the ongoing interpretive battles waged across the nation over Civil War-era monuments.
Pre Requisites: Pre-requisite = ENGL 200 or 201 or 202