The Group Project

As you know, the group presentation involves leading class for roughly 45 minutes during one of our final six meetings of the semester. Possibilities for your group to focus on include putting a work or genre in historical/social context; analyzing the ways in which critics have positioned a given work or genre as central to the American literary canon; analyzing how interpretations of a work or genre have changed over time; introducing major themes, image patterns, or issues in a given work or genre; or a focus of your own invention. We will arrange for a mandatory conference on your group's presentation emphasis after October break. What follows is the reading assignments and group membership for the final six class periods.

M 11/18 The Development of Autobiography. 1660s: Anne Bradstreet, "To My Dear Children" (ELA 322-325); 1701: The Declaration and Confession of Esther Rodgers (ELA 404-407); 1741: Jonathan Edwards, "Personal Narrative" (ELA 605-615); 1768: Samson Occom, "A Short Narrative of My Life" (NAAL 647-652); 1774: Elizabeth Ashbridge, from Some Account of the Fore-Part of the Life of Elizabeth Ashbridge (ELA 659-667); 1774: John Woolman, Journal (NAAL 610-618); GROUP 1 LEADS CLASS: Katharine Felt, Kim Klein, Kristen Lubkowski, Bridget Quinlan
W 11/20 1704-1705: Sarah Knight, journal (ELA 415-427); 1709-1712/1728: William Byrd, from The Secret Diary and History of the Dividing Line (NAAL 447-464, ELA 699-707); 1782: J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, from Letters from an American Farmer (ELA 973-981); 1798: Memoirs of the Notorious Stephen Burroughs (ELA 801-812); GROUP 2 LEADS CLASS: June Crawford, Brian Hamilton, Jessica Mancuso, Liz Philipps, Matt Robinson

M 12/2 1771-1790: Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography (NAAL 538-610); GROUP 3 LEADS CLASS: Emily Burbank, Brad Kaye, Kristen Kszos, Nick Weiser
W 12/4 1760: Briton Hammon, from Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings and Surprizing Deliverance (NAAL 874-879); 1770: Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, from A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars (ELA 719-725); 1789: Olaudah Equiano, from The Interesting Narrative of the Life (ELA 792-798); GROUP 4 LEADS CLASS: Nate Bowser, Matt Dumuhosky, Andrea Georgakis, Kristie Howell

M 12/9 Maryse Condé, I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, Author's Note-Ch. 7 (iii-122); GROUP 5 LEADS CLASS: Julia Anderson, Vanessia Hosein, Bill Hughey, Carrie McCausland
W 12/11 Maryse Condé, I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, Ch. 8-Afterword (123-225); GROUP 6 LEADS CLASS: Ryan Geise, Sam Hess, Aaron Jessey, Patrick Lovaglio