《美国文学》课件一.ppt

Words On the study of American Literature I. Preliminary knowledge for the study of American literature 1. Basic knowledge of American literary works 2. Basic knowledge of world literary classics, particularly those of ancient Greece 3. Basic knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman mythology 4. Basic knowledge of American history and politics 5. Basic knowledge of the Christian Bible II. Essential prerequisites for the study of British and American literature 1. Interest in literature 2. A large vocabulary 3. Good habits of study III. What is to be studied in American literature 1. History of American literature; 2. Major writers and their major works; 3. Historical (economic, political and ideological) background for the creation of the major writers; 4. Literary creative thought and artistic features of the major writers; 5. Central thought and social significance and writing techniques of a specific literary work; 6. General literary theories and schools IV. Requirements 1. Previewing without exception 2. Regular attendance (exception permitted only with convincing reasons) 3. Class participation (Be active) and oral presentation 4. Note-taking (many things out of the textbook are to be touched upon in class, and some of them are to be included in the final exam); 5. Don’t expect me (or anybody else) to discuss everything about a writer or a literary work as a teacher of intensive reading does; don’t expect me to write everything I say on the blackboard. This is not at all the proper method of studying literature. V. The Survey of Selected Readings in American Literature American Puritanism (the early 17th century--the end of the 18th) V. The Survey of Selected Readings in American Literature The Literary Scene in the Colonial Period 1. American literature grew out of humble origins. 2.Diaries, histories, journals, letters, commonplace books, travel books, sermons, in short, personal literature in its various forms, occupy a major position in the literature o