ELECTIVES:
America’s Colonial Foundations (0.5) America’s Colonial Foundations provides an introduction to the major topics of the establishment of British North America, their political economic and social structures, religious and intellectual characteristics and the transition from distant citizens of Great Britain to a new American identity. It will examine changing relationships with Native Americans, development of racial slavery as a labor source, and European cultural influences on the various colonial regions. American Literature (0.5) Throughout the course of American Literature, students will be able to encounter and experience the full span of America’s rich literary history. The course begins with the literary contributions of America’s first settlers, and explores how their faith and difficult circumstances shaped their lives and the literature through which they captured these early moments of America. The course then moves through the Age of Faith, during which the core of American Literature was shaped by a strong and foundational faith, and then into the Age of Reason, during which the world of science and modern thinking started to shape the literature of the times. The study of literature then moves into the Romantic period, and then the Realist period, both of which shaped American Literature at its core and brought about significant changes to the style, structure, and purpose of literature. The introduction of Modern literature includes the literature of the early 1900s, including the Harlem Renaissance, and then Post-Modern literature brings students into the study of current day texts. Overall, the course includes literature spanning from the 1500’s to current day, and introduces students to some of the greatest authors and works in American Literature. Genres that are included are: nonfiction essays, diaries, sermons, letters, and