SRJC Course Outlines

11/9/2026 8:02:18 AM	ENGL 30.1 Course Outline as of Fall 2024	Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION
Discipline and Nbr:  ENGL 30.1	Title:  AMER LIT: PRE-COL. -1865
Full Title:  American Literature: Pre-Colonial Period to the Civil War
Last Reviewed:11/13/2023

Units		Course Hours per Week			Nbr of Weeks	Course Hours Total
Maximum	3.00	Lecture Scheduled	3.00		17.5 max.	Lecture Scheduled	52.50
Minimum	3.00	Lab Scheduled	0		17.5 min.	Lab Scheduled	0
		Contact DHR	0			Contact DHR	0
		Contact Total	3.00			Contact Total	52.50
		Non-contact DHR	0			Non-contact DHR Total	0

Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00

Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade or P/NP
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly:  ENGL 30A

Catalog Description:

Students in this class will explore a range of texts representative of literary traditions and ethnic and cultural diversities of the early Americas through 1865, including those from indigenous and other cultures, creating and influencing literature from what we now consider the United States. Students will engage with both the thematic richness and historical contexts of literature from this period. Throughout this exploration of the pre-colonial period through 1865, students are invited to delve into the vital contributions of these voices in shaping and building the cultural tapestry of American literature.

Prerequisites/Corequisites:

Recommended Preparation:

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description:

Students in this class will explore a range of texts representative of literary traditions and ethnic and cultural diversities of the early Americas through 1865, including those from indigenous and other cultures, creating and influencing literature from what we now consider the United States. Students will engage with both the thematic richness and historical contexts of literature from this period. Throughout this exploration of the pre-colonial period through 1865, students are invited to delve into the vital contributions of these voices in shaping and building the cultural tapestry of American literature.

(Grade or P/NP)
Prerequisites:
Recommended:
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:CSU;UC.
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:		Effective:	Fall 1981	Inactive:	Fall 2025
Area:	E L3 E	Humanities Arts and Humanities Humanities
CSU GE:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	C2	Humanities		Fall 1981
IGETC:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	3B	Humanities		Fall 1981
CSU Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 1981	Inactive:
UC Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 1981	Inactive:
C-ID:
CID Descriptor: ENGL 130	Survey of American Literature 1	SRJC Equivalent Course(s): ENGL30.1

Certificate/Major Applicable: Major Applicable Course

Approval and Dates

Version:	07	Course Created/Approved:	8/1/1981
Version Created:	9/21/2023	Course Last Modified:	1/3/2026
Submitter:	Sheryl Cavales Doolan	Course Last Full Review:	11/13/2023
Version Status:	Approved Changed Course	Prereq Created/Approved:	11/13/2023
Version Status Date:	11/13/2023	Semester Last Taught:	Fall 2025
Version Term Effective:	Fall 2024	Term Inactive:

COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Critically read, analyze, interpret, and write about a range of texts representative of the diverse ethnic and cultural groups in the American literary traditions of the pre-colonial period through 1865.

2. Explain the historical, political, and socio-cultural contexts and the evolution of American literature up to 1865.

3. Apply a range of critical approaches to literatures of this period.

 

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Analyze and critique assigned texts.

2. Identify and interpret major themes in texts and their connections to the historical and cultural

     contexts of the era.

3. Analyze the development of a variety of genres and the conditions from which they emerged.

4. Define, evaluate, and apply different modes of argumentation and interpretations, such as

    biographical, historical, and psychological approaches to literary analysis.

5. Perform literary and historical research in order to support an interpretation of the literature.

Topics and Scope

I. Pre-Colonial Literature to 1620--New World vs. Old World

     A. Indigenous literature

         1. Native American oral literature

         2. Pre-Columbian indigenous creation myths and oral stories

     B. Letters and diaries of early colonial explorers

     C. Conquest and Colonial literatures

II. Colonial Literature to American Revolution, 1620 to 1820

     A. Great Awakenings

     B. The Enlightenment

      C. The American Revolution

III. Post-American Revolution, 1820 to 1865

     A.  Romanticism

          1. Transcendentalism

          2.  Gothic literature

          3.  Romances (e.g. The Blithedale Romance)

     B.  Protest literature

          1.  Slave Narratives

           2.  Abolitionist pamphlets

          3.  Women's Movement

     C.  Melodrama

           1. Minstrelsy

          2. Hippodramas

          3. Civil War     

      D. Civil War

IV. Literary Analysis and Writing

V.  Literary Research

VI. Schools of Literary Criticism

Assignments:

1. Weekly reading assignments

2. Participation in class discussions

3. Individual or group presentations or projects

4. Low-stakes writing assignments, such as reading response journals, summaries, or personal response papers

5. Short critical response papers (500 - 1,000 words each)

6. Library research assignment(s), such as an annotated bibliography, research sessions with a librarian, or library research scavenger hunt

7. Essays including library research with MLA documentation (1,000 - 2,500 words each)

8. Essay exams, objective exams, and/or quizzes

9. Optional field trips (ungraded)

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 50 - 65%
Low-stakes writing assignments; short critical response papers; library research assignment(s); essays
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 5 - 15%
Library research assignment(s)
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 10 - 20%
Exams and/or quizzes
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 10 - 20%
Participation in class discussions; individual or group presentations or projects

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

Anthologies:

The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 10th ed. Volumes A and B. Levine, Robert and Gustafson, Sandra. W. W. Norton & Company. 2022

The Heath Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1800, Volume A. 7th ed. Lauter, Paul. Cengage Publishing. 2014 (classic)

The Heath Anthology of American Literature: Early Nineteenth Century 1800 - 1865.  Vol. B. 7th ed. Lauter, Paul. Cengage Publishing. 2013 (classic)

Genesis: Memory of Fire, Volume 1. Reprint edition. Galeano, Eduardo. Nation Books. 2010 (classic)

 

Relevant literature:

A Son of the Forest. Apess, William. Self published. 1829 (classic)

The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit. Bird, Yellow. W.R. Cook and Company. 1854 (classic)

The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America. Bradstreet, Anne. Gale, Sabin Americana. 2012 (classic)

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Douglass, Frederick. Union Square & Co. 2022 (classic)

Nature and Selected Essays. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Penguin Classics. 2003 (classic)

The Scarlet Letter.  Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Vintage. 2014 (classic)

Moby Dick.  Melville, Herman. Oxford Classics. 2022.

Twelve Years a Slave.  Northup, Solomon. 37 Ink. 2013 (classic)

Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. Poe, Edgar Allan. Worth Press. 2009 (classic)

Walden and Civil Disobedience. Thoreau, Henry David. Penguin Classics. 1983 (classic)

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773). Wheatley, Phyllis. CreateSpace Independent Publishing. 2016 (classic)

Leaves of Grass: The Original 1855 Edition. Whitman, Walt. Dover. 2007 (classic)

 

Open Educational Materials and Electronic Resources:

American Literature I: An Anthology of Texts from Early America the Early 20th Century.  Kurtz, Jenifer. https://viva.pressbooks.pub/amlit1. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Becoming America: An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution. Kurant, Wendy. https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/english-textbooks/19. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Dala Digital American Literature Anthology. O'Connor, Michael.  digitalamlit.millikinenglish.org/.  CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

The Open Anthology of Earlier American Literature.  DeRosa, Robin, Goode, Abby, et al. human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Literature_and_Literacy/The_Open_Anthology_of_Earlier_American_Literature_(DeRosa_Goode_et_al.). CC BY-SA 4.0

Popol Vuh: Sacred Book of the Quiché Maya People. Translated by Allen J. Christenson. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 2003.

www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf.

OTHER REQUIRED ELEMENTS

Student Preparation
Matric Assessment Required:	E	Requires English Assessment
Prerequisites-generate description:	NP	No Prerequisite
Advisories-generate description:	NA	No Advisory
Prereq-provisional:	N	NO
Prereq/coreq-registration check:	N	No Prerequisite Rules Exist
Requires instructor signature:	N	Instructor's Signature Not Required
BASIC INFORMATION, HOURS/UNITS & REPEATABILITY
Method of instruction:	02	Lecture
Area department:	ENGL	English
Division:	71	Language Arts & Academic Foundations
Special topic course:	N	Not a Special Topic Course
Program Status:	1	Major Applicable Course
Repeatability:	00	Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Repeat group id:
SCHEDULING
Audit allowed:	N	Not Auditable
Open entry/exit:	N	Not Open Entry/Open Exit
Credit by Exam:	N	Credit by examination not allowed
Budget code: Program:	0000	Unrestricted
Budget code: Activity:	1501	English-General
OTHER CODES
Disciplines:	English
Basic Skills:	N	Not a Basic Skills Course
Level below transfer:	Y	Not Applicable
CVU/CVC status:	N	Not Distance Ed
Distance Ed Approved:	N
Emergency Distance Ed Approved:	Y	Fully Online Partially Online Online with flexible in-person activities
Credit for Prior Learning:	N	Agency Exam
	N	CBE
	N	Industry Credentials
	N	Portfolio
Non-credit category:	Y	Not Applicable, Credit Course
Classification:	Y	Liberal Arts and Sciences Courses
SAM classification:	E	Non-Occupational
TOP code:	1501.00	English
Work-based learning:	N	Does Not Include Work-Based Learning
DSPS course:	N	NO
In-service:	N	Not an In-Service Course

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