New Practical American Literature Course

Author: Peng Jiahai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: This book is an undergraduate English textbook for English majors, combining literary history with selected readings in English. The literary history section primarily introduces the historical background, literary trends, and literary schools of several important periods in American literature, as well as the literary careers, artistic characteristics, and plot summaries of representative works by authors. The selected readings section includes outstanding works by prominent American literary figures, mainly consisting of short stories, poems, and essays, along with necessary annotations and glossaries for the novels. The writing principles of this textbook are as follows:
1. Emphasize the importance of novels, particularly short stories, in American literature. We have not excerpted from full-length novels but have carefully selected representative short stories that, to some extent, reflect the creative themes and styles of the authors' longer works. For some authors, we have selected two works to present their styles from different periods, with varying difficulty levels to cater to readers of different levels. Additionally, the textbook provides plot summaries of full-length novels widely recognized as representative works by certain authors.
2. Emphasize practicality. While highlighting the representativeness and readability of the works, we have carefully selected a small number of authors who are prominent figures in American literature and can largely represent the creative themes and styles of certain literary schools. Given the limited time in literary courses, this allows students to gain a certain understanding of the history, development, and characteristics of American literature. Based on this, authors from the 1960s and later are not included in this textbook. Furthermore, to facilitate reading for undergraduate and similarly leveled readers, glossaries are provided for some of the selected works. This is done because many students struggle to read and understand the texts due to the abundance of unfamiliar words, leading to a loss of interest in literary courses and hindering literary appreciation and classroom discussions.
3. Emphasize the importance of the works themselves. Introductions to authors are kept brief and concise. To combine literary history with selected readings, in addition to author introductions, the social background and literary characteristics of several important periods in American literary history are also introduced.
4. Emphasize cultural content. Since literature and culture are inseparable, and understanding culture aids in comprehending works, we place great importance on culture in the background and author introductions, as well as in the selection and annotations of the works.
5. To provide readers with a relatively comprehensive understanding of American literature, we have also selected outstanding poems by famous American poets and several essays.