We concern ourselves with two main questions as we read this selection of novels and short stories by some of the United States’ most illustrious authors: First, what is realism? Is it, indeed, a kind of fiction which is more "realistic" than other kinds? What does the genre's concept of realism say about the assumptions about the nature of the world on the part of readers and writers of the period? About the nature of novels? The nature of art? How do the assumptions, ideals, and practice of this particular literary form relate both to the genre of the novel, its history and the world from which these texts emerge? Second, we will discuss what the American novels of this period tell us about the America of today. This literature is fin-de-siecle literature written almost exactly 100 years ago. Though century markers are arbitrary, society doesn't really perceive them as so. Just as we are getting into a millennial mind-set today, so were writers and readers at the turn of the last century looking backwards as well as forwards. Writers and readers at the end of the last century saw their society--and their art--at a turning point. In this course, we will look at the values of the emergent consumer culture in the United States as they are articulated and debated in the "realist" novels of this period. We will examine the interplay between the aesthetics of realism and American cultural identities and ideals. We will also talk about how different writers use the constructions of class, gender, and race in their novels. Finally, we’ll develop some thoughts about the question of exactly what "realism" in the novel is--just another literary convention or an aesthetic approach with a privileged relationship to "real life” ?

TEXTS
Crane, Stephen. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1893)
Davis, Life in the Iron Mills (1861)
Dreiser, Theodore. Sister Carrie (1900)
"Howells and American Realism" (handout)
James, The American (1877)
James, "The Real Thing" (handout)
Johnson, Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (1912)
Riis, How the Other Half Lives (1890)
Wharton, The House of Mirth (1905)
http://nmaa-ryder.si.edu/collections/exhibits/metlives/index2.html

WORK
Two papers, each 6-8 pages (40%) and a final exam (40%). Class participation is graded at the end of the block and represents 20% of your final grade.

EXPECTATIONS
Unexcused absences lower your grade. You cannot receive credit for the class if you have more than two absences, excused or otherwise. I don’t accept late papers. The reading load for this class is heavy; the critical and background material is as important to read as the primary sources. Expect to spend 4-5 hours preparing for each class. I do not recommend this class for first-year students, or students with a lot of extracurricular obligations. This course is recommended for people who like to read novels, are curious about the past, and enjoy entertaining ideas and interpretations with a small group. INTRO TO POETRY OR CRITICAL PRACTICES IS A PREREQUISITE FOR THIS CLASS.

HONOR CODE
I expect all students to uphold the Honor Code of the Colorado College.

WEEK ONE
Monday: Introductions, historical background
Tuesday: Davis, Life in the Iron Mills ; Howells and American Realism packet.
Wednesday: OFF TO READ.
Thursday: Riis, How the Other Half Lives ( Part One: Framing the Poor and Introduction, Chapters I-IV, XIV-XVI; XX; XXII-XXIII; and look at as many pictures as possible in the chapters which you DON’T have to read); Look at the ONLINE EXHIBIT of the work of the Ashcan Artists at http://nmaa-ryder.si.edu/collections/exhibits/metlives/index2.html
Friday: Crane, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (entire) and Reviews, 143-159; in Riis, How the Other Half Lives.” Walcutt, “Hallucination and Hysteria in Maggie” 165; Pizer, “Stephen Crane’s Maggie and American Naturalism” 186; Gibson, “The Flawed Maggie” 212.

WEEK TWO
Monday: James, The American, Chapters I-IX and Sheldon, The American Colony in France, 351; from The Galaxy 394, from The Literary World 397, and from The Academy 410.
Tuesday: The American, Chapters X-XVIII; Edel, "A Portrait Rich in National Ambiguities" 415; Howe, "Henry James and the Millionaire" 442
Wednesday: OFF TO FINISH THE AMERICAN
Thursday: The American XIX-end; Tuttleton, "The Superstitious Valuation of Europe" 445; Poirier, "The Comedy of Fixed and Free Characters" 457. PAPER DUE AT 6 P.M.
Friday: Dreiser, Sister Carrie 1-173. In Norton, Dreiser, "True Art Speaks Plainly."

WEEK THREE
Monday: Dreiser, SC 173-300. In Norton, Warren, "Sister Carrie" and Pizer, "Nineteenth Century American Naturalism: An Approach Through Form"” In How the Other Half Lives, Chapter VIII "The Cheap Lodging Houses" 113.
Tuesday: Dreiser, SC, 300-end. In Norton, and Fisher, "The Life History of Objects: The Naturalist Novel and the City" 549, Moers, "The Finesse of Dreiser" and "The Snowstorm" 517; and Shulman, "Dreiser and the Dynamics of American Capitalism" 560.
Wednesday: OFF TO READ.
Thursday: Wharton, The House of Mirth, Book I. Gibson, "Marrying for Money" 284; Veblen, "Conspicuous Leisure and Conspicuous Consumption" 264; Gilman, "Women and Economics" 288; Schreiner, "Sex Parasitism" 293; Higham, "Ideological Anti-Semitism in the Gilded Age" 296
Friday: House of Mirth, Book II entire and Wolff, "Lily Bart and the Beautiful Death" 390; Lewis, "The House of Mirth Biographically" 339; Ammons, "Edith Wharton’s Hard-Working Lily: The House of Mirth and the Marriage Marke" 345; and Showalter, "“The Death of the (Lady) Novelist" 357. PAPER DUE AT 6 P.M.

WEEK FOUR
Monday: Johnson, Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (entire); In Riis, How the Other Half Lives. Chapter XIII "The Color Line in New York," in How the Other Half Lives
Tuesday: OFF TO STUDY. James, "The Real Thing" for exam.
Wednesday: Final Exam.