series I: advertising america.
This seminar series considers how the environment, capitalism, and advertising shape our understanding of “America.” Each seminar is roughly ninety minutes long. Discussion will focus on curated excerpted texts, which will be shared prior to the seminar and will never take more than an hour to read.
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Seminar 1: Colonial Advertisments
How do transatlantic writers represent their encounter with a “new” world ? What are the underlying motivations and objectives of these early travel narratives? Reading excerpts include Richard Ligon, William Beckford, and Hans Sloane.
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Seminar 2: Town & Country
How do writers contend with the changing environment? How do they celebrate hard work even as the kidnapping and enslavement of Africans continues to be the driving force of economic production. Readings include Thomas Jefferson, J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur, and Phillis Wheatley.
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Seminar 3: Down to Business
How does industrialization influence American identity? What new forms of work and literature emerge to consider the emergence of a white middle class? Reading excerpts include Herman Melville, Rebecca Harding Davis, and Charles Chesnutt.
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Seminar 4: Greatness
What does it mean to be “great”? How is “greatness” represented and what is the role of costumes and dressing up? Reading excerpts include Nella Larsen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Raymond Carver.