Gregory Eiselein

ENGL 720 Studies in Major Authors: Louisa May Alcott and Mark Twain

Focusing on two of the funniest, most beloved, and widely read American authors, this course examines the late-nineteenth-century careers of Louisa May Alcott and Mark Twain from their early travel sketch writing to their autobiographical writings and most famous classic works. We will also read and explore each authors' darker and lesser-known writings, such as Alcott's early thrillers and Twain's scathing late essays and short fiction. Gender and race in literature, styles of American humor, the emergence of children's literature as a genre, the cultural work of their writing, and their continuing presence in American literature and culture will all be important topics of study. The books for the course include: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Pudd'nhead Wilson, Innocents Abroad, Selected Shorter Writings of Mark Twain, Little Women, Little Men, Eight Cousins, and Alternative Alcott. The semester's work will include a group project, a short paper on Twain or Alcott criticism, a longer final research paper, and a final examination.

Course Materials

The following class handouts are available here as PDFs.

• Syllabus
• Schedule
• Group Project Assignment
• Group Project Dates
• Handout on Preparing an Annotated Bibliography
• Summary and Response Paper: Critical Article
• Final Research Paper
• Final Examination Review Sheet