Materials > Schedule > His Life | His Times | His Death | Group Projects
PART I - INTRODUCTIONS
Jan. 10 (F)	Introductions I
Jan. 13 (M)	Introductions II Reading: Skim through any American history textbook and (re)familiarize yourself with the major events of 1800-1850. If you don't have access to a textbook, see me. I have plenty. Discussion: America, 1809-1849
Jan. 17 (F)	Introductions III Reading: "The Memory of Love" (html and pdf) Discussion: The Romance of Rot
Jan. 20 (M)	NO CLASS / MLK DAY
PART II - POE'S LIFE
Jan. 24 (F)	Biography I Reading: Silverman, 1-99; Tamerlane (CT 1005-12); Alone (CT 1026) Discussion: Poe's Youth
Jan. 27 (M)	Biography II Reading: Silverman, 99-155; The Fall of the House of Usher (CT 231-246); The City in the Sea (CT 963-965) Discussion: Poe's Early Career
Jan. 31 (F)	Biography III Reading: Silverman, 155-210; The Black Cat (CT 223-231); Descent Into the Maelstrom (CT 127-141) Discussion: Love and God in Poe
Feb. 3 (M)	Biography IV Reading: Silverman, 211-270; The Raven (CT 943-946); The Philosophy of Composition (html); The Purloined Letter (CT 208-223) Discussion: Ravens and Ratiocination
Feb. 7 (F)	Biography V Reading: Silverman, 271-331 Discussion: Poe's Literary Battles
Feb. 10 (M)	Biography VI Reading: Silverman, 332-407; The Bells (CT 954-957); The Belles (html) Discussion: Poe's Final Jest
Feb. 14 (F)	FIRST EXAM
PART III - POE'S TIMES
Feb. 17 (M)	Themes I Reading: (1) Selections from the romantics: Lord Byron, "We'll go no more a-roving" (html) | (2) Politics is Our Epic Poem: The Life of Laurence Keitt (html) | Skim (if you get the chance) Poe's Rationale of Verse (CT 889-907) and Poetic Principle (CT 908-942) Discussion: Antebellum Poetry (Breathing Life Into the World, Breathing Worlds Into Life)
Feb. 21 (F)	NO CLASS / SIHC
Feb. 24 (M)	Themes II Reading: Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym (CT 748-887) | Manifest Destiny of the World (html) Discussion: Exploration and the Romantic Landscape
Feb. 28 (F)	Themes III Reading: Hans Pfaall (CT 3-42), Mellonta Tauta (CT 384-395), Von Kempelen and His Discovery (CT 82-88), A Tale of the Ragged Mountains (CT 679-688) Discussion: A Balloon Ride to the Moon: Poe and Science Fiction
Mar. 3-7	NO CLASS / SPRING BREAK
Mar. 10 (M)	Themes IV Reading: The Mystery of Marie Roget (CT 169-208) Discussion: The Killer and the American Gothic Imagination
Mar. 14 (F)	Themes V Reading: The Gold Bug (CT 42-71); Murders in the Rue Morgue (CT 141-169); The Purloined Letter (CT 208-223) Discussion: Detecting Gotham
Mar. 17 (M)	Themes VI Reading: Ligeia (CT654-667), Morella (CT 667-672), Berenice (CT 642-649) Discussion: Revenant Women and Impotent Men
Mar. 21 (F)	Themes VII Reading: Alan Henry Rose, Demonic Vision, 25-38 (pdf) | Henry Clay Lewis, The Curious Widow | Henry Clay Lewis, Stealing a Baby | Image from Odd Leaves | Henry Clay Lewis, A Struggle for Life | Another image from Odd Leaves | Edgar Allan Poe, Hop-Frog Discussion: Romancing the Shadow
Mar. 24 (M)	Themes IX Reading: Mesmeric Revelation (CT 88-96); The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar (CT 96-104) Discussion: The Parlor Sciences
Mar. 28 (F)	Themes IX Reading: The Cask of Amontillado (CT 274-280), William Wilson (CT 626-642) Discussion: Depression and Revenge on the Self
Mar. 31 (M)	Themes X Reading: MS Found in a Bottle (CT 118-127); The Imp of the Perverse (CT 280-285) Discussion: Poe and Death
Apr. 4 (F)	NO CLASS / HARRIET JACOBS SYMPOSIUM
PART IV - POE'S DEATH? How did Poe die? Is he really dead? What were his major contributions to American literature? What is the secret of his longevity? How and why does Poe seem peculiarly postmodern?
Apr. 7 (M)	The Final Mystery Reading: Silverman, 407-447; Walsh, Midnight Dreary Discussion: The Death of Edgar Allan Poe
Apr. 11 (F)	Poe and Postmodernism Reading: TBA Discussion: But Is He Really Dead?
PART V - GROUP PROJECTS
Apr. 14-28	Group Projects: TBA
May 6 (T)	FINAL EXAM (10:30-12:30)