Postbellum America

ENG 467: America’s Literary Journalists Unit 3 February 18-March 15, 2002 Objectives By the end of this unit, you should: be familiar with the general character of postbellum American journalism; be familiar with the general character of postbellum American literature; have explored the journalistic and literary qualities in the writings of William Dean Howells, Joel Chandler Harris, Stephen Crane, Theodore Dreiser, and Upton Sinclair. Names  Make sure you know the meaning and significance of each of the following names: Stephen Crane Frederick Douglass Theodore Dreiser Joel Chandler Harris William Dean Howells Jack London William Sidney Porter Upton Sinclair Schedule Please complete these assignments on or before the dates in bold.  Week 6 Feb. 15 Read: Postbellum American Journalism; Postbellum American Literature; Joel Chandler Harris, “Signs of the Fall,” “The Laughing Place,” “The Wonderful Tar-Baby” (on reserve in the ETL Library) Week 7 Feb. 18 Read: William Dean Howells, A Modern Instance Submit: Draft of portfolio Feb. 22 Read: Stephen Crane, “Parades and Entertainments,” “The Fire,” “When Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers,” “In the Depths of a Coal Mine,” “Howells Fears the Realists Must Wait,” “Stephen Crane in Texas,” “The Blue Hotel,” “Stephen Crane’s Own Story,” “The Open Boat,” “Stephen Crane Tells of War’s Horrors” Week 8 Feb. 25 Read: Theodore Dreiser, biographical sketch, “Dreiser’s Apprenticeship” (Use the links on the latter page to sample a few of his journalistic writings, such as “Electricity in the Household.”) March 1 Read: Margaret Fuller, dispatches (The reading in the ETL Library is also available in The Norton Anthology of American Literature. See page 728.) Spring Break  Week 9 March 11 Read: Jack London, “To Build a Fire,” “Jack London,” biographical sketch (Optional: “Batard,” “The Faith of Men,” “The Scorn of Women,” and “Koolau the Leper”) March 15 Read: Upton Sinclair, The Jungle Week 10 March 18 Read: William Sidney Porter, “The Gift of the Magi” and “A Municipal Report” March 22 Read: No class March 23 Read: Sandburg Visit: Sandburg home in Flat Rock, NC Resources You can find more information about the subject covered in this lesson by consulting the print or electronic resources listed below: The Press in America is a clear, concise overview of American journalism history, from its origins to modern times.  In addition to describing important figures and trends, it covers issues related to freedom of expression. American Journalism: A History: 1690-1960 covers important people and developments in American journalism over the past three centuries. Updated March 15, 2002 © Mark Canada, 2001 mark.canada@uncp.edu

Introduction We turn now to the literature and journalism of postbellum America, focusing on works by William Dean Howells, Joel Chandler Harris, Stephen Crane, Theodore Dreiser, Upton Sinclair, Jack London, and William Sidney Porter. I will post the exact reading assignments as we come to each author. Please note that a draft of your portfolio is due on Monday, February 18. This early version of your portfolio should contain drafts of all three assignments: the author project, the creative project, and the overview. While the grade that I assign to the portfolio is only tentative, you should strive to submit a substantial portfolio so that I can provide you with useful feedback on its content, clarity, style, and integrity. You may submit this portfolio either by posting in on the World Wide Web or by giving me a three-ring binder containing the assignments. In either case, I will respond with a detailed evaluation of your work and a midterm grade. Please consult the syllabus and me for guidance as you work on this portfolio. Finally, I want to make you all aware of a venue in which you may be able to share your research on America’s literary journalists. I am chairing a session called “Literature and Journalism” at a conference in Baltimore next fall, and I strongly encourage all of you to submit your essays for consideration. For more information, please see my call for papers. Discussion In class this week, we will discuss the character of American journalism during and after the Civil War.  During this period, journalism underwent some noteworthy and interesting developments, including the advent of the newspaper wars between Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst.  Virtually all of the great writers of this period, furthermore, had connections to journalism. Frederick Douglass, after writing his famous Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, founded an abolitionist newspaper called North Star.  Before he became a novelist and the leading critic of his age, William Dean Howells contributed material to the Ohio State Journal from 1856 to 1861.  Later, during his literary career, he wrote a novel called A Modern Instance, which features a reporter as one of its major characters.  Joel Chandler Harris, famous for his Uncle Remus stories, wrote for the Atlanta Constitution. Both Jack London, author of The Call of the Wild, and Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage and some of America's finest short stories, served as war correspondents.  Theodore Dreiser worked as a newspaper reporter in Chicago, St. Louis, New York, and Pittsburgh before beginning a literary career that produced Sister Carrie, An American Tragedy, and The Financier. William Sidney Porter, known to the world as O. Henry, wrote both journalism and short stories. Finally, with his publication of The Jungle, Upton Sinclair gave America a novel that doubled as a piece of influential investigative reporting. Conclusion In our next unit, we will turn to the literature and journalism of the modern era, an age of innovation in both journalism and literature.