ENGL 251 - Coquettes & Confidence Men in Early America

Semester Offered: First Semester
Full Course
Credits: 4 credits
Attribute: 4HU, WINT

How, in a socially and geographically mobile society, do you know someone is who or what they say they are? From the view of early American authors, North America appears to be a place almost exclusively populated by tricksters, con men, and painted ladies. This course explores representations of confidence men and coquettes in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature as they develop alongside fundamental social, political, and economic changes that threaten traditional values, hierarchies, and ways of knowing. Authors may include: Benjamin Franklin, Charles Brockden Brown, Susanna Rowson, Hannah Webster Foster, Stephen Burroughs, Herman Melville, and William Wells Brown. American, 1700-1900.
Enrollment Limit: 25
Instructor: D. Skeehan
Prerequisites & Notes
For complete prerequisites, please refer to the English Program section titled “200-Level Courses.”