ENGL 251 - Coquettes & Confidence Men in Early America

FC ARHU WINT

4 credits
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.
Prerequisites & Notes: For complete prerequisites, please refer to the English Program section titled 200-Level Courses.’