american liturature
The Cambridge History of American Literature addresses the broad spectrum of new and established directions in all branches of American writing, and will include the work of scholars and critics who have shaped, and who continue to shape, what has become a major area of literary scholarship. These authors, who speak for the continuities as well as the disruptions sustained between generations of scholarship, represent the achievements of the last half-century in Americanist literary criticism. Generously proportioned narratives allow at once for a broader vision and more magisterial sweep of American literary history than has been possible previously; and while the voice of traditional criticism is implicit in these narratives, it joins forces with the diversity of interests that characterise contemporary literary studies.
- General Editors: Sacvan Bercovitch , Harvard University
- Founding Editors: Albert Gelpi , Stanford University
- General Editors: Leonard Cassuto , Fordham University, New York
Established in 1981 and with well over 100 titles now in print, Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture is internationally regarded as the leading forum for high-level American critical studies. Volumes in the series are written by outstanding scholars from the United States and Europe, and cover a wide range of key topics and approaches.
Let your curiosity lead the way:
Early American Literature examines the cultures and literatures of the Americas from the colonial period through the early national period of the United States (ca. 1820). Beginning with Native American expressions and oral traditions, it ranges widely across the Americas, from Francophone writings in the north to Ibero-American literature in the south. Interdisciplinary in its origins, early American literature fosters close ties with other departments, including history, religious studies, and romance languages, in order to find the best methodological approaches for grappling with writings that often sit uneasily in any particular genre. The particular strengths at Washington University lie in African American literary traditions, Puritanism, transatlantic sentimentalism, and the role of religion in shaping literature and culture.
To find books about an author and his/her work, use the author’s name as a Subject Keyword search in the Library Catalogue, eg
A Bibliography lists all the known books, book chapters and journal articles about a writer and his/her works.
References:
http://www.cambridge.org/core/series/cambridge-studies-in-american-literature-and-culture/FB4FB4BF9575ACFC46FA4BE883DC8240
http://english.wustl.edu/early-american-literature
http://canterbury.libguides.com/c.php?g=243232&p=1618334
http://guides.lib.ku.edu/c.php?g=95000&p=615937