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American LiteratureOnline College Course
From the colonial period to the contemporary — the writers, movements, and arguments that defined American letters.
What You'll Learn
A full semester of american literature — completed at your own pace, with no deadlines or fixed class times.
What You'll Be Able to Do
- Construct a comparative analysis of at least two literary periods, explaining how the cultural and historical conditions of each era shaped its dominant themes, narrative forms, and authorial voices
- Interpret literary texts across multiple genres — fiction, poetry, drama, autobiography, and essay — using established methods of close reading and textual analysis
- Compare how different authors within and across periods address shared American concerns such as identity, freedom, inequality, nature, and nationhood, drawing reasoned conclusions about each author's distinctive perspective
- Apply knowledge of literary devices, verse forms, narrative techniques, and critical terminology to construct evidence-based interpretations of primary texts
- Evaluate the historical and social contexts of specific literary works and justify how those contexts shaped an author's formal choices, subject matter, and intended audience
- Construct well-supported written arguments about literary texts, selecting relevant textual evidence, anticipating counter-readings, and organizing analysis for clarity and persuasion
- Critically assess how major American literary movements — including Transcendentalism, Realism, Modernism, the Harlem Renaissance, and Contemporary Multiculturalism — responded to, challenged, or transformed the social and political conditions of their historical moment
- Evaluate the literary strategies employed by historically underrepresented writers — including Indigenous, African American, immigrant, and women writers — to claim narrative authority and challenge dominant cultural assumptions within the American literary tradition
- Produce an original literary analysis essay that synthesizes close reading of primary texts with knowledge of historical context, literary movement, and critical terminology to construct an independent interpretive argument
Major Course Topics
Course chapters and lessons
American Literature has 9 chapters across 73 instructional hours, as listed in the course syllabus. Expand any chapter to see the lessons inside it.
- Chapters
- 9
- Lessons
- 43
- Instructional hours
- 73 hrs
- Semester hours
- 3
Chapter 1
Foundations of the American Literary Tradition
- 1.1 What Is American Literature?
- 1.2 The Colonial Period: Puritan Voices and Early Narratives
- 1.3 Native American Oral Traditions and Early Written Expression
- 1.4 Reading Literature: Close Reading, Genre, and Form
Chapter 2
Revolution, Enlightenment, and the Making of a Nation (1750–1820)
- 2.1 Enlightenment Ideals and Political Writing
- 2.2 The Literature of Revolution: Paine, Jefferson, and Hamilton
- 2.3 Early American Poetry: Phillis Wheatley and Philip Freneau
- 2.4 The Early Novel: Charles Brockden Brown and Susanna Rowson
Chapter 3
Romanticism and the American Self (1820–1860)
- 3.1 American Romanticism: Definitions and Origins
- 3.2 Washington Irving and the Birth of American Fiction
- 3.3 Edgar Allan Poe: Gothic Form and Psychological Depth
- 3.4 Nathaniel Hawthorne and Moral Ambiguity
- 3.5 Herman Melville and the American Epic
Chapter 4
Transcendentalism and Reform (1830–1860)
- 4.1 Transcendentalist Philosophy: Emerson and the American Scholar
- 4.2 Thoreau: Civil Disobedience and Walden
- 4.3 Margaret Fuller and the Question of Women’s Voices
- 4.4 Abolitionist Literature: Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs
Chapter 5
Realism, Naturalism, and the Gilded Age (1865–1910)
- 5.1 The Rise of Literary Realism
- 5.2 Mark Twain and the American Vernacular
- 5.3 Henry James and the Novel of Consciousness
- 5.4 Naturalism: Crane, Norris, and Dreiser
- 5.5 Women’s Realism: Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Chapter 6
Voices at the Margins: Regionalism, Immigration, and Race (1865–1920)
- 6.1 Regionalist Fiction: Local Color and National Identity
- 6.2 The Harlem Renaissance: Origins and Context
- 6.3 W.E.B. Du Bois and the Problem of the Color Line
- 6.4 Immigrant Voices and Ethnic American Writing
- 6.5 Native American Resistance Literature
Chapter 7
Modernism and the New American Voice (1914–1945)
- 7.1 Modernist Principles: Fragmentation, Stream of Consciousness, and Form
- 7.2 The Lost Generation: Hemingway and Fitzgerald
- 7.3 William Faulkner and the American South
- 7.4 Poetry of the Modern: Frost, Eliot, and Pound
- 7.5 Zora Neale Hurston and the Harlem Renaissance Novel
Chapter 8
Mid-Century America: War, Identity, and Social Change (1945–1970)
- 8.1 Post-War Fiction and the American Dream
- 8.2 The Beat Generation: Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Rebellion
- 8.3 Confessional Poetry: Plath and Sexton
- 8.4 Civil Rights Literature: Baldwin, King, and Malcolm X
- 8.5 The Absurd: Catch-22 and Cold War Anxiety
Chapter 9
Contemporary American Literature (1970–Present)
- 9.1 Postmodernism and the American Novel
- 9.2 Multicultural Voices: Morrison, Tan, Cisneros, and Lahiri
- 9.3 Indigenous Resurgence in American Literature
- 9.4 LGBTQ+ Literature and Identity
- 9.5 Writing the American Future: Speculative and Climate Fiction
- 9.6 Producing the Literary Analysis Essay
These chapters come straight from the official course syllabus, which also sets out the graded assignment and the proctored final exam.
Course Details
| Course | American Literature (ENG 201) |
|---|---|
| Format | 100% online |
| Learning Style | Self-paced — no deadlines or class times |
| Credits | 3 College Credits |
| Lab | Not required |
| Prerequisites | None |
| Assessment | 25% Attendance · 25% Quizzes · 25% Assignments · 25% Final Exam |
| Estimated Completion | Self-paced · no deadlines |
| Credit Recommendation | NCCRS Credit Recommended |
| Transfer Information | Transferable via the credit recommendation above — your registrar can confirm your school's policy |
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From the colonial period to the contemporary — the writers, movements, and arguments that defined American letters.
🎯 Why It Matters
- Satisfies literature and humanities general-education requirements at most universities
- Close reading is a transferable analytical skill valued in law, publishing, and research
- Provides cultural and historical literacy tied directly to American history coursework
- Strong preparation for upper-division English and education degree paths
💼 In-Demand Careers
- English Teacher
- Editor / Publishing Professional
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🚀 How This Sets You Up
- Work through 9 chapters spanning the full American literary tradition
- Complete critical analysis assignments and a cumulative final exam
- Earn transferable literature/humanities credit
- 74 contact hours, fully self-paced
- Pairs naturally with U.S. History I & II
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This course is NCCRS-recommended for 3 semester credit hours. Transfer as many credits as your university allows — students have transferred anywhere from 3 to 90+ credits depending on their school's policy.
Everything You Need to Succeed
Video-Based Lessons
HD video lectures broken into short, focused modules. Watch at your own pace — pause, rewind, replay any time.
Quizzes & Final Exam
Evaluate your understanding after every section with quizzes and a comprehensive final exam that mirrors real college assessment.
Structured College-Level Course
Structured lessons covering every topic — designed as a standard American Literature college-level course.
Official Transcript
Complete the course, request your transcript, and transfer 3 credit hours to cooperating universities. No separate exam required.
Earn 3 College Credits
for $250.
Self-paced. No deadlines. NCCRS-recommended, recognized by various NCCRS cooperating universities. Join 135,000+ learners on the UPI Study platform.