English 286: American Bestsellers T/TR 1:30-2:45 Peter Conn [email protected] / 215.898.5726 Office hours: T/TH 3:30-5:00 and by appt. (FBH 313)

Bestselling novels were long considered unworthy of serious study: they were (and are) typically plot-driven, often melodramatic, featured (and feature) characters that barely occupy one dimension much less three, and were (and are) written in prose that fails the stylistic tests that the Literary Establishment (whatever that is) has tended (and tends) to apply.

Over the past twenty or so years, bestsellers have been treated to increased scrutiny (if not respect) as scholars have acknowledged the value of paying attention to books that have actually been read: sometimes by hundreds of thousands or even millions of people. Bestsellers can enlarge our understanding of the reach and range of the American literary imagination, and perhaps also illuminate our complex national past.

Testing these hypotheses, the course will take up a sequence of best-selling American novels, beginning with ’s The Last of the Mohicans, and ending with Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. When a film or television adaptation is available, we will take a comparative look at that. We will also read one genre-bending bestseller, Maxine Hong Kingston’s Woman Warrior (1975), and one non-fiction bestseller, Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. I will from time to time comment on texts beyond our reading list. The final selections will be chosen in consultation with the class members.

Along with close examination of each text, we will also attempt to identify the connections between the novels and their social and political contexts. We will engage a number of questions in the course, including the difficulties in defining bestsellers, especially for novels published before the second half of the twentieth century; the venerable debate about popularity vs. quality; the role of marketing and publicity in the production of bestsellers; and the continuities and changes in American bestsellers over nearly two centuries.

Syllabus

Thurs 1/15 Introduction and early bestsellers

Tues 1/20 James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans (1826) Thur 1/22 “

Tues 1/27 , Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) Thur 1/29 “

Tues 2/3 Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1870) Thur 2/5 “ 2

Tues 2/10 , Ragged Dick (1868) Thur 2/12 Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936)

Tues 2/17 Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth (1905) Thur 2/19 “

Tues 2/24 Pearl S. Buck, The Good Earth (1931) Thur 2/26 Midterm exam

Tues 3/3 John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939) Thur 3/5 “

[Tues 3/10 Spring Break] [Thur 3/12 Spring Break]

Tues 3/17 Richard Wright, Native Son (1940) Thur 3/19 “

Tues 3/24 J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (1951) Thur 3/26 “

Tues 3/31 Maxine Hong Kingston, Woman Warrior (1975) Thur 4/2 “ // Paper due (seven pages)

Tues 4/7 Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code (2004) Thur 4/9 “

Tues 4/14 Contemporary bestsellers: TBD Thur 4/16 “

Tues 4/21 Reports Thur 4/23 “

Tues 4/28 “

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Texts are available at the Penn Book Centre, at Sansom and 34th Streets. Additional supplementary readings will be posted on Canvas.

I will circulate suggestions for reading prior to our consideration of each text. In addition, in the case of every book, you should ask "what made it so popular in its time"?

Requirements. (1) Attendance is mandatory. (2) There will be a mid-term exam on Thursday, February 26. (3) Each student will complete one seven-page paper, due on Thursday, April 2. I will specify the topic(s) for this paper and distribute them one week in advance of the due date. (4) In the last few classes, students will present brief (15-20 minute) reports on best sellers of their choice. Details of this assignment will be provided in due course. (5) There will be a final exam.