HELP.
I need a list of books required for ANY American Literature class, say
Dartmouth, Wellesley, or Harvard, graduate or undergraduate, between
the years 1909-1911. Can also be a list of summer required reading,
same time frame. What were American college students reading in
American Literature classes then? Thank you. Need ASAP.

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 07 May 2004 12:08 PDT

lentionne --

The closest I have been able to come to an answer that meets your
specifications is a book published in 1919 by an eminent scholar in
American literature.  The book was intended as a comprehensive
anthology of American literature to guide college coursework in that
subject.  A detailed table of contents of that book is available for
perusal online, although it is reproduced in JPEG image form that is
difficult -- but not impossible --  to read.  The 1919 edition of the
book (which was updated in later editions) is also available for
purchase at a reasonable price from online sellers of used books.

This is a fascinating question, and I encourage other researchers to
try to come up with the more specific information you have requested. 
However, if and when you decide that the information I have would
serve your purposes, I would be happy to post it as an answer.

markj-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 07 May 2004 12:36 PDT

lentionne --

To clarify my clarification request, when I used the word
"comprehensive" to describe the anthology I have found, I meant that
it is a comprehensive *selection* by this scholar of authors and works
that he deems appropriate for college study.

markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by lentionne-ga on 07 May 2004 15:09 PDT

Thank you both for answering, but so far, no real answers.
What I need is simply (and maybe, impossibly) a syllabus of books the
average university student would need to read for an American (or even
an English) literature class, circa 1909-1911. Forinstance, the
realists (London, Sinclair,Jewett, Dreiser) but I know when they
published some famous books of this period, e.g. The Jungle, The
Country of Pointed Firs, etc., but a real college syllabus with a list
of required reading is what I want. If you cannot find one, that's
okay too. Many thanks for any help.
Lentionne-Ga

Dear Lentionne, 

I am not in a position to research this question, but I must say
you're question is very interesting. I would love to read a study
based on these syllabi!

lentionne --

Thanks for your clarification.  Under the circumstances, I will post
here the links to the essential information I have found for whatever
use it may be to you and other researchers.  The scholar's name is
Fred Lewis Pattee, and the book I had in mind is called "Century
Readings for a Course in American Literature. It was first published
in 1919 by Century Publishing Co.

Here is the link to a site that contains links to its complete table of contents:

American Literature: Anthologies and Histories 
http://www.uta.edu/english/mal/e/roemer/list.html


Scroll about 1/6 of the way down the page to the second entry under
"1900" and you will find links to each page of the table of contents
of the book.


And here is a link to a site with some biographical information about Pattee:
Penn State Libraries: Guide to the Fred Lewis Pattee Papers
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/speccolls/FindingAids/pattee.html

markj-ga

University archives typically keep this kind of information on file.
You could try contacting them and seeing if they can provide you with
what you need.

Regards,
luciaphile-ga