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American Literature before 1865 I

Session 6 - Sunday 9:45-11:15am
Eiben Hall 201
Presiding Officer: 
Cheryl Edelson
Session Chair (if other than PO): 
Richard Hill
  1. "The insuperable difficulty between us": Sedgwick, Martineau, and the Transatlantic Slavery Debate. Sohui Lee, Stanford University

    Catharine Sedgwick’s sketch “Leisure-Hours at Saratoga” bares the virtues of democratic society while replying to Harriet Martineau’s criticism of America. Examining “Leisure-Hours” as part of a transatlantic dialogue, the paper explores how Sedgwick imagines American society to British audiences.

  2. Uncle Tom's Big Tent: A Plurality of Genres in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Joshua Jensen, Claremont Graduate University

    This paper examines the multitude of genres in Uncle Tom's Cabin, from sentimental and Gothic fiction to slave narratives, religious sermons, and political tracts, to demonstrate how Stowe assembles a hybrid coalition of genres to present a variegated and comprehensive argument against slavery.

  3. Delimiting the African-American Autobiographical Tradition: The Case of Okah Tubbee. Sarita Cannon, San Francisco State University

    I examine the politics of placing the 1848 autobiography The Life of Okah Tubbee within the African-American literary tradition.

Session Type: 
Standing Session
Session Status: 
Closed