| Most historical readers are mainly aware of the literature that has "stood the test of time" and entered the literary canon. That, however, is only part of the picture. This course focuses on the "other" literature of the period from 1660-1820: the street literature , the throw-away novels, the epherma. This period saw the burgeoning of noth printing and literacy, and hence it, it marked the effective beggining of mass literary culture. We will explore the categories of mass v. popular literary culture, adn trace how these disregarded texts exsisted in conversation with established literary culture. While there are not many collections of epherma in print, we will take advantage of the numerous, and growing, online depositories. |
