The purpose of this study is to introduce the student to major literary works produced during the era known as the American Renaissance, the period of American literature from the 1830s to the end of the Civil War.  Finding an authentic “American” voice, writers of the era produced some of the most original and remarkable works of literature, including Walden, The Scarlet Letter, Moby-Dick, and Leaves of Grass.  An additional goal of the study is to familiarize the student with the specific terms and conventions of literary analysis and to help him or her become more practiced at using them.