PBS Discusses the American Novel

Hi Folks,

I saw this right after today's class and thought you might be interested. Since the beginning of our Major American Writers course, we've been discussing/questioning what it means to call a writer or book "major." As it turns out, PBS has created a timeline for the American novel. Take a look at the time period of our texts (about 1840-1860, so far) and see which ones are listed.

PBS Timeline of the American Novel

What do you think about this? It just made me wonder how one determines which books "make the cut" and which ones don't. Any thoughts?

Have a happy Tuesday.