Study of genre, such as the novel, detective novel, political novel, historical novel, utopian fiction or Western; drama; short story; sermon traditions; African-American cultural forms, African-American folklore; long poem, lyric, philosophical poem, oral poetry; nature writing, autobiography, captivity narrative; narratives of exploration; political oratory; postmodernism; coming-out stories; humor.Introduces some of the major writers, issues and forms found in the history of American literature.