You updated your password.

JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser.

Reset Password

Enter the email address you used to create your account. We will email you instructions on how to reset your password.

Forgot Your Email Address? Contact Us

Reset Your Password

SHOW

Rated 5 out of 5 by Schoolmarm from This course is a wonderful example of American Studies approach to the best of our cultural and literary heritage. Professor Zibrak has put together a course that blends America’s history and storytelling as it guides the viewer through both regional and temporal examples of the American past with topics ranging from the urban wilderness of 19th century New York to the back hills of Appalachia to the rural Midwest. Her analyses are both significant and interesting.

Date published: 2025-07-14

Rated 5 out of 5 by Thanuja from Amazing course! Its partly travelogue, partly literary history and criticism, I enjoyed this course pretty well. Professor is very enthusiastic about the travel and literature, and more noticebly her presentation is uniquely energetic. I have been to some of the museums and homes mentioned in the lectures, but never had the perspective presented in this course. Now I can look at those visits (and future ones) in a new light for sure! Thanks TGC for producing a unique course!

Date published: 2025-07-12

Rated 5 out of 5 by the professor from Road of Reflection: A Literary and Cultural Tour The Literary Tour of the United States was a captivating journey through America's literary landscape, framed as a metaphorical road trip. Dr. Arielle Zibrak very passionately served as a brilliant guide, seamlessly weaving together geography, history, and literature to offer deep insights into the nation's identity, spirit, and cultural evolution. This was a lecture set that mesmerized this reviewer. Professor Zibrak's delivery was captivating as she richly discussed the living archive of American culture. As a course should do, the journey sparked a deep curiosity, leading the reviewer to purchase a dozen referenced books. Each lecture felt like opening a new chapter in understanding America, with literature serving as both map and mirror. I was very moved by Lecture 6 discussing New York through the eyes of immigrants, the midwest, neighborhoods of Chicago where this reviewer lived briefly near the stockyards of Upton Sinclair. This course was not only educational but inspiring. This course will provide deep value for those non-travelers who lack the opportunity to enjoy our beautiful United States and are not familiar with its brilliant and unique writers. I highly recommend this course and the very captivating lecturer, Dr. Arielle Zibrak.

Date published: 2025-07-11

Rated 4 out of 5 by Chris McC from Highly Recommended! A Great Course. When I first saw Adrienne Zibrak's short course on Edith Wharton, I had hoped she would come out with a course like this. If you had been to grad school (I have), you would discover many new authors and perspectives here (which I did). This course is fresh, incisive and witty. Dr. Zibrak brings much of the subject matter to life. I was only disappointed that there wasn't more of the Modernists, particularly Hemingway and Fitzgerald and a more detailed view of Hollywood blacklist writers like Dalton Trumbo. Another big gap was no mention of the incomprable William Styron and Tim O'Brien. Otherwise, I would highly recommend the course.

Date published: 2025-07-08

Rated 5 out of 5 by Steve Knoll from Best in class, unique perspective, makes me happy My first cross country road trip was in 1954, from Needham, MA to Manhattan Beach, CA, en route to Tokyo Japan, to my Air Force father’s next posting: I’ve repeated the trek in one direction or the other nearly a dozen times over the decades. My last American Lit (in person) class was in my senior year at William & Mary in 1971, and I’ve since taken? watched? whatever, several from The Great Courses, so one way or another I’ve had some great guides to the subject over the years In the intervening decades since my last day of class in the Wren Building, the canon has changed, in part because in the 50+ years since, newer writers have emerged & older, but overlooked voices have received their over due, so many of the authors, their stories & perspective are new to me So no wonder I found Professor Zibrak’s unique theme, a virtual road trip of the United States, wonderful. It is also something of a travelogue, as she points out relevant sites to visit along the journey, so if like me, you like to make your road trips something of a quest, this course is for you, for sure It makes me happy ☺

Date published: 2025-07-08

Trailer

01: Hitting the Road

Begin the course by considering core themes of American life that figure in the nation’s literature, exploring the theme of travel and the road trip as seen in works by early American writers as well as later writings by Jack Kerouac, Vladimir Nabokov, Cormac McCarthy, and others. Learn how visitors to the US Simone de Beauvoir and Alexis de Tocqueville saw our culture from the outside and grasp how notions of self-discovery and self-reinvention have characterized the American imagination.

27 min

02: Poets and Novelists of Boston

Beginning with poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, trace the remarkable legacy of Boston’s literary artists. Among many, sample the work of African American poet Phillis Wheatley, novelist Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins, and the “confessional” poets Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and Robert Lowell. Note the ways in which Boston’s writers have used their creative powers to heal and unite the nation.

26 min

03: Transcendentalism in New England

Here, take the measure of the wealth of literary giants who emerged within Massachusetts in the 19th century. Learn about the ideological movement of Transcendentalism in the work and influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson and others. Taste the exquisite poetry of Emily Dickinson, the impactful writings of Margaret Fuller, the moving novels of Louisa May Alcott, and the hard-hitting realism of writer and editor William Dean Howells.

27 min

04: Wild Spaces of New England

Encounter a group of New England writers with particular connections to nature and the wild. Begin with transcendental philosopher Henry David Thoreau, whose Walden inspired an entire genre of nature writing. Explore the life of Herman Melville and the experiences underlying his masterwork, Moby Dick; dive into the maritime tales of “regionalist” writer Sarah Orne Jewett; and experience the Maine woods through the lyric poetry of Robert Frost.

26 min

05: New York’s Elites

Enter the rarified world of New York’s high society in the 19th and 20th centuries. By examining the classic novels of Washington Irving, Edith Wharton, and Henry James, you’ll see how writers used satire to take on the pretensions and social positioning of New York’s monied class. Then chart the unruly spirit of the Jazz Age in the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and New York’s latter day social elites feted by Truman Capote at his famous Black and White ball.

27 min

06: New York through the Eyes of Immigrants

Track the literary expression of New York’s immigrant communities, beginning with Abraham Cahan’s The Rise of David Levinsky and Stephen Crane’s Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, stories of social rise and the hardships of assimilation. In works by Julia Alvarez and Esmeralda Santiago, witness the struggle for freedom and identity in the writers’ experience of bridging cultures.

27 min

07: New York’s Countercultures

This lecture follows the artistic output surrounding two interrelated social movements in 20th-century New York. First, uncover the history and ethos of the Harlem Renaissance, as seen in the works of Claude McKay, James Weldon Johnson, and Nella Larsen. Then, trace the long unfolding of the queer arts movement from the 1920s to the present in the poetry of Audre Lorde, Eileen Myles, and others.

26 min

08: Appalachia and the Mid-Atlantic: Ghosts and Labor

Travel to the mid-Atlantic region to explore its richly diverse literature, beginning with 19th-century writer Rebecca Harding Davis, whose work addressed the harsh labor conditions of the early industrial era. Learn the stories behind the gothic tales of Edgar Allan Poe. Note Frederick Douglass’ monumental writing on the horrors of enslavement, and the brilliant social fiction of bell hooks, Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, and Barbara Kingsolver.

27 min

09: Romance and Scandal in Virginia and DC

The literary traditions of Virginia and Washington, DC, are linked to the genre of the romance novel. Learn about the Reconstruction romances of Ellen Glasgow, which expressed hopes for healing the nation after the Civil War, and the 19th-century feminist adventure novels of E.D.E.N. Southworth. Then, delve into more recent romances set in our nation’s capital by Nora Ephron and Devon Daniels.

26 min

10: Southern Gothic in Mississippi and Georgia

Investigate the life of William Faulkner, one of the major exponents of the Southern Gothic in literature, and the unconventional circumstances surrounding his novel writing. Consider themes such as decay and prejudice in this genre, and the deeper truths its writers reveal as you explore the work of novelists Jesmyn Ward and Alice Walker, and the stories of Eudora Welty and Flannery O’Connor.

24 min

11: Alabama and Louisiana: The Soul of the South

In this rich sampling of Southern writing, stop first at Monroeville, Alabama, to trace the lives and deep bond between novelists Harper Lee and Truman Capote. Within the distinctive culture of New Orleans, learn what inspired playwright Tennessee Williams, poets Charles Bukowski and Shelton Alexander, 19th-century novelists George Washington Cable, Kate Chopin, and Lafcadio Hearn, and others.

28 min

12: Fisticuffs in Florida

Follow the extraordinary work of anthropologist and novelist Zora Neale Hurston in her travels around Florida, documenting Black culture in both fiction and nonfiction. Trace the Florida connections of writers Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Edith Wharton. Then, witness the uneasy relationship between poet Wallace Stevens and novelist Ernest Hemingway before exploring the presence of noted poets in Key West.

25 min

13: Where the South Meets the West

Moving farther west, discover the Missouri life of Mark Twain and the genesis of his beloved characters, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Learn about St. Louis as a hub of trade and expansion in the memoirs of fur trapper James Beckwourth, the boyhood stories of poet T. S. Eliot, and the later work of novelist Kate Chopin. Uncover the remarkable life and work of poet and memoirist Maya Angelou.

28 min

14: The Midwest and the Dream of Postwar America

Among great writers of the Midwest, observe how novelists Booth Tarkington and Theodore Dreiser criticized life within the suburban sprawl of 20th-century America. Engage the work of two icons of African American literature tied to place: poet Mari Evans and Nobel laureate novelist Toni Morrison. Also, encounter the contemporary fiction and incisive social commentary of Midwest novelist Celeste Ng.

29 min

15: The Neighborhoods of Chicago

The diverse cultural mix of Chicago has produced a remarkable literary legacy. Delve into the novels of Theodore Dreiser and Upton Sinclair, works that feature modern society as a fierce competition for survival, and witness the racism faced by African Americans in Richard Wright’s Native Son. Learn about the rich poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks and the poignant writing of Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros.

29 min

16: The Wild West

Grasp how the familiar archetypes of the American West were created, through the work of popular novelists such as Owen Wister (The Virginian), Zane Grey (The Code of the West), and the exploits of the showman Buffalo Bill Cody. Take account of the highly romanticized and mythologized portrayals of cowboys and frontier life so prevalent in 20th-century American popular culture.

27 min

17: The Literature of American Indian Reservations

Learn how writers like contemporary novelist Hernan Diaz are changing our narratives of the American West. Explore the realities and hardships of Native American history and experience, as reflected by writers such as Sarah Winnemucca and Zitkala-Sa. Discover literary sagas exploring Native resistance to cultural erasure and violence in the work of novelists N. Scott Momaday, Mona Susan Power, and Tommy Orange.

32 min

18: Landscapes of Red Rocks and Prairies

The deserts and plains of the American Southwest have long been a magnet for artists and writers, many of whom are drawn to its natural beauty and its blend of Native and Hispanic cultures. Learn how New Mexico became a mecca for creatives in the 1920s from Georgia O’Keefe to D. H. Lawrence and discover the expressive voice of Rodolfo Anaya, considered the grandfather of Southwestern literature. Then, dig deeply into the novels of Nebraskan Willa Cather, who wrote extensively about the Southwest and the Great Plains.

29 min

19: Central Californian Farms and Fisheries

The works of Central California writers speak movingly of the human cost of environmental decline. Delve into the brilliant writing of Manuel Muñoz and Sanora Babb on the lives of migrant workers, and John Steinbeck’s iconic novels on the 1930s Dust Bowl and life on the California coast. Glimpse the beauty and magic of Carmel-by-the-Sea through the eyes of writers Jack London and Mary Austin.

28 min

20: Dreams and Illusions in Hollywood

Uncover the literary landscape of Hollywood, where American writers found inspiration in the surreal world of the movie industry. Begin with Nathanael West’s chronicles of Hollywood’s Golden Age and the LA misadventures of Faulkner and Fitzgerald. Glimpse parties at the Chateau Marmont and take stock of the pungent writings of some of the attendees: Eve Babitz and Joan Didion, two very different observers of the people and society of Tinseltown.

30 min

21: From Gold to Silicon in Northern California

Relive two sides of the Gold Rush and the populating of Northern California in the xenophobic fiction of Frank Norris and Edith Maude Eaton’s writing on anti-Asian racism. See how Maxine Hong Kingston and Amy Tan memorably evoke the experience of 20th-century Chinese Americans. Witness the rise and culture of Silicon Valley and a gentrified California in novels by Kathy Wang and Tommy Orange.

33 min

22: Among the Trees in the Pacific Northwest

Learn about the Native cultures and immigrant settlements of the Pacific Northwest, and the work of Frederic Homer Balch, one of the first Anglo-American writers to feature Native Americans in fiction. Delve into the novels and influence of countercultural icon Ken Kesey and the Japanese American writers Monica Sone and John Okada, who recorded the traumatic history of Japanese incarceration during World War II.

28 min

23: Adventures in Alaska and Hawai’i

America’s most remote states have also given us a remarkable literature. Begin with the writing of naturalist John Muir and novelist Jack London on Alaska’s wilderness. Sample the Native Alaskan literary tradition in the work of Athabascan writer Velma Wallis. Explore themes of racial and cultural identity in contemporary Hawaiian fiction, in the novels of Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes and Kiana Davenport.

31 min

24: American Expatriate Writers

Conclude the course with a look at American writers abroad who took a backward glance on the US from a distance to evaluate their identities as Americans. Trace the lives of Gertrude Stein and Edith Wharton in France and their views of American society. Walk the streets of Paris with “Lost Generation” novelists like Ernest Hemingway and contemplate James Baldwin’s reflections from that city on the dreams and ideals of American life in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement.

33 min

Overview Course No. 20100

Across the nation’s history, American writers have produced a compelling and diverse body of literary expression, which joins the great literatures of other cultures to create unique perspectives on human life flowing from America’s trailblazing political system, innovative spirit, and history of immigration.

In A Literary Tour of the United States, you’ll take an epic excursion across America, from the wide expanse of the continental states to Alaska, Hawaii, and beyond, delving into the jewels of writing that distinguish our nation’s literature across three centuries. Your guide in this thrilling inquiry is Professor Arielle Zibrak of the University of Wyoming, an award-winning scholar of American literature, whose inspired teaching shows an astonishingly wide and deep knowledge of this tradition, and who has traveled extensively across the United States on the trail of its greatest writers.

Across the lectures, you’ll discover the literature of numerous regions of the United States, from New England to Appalachia, the South, Florida, and the Midwest, and from the open spaces of the West to the Hawaiian islands. In the process, you’ll encounter writing that reflects a wide spectrum of the American experience, from the European settlers, immigrants, and urban elites to the lives of African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and more, all from the 18th century to the present. The result is a stunning and revealing portrait of a nation and a people, through the words of its most brilliant writers.

About

Arielle Zibrak

What we've discovered on the trails, rivers, and roads of America has created a vibrant body of literature that enriches our knowledge of our nation's history, geography, and character.

ALMA MATER

Boston University

INSTITUTION

University of Wyoming

Arielle Zibrak is a Professor of English at the University of Wyoming. She received her PhD in English from Boston University. She is the author of Writing against Reform: Aesthetic Realism in the Progressive Era and editor of Twelve Stories by American Women. Her writing on 19th- and 20th-century literature, gender, sexuality, and popular culture has appeared in numerous journals, including Literature, American Literary History, and Criticism. She received the University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences’ awards for Extraordinary Merit in Teaching and Extraordinary Merit in Research.