AmLit Readers: American Literature, Culture, and History Podcast

Antigone Introduction

Texts and authors mentioned in passing: Antigone, Oedipus Rex, Yellowstone (tv show), Smoke Signals, The Last Duel (film), Unbearable Lightness of Being, Sophocles, Socrates, Homer, western genre, tragedy

Yellowstone (tv show), Democracy, and Neoliberalism

Discussion of using popular culture to understand the dynamics of democracy, civic engagement, and neoliberalism in contemporary culture. Texts mentioned include the television episode "Day Break" from Yellowstone, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Kevin Costner movies.

Book of Job (Old Testament) and American Literature

Overview of the influence of the Book of Job on American literary culture. Texts and authors mentioned in passing include King James Bible, Robert Alter's translation of Job, Harold Bloom, Carl Jung, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Edward P. Jones's The Known World, poet Emily Dickinson, Pulp Fiction, Hamlet, Casablanca

Robert Frost Poetry

Discussion of Robert Frost, his poems, and place within literary modernism Check out YouTube video here: LINK   Get in touch @profomalley

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Day 6

Discussion of Moby-Dick Chapters 90-end. Check out YouTube video here: LINK   Get in touch @profomalley

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Day 5

Overview of Moby-Dick Chapters 90-end. Comparing Ishmael and Ahab with a look at Chapter 47, The Mat-Maker, the figure of Pip as inspired by King Lear’s Fool and Ahab as a tragic figure   Check out YouTube video here: LINK   Get in touch @profomalley

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Day 4

Overview of Chapters 46-90 with an emphasis on Chapter 54, The Town-Ho Story, that often stalls readers progression through Melville's Moby-Dick with a quick preview of the shortest Chapter 122, Midnight Aloft -- Thunder and Lightning --- Check out youtube video here: LINK Get in touch @profomalley

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Day 3

Get started reading Moby-Dick chapters Chapter 1-45 with an emphasis on Chapter 36 The Quarter-Deck. Check out the youtube video of the lecture: LINK Get in touch @profomalley  

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Day 2

Get started reading Moby-Dick chapters 1-45. Check out the youtube video of the lecture: LINK Get in touch @profomalley

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Day 1

Introduction to the first pages and chapters of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. Check out the youtube video of the lecture: LINK Get in touch @profomalley

Choice Book, Day 1

Willa Cather, My Antonia, Last Day

Willa Cather, My Antonia Day 1

Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Last Day

Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Day 1

For Monday, June 1

Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter Day 2 (parts i and ii)

For Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter Day 1

Reading The Scarlet Letter, Chapters 1-5

Congratulations UNK Phi Eta Sigma 2020 Graduates

Listen to a message from Phi Eta Sigma faculty adviser to graduating college seniors with tips on how to mark this special occasion during a time of social distancing.  Congratulations Class of 2020!  Mentioned in passing: Malcolm Goldsmith's "What Got You Here Won't Get You There"; Theodore Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" (speech); Olaudah Equiano's Autobiography; Henry David Thoreau's "Walden"; "Wicked" (musical). You can also watch the episode on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Burr by Gore Vidal: First-Line Book Club

Introduce yourself to Gore Vidal’s Burr (1973) with a book-club discussion of its first line. An “it” book from 1973 Texts/authors mentioned in passing: Harold Bloom’s The Western Canon, Hamilton (musical), Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton (biography), Leonora Sansay’s The Secret History: The Horrors of Santo Domingo, Michael Drexler and Ed White’s The Traumatic Colonel: The Founding Fathers, Slavery, and the Phantasmatic Aaron Burr, Best Enemies (documentary), Cross Fire (tv show), Nixon (...

Dutch House by Ann Patchett: First-Line Book Club

Introduce yourself to Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House (2019) with a book-club discussion of its first line. Texts/authors mentioned in passing: Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto and Truth and Beauty, Lucy Grealy’s Autobiography of a Face, Elizabeth McCracken (author), Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables, Arundhati Roy’s God of Small Things, Henry James’s Turn of the Screw, Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, Bethany Frankel, A Place...

Educated by Tara Westover: First-Line Book Club

Introduce yourself to Tara Westover’s Education (2018) with a book-club discussion of its first line. Texts/authors mentioned in passing: Virginia Woolf, John Dewey, Toni Morrison’s Sula, Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle (vol. 3), Milan Kundera’s Art of the Novel, Unbearable Lightness of Being, Lucy Grealy’s Autobiography of a Face, Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls You can also watch this episode on  https://youtu.be/HYqB-lt_gA0 Get in touch @profomalley

Circe by Madeline Miller: First-Line Book Club

Introduce yourself to Madeline Miller’s Circe (2018) with a book-club discussion of its first line. Texts/authors mentioned in passing: Miller’s Song of Achilles, Illiad, Odyssey, Margaret Atwood’s Penelopiad, Rick Riordan, David Vann’s Bright Air Black, James Joyce’s Ulysses, Margaret Atwood’s “Circe/Mud Poems” in You Are Happy (poetry), Margaret Atwood’s poem “Spelling” (poetry), Anne Carson, “Autobiography of Red” (poetry), Gregory Maguire's Wicked, Charles Dicken’s David Copperfield, Ja...

Andromeda Strain, Love Story, & 100 Years of Solitude: First-Line Book Club

Introduce yourself to “It” books of 1970 with a book-club discussion of first pages of Michael Crichton’s Andromeda Strain, Erich Segal's Love Story, and Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude Texts/Authors also mentioned in passing: Jurassic Park (book and movie), Congo (book and movie), ER (television series), Love Story (movie), Over Her Dead Body (literary theory), Clarissa, Lolita, The Scarlet Letter, As I Lay Dying, Edgar Allen Poe’s “Philosophy of Composition” (essay)...

City of Girls: First-Line Book Club (edited2)

   Introduce yourself to Elizabeth Gilbert's novel "City of Girls" (2016) with a book-club discussion of its first line and opening pages. Texts also mentioned in passing -- Eat Pray Love, Educated (non-fiction), Committed (non-fiction), Signature of All Things, The Nightingale, All the Light You Cannot See, Stage Door (movie), Marked Woman (movie), Guys & Dolls (musical, movie), The Ring and the Book (poem), Aurora Leigh (poem), Bridges of Madison County, Madame Bovary, Don Quixote, and ...

Ep 14.2 Bonus Careers -- College Bucket List

  14.2 Appendix to Career Episodes (or watch YouTube video here) College Bucket List (things to do before you graduate) ____ Buy a stapler ____ Find your trusted news site ____ Identify role models (from history, business world, or family) ____ Get a passport ____ Bike or walk the Kearney trail from Cottonmill to Ft. Kearny ____ Attend a free play put on by the Theatre dept (bonus points for trying out for a play) ____ Go to MONA at least once every semester ____ Identify your craf...

Ep 14.1 Bonus Careers -- Best Books for Job Advice

14.1 Appendix to Career Episodes My picks for best career advice books (or that were recommended to me) Further Reading “Are You My Mentor” chapter from Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi Brag: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn by Peggy Klaus “You Attitude,” https://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/technical/resume/cover-tips.htm (Links to an external site.) * The Corner Office by A...

Ep 13.2 Bonus Careers — Finding One’s Passion or Calling

Episode 2 of 2 on Careers for Humanities Majors Part II offers my take on the cultural imperative to find one's passion or to find one's life calling through work.  Watch the Youtube episode here: https://yhttps://youtu.be/R56DVKokb3U Further reading: The book cited in the episode is Scott Kelly’s memoir, Endurance: A Year in Space; a New York Times article on an experimental college can be found here https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/08/opinion/sunday/college-anti-college-mainstream-univers...

Ep 13.1 Bonus Careers -- Starting A Job Advice

  Episode 1 of 2 on Careers for Humanities Majors Part II offers advice on starting a job and adapting to a work culture Watch the Youtube episode: https://youtu.be/zrxF6mBQZbM  Further reading: For more information starting a job or career see Camile Lavington’s book You've Only Got 3 Seconds and Cynthia Shapiro's Corporate Confidential for the inside scoop from individuals who work in corporate HR and training

Ep. 12.5 Bonus Careers Part V - Interviewing

Episode 5 of 5 on Careers for Humanities Majors offers advice on interviewing and when the job search stalls.   Youtube episode: here Further reading: For more information interviewing see Adam Bryant’s book The Corner Office based on his New York Times column

Ep. 12.4 Bonus Careers Part IV - Cover Letters

Episode 4 of 5 on Careers for Humanities Majors offers advice on writing cover letters when applying for a job.   Youtube episode: here Further reading: For more information on the concept of "you attitude," see here 

Ep. 12.3 Bonus Careers Part III - Resumes

Episode 3 of 5 on Careers for Humanities Majors talks about composing one's resume for his/her first entry into the job market after college. Youtube video: here Further reading: "Writing a Resume" a poem by the late Wisława Szymborska (a Nobel-Prizing winning poet translated from Polish)  

Ep. 12.2 Bonus Careers Part II - Reading Job Advertisements

Episode 1 of 5 on Careers for Humanities Majors offers advice on how to read job ads. Youtube video of episode: Here Further Reading: “Are You My Mentor” from Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain Never Eat Alone by Ken Ferrazzi

Ep 12.1 Bonus: Careers for Humanities Majors Part I

Episode 1 of 5 on Careers for English offers an overview of job search resources I will be making available to students this fall.  Learn the how the definition of the word "careering" might keep you steady as you navigate your entry to the job market after college. Youtube video of episode: here Blog post referenced in episode: here

Ep 11.5 Reading Henry James

Ep. 5 of 5 on Henry James's novel "The Portrait of a Lady." What is your take on the ending of Portrait?  How does Isabel redefine our sense of the word "action"?  The essay by James mentioned is the Art of Fiction (not the art of the novel). You can find it here.  For more on Emily Dickinson, see episode 6. Join us on Goodreads goo.gl/T7Waw1. Contact @profomalley

Ep 11.4 Reading Henry James

Ep. 4 of 5 on Henry James's novel "The Portrait of a Lady." Think about how thought operates as action in James's novel.  The poem referenced in the episode by Emily Dickinson can be found here.  The name Dimmesdale refers to Hawthorne's _The Scarlet Letter_ (see episode 3) and the name Vere to Melville's _Billy Budd, Sailor_ (see episode 5).  For more information on James on cognition and action, see Jonathan Levin's Poetics of Transition, here. Join us on Goodreads goo.gl/T7Waw1. Conta...

Ep 11.3 Reading Henry James

Ep. 3 of 5 on Henry James's novel "The Portrait of a Lady." Join us on Goodreads goo.gl/T7Waw1. Contact @profomalley

Ep 11.2 Reading Henry James

Ep. 2 of 5 on Henry James's novel "The Portrait of a Lady." Join us on Goodreads goo.gl/T7Waw1. Contact @profomalley

Ep 11.1 Reading Henry James

Ep. 1 of 5 on Henry James's novel "The Portrait of a Lady." Join us on Goodreads goo.gl/T7Waw1. Contact @profomalley

Ep 10.3 Reading Gettysburg Address

Episode 3 of 3 on Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Ep 10.2 Reading Gettysburg Address

Episode 2 of 3 on Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Ep 10.1 Reading Gettysburg Address

Episode 1 of 3 on Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Ep 9.5 Reading The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Ep. 5 of 5 on The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Ep 9.4 Reading The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Ep 4 of 5 on The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Ep 9.3 Reading The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Ep. 3 of 5 on The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Ep. 9.2 Reading The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Ep 2 of 5 on The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Ep. 9.1 Reading The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Ep. 1 of 5 on Edward P. Jones’s The Known World

Ep. 8.5 Reading Walt Whitman

Ep. 5 of 5 on Walt Whitman’s poetry. Join us on Goodreads goo.gl/T7Waw1. Contact @profomalley

Ep. 8.4 Reading Walt Whitman

Ep. 4 of 5 on Walt Whitman’s poetry. Join us on Goodreads goo.gl/T7Waw1. Contact @profomalley

Ep. 8.3 Reading Walt Whitman

Ep. 3 of 5 on Walt Whitman’s poetry. Join us on Goodreads goo.gl/T7Waw1. Contact @profomalley

Ep. 8.2 Reading Walt Whitman

Ep. 2 of 5 on Walt Whitman’s poetry. Join us on Goodreads goo.gl/T7Waw1. Contact @profomalley