1. The First Americans: American Literature Before and During the Colonial and Revolutionary Priods -- 2. Inventing Americas: The Making of American Literature, 1800 - 1865 -- 3. Reconstructing the Past, Reimagining the Future: The Development of American Literature, 1865 - 1900 -- 4. Making It New: The Emergence of Modern American Literature, 1900 - 1945 -- 5. Negotiating the American Century: American Literature since 1945.