Abstract
This article explores the titling process of John Dos Passos’s U.S.A. trilogy (1938), focusing on the striking title the author discarded at the last moment: “Course of Empire.” Through its allusions and associations, this previously unexamined working title constitutes an implicit critique of US imperialism, a thematic element that Dos Passos evidently saw as central to his novelistic project. Yet when the final decision drew close, he changed his mind, instead opting for a title that would cause the overall work to be regarded as a national epic. Examining the decision in its 1937 context, which saw Dos Passos cast into ideological crisis, I attribute the rejection of “Course of Empire” in favor of U.S.A. to the author’s well-known political shift. In the end, the choice of title was successful insofar as it allowed Dos Passos to continue championing the trilogy even as he turned conservative, rather than having to disavow it as a product of his younger, radical self. But while its title made the work easier to canonize, it also softened its sharp edge.