Dr. Siân White 3 credits

          This course is designed as a survey of English literature from the late eighteenth through the twentieth-first centuries (English Romanticism to Contemporary Literature). Readings selected will include poetry, essays, two novels and some short stories. Apart from the novels readings will be selected primarily from The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vols. D, E, and F. This course will engage students in the practice of literary analysis and close-reading, and challenge them to understand a central theme of voice in the context of broader political, social and philosophical developments, paying special attention to the Woman Question, the expansion of Empire, and the challenges of modernity. Related subtopics, then, will include the relationship of poet or author to the speaking voice; associated forms such as the epistolary novel, autobiography, and dramatic monologue; and feminist, imperial and colonial voices. Students can expect to emerge from the semester with a working knowledge of the terms used to close-read literary works; developed skills in the construction of an argument and the composition of written literary analysis; and a better understanding of how to relate a work to its context. Graded course work will include (besides quizzes on readings): class discussion related to readings, midterm and final exams, and a thesis-driven paper in MLA format (with the possibility of a rough draft due weeks before the final due date).

This course fulfills at GenEd Cluster 2 Requirement as part of Group 3 Literature.

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