English: Intro to Literary Studies

Introduction to the critical work of close reading across literary genres, understanding of key terms and concepts, and writing in the discipline. Required for English majors and minors. Topics vary by section.

Junior and senior ENGL, SEE majors and ENGL minors only until Thursday, November 14; then ENGL SEE majors and ENGL minors only during the first week of registration PACE students with permission and override

This course is designed to serve as the foundation of your work within the English major/minor or in related fields of literary studies. Our work will focus on the two core practices of the discipline: close reading and critical composition. We will read from a range of literary genres—poetry, drama, prose fiction, creative nonfiction—as we work together on developing and refining your approach to literary studies and approaches to "text." Common to the texts we’ll read is also a compelling set of ideas that will wind its way through our discussions all semester, ideas that engage with the broad theme of self and society.

During this course, students will • develop the skills of critical observation that are necessary for close literary reading and the sorts of analytical approaches that rely on close reading. • think socially, historically, and formally about the texts we are exploring, including an analytical awareness of issues of diversity and inclusion (or exclusion, as the case may be) as they appear both within texts and the context of our reception • explore ways of asking critical questions about the form and context of literary texts • learn to engage with published works of literary criticism, including approaches to research and writing • practice the rhetorical habits of analysis and argument that are particular to critical writing within the discipline of literary and cultural studies • work in our discussions and workshops toward the building of a “community of inquiry and response” with each other and with the work of the writers and critics whose work we are introduced to in the course • consider the various ways in which literature works to define what is meant by the concept of “self,” and come to appreciate the complex relationships between “self” and society that are explored in the literature

• Weekly Response Journal (30%) • Poetry close-reading assignment (15%) • Annotated bibliography assignment (10%) • Essay on either the plays or the novels (15%) • Final exam (20%) • Class participation (10%)