SPRING 2013 ENGLISH COURSES

More’s Utopia, Renaissance lyrics and sonnets, the metaphysical poems of Donne and Herbert,
Swift’s modest proposal, Gray’s elegy, and the literally heart-wrenching new-world novella by
Aphra Behn, Oroonoko.
By the end of the course, successful students should understand what British literature
before 1800 is like — its concerns, its genres and forms, its verbal styles, and its development
throughout the period (related to this is a general understanding of how this literature differs
from more modern literature). More specifically, students should develop an effective practice
of literary note-taking (in textbooks, in class, and out of class), be familiar with assigned texts,
and have the ability to recall key details about these texts (such as their authors, time period,
genres, characters, plots, themes, etc.), have a basic competence at close reading literary texts
from the period covered (that is, performing sustained and careful analysis of texts, using
basic elements of literary analysis–theme, imagery, verbal style, form and genre, etc.), develop
skills of comparing and contrasting different texts and concepts, develop the ability to create their
own interpretations and understandings of texts and concepts, based on careful analysis,
demonstrate competence of the above through class discussion, writing essays, and effective
responses to a comprehensive exam, have a basic competence at finding and reading
professional literary criticism, and to be able to effectively use criticism to frame and create one’s
own argument, and never, ever refer to Shakespearean language as Old English again. Remaking
yourself as Chaucer’s Wife of Bath is purely optional.
Required Texts: The Norton Anthology of English Literature, edited by Stephen
Greenblatt, 9th ed. Volumes A, B, and C. (9780393928334); Hamlet by William Shakespeare,
edited by Robert S. Miola (Norton Critical ed. 978039392958-4). The USCB Bookstore may
have a package deal. Online texts are inadequate substitutes for the required texts. For more
details, email me at kilgorer@uscb.edu.
BENG Y289 — ENGLISH LITERATURE II
Exploring Literary Tradition: English Literature from 1800
to the Present
Dr. Hoffer — HARG 276 — MW 1:40pm - 2:55pm
Convention...Legacy...Tradition. Each of these words
addresses the relationship between past and present, and
each suggests a sense of cohesion, a commonality of
patterns, concerns, and styles. All literature is, in a sense,
part of a larger tradition that is built upon, influenced by,
and often reactionary to the texts that preceded it.
Today’s best-selling authors and literary prize winners
(even TV and film writers!) are all a part of the literary
tradition. Exploring it can thus allow us a fuller, deeper
understanding of the stories we tell—and how we tell
them. English 289 is designed to offer you a survey (a
broad overview) of major writers and works in the English
literary tradition from 1800 to the present. Along the way, we will learn about major literary
and cultural movements as we discover the Romantic, Victorian, Modern, and Contemporary
periods. In addition to gaining experience recognizing the formal techniques and devices of
poetry, drama, and prose fiction, we will contextualize the literature we read by discussing the
philosophical and artistic movements, revolutions and wars, scientific and technological
advancements, and social issues such as race, class, and gender that have informed literature in
prior centuries as in our own. Students will improve their ability to read, interpret, discuss, and
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