Core 161: Introduction to Literature
Master Syllabus
Catalog Description
An examination of major literary works that provide a unique perspective on human experience and society. Emphasis is placed on developing close reading and interpretation skills through the analysis of literary texts. Special attention will be given to relations between thematic content and formal properties and readings must include key works of poetry, drama, fiction, and creative nonfiction from a range of historical moments and cultural contexts.
Objectives
Following the successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Identify basic forms of literary language (connotation, ambiguity, dramatic tension, irony, paradox, etc.)
- Discuss and analyze formal features of various literary texts (plot, point of view, setting, character, dialogue, rhythm, meter, alliteration, etc.)
- Explain relationships between form and content within a text
- Develop an interpretation of a text that adheres to basic rules of analysis (i.e. makes interpretative claims; supports claims with textual evidence and scholarly secondary sources when appropriate; imagines and rebuts counterarguments) and uses conventions of standard written English
Goals
Following the successful completion of this course, students should be better able to:
- Understand and appreciate literary works in personal, political, cultural, historical, and aesthetic contexts
- Recognize how literary texts (characterized by irony, ambiguity, dramatic tension, and paradox) often convey a variety of meanings and provoke a variety of interpretations
- Grapple with matters of ambiguity and uncertainty, particularly as they pertain to cultural texts
- Recognize the merits of reading and advanced literacy skills
- Employ a range of formal and creative problem-solving skills (reason, logic, objectivity, analysis, imagination, empathy, synthesis, intuition, etc.)
- Write and speak about literary works with clarity, conviction, wit, style, and persuasiveness
- Recognize the centrality of interpretative problems in everyday culture
Strategies
Instructors may use any number of strategies to help students become more critical readers and interpreters of literary and cultural texts (lectures, small and plenary group activities, quizzes, tests, presentations, recitations, short papers, and so on).
Core 162: World Literatures in English
Master Syllabus
Catalog Description
An examination of selected writers tied to a particular national or cultural tradition. All readings in this course are in English, though they will be translations from another language (French, Polish, Spanish, etc.). Emphasis is placed on developing close reading and interpretation skills through analysis of literary and cultural texts (poetry, fiction, drama, film, creative nonfiction, and essays).
Objectives
Following the successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Identify basic forms of literary language (connotation, ambiguity, dramatic tension, irony, paradox, etc.)
- Discuss and analyze formal features of various literary texts (plot, point of view, setting, character, dialogue, rhythm, meter, alliteration, etc.)
- Explain relationships between form and content within a text
- Develop an interpretation of a text that adheres to basic rules of analysis (i.e. makes interpretative claims; supports claims with textual evidence and scholarly secondary sources when appropriate; imagines and rebuts counterarguments) and uses conventions of standard written English
Goals
Following the successful completion of this course, students should be better able to:
- Understand and appreciate literary works in personal, political, cultural, historical, and aesthetic contexts
- Recognize how literary texts (characterized by irony, ambiguity, dramatic tension, and paradox) often convey a variety of meanings and provoke a variety of interpretations
- Grapple with matters of ambiguity and uncertainty, particularly as they pertain to cultural texts
- Recognize the merits of reading and advanced literacy skills
- Employ a range of formal and creative problem-solving skills (reason, logic, objectivity, analysis, imagination, empathy, synthesis, intuition, etc.)
- Write and speak about literary works with clarity, conviction, wit, style, and persuasiveness
- Recognize the centrality of interpretative problems in everyday culture
Strategies
Instructors may use any number of strategies to help students become more critical readers and interpreters of literary and cultural texts (lectures, small and plenary group activities, quizzes, tests, presentations, recitations, short papers, and so on).
Core 163: Historical Perspectives in Literature
Master Syllabus
Catalog Description
An historical survey of a particular national literature. Emphasis is placed on developing close reading and interpretation skills through the chronological study of poetry, fiction, drama, and creative nonfiction tied to a particular nationality.
Objectives
Following the successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Identify basic forms of literary language (connotation, ambiguity, dramatic tension, irony, paradox, etc.)
- Discuss and analyze formal features of various literary texts (plot, point of view, setting, character, dialogue, rhythm, meter, alliteration, etc.)
- Explain relationships between form and content within a text
- Develop an interpretation of a text that adheres to basic rules of analysis (i.e. makes interpretative claims; supports claims with textual evidence and scholarly secondary sources when appropriate; imagines and rebuts counterarguments) and uses conventions of standard written English
Goals
Following the successful completion of this course, students should be better able to:
- Understand and appreciate literary works in personal, political, cultural, historical, and aesthetic contexts
- Recognize how literary texts (characterized by irony, ambiguity, dramatic tension, and paradox) often convey a variety of meanings and provoke a variety of interpretations
- Grapple with matters of ambiguity and uncertainty, particularly as they pertain to cultural texts
- Recognize the merits of reading and advanced literacy skills
- Employ a range of formal and creative problem-solving skills (reason, logic, objectivity, analysis, imagination, empathy, synthesis, intuition, etc.)
- Write and speak about literary works with clarity, conviction, wit, style, and persuasiveness
- Recognize the centrality of interpretative problems in everyday culture
Strategies
Instructors may use any number of strategies to help students become more critical readers and interpreters of literary and cultural texts (lectures, small and plenary group activities, quizzes, tests, presentations, recitations, short papers, and so on).
Core 164: Literary Modes and Themes
Master Syllabus
Catalog Description
An examination of a particular literary mode (biography, comedy, epic, folklore, satire, tragedy, etc.) or theme (environmental literature, science fiction,fairy tales, literature and work, etc.) that provides a unique perspective on human experience and society. Emphasis is placed on developing close reading and interpretation skills through the analysis of various literary and cultural texts (poetry, fiction, drama, film, creative nonfiction, and essays).
Objectives
Following the successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Identify basic forms of literary language (connotation, ambiguity, dramatic tension, irony, paradox, etc.)
- Discuss and analyze formal features of various literary texts (plot, point of view, setting, character, dialogue, rhythm, meter, alliteration, etc.)
- Explain relationships between form and content within a text
- Develop an interpretation of a text that adheres to basic rules of analysis (i.e. makes interpretative claims; supports claims with textual evidence and scholarly secondary sources when appropriate; imagines and rebuts counterarguments) and uses conventions of standard written English
Goals
Following the successful completion of this course, students should be better able to:
- Understand and appreciate literary works in personal, political, cultural, historical, and aesthetic contexts
- Recognize how literary texts (characterized by irony, ambiguity, dramatic tension, and paradox) often convey a variety of meanings and provoke a variety of interpretations
- Grapple with matters of ambiguity and uncertainty, particularly as they pertain to cultural texts
- Recognize the merits of reading and advanced literacy skills
- Employ a range of formal and creative problem-solving skills (reason, logic, objectivity, analysis, imagination, empathy, synthesis, intuition, etc.)
- Write and speak about literary works with clarity, conviction, wit, style, and persuasiveness
- Recognize the centrality of interpretative problems in everyday culture
Strategies
Instructors may use any number of strategies to help students become more critical readers and interpreters of literary and cultural texts (lectures, small and plenary group activities, quizzes, tests, presentations, recitations, short papers, and so on).