English 40H - Fall, 2016

Topics in Literature: For Honors Program Students only

Topic: TO BE ANNOUNCED - RESTRICTED TO UNIVERSITY HONORS PROGRAM STUDENTS ONLY

Class Information

Instructor: Chaganti, Seeta
Time: MW 12:10-1:30
Location: 151 Olson

Description

This class will focus on the epic poem Beowulf. In order to enhance our understanding of the text, we will adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the poem’s cultural context, considering visual art, weaponry, technology, animal studies, and other disciplines to inform a new perspective on the poem’s mysterious and sometimes misunderstood monsters. In addition, students will have the unique opportunity to learn how to read and translate passages of the poem’s original Old English, a beautiful and intriguing language entirely different from the English we speak today. Learning this deep history of the language we speak now will fundamentally change students’ relationship to modern English. This knowledge will empower students to use the language they speak every day in vibrant new ways, making them compelling and effective communicators.

Grading

Translation exercises 20%
2 papers 35%
midterm 15%
final exam 20%
participation 10%

Texts

Beowulf: A Facing Page Translation, R. M. Liuzza