Skip to main content
Department of English
Search
Log in
Navigation
About
Current Office Hours
Diversity Resources
English Library
Faculty Statement Archives
Internal Dept Resources
Medieval and Early Modern Studies
University Writing Program
Video Guides & Worksheets
Visit us on Facebook
Major/Minor in English
Advising
Creative Writing Application
Honors Program
Internships
Literary Magazines
Major Requirements Guide & FAQ
Minor Requirements
Study Abroad
Why Major in English?
MFA in Creative Writing
Admissions
Events, Prizes, and Resources
MFA Program Faculty
Newly Admitted Grad Students
Resources
Ph.D. in Literature
About
Admissions
Newly Admitted Grad Students
PhD Alumni Directory
Resources
Courses & Schedules
People
News & Events
Off the Syllabus Podcast
Recent News
Contests
Contest Winners
Previous Contest Winners
Newsletters
You are here
Home
»
Courses & Schedules
English 189 - Spring, 2019
Seminar in Literary Studies
Topic: Reading for a Better World?: Literature and Ethics
Class Information
Instructor:
Simpson, David
CRN:
93140
Time:
TR 12:10-1:30
Location:
308 Voorhies
Description
Reading for a Better World?: Literature and Ethics
From Plato to the present, writers and thinkers have debated the value of literature. Does it help us to become better people, developing sympathy sand understanding, or is it an escape valve, a site where we may experience second-hand emotions never requiring to be put into practice? In addressing this question, the seminar will read and discuss a range of poets, novels, critics and philosophers, including Plato, Rousseau, Arnold, Richards, Nussbaum, Dickens, Shelley and Wordsworth. We will read and compare at least one book deemed to have done good (Hard Times), and another to have done harm (Lolita). There will be a midterm and final paper, and a final exam.
Other materials will be available in a course reader, available at Davis Copy Max (3rd St)
Texts
William Erle
, Obi
Dickens
, Hard Times
Nabokov
, Lolita
Rousseau
, Politics and the Arts (ed. Allan Bloom)