Literatures in English I: to 1700
Class Information
Instructor: Gray, Jessica Hanselman
CRN: 33148
Time: TR 1:40-3:00
Location: 217 Olson
Description
The purpose of this course is to prepare you for advance study of literature in English. This survey course will take us chronologically through Anglophone literatures from some of the earliest written texts in English to the end of the seventeenth century. We will read poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction (including legal documents, political speeches, scientific prose, ethnography, etc.), paying attention to changes in the English language and literary forms over several centuries. Throughout the course we will often return to theme of authorship and authority. We will look at how these texts (all of which predate copyright law) expose changing ideas about the power that inheres in the acts of reading, interpreting, and shaping narratives. Students will develop their skills in close reading, critical analysis, and academic writing.
Grading
Homework (close readings; discussion questions) 20%
Classwork (discussion, group activities, peer review, quizzes, etc.) 25%
Commonplace Book 10%
Final Exam 10%
Paper: writing process – (annotated bibliography, proposal) 10%
Paper: final draft – (analytical essay, 8-10 pages) 25%
Texts
Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol 1