Some or all of the following methods will be used:
- lecture/discussion;
- group work;
- peer review;
- independent research;
- instructor feedback on students’ work;
- individual consultation; and
- presentation (individual or group).
enslavement/liberation). Works may be drawn from a variety of historical periods or cultural contexts, and may be read in translation. Students will also read and bring into their study some relevant theoretical and critical texts.
All third-year English literature courses share the following features:
- Students are presumed to have had first-year level instruction and experience in writing critical essays on literary subjects.
- Students are required to read in the course subject area beyond the texts assigned by the instructor.
- Students are required to incorporate into their oral and written coursework secondary source materials which may include biographical information, literary criticism or theory, unassigned texts by the author under study, relevant cultural or intellectual history, or other aesthetic works such as music or visual art.
Readings and topics will vary with each instructor’s presentation of a course, but all course materials are consistent with the stated objectives/outcomes for the course.
In English 3150, students may examine life writing works linked by sub-genre, by author, or by theme, such as any of the following:
- Narratives of trauma, disability, or disease;
- Autobiography and the theatre;
- Literary letters;
- Narratives of slavery and emancipation;
- Creative non-fiction and the personal essay;
- Spiritual autobiography;
- Travel journals; and
- Life writing in the Holocaust
These works will be complemented by related readings from non-literary perspectives, such as journalistic essays, articles from academic journals, or internet information pages, including criticism and theory as it relates to the work of the particular authors, periods, or themes under study.
For purposes of comparison, students may also examine some mock-autobiographical works (such as fiction, diaries or memoirs that purport to be based on “real-life”) and /or autobiographical film, theatre, music, or performance art.
Upon completion of any third-year English literature course, students should be able to
- read and analyze literary texts with increased skill and insight;
- integrate their understanding of literature into an evolving awareness of relevant cultural and historical contexts and perspectives;
- perceive connections among literary texts across genres, historical periods, and/or cultural contexts;
- conduct independent research to supplement the course material and integrate this information into course assignments; and
- write different kinds of literary analyses, such as thematic, technical, or theoretical.
Upon completion of English 3150, students should also have deepened their understandings of
- the complexity of defining and differentiating among modes such as fact, fiction, and creative non- fiction;
- the complexity in defining and establishing boundaries between genres and sub-genres of life writing;
- the problems in determining the veracity or reliability of self-disclosure and self-censorship;
- the psychological power and central role of confession in various forms of life writing;
- key issues regarding the roles of memory, language, and historical/cultural context in the construction of meaning and identity; and
- the influence of audience over the writer and text.
- A minimum of two formal academic essays, with a combined value of at least 80% of the course grade (combined total).
- A maximum of 20% of the course grade may be based on informal writing (quizzes, short answer tests); oral reports/presentations; participation/preparation grades; and/or other non writing-intensive assignments.
Texts will vary depending upon the instructor, and may include shorter readings compiled in custom course packs. Two sample reading lists follow:
Sample Reading List A (Genre: Spiritual Autobiography):
- St. Augustine, The Confessions (selections)
- Peter Abelard, Historia Calamitatum
- Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love
- Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Activist
- Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- Richard Wagamese, For Joshua: An Ojibway Father Teaches his Son
Sample List B: (Theme: Holocaust Narratives)
- Elie Weisel, Night
- Art Spiegelman, Maus
- Anne Frank, Diary of Anne Frank
- Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz
- Custom Course Pack of selected secondary readings from Chaney, Eakin, Gilmore, Olney, and Saunders.
Any TWO university-transfer first-year English literature courses, or ONE university-transfer first-year English literature course and ONE university-transfer first-year Creative Writing or English writing course, AND a minimum of 45 credit hours.