Special Topics in the Literature of Life Writing

Upon completion of any second-year English literature course, the student should

1. be able to use with increased proficiency the skills of literary analysis taught in first-year English courses;
2. be able to recognize the significance of the literary and non-literary or cultural context of a work being studied, such as the biographical, historical, mythological or philosophical context;
3. be able to read critically and use in essays secondary sources, such as criticism and other texts by the same author, as an aid to comprehending the primary text(s) being studied;
4. be able to read critically and independently works or aspects of works not discussed in class; and
5. be able to formulate a thesis on a given subject in one or more specific works, and to develop this thesis using suitable textual evidence.

Upon completion of English 2328, the student should also have deepened her/his understanding of

1. the complexity of defining and differentiating among modes such as fact, fiction and non-fiction;
2. the complexity of defining and establishing boundaries between genres and sub-genres of life writing;
3. problems in determining the veracity or reliability of self-disclosure, and in self-censorship;
4. the psychological power and central role of confession in various forms of life writing;
5. key issues regarding the roles of memory, language and historical/cultural context in the construction of meaning and identity; and
6. the role of the reader or influence of audience over the writer and text.