Engl 170:
The Practice of Criticism

Introduction to the interpretation and analysis of literature, as well as to the abstract principles and assumptions that underlie all efforts to represent the meaning, structure, and value of texts. In classroom discussions and short essay assignments, students undertake critical readings of texts from a variety of genres (poetry, novel, drama, etc.), while examining how critical controversy emerges from the different theoretical commitments and preconceptions of readers. This course is a prerequisite for any 300-level English literature course taken for the English major or concentration.

Engl 317:
Contemporary British Lit

A study of British literature since 1945. Focal points include post-World War II aesthetic and philosophical developments, the decline of the British Empire, and broader societal changes informed by race, class, gender, and sexuality. Authors may include Amis, Barnes, Beckett, Duffy, Heaney, Jureishi, McEwan, Osborne, Pinter, Rushdie, X. Smith, Spark, Swift, Winterson. Prerequisites: ENGL 170. Offered fall, even years

Humn 220:
H/Western Humanities I

A search for moral, social, and political alternatives and meaning embodied in the institutions, culture, and literature of Western Civilization from the beginnings to 1600. The course is factual as well as conceptual, including a narrative history of the period covered.