E301 27670 LITERATURES IN ENGLISH TO 1600
Joan Pong Linton

9:30a-10:45a TR (30 students) 3 cr. A&H.

Open to majors and declared minors only.

This course introduces you to literatures in English in the Medieval and Early Modern periods, with a focus on the images of community presented in these works, and the social values and assumptions they reflect or question. We will read texts from a variety of critical perspectives in order to develop an understanding of each within its literary, cultural, and historical contexts. Our goal is not simply to learn about literatures from cultures removed from ours, but to use this difference as a basis for reflecting on our own critical perspectives and cultural assumptions. In written assignments, we will expand and sharpen our rhetorical and interpretive skills in developing insights into specific texts. The main texts for this course will be the Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th edition, volumes A and B. In addition to a brief in-class presentation, there will be two short papers and a mid-term and a final exam.