Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examines literary “classics”, variously defined, apprehending them both on their own terms and within larger critical conversations. May incorporate the comparative study of work in related artistic fields and engage relevant media trends. Includes attention to writing skills. Students with credit for ENGL 101W may not take this course for further credit. Writing/Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

Literary Classics: Troubled Kingdoms

Good government is hard to find. It only takes a cursory glance at the news to notice flaws and failures in the system, both human and institutional. In light of the troubling times in which we find ourselves, it may or may not be comforting to discover how eerily prescient some of the literary classics have been.

This course takes a look at the way writers have used literature to wrestle with the problems that assail those who would live in a free and prosperous nation. We begin with the anonymous author of Beowulf in the early medieval period, who on the surface seems to state that the problems are, quite literally, just monsters. A closer reading of the epic, however, will show that the monsters are closely tied to other aspects of medieval society. Following on from Beowulf, Shakespeare's Hamlet raises the problems of leadership and of malice and of madness at the heart of government. The rest of the course is spent among modern novels, from the light Victorian swashbuckler The Prisoner of Zenda to the rather darker Handmaid's Tale.

The spectres of Trump and of Brexit will naturally lurk in the background, but primarily this course is about how classic literature comes to terms with the difficult balance of managing a society that works.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Above all, this is a writing course. There are two short papers. Each student will give feedback to and receive feedback from other students on the papers, as well as receiving feedback from the instructor; the papers will be resubmitted after revision. By the end of the course, you should be comfortable writing fluently in formal standard Canadian English, including the conventions of punctuation and grammar used in the formal language. Other writing skills include citation, organization, structure, argument, and clear communication. The focus is on how to write effectively about literature, but the skills being built are crucial to success in every field.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: