Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examines literature and language within specific social, cultural, geographical, and textual environments to explore the mutually informing relationship between history and text. May be further organized by historical period, genre, or critical approach. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

Renaissance or early modern?

That period from the 14^th to the 17^th century in Western history was once known as the Renaissance. It was thought to be defined by the rediscovery of the literature and culture of antiquity. Now it’s more commonly referred to as the early modern period and is defined as a period of transition between the middle ages and modernity. These two visions of the age --   a culture looking backward and a culture giving birth to the future -- pull the period in two directions and it is that tension that shaped a creative environment that generated some of the greatest works on literature in the Western tradition. In this course we will trace the two forces and study some 300 years of verse, drama, and prose.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

• an understanding of English Literature of the Early Modern period;
• a knowledge the conventions of literary genres in this period;
• a knowledge of the theoretical and critical methodologies that underpin the study of Early Modern literature;
• an overview of key writings and themes in English literature of the Early Modern period;
• individual authors¿ writing;

Grading

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE: VOLUME B - THE SIXTEEN CENTURY, THE EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, 10th edition - Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. 

REQUIRED READING NOTES: