How to Read Well (and Why You Might Want To)
This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of literary criticism, focusing on some of the most celebrated and influential works from English and American literary history. It is designed primarily as the gateway course to the English major, but it is appropriate for anyone interested in or curious about the college-level study of literature. Our objective will be to gain a working knowledge of the four main categories of literary expression—drama, poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction—as well as the critical tools and concepts that best prepare us to find meaning in literary works. (These skills are portable, by the way. Interested in film? Popular culture? Literature is a great training ground for exploring other forms of expression.) Throughout, we will keep in view the big questions driving literary and humanistic inquiry: What makes a good piece of writing good? How do authors achieve particular effects in their work? What makes one interpretation more valid or compelling than another? What is the purpose of reading novels, plays, or poems when there are so many other powerful things competing for our attention?
Readings will include works by Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf, and James Baldwin. Evaluation will be based on weekly writing assignments, regular class participation, and a comprehensive final exam. Credit for this course counts toward the university’s A&H (Arts & Humanities) requirement, and it can count toward the university’s W (Additional Writing) requirement with prior arrangement with the instructor.