ENGLISH 200. LITERARY STUDIES.

Cr. 4 (Prerequisite: Valpo Core or equivalent)

Readings of poems, plays, and fictional works from the several periods of English, American, and Continental literature, with emphasis on understanding and enjoying literary works in their cultural contexts through careful reading and critical analysis. Additional experience in writing complements that of the Valpo Core program.

The course will be divided into segments of varying length, each of which will be devoted to one of the main periods of English, American, or Continental literature, or to a specific literary type or genre. Special attention will be given within each segment to an important representative literary work, called the "core work." This core work will be supplemented by other poems, plays, or stories of that period. In order that the literature may be understood not only as a unique work of art but also as a product of its own times, each of these course segments will pay considerable attention to the historical or cultural background of the era.

An alternative version of Literary Studies, offered in selected sections, groups the works studied thematically as well as historically; for instance, students might read Sophocles' play Antigone from ancient Greece and then read one or two modern versions of the Antigone story in order to discover the variety of interpretations which can be made and the way in which these interpretations arise (if they do) from particular historical circumstances. Sections in this version of Literary Studies will offer three or four groups of works organized to make this kind of analysis possible. This version of the course will also put considerable emphasis on an international range of works, including some from literary traditions quite different from our own.

Although teaching techniques and daily assignments will vary with individual instructors, the basic format of the course, as well as the core works, will be the same in each section. The work in the course will consist of daily reading assignments, in-class discussion and analysis of the literary works under consideration, and the writing of critical essays and tests. Ordinarily, students will be required to write two or three papers, the exact nature of which will be determined by the instructor, and to take one or two tests and a final examination; in some sections there may be quizzes or other written exercises.

Literary Studies is designed to encourage students to read literature more alertly and perceptively and to develop and extend their taste for literature in a variety of forms and styles. Through class discussions, students will gain knowledge of the biographical, historical, and cultural contexts of the literature they are reading and therefore attain an understanding of our cultural and literary heritage as well as an enhanced capacity to enjoy and appreciate literature.

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