- to introduce students to major works of world literature 
written up to the 17th century, with an emphasis on the 
relevance of these texts, however old, to contemporary society 
around the world; 
- to help students situate those works within larger historical 
and cultural contexts; 
- to provide students with an understanding of the conventions 
of literary composition and reception that inform their 
creation, such as conventions of genre, metrics, style; 
- to improve students' communication skills through oral 
presentations in class and expository writing assignments, 
including in-class and out-of-class essays.

Students' performances will be evaluated through a variety of 
means, including assessment of oral presentations, objective 
tests, essays, and the final examination.

The typical course consists of a series of readings in Western
world literature up to the 17th century, with special emphasis 
on the relevance of these texts to contemporary society around 
the world. The topics considered are generated by the specific 
work under analysis. (The question of the Roman assimilation of 
Greek culture, for example, is germane to the study of the 
Aeneid.) The works treated will vary with the instructor. The 
following is a sample syllabus of readings for a single semester:

Homer.  The Odyssey
Virgil.  The Aeneid
Augustine.  The Confessions
Chaucer.  The Canterbury Tales (selections)
Dante.  The Inferno
Petrarch.  Selected sonnets
Rabelais.  Gargantua and Pantagruel (selections)
Montaigne.  Essays (selections)
Cervantes.  Don Quijote (selections)
Calderon.  Life Is a Dream
Shakespeare.  Hamlet

Students are requied to abide by the University of Georgia academic honesty policy.