Course Description
A representative selection of literary work from continental Europe, Anglo-America, and Latin-America, from the Renaissance to the present. Special emphasis will be placed on the relevance of these texts, however old, to contemporary society around the world.
Athena Title
Western Lit Mod to Present Hon
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in CMLT 2220
Prerequisite
Permission of Honors
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
- to introduce students to major works of Western world literature written from the 17th century to the present, with special emphasis on the relevance of these texts, whether old or new, 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, etc.; - 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.
Topical Outline
The typical course consists of a series of readings in Western world literature from the Early Modern Period to the present, with special emphasis on the relevance of these texts, whether old or new, to contemporary society around the world. The topics considered are generated by the specific work under analysis. (The question of utilitarianism and utopianism, for example, will be of concern in an analysis of Notes from Underground.) The works treated will vary with the instructor. The following is a sample syllabus of readings for a single semester: Moliere. Tartuffe Swift. Gulliver's Travels, Book IV Voltaire. Candide Rousseau. Confessions (selections) Wordsworth. Selected poetry Lermentov. A Hero of our Times Melville. Billy Budd Chekhov. The Cherry Orchard Pirandello. Six Characters in Search of an Author Eliot. The Wasteland Sartre. No Exit Silko. Yellow Woman
General Education Core
CORE IV: Humanities and the ArtsSyllabus