Course Description
Writers typically include the Beowulf poet, Gawain poet, Chaucer, Spenser, Sidney, Marlowe, Donne, Jonson, Shakespeare, and Milton.
Athena Title
English Lit from Beg to 1700 H
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in ENGL 2310, ENGL 2310E, ENGL 2310W
Pre or Corequisite
(ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1102S) and permission of Honors
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will be familiar with representative texts of major English writers from the Beowulf poet to 1700.
- Students will contextualize and analyze examples from multiple literary genres including prose fiction, poetry, essays, and drama. They will practice analyzing literary form and thinking critically about literature and culture.
- Students will practice engaging in collaborative discussion with their peers, in both small groups and full-class discussion. They will improve their ability to express their ideas cogently and effectively.
- Students will improve their abilities to argue persuasively, use textual evidence, and write vigorous prose that adheres to conventional standards of grammar and usage.
Topical Outline
- The choice and sequence of topics will vary from instructor to instructor and semester to semester. A possible series of readings might resemble this:
- Beowulf
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: "The General Prologue," "The Miller's Tale," "The Wife of Bath's Tale"
- Sir Thomas Malory, Morte Darthur: selected readings
- Sir Thomas More, Utopia: selected readings
- William Shakespeare, Sonnets; The Tempest
- John Donne, selected readings
- John Milton, Paradise Lost: selected readings
General Education Core
CORE IV: Humanities and the Arts
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
