LIT 210(3-0-3)
Children's Literature
This course defines the nature and function of children's literature by locating an examination of its history, genres, trends, and controversies in both an understanding of children's cognitive and imaginative response to reading and an exploration of culturally constructed images of and for children. The course offers methodologies for critical reading of a variety of children's texts and for selecting literature appropriate for a number of child-oriented programs. The course offers opportunities for observation and participation in story hours and other literature-based activities in locations such as child care facilities and public libraries.
PR: ENG 123
LIT 211(3-0-3)
Native American Literature
This course will introduce students to the large and diverse array of literature produced by Native Americans in North America, from pre-contact oral literature to contemporary writings in English. Genres studied will include any or all of the following: myths; chants, ceremonies, and rituals; songs; speeches; personal narratives; essays; poems; short stories and novels. The course will concentrate on post-contact literature, especially on the issues faced by men and women of native descent in the United States. The history of Native American/Euro-American relations will provide the context for most of the texts studied, and native cultural beliefs and practices (in religion and non-literary arts, for example) will also help to illuminate these texts.
PR: ENG 123
LIT 212(3-0-3)
Literature of the Hudson-Mohawk
This course explores the rich and diverse cultural and literary heritage of the Hudson-Mohawk Region as well as its geography and history. Students will read works that are either set in the Hudson-Mohawk Region or written by authors who lived within the region. They will also undertake research to uncover more of the region's literature.
PR: ENG 123
LIT 214(3-0-3)
Black Literature
This course explores the literary conventions, themes, and techniques employed by African-American authors in a variety of genres such as the short story, drama, poetry, and the essay. Emphasis is placed on the development of Black expression in literature and criticism. Students refine critical thinking, reading and writing skills through literary analysis of a broad range of representative works.
PR: ENG 123
LIT 216(3-0-3)
Mythology
This course will introduce students to selected major myths, and to representative or noteworthy minor myths, which various cultures have created in their efforts to come to terms with perceived reality. The course will also explore the belief systems which underlie those myths. The course also will enable students to recognize the continued value and relevance of myth and myth-making.
PR: ENG 123
LIT 218(3-0-3)
Law in Literature
This course introduces students to literature which embodies significant legal concepts. Students read and discuss works from literature and analyze how writers portray legal issues through plot, theme, and character development. Legal theory and literary analysis are presented in social and historical context.
PR: ENG 123
LIT 220(3-0-3)
Women's Literature
In this course students explore the contributions of women authors to literature by reading and analyzing works by women from diverse eras and cultures; these works represent the primary traditional literary genres of fiction, poetry, and drama, as well as such genres as autobiography, testimonio, diary, oratory, and essay, as appropriate. Further, in addition to investigating such issues as the literary canon and the roles played by race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and cultural context, students trace the development and characteristics of feminist literary theory and explore feminist literary criticism.
PR: ENG 123
LIT 221(3-0-3)
Hispanic Literature of the Western Hemisphere
This course provides a survey of major authors and literary works originating in Hispanic culture, and examines their global impact. The selection of authors and texts (in translation, when appropriate) introduces students to diverse geographical, political, and cultural climates that exist within the border of the Hispanic community -- a community that includes Central and South America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and portions of the U.S. In addition, course texts inform students of the historical background, extensive influence, and continuing impact of Spanish colonization of the Western Hemisphere.
PR: ENG 123
LIT 223(3-0-3)
The Detective in Fiction and Film
In this course students study the history and development of detective fiction. They read and analyze works of detective fiction from a variety of historical periods and view and analyze some of the genre's pivotal films. Discussions focus upon the elements of fiction as they apply to this genre, the historical, societal, and ethical aspects of detective fiction, and the elements of film noir.
LIT 225(3-0-3)
Contemporary World Fiction
In this course students explore novels and stories written since the mid-twentieth century by authors of various nationalities, ethnicities, and races across the globe. Through oral and written work, students analyze the aesthetic and cultural dimensions of the individual works in the context of relevant literary and cultural cross-currents.
PR: ENG 123
LIT 229(3-0-3)
Humor in America
This course examines the nature of humor in the context of American national character. Through reading historically, thematically, linguistically, and visually, students will explore the question of the American comic sensibility. Students will learn to apply major theories of humor to close reading of texts representing the development of American humor from Native American trickster tales to contemporary film comedy.
PR: ENG 123
LIT 230(3-0-3)
Novels of the Early 20th Century
This course offers students a cross-cultural voyage through novels written in the first half of the 20th century by authors of various Western and non-Western nationalities, ethnicities, and races. Students analyze the aesthetic and cultural dimensions of the works, exploring them in the context of the literary and cultural cross- currents of this time period.
PR: ENG 123 and either ENG 124 or HON 124
LIT 231(3-0-3)
Drama Classics to 1870
A study of landmark works of world dramatic literature from the ancient Greeks to the 19th century. The characteristic values and styles of the Classical, Medieval, Baroque, and Romantic periods are examined in their tragic and comic modes.
PR: ENG 124
LIT 233(3-0-3)
Drama Classics:Modern and Contemporary
A study of the major schools of dramatic literature of the latter 19th and 20th centuries (e.g. Realism, Naturalism, Expressionism, Symbolism, Epic Theater, Surrealism, Absurdism, Post- Modernism). Primary emphasis is given to the works, theories, and influences of major European and American dramatists.
PR: ENG 124
LIT 252(3-0-3)
British Literature Before 1800
This course offers a historical survey of British literature from the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century. It examines the development of this national literature in the contexts of British cultural and intellectual history and of Western literary tradition. The course also introduces students to literary forms and conventions characteristic of this period.
PR: ENG 123 and either ENG 124 or HON 124
F
LIT 254(3-0-3)
British Literature Since 1800
This course is continues a historical survey of British literature covering the 19th and 20th centuries. It examines the development of this national literature in the contexts of British cultural and intellectual history and of Western literary tradition. This course also introduces students to literary forms and conventions characteristic of this period.
PR: ENG 123 and either ENG 124 or HON 124
S
LIT 256(3-0-3)
American Literature to 1850
This course traces early writing in America from pre- Colonial times through the mid-19th century (1607- 1850), focusing on the historical growth of the country and the emergence of representative literary types. Key literature figures and movements within the diverse range American literary history will be covered.
PR: ENG 123 and ENG 124
F
LIT 258(3-0-3)
American Literature Since 1850
This course examines the American proponents of realism and naturalism including Twain, James, Dickinson and Crane. The students study 20th century writers of fiction, poetry and drama including such writers as Pound, Hemingway, Faulkner, Steinbeck, Baldwin, Bellow, Frost, Eliot, and O'Neill.
PR: ENG 123 and ENG 124 or consent of department
S
LIT 266(3-0-3)
Literary Science Fiction
This course provides an introductory exploration of the literary genre of science fiction.It identifies the thematic and formal characteristics of the genre, and traces its development from and relationship to other forms of literature and the history of science.
PR: ENG 123 and either ENG 124 or HON 124