A prerequisite to advanced courses in English. An introduction to the techniques of close reading and the analysis of poetry. Emphasis on appreciating and understanding poetic form. Along the way, we'll explore Chaucer's language, society, and his intellectual contexts, including fourteenth-century politics of university, church, and state. We might examine short texts by other Middle English writers as well.
Specific authors vary.
Analysis of literature as a product and cause of cultural change in Great Britain from 1839 to 1939. A two-part course, with one section on how English got to where it is and one on how it now works. Understanding each stage of the language helps explain why Modern English works as it does. The grammar section of the course will start with functional grammar and will work on developing a visual understanding of sentence structure, then applying it to writing. Featured authors may include Harriet Jacobs, William Wells Brown, W.E.B. Du Bois, Pauline Hopkins, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, and John Edgar Wideman.