ENGL 285-02, Text and Context, The Incident Room: Investigations into Literature, Fall 2009

Abstract

Like detective work, literary study involves methods of analysis; we learn critical writing and critical thinking in the process of asking questions and positing conclusions with regard to the challenges of technique as well as content. In this course we will consider twentieth century and contemporary novels, short stories and poems that present us with psychological mysteries. The three genres will include work by fiction writers such as William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, D.H. Lawrence and Cormac McCarthy, poets Robert Lowell, James Dickey, Elizabeth Bishop, Countee Cullen, Robert Hayden, Philip Levine and others. Each discussion will invite students to consider the influence of literary ideas and backgrounds, as well as understanding literary terms. English 285 is designed to equip majors with the tools required for middle- and upper-division courses in English. It will focus on the necessary skills for understanding the verbal texture of literature, the development of argument and critical response, and the ability to frame discussion of texts. The course will introduce a critical vocabulary through the demonstrated use of these terms in analysis and through the Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms. As a gateway course, this class will be writing intensive, allowing students to practice their analytical writing skills as well as thinking critically about the literature under discussion.