Course Overview: This course will serve as an introduction to English literature, covering works of prose, poetry, and drama, arranged chronologically from the fourteenth through the twentieth centuries. Our organizing objective in this class will be to foster critical approaches to literary and cultural themes (skills, it goes without saying, as relevant outside as inside the English lit classroom). Therefore, we will put heavy emphasis on reading critically and actively, and on writing analytically.
As a writing-intensive course, English 151W focuses on the evaluation and improvement of student writing. Through essays, reading notes, and in-class writing exercises, students will develop their own critical voices and be able to express ideas in clear, sensitive prose.
This is a general education course that satisfies the Literature requirement for the Queens Core under the CUNY General Education structure called Pathways. The course also satisfies the Reading Literature requirement under the Perspectives curriculum that was in effect at Queens before CUNY introduced Pathways.
In honor of the 200th anniversary of the first publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, our course will focus on texts that explore what it means to be human. By the end of this class, students should have a firm grasp of the literary traditions that inspired and drew inspiration from Frankenstein.
Course Objectives: We will work on many issues related to reading and writing effectively over the semester. Over the semester, students will develop their abilities to:
- Become familiar with a range of literary genres and themes in different historical periods
- Identify and apply relevant theoretical lenses used in literary criticism
- Draw and articulate meaningful connections between texts across genres and periods
- Critically respond to literature in writing with an awareness of audience, medium, and purpose
