Academics: Undergraduate

FOUNDATION COURSES

Common guidelines for introductory Literature courses
(ENGL 108, 199, 209, and 210)

Design: The purpose of these introductory courses is to expose students to a range of literary genres in their cultural and historical contexts and to teach the interpretive and communicative skills necessary to join effectively in the discussion of literature. Students investigate the concept of "literature" and examine the effects that readers and texts conjointly produce. All courses will share a common glossary of literary terms and a common handbook for writers, provide significant opportunity for discussion, and "have appropriate writing assignments integrated into the material of the course" (from "Writing Policy for General Education Courses").

Because Engl 108, 199, 209, and 210 satisfy the GER in Arts and Humanities [H], they belong to a category for courses that "take a historical, critical, or appreciative approach to the study of human culture as manifested in literature, languages, philosophy, art, music, or drama [and] introduce the student to the record of human creativity and provide a basis for assessing its value and significance in human development" (GER guidelines).

Common Objectives for Engl 108, 199, 209, and 210:

1. To learn ways of understanding and engaging with literature, both in discussion and in writing; to become skilled, self-conscious readers of literature through the study of a variety of texts representing diverse voices in different modes, genres, and contexts;

2. To gain experience in close reading, analyzing, and interpreting literary texts--including significant engagement with poetry; with at least one novel, one play, and a range of other kinds of literary texts; with literature written prior to the 20th century; and with the study of literature in cultural and historical contexts;

3. To learn basic conventions of and to gain experience in analytical writing about literature, including a minimum of two formal, revised critical essays;

4. To learn the basic terminology relevant for critical analysis of figurative language, of narrative structures, of important literary forms and conventions;

5. To become aware that there are a) various contemporary critical approaches to literary texts, b) debates over literary canons, and c) shifting assumptions (about literature, the author, the reader; about gender, race, sexual orientation, class, etc. ) that have informed such approaches and debates.

Texts: Instructors order texts individually for these courses (publishers' examination copies are kept in the wooden bookcase in the back of Avery 202). The department currently uses M.H. Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms (6th ed.), as its standard guide to literary terms and Ann Raimes, Keys for Writers: A Brief Handbook(3rd. ed.), as its standard handbook for writers. For the latter text students may already own and instructors may give them the option of using an earlier edition.

Supplemental guidelines for ENGL 209: Readings in English Literature and ENGL 210: Readings in American Literature

Design: Like Engl 108 and 199, Engl 209 and 210 satisfy the GER in Arts and Humanities [H]. Like the other introductory literature courses, they should require students to own a common glossary of literary terms and a common handbook for writers, provide significant opportunity for discussion, and "have appropriate writing assignments integrated into the material of the course" (from "Writing Policy for General Education Courses").

In order that these courses serve their function in the major, all sections of Engl 209 and 210 must meet the common objectives for "Introductory Literature Courses" listed above. While carrying out these objectives, Engl 209 instructors will select readings that also serve to introduce students to specific issues, strategies, and concepts important for the study of English literature, Engl 210 instructors to specific issues, strategies, and concepts important for the study of American literature.

It is assumed that Engl 209 and 210 will be neither "genre" nor "survey" courses; rather they will emphasize discussion and in-depth study of a selected but historically broad range of literary texts distributed over several (more than two) centuries. All sections must provide students with experience in interpreting these texts in light of their relationship to 1) shifting cultural and literary contexts and 2) changing notions of the literary "canons" and the "national" cultures they represent or challenge.

Texts: Instructors select and order texts individually for these courses, many using a one-volume anthology supplemented with additional primary texts (publishers' examination copies are kept on the shelf in Liz Sanders' office, Avery 202B). The department currently uses M.H. Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms (6th ed.), as its standard guide to literary terms and Ann Raimes, Keys for Writers: A Brief Handbook (3rd. ed.), as its standard handbook for writers. For the latter text students may already own and instructors may give them the option of using an earlier edition.

Guidelines for ENGL 302: Writing about Literature

Design: In a course limited to enrollments of 25, all sections will provide significant opportunities for experience in and discussion related to writing about literature. Engl 302 carries a [W] and an [M] as a GER and thus must be both writing intensive and serve "to strengthen and verify students' mastery of the stylistic conventions prevailing in their . . . field[ ]" ("Writing in the Major" GER policy). All students will be required to own a common glossary of literary terms and handbook for writers. While selections will vary, all sections must feature an appropriate text or texts representing current critical approaches and theory, a limited but varied selection of primary texts presenting a range of different kinds of problems for analysis, and perhaps a guide to writing about literature. At the end of the course, instructors will mark a brief checklist, to be retained in the student's file, indicating each student's relative mastery of the course objectives.

Objectives for Engl 302 students:

1. To learn to write competent analytical essays about literary texts from a range of critical perspectives and methods of analysis (at a minimum, four revised critical essays, at least one of which incorporates secondary research, are required);

2. To become familiar with and learn to apply various critical approaches to literary and related forms of discourse, and in the process learn to recognize how theoretical and ideological assumptions (about the text, the author, the reader; about gender, race, sexual orientation, class, culture, history, etc.) inform such approaches and shape the readings that result;

3. To gain experience with secondary research and demonstrate the ability to incorporate such research into critical writing;

4. To learn and to apply successfully the field's conventions of format and documentation in analytical writing, and to become aware of and attempt to meet the standards of quality in argumentation, prose, and final editing demanded in literary studies and related disciplines in the humanities.

Texts: Instructors order texts individually for this course and often use at least one primary text bound with critical essays representing a range of approaches (the Bedford Case Study readers from St. Martins press or the Norton Critical editions are common choices). On the Pullman campus, publishers' examination copies and catalogs are kept on the shelf in Liz Sanders' office, Avery 202B. The department currently uses M.H. Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms (6th ed.), as its standard guide to literary terms and Ann Raimes, Keys for Writers: A Brief Handbook (3rd. ed.), as its standard handbook for writers. For the latter text students may already own and instructors may give them the option of using an earlier edition.

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