Department of English

This course is an introduction to the study of literature in an international context. It offers training both in the close reading of literary texts and in the analysis of cultural and ethnic differences. Readings are grouped under four headings: 1) "The Canon: Who Controls the Story?" 2) "Primitivism and Modernism." 3) "Postcolonial Tensions." 4) "Multicultural America." Readings include works by Homer, Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, E. M. Forster, Chinua Achebe, Confucius, Tagore, and Maxine Hong Kingston. Lectures are given twice a week with occasional presentations by specialist guest faculty. Section meetings are once a week. Two-page papers are due every two weeks. There is a mid-term and a final exam.