Literature (LIT)
LIT-304 American Literature and Philosophy 4 Credits
Prerequisites: LA-201 or LS-201
Selected topics founded and expressed in literature during the philosophic and the literary development of the Republic.
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0
LIT-307 Poetry: Substance and Structure 4 Credits
Prerequisites: LA-201 or LS-201
An analysis of poetry written in the context of the development of intellectual concepts. Emphasis is on the philosophical content, its moral and ethical dimensions, structure, and the intellectual climate which gave rise to significant aesthetic ideals. Biography and critical interpretation are included.
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0
LIT-309 The Literature of Multicultural America 4 Credits
Prerequisites: LA-201 or LS-201
Minimum Class Standing: Sophomore
This course examines U.S. multicultural literatures from several critical perspectives. A study of primary texts by American writers whose themes and techniques of narration reflect the development of U.S. literary discourses of race, identity, myths of origin, gender, and cross-cultural communication. The broad array of texts includes novels, poetry, memoirs, and films from a multiplicity of cultural perspectives. Engagement in comparative work with an eye toward understanding the complexity and the demands of a multicultural society.
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0
LIT-310 African American Literature 4 Credits
Prerequisites: LA-201 or LS-201
Minimum Class Standing: Sophomore
This course examines the development of African American literature from its beginnings to today, and it focuses on both what makes it unique and what anchors it in an American national identity. We will read a variety of genres, including slave narratives, novels, and poetry, place them in their historical context, and address themes such as racial and cultural identity, forms of resistance, gender relations, and the role of music. Strict attendance policy. Writing is an important component of the course.
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0
LIT-311 Literatures of the African Diaspora 4 Credits
Prerequisites: LA-201 or LS-201
This course examines literary texts written by people of African ancestry in the Atlantic world from the 18th to the 21st centuries. We particularly focus on issues related to racial and cultural identity, national identity, social class, and gender. Attention to historical context is an essential component of the course. Two major objectives are to sharpen students’ reading and interpretive skills, and to improve their ability to write clearly, coherently, and persuasively. Lectures, discussions, and writing assignments all work to exercise critical thinking, a major goal of Liberal Studies.
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0
LIT-312 Literatures of Migration 4 Credits
Prerequisites: LA-201 or LS-201
Migration is a fundamentally human experience. Whether legal or illegal, economic or a refuge from war or persecution, migration has been both the source of profound personal and cultural enrichment and the catalyst for intense social and political conflict. This course examines literary texts that are about the migrant's experience in various parts of the world. Students explore such themes as cultural integration, cultural hybridity, the relationship to national identity, the role of race, gender, and class in the migrant's experience, the meaning of the journey, the meaning of home, and intergenerational conflicts. Attention is paid to the historical context of each work.
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0
LIT-320 Literature & Environmental Justice 4 Credits
Prerequisites: LA-201 or LS-201
Environmental justice describes the fair distribution of environmental benefits and burdens. Environmental justice literature forefronts narratives that investigate the consequences and histories of environmental degradation and abuse and how it affects local and global populations. In this course, students enter into an interdisciplinary analysis of a mixture of contemporary short stories, novels, graphic novels, and plays. Students will explore the concept and practice of environmental justice through political, economic, and social lenses and consider how texts think through issues of human and environmental health and cultural self-determination within the context of nuclear testing, pesticide toxicity and agricultural work, water management, and human rights. Paying special attention to the definition of “justice,” students will also consider how forms of power and activism appear and reappear throughout history in readings that focus on colonialism, globalization, gender, race, and class. Why focus on environmental justice through literature? Literature provides a detailed glimpse into the dynamics of cultural self-determination, functioning as both a form of witnessing that gives testimony to injustices and as a manifesto that aims to usher cultural groups into a more just future.
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0
LIT-372 Masterpieces of Literature 4 Credits
Prerequisites: LA-201 or LS-201
Minimum Class Standing: Sophomore
Course concentration will be given to learning the characteristics of several literary genres as exemplified by master writers. The course may include genres such as: Epic Narrative poetry, Classical Satire, Classical Philosophy, Medieval Narrative Poetry, Realistic Novel, Modern Short Story & Novel.
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0
LIT-374 Seminar on J.R.R. Tolkien 4 Credits
Prerequisites: LA-201 or LS-201
This seminar examines a range of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. These may include his epic, The Lord of the Rings in both the written and film versions (all viewings of the film will occur outside of class), his extended mythology in his unfinished The Silmarillion, his short stories and essays, and his shorter fantasy work The Hobbit. The course focuses on genre, style and themes of the works, with particular emphasis on the elements of myth and epic, and on the complex ways in which his work as a medieval scholar comes to bear on his writings and their interpretation.
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0
LIT-391 Literature Special Topics 4 Credits
Prerequisites: LA-201 or LS-201
An interdisciplinary advanced course focusing on a specific topic. This course is a one-time offering whose content is determined by current faculty interest, and provides a comprehensive and coherent examination of the chosen topic. This course may be repeated for credit under different topic
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0
LIT-397 Literature Free Elective 4 Credits
Prerequisites: None
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0
LIT-399 LIT Independent Study 4 Credits
Prerequisites: None
Lecture: 4, Lab 0, Other 0