ENGL 198 A-Z - (LT) Special Studies in LiteratureSemester Hours: 3
Fall, Spring
Each semester, the department offers several “special studies” courses. These courses deal with specific issues, themes, genres, and authors. Intensive study of major authors and/or literary themes. Subjects to be selected yearly.
Current Special Topics
ENGL 198S - The Hate U Give: Learning from YA Lit (January Course Offering)
How does society use stereotypes to justify vilification of, and violence against, identified subaltern groups? The course will use historical backgrounds for a close reading of Young Adult literary texts from the perspective of the oppressed groups. Readings would include: The Hate U Give, Looking Like the Enemy, There There, The House on Mango Street, and What Happened to Lani Garver?
ENGL 198T - This Is The End: Literature & the Apocalypse
Judgment day, zombie apocalypse, nuclear and cyber war, global pandemic, alien invasion, environmental collapse, meteor collision, machine uprising: all of these represent the various ways in which humanity has, over the course of history, imagined “the end” of its existence. Whether by our own agency, by the hand of some unseen, uncontrollable force, or some combination of the two, we have always contemplated the end of things, often in a religious or spiritual context but, just as often, as a routine part of our collective desire to be entertained by such shocking and horrific events. That desire is manifest in many film offerings, such as 2012, World War Z, 28 Days Later, The War of the Worlds, The Day After Tomorrow, and of course, the Matrix, Terminator, and Planet of the Apes trilogies. There is even the so-called apocalyptic comedy: This Is the End, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, The World’s End, Warm Bodies, and Zombieland. Television, as well, has taken up various apocalyptic themes and narratives, from the reality show Doomsday Preppers to The Walking Dead to The Leftovers to The Last Ship. What exactly compels us to watch such apocalyptic fare? Why are we drawn to narratives depicting the end of humanity and the world as we know it? And why do we find such narratives to be “entertaining” in any sense? This semester, we will seek to answer some of these questions and perhaps generate a few of our own by reading and discussing literary works that speak to our enduring preoccupation with the apocalypse and its aftermath, including H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, Nevil Chute’s On the Beach, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year, Colson Whitehead’s Zone One, and Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things. In addition, we will read a variety of poetry, as well as apocalyptic and prophetic literature from the Bible.
Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
WSC 001 or WSC 002 . The topics of the “special studies” courses change every semester. Please consult the English Department Course Description Booklet for topics offered in a particular semester. (Formerly Readings in Literature or Special Studies.)
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