ENGL 194 A-Z - Special Topics: Junior/Senior SeminarSemester Hours: 3-4
Fall, Spring
Intensive consideration of critical issues in literary history and interpretation. Topics vary.
Current Special Topics
ENGL 194L - J/S Seminar: Unreliable Narrators
In literary studies, we are usually aware that any first-person narrator who is involved in the story that he or she is telling is potentially an unreliable one. This reflects the human tendency to make oneself appear as well as possible or justify oneself when giving testimony, creating an autobiography, or explaining one’s involvement in contentious situations. Sometimes, moreover, a first-person narrator leaves gaps in the story or makes contradictory claims, sometimes slanting the story to the point of attemping to control or manipulate the putative reader into believing or sympathizing. Often, such narrators evince symptoms of narcissism or narcissistic personality disorder. In this course, we will analyze texts that feature first-person narrators and scrutinize their degree of unreliability through the dual lenses of literary theory and psychoanalytic studies. The texts may include such works as Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, Ford Maddox Ford’s The Good Soldier, Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, as well as polyvocal novels (i.e., texts with multiple first-person narrators) including William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, and Andrew Levy’s Small Island, among other texts. Course requirements are active participation in class discussions, a midterm paper, and a final research paper.
ENGL 194O - Remarkable Margaret Cavendish
This course will introduce students to the life and literary works of Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of New Castle (1623-1673), writer of early science fiction, eco-poetry, and plays with unprecedented female protagonists. We’ll examine her substantial canon in light of various biographical and historical contexts, including the court of Charles l and Henrietta Maria, the English Civil Wars and Wars of Three Kingdoms, the increasing examples of women writing and participating in political affairs in the 17th century; and the formation of the Royal Academy of Science in the Restoration.
Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
WSC 001 . Required course for English majors in the Literatures in English concentration. May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis. As individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter (A-Z) which is affixed to the course number. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule. (Formerly Junior/Senior Seminar.)
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