Advanced English Language and Literature: Spring consists of three classes, all of which are taught by English Department faculty:
ENG2003 (10) Literature and Philosophy after 1900
ENG2005 (10) Literature and Environmental Catastrophe
ENG2006 (10) Shakespeare and his World
ENG2003: Literature and Philosophy after 1900
The aim of this course is to explore the relationship between literature, literary theory, and philosophy with especial emphasis on developments in the 20th century. The course will examine some of the major schools of philosophical thought that have shaped literature and literary theory in the foregoing century and the way these lines of influence have evolved and manifested themselves.
ENG2005: Literature and Environmental Catastrophe
Floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions: natural disasters have been with humanity as long as we have sought stability and defied the dynamics of the natural world. Often devastating to human life and social order, disasters have occasioned stories, poems, and songs that grapple with the challenging philosophical, religious, aesthetic, and social questions raised by environmental catastrophe. In this course we will examine a selection of works, from ancient myths to post-apocalyptic novels, and discuss how literature can capture the catastrophic, protest the inevitable, and imagine the unimaginable.
ENG2006: Shakespeare and his World
Shakespeare and His World is an in-depth engagement with Shakespeare’s most important plays and their context. The students will read and discuss a selection of plays and secondary literature under the direction of a specialist in the field.