British Literary Traditions II

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course examines the development of British literary culture from the late seventeenth century through the twentieth century. Instead of simply offering a survey of major authors, our project conducts a broader investigation of cultural production by situating literary activity within its material historical contexts. We combine close reading of specific texts, including detailed metrical analysis of poetry, with ongoing discussion of major political, social, philosophical, and scientific developments, such as the civil wars of the seventeenth century, the rise of Enlightenment philosophy and science, the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of empire. Our course also focuses self-consciously on its own critical methods, thus engaging English majors with important questions about the theory and practice of literary studies today. Those questions will also be taken up in our attention to the process of writing critical papers