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LITR212 Forgotten America--Under Represented Cultures in American Literature (3 semester hours)
Literature has the ability to shape the way a nation thinks and behaves; it both responds to important issues in society and (re)shapes them. For far too long, the literature of cultures on the periphery of American society have been ignored because they do not fit comfortably into mainstream culture. Yet, from voices within the Native American population to Appalachian artists to LGBTQ groups, for example, cultures on the periphery have consistently helped shape the American literary identity and have continued to influence American society long after the publication of their works. This course lends credence to the legitimacy of the contributions of these underrepresented cultures and explores the role they have in shaping American literature—past, present, and future. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR215 Literature of American Encounters, Revolution, and Rebellion (3 semester hours)
How does a young country develop a literature of its own? From explorers to frontiersmen, follow the search for freedom and new lands through early American literature, guided by the adventuresome spirit reflected in works from the Colonies to the advent of the Civil War. How do we rationalize reports from explorers and early settlers on indigenous populations? What impact did religion have on early colonial writing and why did the focus shift to reason? How did American writing reflect and shape thought about rebellion and war? How did American women carve out space for themselves as writers of merit? This course explores these questions and more through the writing of American history and the American character, deepening our understanding of a literature that came to be defined by courage, passion, idealism, and—yes—even objection and protest. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR218 From Abolition to #MeToo: Literature of the American Civil Rights Movement (3 semester hours)
True to its revolutionary roots, America is not just the birthplace of democracy but it is also home to the major civil rights movements of the modern era. This course is a survey of American literature related to the major civil rights movements of the last 150 years, including Abolition (Pre-1865), the Suffragettes (1860-1920), Civil Rights (1920-Present), Women’s Rights (1920-present), and GLBT Liberation/ACT UP (1960-Present). LITR218 will take students on a journey through the social, political, and cultural changes that shape modern America and ask students to contemplate the connections between literature, politics, social change, and the American identity. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR222 Pivotal Figures in Early British Literature (3 semester hours)
Join us on a journey through a thousand years of British history, beginning in an Anglo-Saxon mead hall with a couple of characters named Beowulf and Grendel and even a dragon. From there we'll go on a pilgrimage to Canterbury with the Good Wife of Bath, ride alongside Arthur's knights, sit at Queen Elizabeth’s feet, get up close and personal with Satan, ride a slave-ship to the new world, debate the state of Ireland, and hear some words of wisdom from Samuel Johnson. It will be quite a ride, so hang on tight. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR225 British Literature from Wordsworth through the Wasteland (3 semester hours)
Ready to explore the darkest places of the heart, the mind, the soul? Are you longing to “fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget” the modern world for a little while? Then, join us as we grapple with the tumultuous relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights and consider Josef Conrad’s harsh criticism of imperialism in Heart of Darkness. LITR225 delves deep into the literary periods of the Romantics, Victorians, Imperialists and Modernists. Learn how society and historical events shaped our authors, and in turn, how our authors impacted society. Come prepared to debate, analyze and share your personal insights in forum conversations and written assignments. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR231 Leadership in World Literature: Antiquity to the Early Modern Period (3 semester hours)
Humans have theorized about great philosophical questions since the dawn of time. While the values and beliefs that guided the views of ancient cultures have undoubtedly changed, it is also clear that those views continue to influence modern lives. From the ancient world through the European Renaissance, LITR231 focuses on these monumental philosophical questions using great works of art, including the major genres of epic poetry, drama, lyric verse, religious texts, and prose fiction, drawn from Classical Greece, Asia, the Middle East, Western Europe, and the Americas. Students will travel through the musings of ancient authors from foreign lands to gain an understanding of cultural practices and values and investigate any connections between the modern-day world and those who lived and wrote before the modern era. Students will explore their ideas regarding leadership, conflict, heroism, friendship, love, politics, and religion to understand how they continue to impact humanity. They will consider what “world” literature means and why the struggles, concerns, and lives of those long dead are still important today. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR233 Literature of the Newly Globalized World: The Individual’s Struggle to Adapt (3 semester hours)
How would you like to travel through time, witnessing historical global events, diverse cultures, and exciting scenery? In LITR233, Literature of the Newly Globalized World: The Individual’s Struggle to Adapt, you won't simply read a textbook. You will travel to different continents and time periods, observing life during significant moments in modern history. Through historic fictional works, you will become part of the action, experiencing war, changing belief systems, and cultures. Not only will you understand what life was like for those in power, you will also see the world from the lens of those who have been oppressed. Come join our journey through history! (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR235 Four Points of the Compass: Culture and Society Around the World (3 semester hours)
Come along on a discovery of contemporary world culture from the four points of the compass! Over the eight weeks of the course, we will travel the globe to see how artists express culture in novels, poems, drama, and film. In this way, we will take a thematic and geographic approach to explore issues that are not only particular to individual societies but also have an impact on an increasingly diverse world. Along the way, we will make stops in, among other places, Africa, South America, Asia, and the Middle East. Buckle up for an artistic and literary tour de force. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR311 Monsters, Heroes, Romance, and the Human Condition Through the Centuries (3 semester hours)
We hit the ground running with the bloodthirsty monster, Grendel, who roams the Danish countryside and cheer on the noble Beowulf who jumps in to save the day. Next, we move on to one of Chaucer’s bawdy tales and read about the pitiful competition between two lovesick knights. In Shakespeare’s “As you like it,” we witness an Elizabethan Rom-Com of tortured lovers who roll their eyes and sigh deeply. After aggressive cannibals face off against Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, we take on Mary Shelley’s greatest creation: Frankenstein. And still there’s more! Jane Austen and George Eliot pull back the curtain on the petty machinations, weaknesses, and hypocrisy of the upper class in 19th century England while Yeats, Woolf, and Orwell ask probing questions about society, morality, and our fellow creatures. Join us in ENGL311 for a rollicking fun adventure! (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR315 British Poetry from Blake to the Beatles (3 semester hours)
Don’t miss LITR315! We play the classics from Shakespeare to Sting and everything in between. In an eight-week exploration of British verse, we’ll ask the important questions: Was Chaucer a feminist? Was Satan the hero in Milton’s work? Were the otherworldly visions of Blake for real? We’ll also take a look at the conspiracy theories that rocked the poetry world. Where did the conspiracy theory of Paul McCartney’s death come from? And who was the actual recipient of Shakespeare’s sonnets? These are just some of the showstoppers we discuss in British Poetry from Blake to the Beatles. With three projects and no quizzes, don’t let this one get away! (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR319 Society, Identity and Politics: Contemporary Topics in Critical Theory (3 semester hours)
This course is a survey of contemporary critical theory from the late 20th century to the present. Theories include Contemporary Feminist Theory, Queer Theory, Postcolonial Theory, Critical Race Theory and Transgender Theory. The course combines philosophy, cultural critique, and politics to examine how different theoretical approaches can create dramatically different interpretations and analyses of a text. Theoretical premises and techniques are applied to selected works so as to understand more fully those techniques and to analyze specific texts in particular. Readings are from Judith Butler, Judith Halberstam, Michel Foucault, Riki Wilchins, Alan Freeman and others critical to the development of contemporary critical theory. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR331 Gothic Literature - Nightmare Creators from Lord Byron to Anne Rice (3 semester hours)
In Nightmare Creators from Lord Byron to Anne Rice, we will explore and assess a range of Gothic literary texts, covering numerous time periods, styles, and authors. The course begins by looking at the major influences of the Gothic tradition and then explores the major Gothic texts beginning in Victorian England and moving into present-day America. The readings will cover a variety of literary genres, including poetry, short stories, and the novel. Most importantly, this course will introduce students to a range of representative texts that reveal the interconnectedness of literature across time and place and show how the Gothic tradition has changed over time. This is a great class for students interested in learning about the origins of modern day horror and thriller stories, films, and TV shows. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR333 Women Writers: Finding a Voice, Sharing a Vision and Establishing Identity (3 semester hours)
Why did Louisa May Alcott feel the need to write her "blood and thunder tales" under a pseudonym? Why, in the nineteenth century, did Nathanael Hawthorne describe women writers as "a damned mob of scribbling women"? And how might we apply feminist theory to better understand the constructs and corresponding roles of gender and how that is reflected in both literature and lived experience? Find out the answers to these questions and more as we explore how women have established their voices and given authenticity to women’s writing and experience throughout the course of literary history. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR335 Exploring Relationships through Folk Narrative (3 semester hours)
Ogres, giants, elves, talking animals, brave heroes, magic, curses, prophecies, ghosts, otherworld adventures, quests, sex, taboo, tricksters, and monsters! What doesn’t folklore contain? Often considered tales suitable for bedtime or teaching lessons to young children, folklore allows us to contemplate the psyche, analyze cultural ideals, and make connections across vast societies. In this course, we’ll discover how folklore offers a safe space in which to examine our own personalities, provides a context through which to view social issues, and continues to inspire modern storytellers. Get ready to talk to animals about love, resist temptations set by lovers, and engage in a quest to better understand the world! (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
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LITR336 The Imaginary Real: Magical Realism in Latin American Literature (3 semester hours)
In this course featuring literature from the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, students will be introduced to key writers of this genre. Starting with the first magical realism works in the 1920s and spanning a century of literary narrative, this course emphasizes the Latin American Boom writers of the 1960s and ‘70s, who transformed this literary style into a distinctly Latin American phenomenon. Students will be asked to consider magic and realism concepts in key literary works by Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Alejo Carpentier, Juan Rulfo, Gabriel García Marquez, Isabel Allende, Laura Esquivel, and other literary giants. Students will also be challenged to think critically about prominent themes to better understand the evolving character and identity of Latin America.
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR338 Voices Calling for Identity: Spanish-American Literature from the 19th Century (3 semester hours)
This course offers a study of major writers from Central and South America and the literary movements from the Nineteenth-Century to the present. It challenges students to think critically about issues of race, class, gender, culture and identity in order to understand the evolving character and identity of Latin America through representative literary texts. (Pre-requisite: Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR339 Flowers Bloom in the Desert: Literature of the Middle East (3 semester hours)
Without realizing it, you have been exposed to Middle Eastern Literature for most of your life. One of the first important texts in history, The Epic of Gilgamesh, so influenced the ancient world that parts of it are found in the Bible and other major works from before the time of Christ. The Middle East is known as the “cradle of civilization,” and true to its history, the region today continues to capture the attention of the world. Stories adapted from thousand+ year old texts, like Aladdin, for example, have earned billions of dollars at the box office and introduced wider audiences to the stories of the Middle East. The literature that comes from the region, both then and now, is filled with passion and power and is a testament to the region’s relevance throughout history. Our course will begin with essential texts and continue through newer works that show the cultural challenges to be found in today’s complex environment. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR350 America’s Genre: The Art and Genius of the Short Story (3 semester hours)
American writers are credited with the creation of the short story and have defined the genre for the world. From Nathaniel Hawthorne's first published collection in 1837, America's short stories have explored topics such as witches and demon worship, mysterious murders and insanity, tall tales from the Wild West, love and loss, and the ethics that reflect the cultural identity of Americans. Through a variety of short stories, students will examine the components that embody this original and compressed art form and uncover the ingenuity behind this precise and difficult genre of fiction. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR354 American Poetry from Bradstreet to Bukowski (3 semester hours)
To the rich oral tradition of Native Americans, new European arrivals added their own lyrics and sense of morality in a Neoclassic style. Not long after, the Romantics rejected this rational view of the world and instead explored emotions: love, obsession, fear, patriotism, and more. Later, in a country torn apart by fighting, Realists voiced their despair in poetry as the nation attempted to recover from the Civil War, and not long after that, the Modernists struggled with finding an identity in a new world shaped by World War I, economic depression, and modernization. Finally, Postmodernists and contemporary poets rejected everything and nothing; to them, anything was possible, and an explosion of new voices, experiences, and ideas emerged. Explore all these American movements—and more—in American Poetry! (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
LITR357 The Past is Always Tense: Contemporary African-American Literature (3 semester hours)
This course explores the emergence of a distinctly Black modernist and post-modernist literary discourse in fiction, poetry, drama, and criticism published from the middle of the twentieth century to the present, often in response to and in conversation with contemporaneous Anglo-American literary movements and trends. We will investigate African American writers’ engagement with the “Wright School of Social Protest”; the evolution of the Black Arts/Black Aesthetic Movements of the 1960s and 1970s; the emergence of Black feminist literature, criticism, and theory in the 1970s and 1980s; and the so-called “third renaissance” of the 1990s and 2000s. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
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LITR403 The Work and Life of Ernest Hemingway (3 semester hours)
“Writing is something that you can never do as well as it can be done,” said Ernest Hemingway, and he did it better than most. Through his adventurous life and authentic work, he became a larger-than-life cultural icon of his time and one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Through his work, this course examines the genesis and influences that made Hemingway the writer we know, the writer that was selected for the sort of quality and precision that defined his writing and earned the respect and recognition of the Nobel Committee for his “powerful, style-making mastery of the art of modern narration.” (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
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LITR408 Mark Twain: The Voice of American Literature (3 semester hours)
Mark Twain’s works are filled with danger and adventure, rollicking humor, biting satire, and memorable characters that wrestle with universal and timeless issues. In his writing, he asks us to consider what it means to be human, and in Mark Twain’s characters, we often see and hear parts of ourselves which helps us hone in on our own humanity. Through social satire and a wicked irreverent sense of humor, his works became timeless; while he lived, he was known as “the funniest man on earth.” But Mark Twain also used his distinct voice to expose the problems and issues that faced society often by highlighting the quirks of its members. LITR408 examines Twain’s literary genius and the man behind the genius who unflinchingly proclaimed, “I am not an American. I am the American.” (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
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LITR410 All of the World’s a Stage: Differences in the Dramatic World of Shakespeare (3 semester hours)
In All the World’s a Stage: Defining Differences in the Dramatic World of Shakespeare, we’ll discuss life. Specifically, we’ll look at life and love, politics and ambition, evil and violence, wit and laughter, racial divisions, battles between the sexes, and misery and happiness as it unfolds in the plays and poetry of the Bard. (Pre-requisite: ENGL210 for English majors, or ENGL101 or ENGL110 for non-English majors)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.