Studies in Major Writers

Curriculum guideline

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Course
ENGL 2313
Discontinued
No
Course code
ENGL 2313
Descriptive
Studies in Major Writers
Department
English
Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
Not Specified
PLAR
No
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
35
Contact hours
4 hours per week
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Learning activities

Some or all of the following methods will be used:

  • Lecture/discussion;
  • Group work;
  • Peer editing;
  • Presentation (individual or group);
  • Independent research;
  • Instructor feedback on students’ work; and
  • Individual consultation.
Course description
This course offers an in-depth study of a body of literature by two or three writers whose works are related in significant ways, such as stylistically, historically, or thematically.
Course content

All second-year English literature courses share the following features:

  • Students are presumed to be proficient in the writing of critical essays on literary subjects.
  • Students are required to read in the course subject area beyond the texts assigned by the instructor or discussed in class.
  • Students are required to incorporate into their oral and written coursework secondary source materials. These may include autobiographical or biographical material; literary criticism or theory; unassigned texts by the author under study; relevant cultural or intellectual history; or other arts, such as music, film, or fine arts.
  • Readings and topics will vary with each instructor’s presentation of a course; however, all course materials are consistent with the objectives of the course. 

In English 2313, students will examine

  1. the nature of authorship as reflected in a range of creative works by one author;
  2. autobiography, biography, literary criticism and theory as it relates to the work of the particular authors under study;
  3. significant  cultural, historical or thematic parallels that emerge in the literary works of the authors under study.
Learning outcomes

Upon completion of any second-year English literature course, the student should

  1. be able to use with increased proficiency the skills of literary analysis taught in first-year English courses;
  2. be able to recognize the significance of the literary and non-literary or cultural context of a work being studied, such as the biographical, historical, mythological or philosophical context;
  3. be able to read critically and use in essays secondary sources, such as criticism and other texts by the same author, as an aid to comprehending the primary text(s) being studied;
  4. be able to read critically and independently works or aspects of works not discussed in class; and
  5. be able to formulate a thesis on a given subject in one or more specific works, and to develop this thesis using suitable textual evidence.

Upon completion of English 2313, the student should also have a deeper understanding of

  1. the different historical, biographical, social, textual, and/or aesthetic influences that inform literary work;
  2. the similarities and differences among theme, genre or style in the works under study, in light of relevant cultural and literary contexts;
  3. the place of individual works studied in the context of a writer’s oeuvre.
Means of assessment
  1. A minimum of two formal academic essays, with a combined value of at least 40% of the course grade.
  2. A minimum of 80% of the course grade will be based on writing assignments (essays, essay-based exams, journals, paragraphs).  A maximum of 20% of the course grade may be based on informal writing (quizzes, short answer tests); oral reports/presentations; participation/preparation grades; and/or other non writing-intensive assignments.
  3. A minimum of 15% of the course grade will be based on in-class writing (essay or exam).
Textbook materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

Texts will vary depending upon the instructor, and may include shorter readings compiled in custom course packs.

Three sample reading lists follow:

Sample List A:

  • Yeats, Selected Poems and Three Plays
  • Yeats, Autobiography
  • Yeats, Mythologies
  • Plath, Ariel
  • Plath, The Bell Jar

Sample List B:

  • Harold Pinter, The Caretaker
  • Harold Pinter, The Homecoming
  • Harold Pinter,  Ashes to Ashes
  • Morris Panych, Lawrence and Holloman
  • Morris Panych, Girl in the Goldfish Bowl
  • Morris Panych,  Dishwashers
  • Douglas Coupland, JPod
  • Douglas Coupland, Generation A

Sample List C:

  • Margaret Atwood, Cat’s Eye
  • Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
  • Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace
  • Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye
  • Toni Morrison,  Beloved
  • Toni  Morrison, A Mercy
Prerequisites

Any TWO university-transfer first-year English literature courses, or ONE university-transfer first-year English literature course and ONE university-transfer first-year Creative Writing or English writing course.