Topics in Canadian Literature

Curriculum guideline

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Course
ENGL 3140
Discontinued
No
Course code
ENGL 3140
Descriptive
Topics in Canadian Literature
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
25
Contact hours
4 hours per week
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning activities

Some or all of the following methods will be used:

  1. lecture/discussion;
  2. group work;
  3. peer review;
  4. independent research;
  5. instructor feedback on students’ work;
  6. individual consultation; and
  7. presentation (individual or group).
Course description
This course examines a selection of Canadian literature in any genre(s), chosen to highlight an organizing theoretical, historical, regional, cultural, or thematic focus. Readings will include theory/criticism relevant to the topic under consideration.
Course content

All third-year English courses share the following features:

  1. Students are presumed to have had first-year level instruction and experience in writing critical essays on literary subjects.
  2. Students are required to read in the course subject area beyond the texts assigned by the instructor.
  3. Students are required to incorporate into their oral and written coursework secondary source materials, which may include biographical information, literary criticism or theory, unassigned texts by the author under study, relevant cultural or intellectual history, or other aesthetic works such as music or visual art.

Readings and topics vary with each instructor’s presentation of a course, but all course materials are consistent with the objectives and outcomes of this course.

 In English 3140 the course content will vary depending on the special topic, as the examples below indicate:

  1. Northrop Frye as theorist and critic (theoretical).
  2. The building of the transcontinental railway (historical).
  3. The literature of Atlantic Canada (regional).
  4. Racism and the Aboriginal experience (cultural).
  5. The Mythic North (thematic).
Learning outcomes

Upon completion of any third-year English literature course, students should be able to

  1. read and analyze literary texts with increased skill and insight;
  2. integrate their understanding of literature into an evolving awareness of relevant cultural and historical contexts and perspectives;
  3. perceive connections among literary texts across genres, historical periods, and/or cultural contexts;
  4. conduct independent research to supplement the course material and integrate this information into course assignments; and
  5. write different kinds of literary analyses, such as thematic, technical, or theoretical.

Upon completion of English 3140, students should also have

  1. developed an understanding and appreciation of the historical development of the topic under consideration, where applicable;
  2. developed an understanding of some of the social, political, cultural or historical conditions out of which the topic arises, and to which it responds; and
  3. developed an understanding of the range of critical approaches to the topic.
Means of assessment
  1. A minimum of two academic essays and a final exam worth at least 80% of the course grade (combined total).
  2. 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
Textbook materials

Texts will vary with authors and genres selected by the instructor, and may include shorter readings compiled in custom course packs. 

The following reading lists represent two possible versions of this course:

Contemporary Atlantic-Canadian Literature

  • Clarke, George Elliott. Executioner's Poems
  • Coady, Lynn. Strange Heaven
  • French, David. Salt-Water Moon
  • Johnston, Wayne. Baltimore's Mansion
  • Leavitt, Sarah. Tangles
  • Richards, David Adams. Nights Below Station Street
  • Wylie, Herb. Anne of Tim Hortons: Globalization and the Reading of Atlantic Canadian Literature

Queer Canadian Identities

  • Dickinson, Peter. Here Is Queer: Nationalism, Sexualities, and the Literature of Canada
  • Coyote, Ivan E. Close to Spider Man
  • Healey, Michael. Courageous
  • Highway, Thomson. Kiss of the Fur Queen
  • MacDonald, Anne Marie. Fall on Your Knees
  • Scofield, Gregory. Native Canadiana: Songs From the Urban Rez
  • Winter, Kathleen. Annabel
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, AND a minimum of 45 credit hours.