ENG 251 : World Literature I

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This writing-intensive seminar introduces students to the origins and evolution of world literature through 1700. Students examine how texts such as "The Epic of Gilgamesh" and the Bible emerged as products of a society’s oral tradition. Students further explore how the oral tradition influenced authors such as Homer, Virgil, Dante, Chaucer, and Milton. Emphasis is placed on poetry, drama, traditional and literary epics, tragedies, fabliaux, satires, and romances as students consider how these texts influenced the development of modern literature. Prerequisite: ENG 102. Three lecture hours per week.
  1. Explain how the religious views of a particular culture directly influenced its literature.
  2. Identify common thematic concerns throughout literature from diverse time periods and cultures.
  3. Compare and contrast similar stories told from different cultural perspectives.
  4. Analyze verse and summarize the role that it plays in story telling.
  5. Examine the life of an author and explain how his or her upbringing and culture influenced the issues and ideas expressed in the literature.
  6. Evaluate literary criticism and determine its usefulness in literary studies.

Overview

Program

English

Credits

3