Course Number
ENG 140
Syllabus Date
Fall 2022
Department course is offered by
ENG - English
Course description
What does it mean to belong? What does it mean to have an identity? This course serves as an entry point to the study of early British literature and its historical contexts. We examine texts written from the 7th to the 17th Centuries that comprise a portion of what we call British literature. This survey engages poetry, prose, and drama that reimagine the complexities of intersectional identity, render the nation as part of a global stage, and challenge conventions of sexuality and gender. It traces early texts written by and about people on the margins of “Britishness” and "Englishness" such as women, people of color, religious exiles, and political refugees. We will read these writers alongside traditionally canonical ones, like Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton as we reconsider what canonicity and historicity mean within evolving cultural and political landscapes. Sessions mix the lecture with student-led asynchronous discussions, presentations, and writing workshops. This course is the first part of the ENG 140-141 sequence. It satisfies either the Historical Sequence (B-1; pre-1850 portion) or Period (D-1; at the 100-level) but does not double count. Also satisfies the HP and DI attributes.
Document Type
Syllabus
Recommended Citation
Shaw, Justin, "British Literature I" (2022). Syllabus Share. 108.
https://commons.clarku.edu/syllabi/108
Worcester
No
Included in
Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, European History Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Medieval History Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Philosophy Commons, Political History Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, Religion Commons, Renaissance Studies Commons