2020-2021 Academic Catalog

Nov 23, 2024

2020-2021 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ENG 140 - Major British Writers I

Turn and face the strange! This class takes us on a magical mystery tour of (mostly) English literature from the early Middle Ages to the latter half of the seventeenth century. We will read works by both canonical and lesser-known writers while exploring related social and cultural themes within their historical contexts, including courtly influence on the arts, the development of English drama, emerging colonialism, and the seventeenth-century emphasis on writing about the self. Clark University is committed to inspiring students to affect ethical change in our world, so we will also investigate how these texts engage with eternally resonant issues like war and peace, interpersonal violence, gender, sexuality, race, class, etc. Featured authors include the Beowulf and Gawain poets, Marie de France, Chaucer, Margery Kempe, Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne, and Milton.

For undergraduate English majors, this course satisfies EITHER the Historical Sequence (B-1; pre-1850 portion) OR Period (D-1; at the 100-level) but does not double count.

Prerequisites: IDND 018 or VE Placement

Anticipated Terms Offered: Every year