ENG 270 - Special Topics in Literature

Deep dive into a special topic (such as genre, historical period, author, issue, theoretical or methodological approach) at the 200-level, which includes multiple of learning outcomes, as listed below. Depending on the Special Topic, the class may fulfill ONE of the following: a period requirement focusing on pre-1700 (D1), 1700-1900 (D2), or post-1900 (D3), or a theory course (E). May be repeatable for credit depending on the topic.

Special Topic Fall 2024:

SECTION 01: Chronotopes of Liberation

In this seminar, we will study novels and short-story-cycles that break apart time and space to reckon with the long history of the Americas, from the arrival of Christopher Columbus and the start of the transatlantic slave trade to the Cold War and the distant future. Our readings may include Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred (1979) and Patternist series (c. 1976-1984); Leslie Marmon Silko’s Almanac of the Dead (1991); and John Keene’s Counternarratives (2015). These are works by Black and Indigenous writers who use science fiction, prophesy, and other modes of speculation to imagine futures beyond the longstanding impacts of settler colonialism and chattel slavery as well as war, empire, and ecological catastrophe. To help us navigate these challenging-but rewarding-works, we will draw on narrative theory, theories of Afrofuturism and Indigenous futurism, hemispheric studies, Cold War studies, and ecocriticism. This course satisfies either the D-3 or E requirement of the English major, but not both.

SECTION 02: Medieval & Renaissance Remix

This seminar will pair primary texts from the medieval and early modern periods with later adaptations and appropriations. These readings and discussions will help us explore how these reimaginings respond to issues of gender, sex, race, class, etc. in established canonical materials. Possible pairings include Beowulf and Maria Dahvana’s The Mere Wife; Macbeth and the black comedy Scotland PA; Chaucer’s Wife of Bath and Patience Agbabi’s Wife of Bafa; Twelfth Night and She’s the Man; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Kat Howard’s The Green Knight’s Wife, etc.

For English majors, this course may satisfy the Period D-1. For English minors, this course can count as a 200-level English seminar.****

Prerequisites: Prerequisites: One 100-level English literature course (ENG 100-199) or permission of instructor

Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually