Ways of Reading

This course is the capstone for the English major. It is designed to consolidate, deepen and extend students' knowledge and skills in literary studies. Students will have the opportunity to engage with literary works from a range of periods, places and genres, and will learn about and experiment with some of the core 'ways of reading' that have shaped the discipline over the past century while being introduced to emergent and cutting-edge theories and practices in literary studies. In the process, students will become conversant with the history of the discipline and the major theories that inform the study of literature. They will also develop skills in various methods of formalist and contextual analysis while enhancing their understanding of how literature works and of how to respond to it in resonantly meaningful ways. Students will have the opportunity to develop a major self-initiated research project within the course, as well to collaborate in groups to prepare a portfolio through which transferrable professional skills will be honed.