ENGL 394 - Topics in Literature in English since 1900

Credits: 3 in fall or winter, 4 in spring

Winter 2018, ENGL 394A-01: Topics in Literature in English since 1900: New Topographers: Contemporary Environmental Writers (3). In this seminar, we read contemporary environmental writers of the last 40 years. The readings include poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, including major works by Barry Lopez, Robert Macfarlane, and Robin Kimmerer. A course pack is the source for representative works by some 25 other writers. Along with shorter writing assignments and oral presentations, plan to write a research paper for the course. (HL) Warren.

Fall 2017, ENGL 394A-01: Topics in Literature in English since 1900: Between the Acts: The Life and Writing of Virginia Woolf (3). Virginia Woolf is one of the most important writers of the 20th century. She is best remembered for contributions to the modern British novel, but she was also an astute (and prolific) literary critic, as well as an influential feminist thinker. This course considers Woolf in context, reading her work alongside key examples of modernist fiction. Born into a world of strict Victorian morals but coming of age among the vibrant avant-garde, Woolf’s life mirrors the fast-paced changes of the early 20th century, and thus her biography and her literary coterie are focal points of our discussion. In addition to canonical works like Mrs. Dalloway (1925) and To the Lighthouse (1927), we also read Between the Acts (1941) and Orlando (1928), as well as selections of Woolf’s feminist theory and literary criticism. (HL) Walle.