ENGL 320 - Major Works of American Literature

Units: 4
Selected major works of poetry, drama, nonfiction, and fiction from American literature of all periods, colonial to contemporary.

Equivalent Quarter Course: ENGL 3600.
Possible Instructional Methods: Entirely On-ground.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Course Typically Offered: Fall ONLY

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Discuss, in general terms, how selected works exemplify the historical periods and literary traditions from which they derive;
Define the principal themes and problems that emerge from studies of representative works of American poetry, drama, nonfiction, and fiction and discuss–in both oral and written formats–manifestations of those themes and problems within selected works;
Demonstrate (1) an ability to analyze selected passages from literary texts and (2) an ability to use such analyses both to illuminate and complicate a reading of the texts in which these passages occur;
Demonstrate an ability to identify, find, and use library resources (books, journals, concordances, lexicons, etc.) that may further the student’s work both in and beyond English 320;
Understand critical theory and its relationship to literary critiques.