The specialization in literature is designed to give the learner a strong overall foundation in the appreciation, interpretation, historical context, and criticism of works of literature in the English language, with some exposure to foreign literatures through English translation. This specialization has two tracks, one for literature of the British Isles and one for the literature of the United States and Canada (reckoned as a broader “North American” tradition). Common to both tracks is a core set of modules designed to orient the learner to the art of literary interpretation and criticism.
This specialization is structured a little differently to the other ones. I have structured it into five “macro-modules” that align with my reading lists for each region as well as some recommended readings for all students of literature. The literature student will choose a path based on this progression:
- Core
- Regional Study: America/Canada or Great Britain/Ireland
- Author Study: Your Choice
- Single-Work and Single-Series Studies: Your Choice (do 4)
- Capstone
The serious student of literature is recommended to study a foreign language or two. The choice of language will vary depending on your interests, but languages worth considering include Latin, Old English, Middle English, French, German, and Greek (ancient or modern). If you have a strong interest in a specific foreign literature, then its language is an obvious recommendation, but there are too many of these to list individually. (As one example: if you wish to study Spanish or Latin American literature, then studying the Spanish language is an obvious choice.)
Core (Level 100)
For the literature courses, the overwhelming majority of the reading selections are available in the public domain or very cheaply from secondhand bookstores. I highly recommend purchasing your source texts secondhand, although sometimes I do purchase new copies of books that particularly affected me.
When it comes to literary analysis, interpretation, and criticism, I have six recommendations that are not in the public domain. For the beginning student, I recommend the first three on this list; the other three can wait until you are deeper into your studies.
- How to Read a Book (Mortimer J. Adler)
- How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Thomas C. Foster)
- Beginning Theory (Peter Barry)
- Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide (Lois Tyson)
- Understanding Poetry (Cleanth Brooks and R. P. Warren)
- Understanding Fiction (ibid.)
Regional Study: United States and Canada (Level 200)
The below is what I consider a reasonable cross-section of the eras and voices of American and Canadian literature.
- Pre-contact and colonization (to 1775)
- Revolution and the early US (1776 to 1828)
- American Renaissance (1828 to 1865)
- Realistic Period and early independent Canada (1865 to 1900)
- Naturalist Period (1900 to 1914)
- Modernism and postmodernism (1914 to 1945)
- Postwar works (1946 to present)
Regional Study: United Kingdom and Ireland (Level 200)
The below is what I consider a reasonable cross-section of the eras and voices of the major British and Irish literary movements.
- Anglo-Saxon (to 1066)
- Middle English (1066 to 1485)
- Renaissance (1486 to 1660)
- Restoration and Enlightenment (1661 to 1798)
- Romanticism (1798 to 1837)
- Victorian era (1838 to 1901)
- Modernism (1900 to 1945)
- Postmodernism (1946 to present)
Author Study (Level 300)
This is exactly what it sounds like: an in-depth study of one specific author across their entire output. This does not necessarily entail reading every single work by a specific author, for some authors (like Anthony Trollope, as one example) were quite prolific. However, if this is desired, it is recommended to pace oneself, as that amount of reading can be quite exhausting even to a veteran of the craft.
The idea is to capture a major through-line of inquiry across an entire author’s repertoire. The thesis thereby developed will be your focus for a 10- to 15-page research paper (not counting your list of works cited).
Some ideas:
- Desire, Money, and Moral Fatigue in the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Performance of Sincerity in Oscar Wilde’s Works
- Social Power in the Works of Jane Austen
- Narrative Recursion in the Works of Virginia Woolf
Single-Work Studies (complete 4; Level 400)
These are exactly what they sound like: in-depth studies of specific works of literature. For these, you will develop a thesis and then explore that thesis in a 10- to 15-page research paper (not counting your list of works cited). Some ideas:
- Knowledge, Fear, and Ethics in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
- Vision, Surveillance, and Control in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four
- Rationality and Madness in Franz Kafka’s Trial
- Power and Speech in Othello
Capstone
Your literature capstone will consist of a detailed study of a specific thesis statement drawn from your studies.