english literature

let's begin reading

english can be a truly beautiful language. not the english of television and social media but that of serious publication and creative experience. more literature exists in english than any other language. perhaps, though i have no way to know for sure, there is more than in all other languages combined.

literature is a hard thing to define, though. for now, we will use a very simple definition. literature is a collection of published words (and sometimes images) meant for public consumption.

when it comes to literature, i teach two things. the first is contemporary literature. things written in the modern era of the internet, you could say. the other is traditional literature but, as a strong believer that language progressively improves over time, we will look at traditional literature from the perspective that it was an organic building block on a road that would later dramatically improve it, not from any position of respect or veneration.

what is literature?

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why study literature?

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how do we read modern literature?

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courses outside the classroom

if you are an independent student wishing to study english literature, you are welcome to use any of these materials. if, however, you are looking for instruction but are not part of the program, i am always happy to engage in individual instruction and have quite often in the past. please contact me if you are seeking these types of courses as supplementary to your current program of study.

1. poetry

  1. Contemporary Poetry 1 [EN3541]
  2. Contemporary Poetry 2 [EN3542]
  3. Theory through Contemporary Poetry 1 [EN4585]
  4. Theory through Contemporary Poetry 2 [EN4586]
  5. Contemporary Poetry in Context [EN7581]
  6. Theory and Poetry in a Post-Truth World [EN8588]

2. graphic literature

  1. Introduction to Graphic Literature [EN2770]
  2. Contemporary Graphic Literature 1 [EN3771]
  3. Contemporary Graphic Literature 2 [EN3772]
  4. Graphic Literature in Practice [EN7771]
  5. Critical Graphic Literature [EN8778]

3. literature of faith

  1. Introduction to Scripture as Literature [EN2820]
  2. Faith Literature in Society [EN3928]
  3. Scripture in Translation A/B [EN4920A/B]
  4. Religious Commentary as Critical Literature [EN7941]
  5. Critical Approaches to Scripture in Translation [EN8948]

4. popular fiction

  1. Introduction to Popular Fiction 1 [EN2018]
  2. Introduction to Popular Fiction 2 [EN2019]
  3. Contemporary Popular Fiction 1 [EN3018]
  4. Contemporary Popular Fiction 2 [EN3019]
  5. Critical Approaches to Popular Literature 1 [EN4418]
  6. Critical Approaches to Popular Literature 2 [EN4419]
  7. The Literature of Video Games [EN4940]
  8. Popular Fiction in Social Context [EN7018]
  9. Popular Culture in Fiction [EN7928]
  10. Critical Analysis of Popular Writing [EN8418]

5. literature in translation

  1. Literature in Translation 1 [EN3812]
  2. Literature in Translation 2 [EN3813]
  3. Contemporary Literature in Translation 1 [EN4841]
  4. Contemporary Literature in Translation 2 [EN4842]
  5. Literature from Beyond English [EN7841]
  6. Other Cultures in Literature [EN7866]
  7. Translation Theory in Contemporary Literature [EN8866]
  8. Critical Approaches to Contemporary World Literature [EN8876]

6. media as literature

  1. fundamentals of media [en2960]
  2. media as literature [en3961]
  3. reading society’s voice [en4961]
  4. social media as literature [en7961]
  5. reading independent video [en7963]
  6. media beyond the western world [en7991]
  7. popular media theory [en8960]
  8. post-truth media [en8964]

7. critical theory

  1. Theory and Poetry in a Post-Truth World [EN8588]
  2. Critical Graphic Literature [EN8778]
  3. religious commentary as critical literature [en7941]
  4. critical approaches to scripture in translation [en8948]
  5. critical analysis of popular writing [en8418]
  6. translation theory in contemporary literature [en8866]
  7. critical approaches to contemporary world literature [en8876]
  8. popular media theory [en8960]
  9. post-truth media [en8964]

these courses exist within the other disciplines but are listed here, too, as they are essentially a concentration of their own.

a note on missing outlines

if you are currently enrolled in a course that i am teaching and the outline is not here, please let me know immediately as this is a huge problem. if the course is next semester, even if it’s not here, there’s an interim version of the outline and, if you ask, i will email it to you, as long as you understand it may change before the course begins.

if you’re looking for future or past outlines, i apologize that the majority are not yet updated and linked here but i am working on it. if there is a course you’re specifically interested in, reach out and i’ll send you whatever materials i have in their current state if that’s useful to you.