ENG 250LC - Literary Contexts

(4 credits) (Fulfills NWCore Literary Contexts requirement)

American Literature and the Rhetoric of Freedom: Americans often regard freedom as the defining characteristic of both their nation and themselves. This course examines how the rhetoric of freedom has been a force in American literature. We will complicate our understanding of American freedom by examining how it has been continually redefined throughout the nation’s literary history. We will consider how minority and oppressed groups have used the rhetoric of freedom to advance their own liberation and how Christian religions concepts and language have contributed to this rhetoric. Students will practice reading and writing critically and become familiar with a variety of literary genres, including historical narrative, autobiography, poetry, drama, essays, short stories, and novels.

Literature in the World: This course teaches students to appreciate the aesthetic value of literature and consider its cultural contexts. The course explores the beauty of language, the importance of understanding the self and others, and invites readers to consider how literature contributes to our contemporary culture. The course is arranged thematically and content varies from year to year. Themes may include, but are not limited to: immigration, war, poverty, the power of metaphor, and visual art and literature.

Literary Imaginations: For literature to be more than ink stains on white paper, we must use our imaginations to give it life. In this course we shall read works from throughout human history and around the world (India, Greece, Italy, England, Russia, Nigeria, Ireland, Japan) to imagine and understand the world that people have believed in, created, and inhabited.

Literary Journeys: This course will examine a wide range of literature from the 17th Century to the present, while introducing students to the literary genres of the short story, the novel and poetry. Students will examine how literature can give them insights into their own lives as well as the world around them. Literary pieces will be examined in various historical, social and political contexts. Assignments will help students develop their critical reading and writing practices as well as expand the imaginative element of literature and witness God’s presence in the world through literature.

The Lives of Others: This course explores 4000 years of stories, from ancient Mesopotamia to the American South. Plays, poems, epics, and autobiographies broaden our perspective on the world and deepen our understanding of being human. Two central themes of the course are perceptions of difference and expressions of faith.

Reading, Spirituality and Cultural Politics: This course explores how literature can entertain, educate, change, and empower readers. The assignments are designed to refine college writing skills and to deepen students’ critical knowledge and imaginative experience of literature. The end goal of this course is that in learning to understand and serve their literary neighbors, students will be better equipped to understand and serve their literal neighbors.