Intro to English Studies

This course serves as an introduction to the discipline of English. We will examine how to read and interpret cultural and literary texts, the politics of interpretation and representation, and what it means to place texts in their cultural, social, political, and historical context. Through this, you will learn a variety of methods and theoretical approaches for studying a wide range of texts. We will read and discuss historical and theoretical essays on interpretation and the role of literature, examining theoretical frameworks and major areas of critical interest such as structuralism, post-structuralism, cultural studies, post-colonialism, race, gender, and sexuality. We will also spend time discussing how to write well in the discipline of English. Assignments include short writings (reading responses and close readings), a take-home midterm, a final essay, attendance, and participation.

Required Texts and Films:

–  Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye

–  William Shakespeare, The Tempest

–  Aimé Césaire, A Tempest

–  Sia Figiel, Where We Once Belonged

–  Dee Rees, Pariah (to be screened in class)

–  Course pack may include readings by Plato, Aristotle, William Wordsworth, Percy Shelley, Jonathan Culler, Ferdinand de Saussure, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Louis Althusser, Anthony Appiah, Stuart Hall, Toni Morrison, Judith Butler, Eve Sedgwick, Edward Said, Epeli Hau’ofa, Albert Wendt, Haunani-Kay Trask, Wayne Kaumualii Westlake, and Sia Figiel.