: LIT 110 :
Professor: G. Gano
Day(s): Mon, Thu
Time(s): 1:00 - 3:50 p.m.
Credits: 3
Prerequisite(s): None
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Download Syllabus
Literature & History
Catalog Description
In this foundation-level course, students will be introduced to some basics in the study of literature and the literary genres of the novel, poem, essay, drama, and autobiography while focusing on the relationship between history and narrative. Students will read a wide range of historical texts and consider the ways in which literature and creative expression enable reconsiderations of history.
This class queries and considers the relationship between imaginative literature and historical narrative, asking whether there is a fundamental difference between the two. Students will be introduced to historicism as a tool of literary analysis and investigate the socio-political function of the creative, “historical” imagination. The topical focus of this course is on the legacy of slavery, and will include works by writers Toni Morrison, August Wilson, Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass, and Herman Melville.
Course Overview
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes:
- To learn to read widely, expansively, carefully, and effectively
- To become familiar with some of the major literary genres
- To query and consider the links between history and literature in terms of both topic and methodology
- To develop methods for close reading, critical thinking, and written and oral forms of argument
- To develop skills in the process of writing and revising our written work
Materials and/or Textbook
T. Morrison, Beloved
Wilson, The Piano Lesson
