Anoka Ramsey Community College

English 2202: Introduction to the Study of Literature

Course Description:

Students will study at least one example of each of the major forms/genres of literature: fiction, poetry, plays, and creative non-fiction. In addition to critical reading and discussion, the elements of literature, and analysis, interpretation, and evaluation, the course will introduce students to major approaches to literary criticism and to literature research resources. The course will also deal with issues of diversity and may be organized around a particular topic. Successful completion of ENGL 1121 is recommended.

Learner Outcomes:

1. Read, discuss, analyze, interpret, and evaluate literature (fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and drama) which will be selected from diverse cultures and may be organized around a specific topic (e.g., women in literature, Minnesota writers, lands and lives of a specific ethnic group or world area).

2. Expand their literary repertoires by reading and responding (in class discussions and written assignments) to selected works of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and drama.

3. Describe and use process-oriented reading and writing models -- i.e., they treat reading and writing about literature texts as cognitive acts deeply influenced by personal experience, literary experience, and broader cultural forces.

4. Use literary terminology to describe the technical elements of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and drama.

5. Identify some of the resources available for doing research about literature.

6. Use different critical approaches (such as biographical criticism, reader-response criticism, feminist criticism, historical criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, etc.) to analyze, interpret, and evaluate selected works of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and drama.

7. Present -- through activities such as group discussions, reading logs or journals, response papers, reviews, critical essays, and examinations -- their personal interpretation and evaluation of selected works of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and drama.

8. Understand how the selected works of literature reflect the characteristics and values of the people and times in which they were written.

9. Recognize how race, ethnic group, gender, class, and sexuality differences (especially as seen in United States society) both inform and are illustrated by literature, and how literature can be used to discuss, understand, and appreciate these differences.

10. Recognize how writers who have been considered “minority” or “diverse” contribute to the literary canon and how these writers are similar to and different from other writers.

11. Appreciate the ways in which literature helps us better understand ourselves, other people, and the world around us.

Major Areas of Course Content:

1. The study of various forms of literature.
2. Literary elements and devices as they are used in the literary genres.
3. Critical and/or affective writing in response to works of literature.
4. Critical approaches to literature (may include, but not be limited to, reader-response, feminist, biographical, historical, psychological, deconstruction, archetypal, and new criticism).
5. Interpreting and evaluating literature, and developing support for these interpretations and evaluations.
6. Recognizing the role of fiction, creative non-fiction, drama, and poetry as cultural, historical, political, and personal artifacts.
7. Recognizing race, ethnic group, gender, and class conflicts in literature.
8. Recognizing the contributions of "diverse" / "minority" writers to the literary canon.
9. An introduction to literature research resources (e.g., library reference works, pathfinders, online databases, websites, etc.).