English 200 introduces the study of reading literature and, hopefully, the enjoyment of it by focusing on a sampling of American and European texts of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in an array or formats: novels, short stories, non-fiction prose, drama, and poetry. This section is organized around science in literature as a point of entry for discussing hot topic social issues such as race, class, and gender. However, this in no way should limit our reading practices as we explore many possible interpretations of the texts, or as we analyze writing techniques that enhance the reading experience. The ultimate goal of this class is, first and foremost, to have a good time engaging texts through reading and group discussion; secondly, to recognize the relevance of these texts—to recognize ways in which science affected social thought at the times these pieces were written, as well as to recognize ways in which these texts still resonate with social preoccupations of today.

Our reading will include a small handful of novels and a significantly larger selection of short stories and poetry by authors tentatively to include: Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, George Du Maurier, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Coventry Patmore, and others. The following texts will be available through the University Bookstore: Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables and The Blithedale Romance; Chessnutt, The Marrow of Tradition; Freud, Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria; Ibsen, A Doll’s House. Additionally, a course pack will be available at Ave. Copy on University Way.

Course requirements: The final grade will be based on regular contribution to class discussion, several writing assignments, and the final exam. As this is a “W” course, writing will play a key role in analyzing the assigned literature. Each student will be required to write two short analytical essays (3-4 pages in length each), one major essay (5-7 pages), as well as revisions of each