English
Utopias & Dystopias in Literature
English
Utopias & Dystopias in Literature
Fantastic societies have held a fascination for writers from Thomas More to the present day. Utopia, “no place,” represents an idealized society whose inhabitants willingly embrace its difference from our own world. Dystopic visions are the...
Writing the Body
English
Writing the Body
“I’ve only ever wanted to write about what it feels like to be alive, and it turns out being alive is always about being in a body. We’re never not in bodies: That’s just our fate and our assignment.” (Leslie Jamison, “Why...
Crime Fiction
English
Crime Fiction
This course introduces students to early works in the development of the “detective story” (Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) and the ways in which those early works help establish the foundations for a variety of...
Homer’s Odyssey
English
Homer’s Odyssey
In this interdisciplinary class, taught jointly by members of the Classical Languages Department and the English Department, we will read Homer’s Odyssey in translation and then trace its afterlife from antiquity to the present day. The hero Odysseus is...
American Political Literature
English
American Political Literature
Seniors participating in the spring term Washington Intern Program may elect to enroll in this English seminar which focuses on political literature and American...
Literature and the Land
English
Literature and the Land
In this course, students will participate in outdoor excursions that prompt them to contemplate their relationship to the natural world. Drawing on an array of classical and contemporary environmental writers, including Edward Abbey, Gretchen Legler, Henry...
Shakespeare in Stratford
English
Shakespeare in Stratford
This course is the centerpiece of the Stratford Program. Students attend performances of the plays produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace. The reading list is designed around the offerings of the...
Beats, Rhymes and Narrative
English
Beats, Rhymes and Narrative
Hip-hop music’s influence on popular culture, literature, entertainment and politics is undeniable. This course will examine the relationship between hip-hop and storytelling. Course texts will consist of weekly listening sessions, scholarly articles on...
Literature in Stratford
English
Literature in Stratford
One of the advantages of the Stratford Program is the opportunity to study literature in the very places that inform the settings, themes, characters and concerns of the texts. The specific topic for this course varies from year to year and is dependent upon...
Literature of California
English
Literature of California
In his apocalyptic novel, The Day of the Locust, Nathanael West’s main character surmises that most people “had come to California to die.” The state’s literary inheritance, however, is alive and well, and this class will launch forays...