'This course will examine the major African American writers of the twentieth century, beginning with the poetry and prose of Paul Laurence Dunbar and ending with the fiction of Toni Morrison, John Wideman, and the poetry of Yusef Koumanyaka, Rita Dove, and others. We will discuss the strategies involved in the creation of a 'black voice' and its relationship to Anglo-American literature.

'A study of major figures and trends in American poetry from the early 1900s through the 1960s. Topics include tradition vs. experiment in poetic style; regionalism vs. cosmopolitanism; responses to the decline of faith and to social and political changes and controversies. Poets include Frost, Eliot, Moore, Stevens, Williams, Lowell, Bishop, and others.'

'Throughout America's history, the essay has been a vital literary genre. From personal, religious, and confessional essays to highly political, satirical, and sometimes preposterous ones, American authors have revealed their passions and hatreds both eloquently and roughly. We will read essays from the eighteenth century to the present, concentrating on masters of the form. Authors include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, Henry James, James Baldwin, Joan Didion, Gore Vidal, and E. B. White.'

'This section examines the major ideas, shifts, expansions, and disruptions of the Victorian period. We will discuss prose, poetry, fiction, and art to understand how these forms engage with movements in voting rights, industry, living conditions, money, gender, definitions of class, and imperialist expansion. Writers may include Arnold, Carlyle, Martineau, Mill, Eliot, Dickens, Bronte, W. Collins, Browning, Rossetti, Hopkins, and many others, as well as painters and current readings in criticism and theory.'

'Arthurian legend conjures enduring stereotypes of chivalry and romantic love, but how do we go about situating medieval romance in literary history? Where does it come from, why was it written, who read it, and how did it change over time? In this course, students will learn about romance's historical and social contexts, its form, tropes, and imagery. We will think about romance's contemplation of justice, loyalty, subjectivity, love, and shame, especially as this body of literature grapples with the conflicts that arise between the mortal and divine.

'A study of some of Shakespeare's plays, emphasizing both the poetic and the dramatic aspects of his art, with attention to the historical context and varieties of critical interpretations, including those of the twentieth century. Nine or ten plays.'

'A narrative of English literary history from the Old English period to the Restoration of the monarchy (700-1660), paying attention to works, authors, and genres, and to changes of language and culture. Readings include Beowulf, selections from The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a Shakespeare play, and selections from such authors as Julian of Norwich, Sir Thomas Wyatt, Edmund Spenser, Sir Philip Sidney, John Donne, Andrew Marvell, and John Milton.'

'Societies evolve through the exchange of information and ideas. This course explores that exchange as it occurs in contemporary opinion (or op-ed) pieces. Though we begin with Aristotle, most readings will come from the debates of our time. Our aim is to include divergent opinions on a wide array of subjects. Students will team up for close readings, exploring issues of evidence, structure and style. Extensive independent research and considerable rewriting required.

'This course offers practice in the fundamentals of dramatic structure and technique. Weekly reading assignments will examine the unique nature of writing for the theatre, nuts and bolts of format, tools of the craft, and the playwright's process from formulating a dramatic idea to rewriting. Weekly writing assignments will include scenework, adaptation, and journaling. The course will culminate in the writing of a one-act play. Each class meeting will incorporate reading student work aloud with feedback from the instructor and the class.

'This workshop will introduce students to the short story form as practiced by contemporary and canonical writers. Students will learn to read fiction actively, as writers developing their craft. We will focus on understanding the elements of fiction with an eye toward eventual mastery. Writing short stories will comprise the main work of this course, and students will work specifically on point of view, development of scenes, characterization, plot, and narration.'