Dr. Sherry Johnson

This course will introduce graduate students to current literary studies by explicating historical changes in the field of English in both literary content and critical discourse. Students will explore these changes by studying key concepts in the discipline and by completing a research project.

A few neo-slave narratives will serve as the principal texts for the course.  Through their study, students will discuss principal elements in various literary theory, the goal of which is to have students practice advanced analysis.  Simultaneously, students will engage in parallel discussions regarding questions of why we read, what we read, and how we read.  Critical secondary readings will help to bring such philosophical queries to the fore.