T.S. McMillin (English)
4 HU, WRi, 4 Hours
Fall Semester FYSP 108-01 MWF 11:00-11:50
This seminar investigates the nature of literature and its role in a liberal arts education. We will begin by considering the elements that qualify a work as “literature,” with special attention given to the act of writing, critical definitions of “literature,” and the nature of stories. In the second section of the course we will think about different ways of interpreting literature while reading challenging works of fiction by diverse writers. Finally, we will study some of the uses of literature. One objective of the course is to determine how literary study might contribute to other fields of inquiry. We will conclude by reading an assortment of works—non-fiction, poetry, novels—and considering the ways in which interpreting such works might help us in our approaches to other subjects, e.g. Nature, History, Science, and Philosophy. Throughout the semester, we will experiment with different styles of writing and devote ample time to improving students’ academic writing skills.