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History of Literature in English

Open book with a 3D picture of a dog and person walking with a red umbrella

This course offers an historical survey of literature from the British Isles and beyond. Through the study of representative works, the course aims to familiarize students with the characteristics of literary periods from the Middle Ages to the present.

This is a survey course that introduces students to the history of literature in the English language, from early writings from the Anglo-Saxon period to contemporary works from around the English-speaking world. Organized around works representative of major periods, movements, and places in literary history, and supplemented by historical information and documents, the course traces developments in the definition of English as a literary language, the status and role of the writer in society, and the ways in which literary texts circulate, as each relates and contributes to the understanding of individual texts. 

This 6.0-unit course will be divided into seven units that correspond to the major periods of literature in English:

  1. Medieval
  2. Renaissance
  3. Restoration and Eighteenth Century;
  4. Romanticism;
  5. The Victorian Age
  6. Transatlantic Modernism
  7. Contemporary/Postcolonial literature

Assessment

Fall Term

Close reading assignment (10%)
Essay (20%)
Fall exam (20%) 


Winter Term

Research assignment (10%)
 Essay (20%)
 Exam (20%)

Prerequisites

  • Level 2 or above or 6.0 units of ENGL

Additional information

This is a core course for all English plans. On-campus students are strongly encouraged to take this course in person.

The online offering of this course will be offered through the Arts and Science Online and will be reserved for online distance students. 

Exclusion: ENGL 110

Department of English, Queen's University

Watson Hall
49 Bader Lane
Kingston ON K7L 3N6
Canada

Telephone (613) 533-2153

Undergraduate

Graduate

Queen's University is situated on traditional Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territory.