Course Description: This discussion-based and writing-intensive course prepares students to be English majors by introducing them to the conventions and methods of literary study. This course covers a range of authors, works, genres, and time periods emphasizing various modes of critical and theoretical analysis, methods of research, and historical context. The course has three primary units, each of which focuses on reading, analyzing and researching texts in a particular genre of literature: short stories, novel, plays and poetry. Special attention is paid to research methods and learning a range of critical approaches to literary texts. After reading our longer texts, we will examine a range of short scholarly and theoretical texts. In addition to learning the aesthetic qualities of literary texts, we will discuss the role that literature plays in larger cultural, social and political dialogues through the themes of the course. Requirements include participation, short essays, and a final research paper.