Welcome to ENGL 2341 -

Forms of Literature

This course will familiarize you with literature of many forms, cultures, and time periods. By the end of the term, my goal is to help you gain an appreciation for and, perhaps, a love for literature! In addition to learning to appreciate literature, I will also guide you through the process of writing about and discussing the literature. I look forward to working with each of you this semester! Now, let's read on to learn a little more about the course objectives and structure, communication expectations, and how to get started on the course assignments.

Students should plan on logging into the course and completing work or reviewing current assignments every day. You should also plan to focus on and complete each assignment by its due date in order to keep up with the course's pace.

If at any point you have questions about the assignments or other course content, you should contact your instructor by email (Nancy.Castro@hcisd.org or Nancy.Castro@tsc.edu) or visit my office. As an alternative, you may contact me through Canvas Inbox or visit with me before or after class. 

*NOTICE: Once the dual enrollment literature course begins in Spring 2026, students will receive a grade for their high school English credit and a separate grade for their college English credit. Please be aware that Texas Southmost College utilizes several grading categories to figure your college average for the entire semester, while your quarter grades with HCISD will be comprised of the following 2 categories: Assignments (75%) & Tests/Projects (25%). Therefore, your high school grade and your college grade may not always match. 

Course Objectives:

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify key ideas, representative authors and works, significant historical or cultural events, and characteristic perspectives or attitudes expressed in the literature of different periods or regions.

• Analyze literary works as expressions of individual or communal values within the social, political, cultural, or religious contexts of different literary periods.

• Demonstrate knowledge of the development of characteristic forms or styles of expression during different historical periods or in different regions.

• Articulate the aesthetic principles that guide the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.

• Write research-based critical papers about the assigned readings in clear and grammatically correct prose, using various critical approaches to literature.

Course Structure:

We will begin the school year by covering AP English Literature and Composition level coursework in the fall. In the spring, we will transition to our dual enrollment ENGL 2341 Forms of Literature course with Texas Southmost College. The dual enrollment course is only one semester long and is organized into weekly units. Each weekly unit contains required readings, lectures, assignments, and essays, as well as collaborative activities. You will complete all work online and interact with me, your instructor, in my classroom and through email. 

Required Materials:

• School-issued electronic device

• 3-subject spiral notebook

• Wired earbuds

• Pens/pencils

• Highlighters

OER Textbook Information and Attribution:

This course does not utilize a traditional printed textbook. Instead, all reading assignments in the course will be available to you free, completely online or as printed hard copies. Readings for this course come from several different Open Educational Resource (OER) sources, linked with attribution and license information below.

Lumen Learning's Introduction to Literature

Ivy Tech Community College Faculty. Introduction to Literature. Lumen Learning, 2021, courses.lumenlearning.com/introliterature/.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Project Gutenberg

A free, open-access collection of literary works in the public domain.

Poetry Foundation

A collection of licensed poetry shared freely and with permission from the archives of Poetry magazine, maintained by the literary organization.

Crash Course in Literature and Theatre

Green, John. Crash Course in Literature. Crash Course, 2021, youtube.com/watch?v=MSYw502dJNY.

Rugnetta, Mike. Crash Course in Theatre and Drama. Crash Course, 2021, youtu.be/LEN8FZEKaNU

Open-access educational videos developed for PBS Studios and online distribution.

Additional Materials

Additional materials in the course are linked from scholarly literary websites or professionally produced academic materials, including Poets.org, The Washington Post, Ted-Ed, PBS, The School of Life video series, and others. Website and video sources are accurately cited and credited where they are utilized throughout the course.

The goal of building courses with free OER material is to make course material more accessible and affordable for students. Please make sure to engage with our OER materials throughout the course to enjoy a wide-range of authors and perspectives.