AP/ECE ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION

In this college-level course students will read, analyze, discuss, and write about challenging literature from a variety of eras and genres. Emphasis will be on close analytical reading of all forms of literature, including the exploration and employment of a variety of critical approaches to literature, and on honing and developing writing skills through the production of several written essays of varied length and scope, including inquiry-driven assignments. We will examine “binaries and polarities” as they apply to literature, including issues of gender and Feminism. We will also consider “transitions and transgressions,” including themes surrounding crime, guilt, punishment, and death. We will engage in a “conversation on race,” including a research-based essay tying the literature to a contemporary race-based issue, followed by an analysis of how “time and place” impact literary experience. Finally, students will utilize critical skills learned throughout the course to independently read and research a contemporary author, presenting their findings to the class through a digital medium of their choice. Writers encountered throughout the course include some of the preeminent voices in literature: Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, Camus, Wright, Hurston, and Joyce, to name but a few. Upon successful completion of this course students may receive 4 college credits for UConn’s full year ENGL 1007 course.