This course will provide a survey of British literature, spanning the 1780s to the present. It covers a lot of authors and texts, among them feminist writers like Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley; poetry game-changers like Philip Larkin; and contemporary writers of color like Zadie Smith and Bernardine Evaristo. Our reading selections revolve around three big themes: love, education, and the search for personal identity.

Assignments include:

1. Group Projects and Participation: You will regularly work individually, in pairs, and in larger groups, sometimes presenting your thoughts or research to the class. Sometimes this work will be evaluated by me, and other times through peer-grading and self-grading methods. You will also take part in a class-wide Jeapordy game at semester’s end.

2. At-Home Writing Assignments: There will be three at home writing assignments. These are meant to provide you with interesting ways to dig deeper into the texts we are studying in class.

3. Final Project. This can be a project of your own choosing and design, and it can take multiple forms—from videos to podcasts to blogs to board games. Projects must be approved by me.