This course is the first part of the two-semester Honors sequence in the English Department, and is intended to lead into the second part, the writing of the Honors senior thesis (English 4995, taken in the Spring term). The theme of this seminar, "Migrations," will allow us to read broadly from a range of literature that considers movement--of people and texts--throughout geographical space as well as textual space.  In this seminar, we will aim to do three things: one, read challenging literature and theory; two, hone the skills of independent inquiry necessary to successfully complete an honors thesis, and three, prepare for the post-graduation life of the English major. There will be several short papers and presentations and a longer final project. 

Primary texts read will include: H.G. Wells, The Time Machine, Samuel Selvon, The Lonely Londoners, Octavia Butler,  Dawn, Kazuo Ishiguro, When We Were Orphans, Mohsin Hamid, Exit West, Saidiya Hartman, Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, C. Pam Zhang, How Much of These Hills is Gold