Writing About Literature: Origin Stories

English majors only; please contact advisor Mary C. Moore for permission.

Course Theme and Texts

In this section of 2100, we will explore the concept of the “origin story.” Although the term is often applied to superheroes and villains to explain the emergence of their extraordinary identities and powers, the idea of origins, of being made or re-made, born or re-born, is central to literary works in many genres and periods.

Thus, we’ll read works in a range of genres (including fiction, graphic memoir, poetry and drama) in which authors and characters either search for or return to points they identify as origins. In doing so, these works of literature explore how literature and history both create and erase the identity and reality of characters, authors, nations, individuals and social and familial groups. Texts for the course are likely to include Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey, and The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

Course Description

In English 2100, you will develop the skills necessary to become a reader, scholar and interpreter of literature. The assignments in this class are designed to build on one another, guiding you through a series of steps in your development as a reader, researcher, critic and writer.

An  important part of this class is to become familiar with a range of critical and theoretical approaches scholars might use to analyze a text. A “theoretical approach” refers to the critical “lens” or set of questions a scholar employs to examine a text and generate arguments or observations about it.

Examples of theoretical approaches we will study in this class:

1. Feminism
2. LGBTQ+ Studies
3. African American Criticism
4. Postcolonial Criticism
5. Ecocriticism
6. Psychoanalytic Criticism

By comparing several theoretical approaches, you will be able to see how your conclusions about a text depend on the questions you ask about it. By the end of the class, you will be able to choose a theoretical approach (or a combination of them) and generate your own questions about a text.

Overall, this course asks you to see yourself differently in relation to the texts you read and write: not as a passive respondent or isolated reader, but as an active speaker and writer in a conversation about literature and ideas.

Work for the course will include reading, daily class discussions, quizzes, short papers and a presentation.