Literature

The Literature Major

The Literature major consists of 10 courses given by, or approved by, the program.

LTWR 199 is an introduction to the Literature and Writing majors and is open to all students thinking about majoring in Literature or Writing. All potential majors are urged to take it no later than the beginning of their sophomore year. While LTWR 199 and LTWR 200 constitute a sequence in the Literature major and must be taken in that order, this sequence is not necessarily consecutive: LTWR 199 is a class appropriate for incoming first-year students, while LTWR 200 is an advanced course in critical theory, open only to students with sophomore standing and above who have taken LTWR 199. Students will thus typically take LTWR 199 at the beginning of their first year, and they will take LTWR 200 no earlier than the beginning of their second year.

LTWR 199 is the prerequisite for all 300-level classes offered by the program. Some 300-level classes may have additional prerequisites.

The Literature & Writing Program does not permit double-counting. Although some of our courses fill multiple requirements, each course can only be used to fill one requirement for a particular student’s major or minor.

Core Courses (8 credits)

Two core courses are required for the Literature major. All students will complete LTWR 199. In most cases, Literature majors will fill the core requirements by taking LTWR 200. Literature majors who minor in Cinema and Media Studies can substitute LTWR 221 for LTWR 200.

LTWR199	Approaches to Literature	4
LTWR200	How To Be a Critic	4
	OR
LTWR221	The Critical Lens: Introduction to Film and Media Theory	4

Context Courses: Literature and Social Change (8 credits)

Complete two context courses that emphasize Literature and Social Change.

LTWR124	Narrative & Medicine	4
LTWR170	Introduction to 21st Century Global Literature	4
LTWR176	African American Fiction	4
LTWR178	Intersectional Identities in US Literature	4
LTWR179	Human Rights and Global Literature	4
LTWR184	Performance and Politics on the Global Stage	4
LTWR193	Gender and Power in Literature	4
LTWR212	Queer Literature and Film	4
LTWR213	Poetry of Displacement	4
LTWR223	New Literary Topics	4
LTWR229	Resist! Political Resistance in Literature and Film	4
LTWR230	Postcolonial Film	4
LTWR235	Identity and Race in 19th Century American Literature	4
LTWR241	Contemporary Black Women Writers	4
LTWR266	Piratical Stories	4
LTWR308	The Global Novel	4
LTWR316	Native American Literature	4
LTWR323	Special Topics in Literature	4
LTWR327	Psychoanalysis, Race and Sexuality	4
LTWR354	Studies in Film: Melodrama	4
LTWR398	Feminist Media Studies	4

Context Courses: Literary Tradition (8 credits)

Complete two context courses that emphasize Literary Tradition.

LTWR110	Invitation to Literature	4
LTWR111	Greek Mythology and Religion	4
LTWR112	Poetry and Passion in the Bible	4
LTWR121	Love, Death, and Fantasy in Shakespeare's Plays	4
LTWR126	Magic, Fantasy, and the Origins of Literature	4
LTWR138	Invitation to Poetry	4
LTWR161	The Making of America: U.S. Literature before 1900	4
LTWR214	The Invented Self in 20th and 21st Century U.S. Fiction	4
LTWR223	New Literary Topics	4
LTWR254	The Rise of the Novel: English Literature Before 1900	4
LTWR265	Modern(ist) Women	4
LTWR304	The Romantic Rebel	4
LTWR320	American Women Poets	4
LTWR323	Special Topics in Literature	4

Four Elective Courses (16 credits)

Majors will also complete four elective courses selected from program offerings.

Two Upper-level Courses Required

Of the ten courses required for the Literature major, two must be upper-level courses:

• One 200-level course.
• One 300-level course.