ENGL 197: |
Upper-Division Seminar
:
Thoreau |
|
| Fall 2007 |
| Instructor: Stephanie LeMenager |
| Meets on: MW 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM SH 2617 |
| Prerequisites: Writing 2, 50, or 109; English 10; or upper-division standing |
|
|
|
| This course cannot be repeated and is limited to upper-division English majors only. |
| This seminar addresses Henry David Thoreau’s major works from the perspectives of literary criticism and cultural history. We will read Thoreau’s Walden in its entirety and consider that work as both a literary masterpiece and a telling example of romantic environmentalism. We will also read several of Thoreau’s essays, which shed light on his political commitments (including his rather belated enthusiasm for the abolitionist movement), his philosophical roots in American Transcendentalism, and his growing sophistication as a natural historian. Relevant texts by Ralph Waldo Emerson will also be consulted. Students will be expected to give an oral presentation in class and write an 8-10 page seminar paper. |
|
|
