This course enables students pursuing graduate studies in English to analyze and synthesize the key issues of the discipline through examining the theory and practice of analyzing and teaching texts and the history of English as a profession. The course will examine various definitions of the function and value of literature. Students will study a few representative works of literature through close readings of the text, considering the works aesthetically, ideologically, and rhetorically, and then discussing strategies and issues for teaching those texts. Then students will create assignments based on their discussions. Students make oral presentations, write short papers analyzing critical problems, and write a long essay based on their research.

Prerequisites: Graduate status, or permission of department head