ENG 344Lit&Politics:England 1580-1730

Catalog

ENG 344 Literature & Politics: England 1580-1730 - This course will provide an exploration of the interaction of political events and literary culture in England during the "long seventeenth century", a period in which the nature of literary creation, dissemination, and reception were transformed by substantial political upheaval and social change. A major goal of the course will be to examine literature within a political context, asking how texts were created and read in the light of current issues and events, and how notions of readership and audience changed as a result of developments in the public sphere. Questions to be asked will include: what is political literature? how are politics expressed in literature, both overtly and covertly? how did the political establishment respond to the use of literature as a vehicle for political commentary? Some time will also be devoted to understanding the nature of early modern print culture and the roles that printing, publication, and censorship played in this process. The course will seek to address a variety of genres, most prominently poetry, but also drama and early manifestations of the essay and the novel. Our readings will consist entirely of "primary" texts-interpretation of these texts (from a variety of standpoints) will be accomplished in the lectures and discussions. There will be a midterm and a final exam, and a series of reflective writing assignments, done both in class and online.