Literature (LIT) Courses

LIT1020 Introduction to Literary Genres

This survey course prepares students to read, analyze and write about the major literary genres: poetry, fiction and drama. Students are exposed to a variety of forms and styles in each genre from a wide range of historical periods. Literary selections represent a diverse group of classic and contemporary writers, poets and playwrights.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT2030 African-American Literature

This course examines African-American literature in a variety of genres from its conception in the days of slavery to contemporary times. Emphasis is on the historical and social significance of major works of African-American literature as well as the unique artistic contributions of African-American authors to the American literature canon. Literary movements are examined in their historical, political, intellectual and social contexts through a number of contemporary theoretical perspectives.
Prerequisite(s): ENG1020 or ENG1024 or English placement.
Offered at Charlotte, Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT2070 Studies In The Short Story

This course prepares the student to read, analyze, and write about the short story from different critical perspectives. Students study representative authors and are exposed to a variety of forms and styles of the short story from a wide range of historical periods.
Prerequisite(s): ENG1020 or ENG1024 or English placement.
Offered at Charlotte
3 Semester Credits

LIT2090 Multi-Ethnic Literature

This course introduces students to fiction, autobiography, poetry, drama and many other forms of literature by writers from many racial and ethnic backgrounds including African American, Asian American, Latino, Chicano, American Indian and more. Emphasis is placed on the historical context in which the writings have evolved as well as the problems encountered by these various cultural groups as they intersect with American culture. Through reading the literature of many cultures and countries, students search for the common themes that unite humanity across the globe.
Prerequisite(s): ENG1020 or ENG1024 or English placement.
Offered at Charlotte, Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT2415 Disease in Film and Literature

This course focuses on the intersection between disease and the arts, exploring how literature and film reflect and shape our understanding of the human condition through illness as well as the constantly evolving relationship between patient and healer. Students also examine how issues of race, culture, gender and class are represented in text and film, both historical and otherwise, in narratives of illness and treatment. Students consider to what extent classic and contemporary narratives construct and deconstruct the boundaries of empathy and compassion.
Prerequisite(s): ENG1021 or ENG1027.
Offered at Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT3001 Studies In Drama

This is an introductory course in the history of drama. Critical analyses of literary elements are conducted in the context of genres from the ancient Greeks to contemporary drama. Both written works and performances are examined and analyzed.
Prerequisite(s): ENG1021 or ENG1027.
Offered at Charlotte, Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT3015 Food In Film And Literature

This reading, screening and discussion-intensive course explores representations of food in both literature and film. Students examine how narratives are framed, how characters are developed, and how reoccurring themes of food are used symbolically and metaphorically. Utilizing a wide range of influential texts and select films, our inquiry includes extensive analyses of the role that food plays in contributing to the development of our cultural and personal identities as well as creating and maintaining communities. The readings and films provide a comprehensive overview of different time periods to allow for analyses of themes such as gluttony, desires and appetites, and celebrations of nature’s bounty among many others.
Prerequisite(s): ENG1021 or ENG1027.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT3018 Honors Seminar: The Languages of Food: Culture and Media

This reading and writing-intensive honors seminar traces the use of food as both subject and metaphor in literature and film throughout the ages. The first half of the course examines the relationships between food and philosophy, food and politics, and food and history as portrayed through a wide variety of literary and film genres. The second half of the course focuses on analytical comparisons of food-centered texts and their film adaptations. Through discussion of course readings and screenings, students develop an analytical perspective on the study of food in film and literature that they apply to a research project of their own design.
Prerequisite(s): ENG1027, honors or SHARP status, sophomore status.
Offered at Charlotte, Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT3030 Studies In Poetry

This course prepares the student to read, analyze, and write about poetry from different critical perspectives. Students study representative poets and are exposed to a variety of forms and techniques of poetry from the Middle Ages to the contemporary.
Prerequisite(s): ENG1021 or ENG1027.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT3180 The Graphic Novel

This course serves as an introduction to critical methods in popular culture studies, with a focus on the graphic novel as cultural product and practice. Students explore the role graphic design plays in storytelling, as well as the ways in which meanings emerge in several celebrated texts of the graphic novel genre. Through diverse theoretical perspectives, students explore notions of identity, character interaction, intertextuality, comic art and caricature within both fictional and autobiographical works.
Prerequisite(s): ENG1021 or ENG1027.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT3220 Masterpieces of American Literature

This course surveys American literature from its pre-Colonial origins through contemporary times. Literary movements are examined in their historical, political, intellectual and social contexts through a number of contemporary theoretical perspectives. Students engage with major issues, past and present, as constructed and revealed through literary texts. Students study representative authors, poets and playwrights working in a variety of forms, styles and genres. Special attention is paid to the formation of the American literary tradition.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore status.
Offered at Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT3240 Masterpieces in British Literature

This course surveys British literature from ancient through contemporary eras. It examines literary movements in their historical, political, intellectual and social contexts through a number of contemporary theoretical perspectives. In doing so, it engages major issues past and present as constructed and revealed through literary texts. Students study influential works from diverse authors such as Chaucer, Spenser, Milton, Behn, Keats, Kipling, Wilde, Gaskell, Yeats, Joyce, Woolf and Lawrence (among others), who present a range of views on gender, class, race, religion, politics and other controversial subjects.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore status.
Offered at Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT4010 Science Fiction

This course analyses the evolution of science fiction from its early origins to the present. Fantastic and futuristic elements of plot are examined as social commentary. A variety of styles in several genres include traditional science fiction, fantasy, horror and cyberpunk.
Prerequisite(s): ENG1021 or ENG1027.
Offered at Charlotte, Providence
3 Semester Credits

LIT4040 Shakespeare

This course presents an introduction to the world of William Shakespeare by examining the historical contexts of his work, his life and his theatre. Works read and analyzed during the course are representative of Shakespeare's achievements in history, tragedy, comedy and poetry. Students trace Shakespeare's continuing relevance and influence on modern art and thought.
Prerequisite(s): ENG1021 or ENG1027.
Offered at Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits