BA Literature

Under the Literature option, students ground their study in the reading and examination of works through a series of historically based surveys as well as other core courses, covering the techniques of literary analysis, the application of literary theory, and finally the development of a research project in a senior seminar. Students also choose from electives that engage specific genres, authors, and periods, as well as different disciplines (e.g. Literature and the Environment) and literatures of diversity (e.g. Native American Literature). The literature emphasis imparts an understanding of not only the aesthetic richness of canonical and emerging literatures but also the historical and cultural forces that have contributed to their making. The classes are of a size that makes discussion very much a part of a student s experience.