George Fox University

2007-2008 Academic Catalog

Course Descriptions 

Literature

LITR 100 Introduction to Literature
3 hours. Explores the major genres, themes, and elements of literature.

LITR 220 Great American Writers
3 hours. A brief survey of American literary history, combined with a close study of some of the most engaging works and writers in the tradition.

LITR 236 Ancient World Literature
3 hours. Introduces and examines as literary texts significant works of world mythologies. Readings stress those cross-cultural themes and literary forms exemplifying the ideals, values, and concerns that have shaped our shared human condition. The course surveys myths from African, Middle Eastern, Asian, Native American, Meso-American, Oceanic, and European literatures. Universal motifs and unique differences in these traditional sacred and secular stories are examined with an eye to understanding how myths underpin cultural, community, and individual values, ethical teachings, and spiritual experiences that continue to inform the world's cultures.

LITR 237 World Literature, Medieval to Modern
3 hours. Considers works written in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Europe, and the Americas during the medieval and early modern periods. Students examine culturally defining texts that reflect both the uniqueness of culture and the universality of literary themes. Students read a sample of texts written between the medieval period and 1900. The focus is on texts that continue to be important to the culture they represent, such as The Tale of Genji, Journey to the West, The Thousand and One Nights, The Divine Comedy, and Shakuntala.

LITR 238 Contemporary World Literature
3 hours. Examines contemporary literatures across the world in order to explore both the similarities and differences in literary styles and themes. Because so much current non-Western literature is influenced by Western literature, culture, and values, students will consider historical background, including colonial, post-colonial, or political readings of writers such as Chinua Achebe, Gabriel Gárcia Márquez, Nadine Gordimer, LuXün, and Jamaica Kincaid.

LITR 240 Understanding Drama
3 hours. A study of significant plays from the classical period to the present, both as literary works and staged productions, the goal being a deeper understanding and appreciation of drama as a symbolic form. Primary focus is on literary values, with attention also given to the constraints and interpretations embodied in the staging, acting, and directing of a play. (Identical to THEA 240.)

LITR 270 Great British Writers
3 hours. An introduction to British literary history, combined with a close study of some of the most engaging works and writers in the tradition.

LITR 280 Literary Foundations of Women's Studies
3 hours. Introduces students to literature that presents the groundwork for women's studies and considers a selection of contemporary texts that apply that perspective. Reading will include significant novels, poems, and essays that demonstrate the history of women's contribution to literature, culture, and Christianity.

LITR 285/485 Selected Literary Topics
3 hours. An occasional course that allows professors and students to investigate interesting literary byways. Past selections have included studies in science fiction, the literature of human rights, the short story, and the works of particular authors.

LITR 326 American Literature to 1865
3 hours. A selective look at early American literature, from 1607 to 1865. Examines themes, movements, and writers who influenced and were influenced by the growth of the new nation.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 327 American Literature, 1865-1914
3 hours. A selective look at the literature of the United States, from 1865 to 1914. Particular attention is given to the masters of realistic and naturalistic fiction, and to the poets who most clearly influenced modern poetry.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 328 American Literature, 1914-Present
3 hours. A selective look at the literature of the United States, from 1914 to the present. Particular attention is given to the masterworks of Modernism, especially to those that have proven influential in contemporary literature.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 340 Poetry
3 hours. A study of poetry as a distinct literary form, including the major genres of poetry and the strategies for reading and analyzing poems, including the use of figurative language, scansion, and symbolism. Explores the interaction of form and content and the relationship of text to context.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 350 Literary Criticism
3 hours. Introduces students to various schools of literary criticism. Students will practice using different critical approaches to writing about literature. Recommended for juniors and seniors.
Prerequisite: 6 hours of literature courses or permission of instructor.

LITR 360 Values Through Story and Myth
3 hours. Offered 2008-09. A consideration of selected writers and works that attempt to understand, explore, and transmit values through narrative. Works considered will range from fiction to nonfiction, including essays, short stories, film, poems, and novels. The focus is on issues related to gender, the environment, and the social/political community as they reveal and define our contemporary world and its cultural values structures.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 376 British Literature to 1660
3 hours. A selective look at the literature of the British Isles, from the earliest texts through 1660. Particular attention is given to the Anglo-Saxon, Medieval, and Renaissance periods.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 377 British Literature, 1660-1830
3 hours. A selective look at the literature of the British Isles during the Restoration, the Neoclassical, and the Romantic periods. Particular attention is given to the emergence of the novel and the poets who most clearly influenced the continuing development of poetry.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 378 British Literature, 1830-Present
3 hours. A selective look at the literature of the British Isles during the Victorian, Modern, and Contemporary periods. Particular attention is given to the literature of doubt and faith, the development of the novel, and post-Colonial issues.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 379 Shakespeare
3 hours. A consideration of the life and works of the poet/playwright and the sociopolitical history of the Renaissance. The course examines the sonnets and a selection of the plays from each genre: comedy, tragedy, history, and tragicomedy.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 385 Major Authors
3 hours. Focuses on a major author or authors, changing from year to year according to the professor's expertise. The course considers the different phases of the career and development of the author's art, as well as the appropriate contexts in which she or he wrote, and his or her legacy for later writers. May be repeated for different authors.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 440 A Study of the Modern Novel
3 hours. Examines the modern novel as a distinct literary form through the analysis of important world writers. Discusses such issues as the relationship between novelistic structure and ideology.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 480 International Women's Voices
3 hours. Offered 2007-08. Considers contemporary writings from women around the world. Students analyze these literary texts, examine the cultures they represent, and keep apprised of current events related to women.
Prerequisite: another LITR course or equivalent or permission of instructor.

LITR 495 Special Study
1-3 hours. Individualized study related to the student's needs and interests. Open to exceptional students at the discretion of a faculty member.
Undergraduate
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