ENGH 309: Topics in Literature

ENGH 309-B01: Heyday of Eng Essay: 1580-1880
(Summer 2021)

01:30 PM to 03:30 PM MW

Online

Section Information for Summer 2021

Heyday Essay

Every modern genre (e.g. essay, novel, documentary film, reality TV, blog) shows us how slippery genres are, how they change, develop, hybridize, and sometimes invert or reinvent the characteristics associated with them. In this course, we will examine one of the earliest of these “modern” genres, the essay, across three hundred years of its development in English, from its emergence in the writings of Montaigne (1580; English trans. 1603) and Bacon (1597) through to the late 19th century. We will look at the wide range of writings that styled themselves “essays” in the 17th century, the popularity in the 18th century of the periodical essay carried on through a fictional persona, and the development of the personal (or “lyric”) essay and the review (or critical) essay in the 19th century. In the 20th century and since, the personal essay has perhaps become the dominant form of the essay—though there is a rich tradition of the critical essay (the essay of social, political, cultural commentary and critique)—but the modes of the essay have been varied and adaptable across its history, and so too its forms, inflections, and engagements. Across this history, essays have been fun and they have been formal; they have been satiric and they have been solemn; they have been exploratory and they have been inquisitorial. By examining the ways in which writers handled and shaped the essay through the period up to the 20th century, this course aims not only to give us insight into an important strand of English literary history but also to prepare us to engage with greater insight and understanding the directions and possibilities of the form as we encounter it (beyond this course) in the modern and contemporary eras.

ENGH 309 B01 is a distance education section taught synchronously. Students should expect to be online at the scheduled meeting times.

Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 1-3

Studies literature by topics, such as women in literature, science fiction, and literature of the avant garde. Notes: Topic varies. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: Satisfaction of University requirements in 100-level English and in Mason Core literature.
Schedule Type: Lec/Sem #1, Lec/Sem #2, Lec/Sem #3, Lec/Sem #4, Lec/Sem #5, Lec/Sem #6, Lec/Sem #7, Lec/Sem #8, Lec/Sem #9, Lecture, Sem/Lec #10, Sem/Lec #11, Sem/Lec #12, Sem/Lec #13, Sem/Lec #14, Sem/Lec #15, Sem/Lec #16, Sem/Lec #17, Sem/Lec #18
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.