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CAS EN 120: Freshman seminar in Literature
Limited enrollment. Variable topics. Through discussions and frequent writing assignments, students develop skills in the close reading of literary texts and learn to express their interpretive ideas in correct and persuasive prose. Satisfies CAS WR 100 requirement. -
CAS EN 121: Reading World Literature
Study of literature in English or English translation -- poetry, drama, and prose narrative -- outside of British and American traditions. Attention to such topics as cultural self-construction, relationships of historical context to artistic expression, and development of literary forms. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. -
CAS EN 125: Reading Modern Literature
Introduces key concepts for understanding major developments in modern literature. Readings in poetry, drama and fiction from varying traditions, designed to motivate an interest in some of the most engaging, and challenging, works of our time. Topics vary by instructor. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. -
CAS EN 127: Reading American Literature
Readings may include works of fiction, poetry, or drama composed in America from the colonial period to the present. Attention to a wide range of literary works and historical and cultural contexts. Topics vary by instructor. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. -
CAS EN 128: Representing Boston
The literary and cultural geography of the city of Boston, from Puritan sermons to modern crime fiction. Readings by Winthrop, Wheatley, Hawthorne, Alcott, King, Malcolm X, Lowell, and Lehane; required fieldwork in graveyards, war memorials, the MFA, and Fenway Park. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. -
CAS EN 130: Literature and Science
Through readings in British and/or American literature, an exploration of some of the following topics: science and technology as literary themes; historical construction of science and art; similarities and differences between literary and scientific methods; the development of science fiction. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. -
CAS EN 141: Introduction to Fiction
Introduces critical concepts for analyzing works of fiction. Readings in different periods, genres, and traditions, ranging from canonical masterpieces to unheralded literary gems, aimed to cultivate an appetite for the pleasures, and rigors, of narrative art. Topics vary by instructor. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same number that was previously titled "Literary Types: Fiction." Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. -
CAS EN 142: Introduction to Poetry
Introduction to the understanding, interpretation, and appreciation of a wide range of poetry. Focus on poetic form, genre, and style, with explorations of cultural and aesthetic contexts. Particular emphasis on close, careful reading and discussion. Topics vary by instructor. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same number that was previously titled "Literary Types: Poetry." Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. -
CAS EN 143: Introduction to Drama
Introduction to dramatic literature and performance. Readings may include works from the classical period to the present, with particular emphasis on learning how to read and understand dramatic literature as a form and in cultural context. Topics vary by instructor. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same number that was previously titled "Literary Types: Drama." Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. -
CAS EN 163: Reading Shakespeare
A critical introduction to Shakespeare through intensive analyses of six or seven plays. Possible attention to such topics as literary sources, early modern stagecraft, performance history, and contemporary film adaptation. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. -
CAS EN 164: Reading Shakespeare
Representative tragedies, comedies, and histories. Primarily for students not concentrating in English. CAS EN 163 not prerequisite for EN 164. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. -
CAS EN 175: Literature and the Art of Film
Survey and analysis of cinema as an expressive medium from the silent period to the present. Films are screened weekly and discussed in conjunction with works of literature. Students must register for screening, discussion, and lecture. -
CAS EN 202: Introduction to Creative Writing
An introduction to writing in various genres: poetry, fiction, plays. Students' work discussed in class. Designed mainly for those with little or no experience in creative writing. Does not give concentration credit. Enrollment limited. -
CAS EN 220: Seminar in Literature
Fundamentals of literary analysis, interpretation, and research. Intensive study of selected literary texts centered on a particular topic. Attention to different critical approaches. Frequent papers. Limited class size. Required of concentrators in English. Satisfies WR 150 requirement. -
CAS EN 221: Major Authors I
Introduction to the major works of ancient and medieval literatures that influenced later Continental, English, and American literature: the Bible, Homeric epic, Greek tragedy, Vergil's Aeneid, and Dante's The Divine Comedy. Required of concentrators in English. Cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course by the same title that was formerly numbered CAS HU 221. -
CAS EN 304: Writing of Poetry
The writing of poems discussed in a workshop setting. For the more advanced student. Individual conferences. Limited enrollment. -
CAS EN 305: Writing of Fiction
The writing of short stories and perhaps longer fiction discussed in a workshop setting. For the more advanced student. Individual conferences. Limited enrollment. -
CAS EN 306: Introduction to Playwriting
Students write and discuss their plays in a workshop setting. Individual conferences. Limited enrollment. -
CAS EN 322: British Literature I
Beginnings of English literature from Anglo-Saxon period to end of the seventeenth century. Topics include the development of various poetic forms, medieval romance, and British drama. Authors may include Chaucer, Kempe, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Donne, and Milton. -
CAS EN 323: British Literature II
Overview of English literature between 1700 and 1900. Topics include London as urban center, modern prose fiction, Romantic and Victorian poetry, tensions between religion and science. Authors may include Pope, Swift, Wordsworth, Austen, Dickens, Tennyson, Wilde.

