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GED2301 Literature and Human Nature: Home

Course Description

This course introduces you to the world of literature in English, covering works of fiction, poetry and drama. We will analyze the significance of each literary work for its time and for our time. In the process, you will acquire techniques and language skills for literary appreciation. You are encouraged to read literary works from different time periods and different cultural backgrounds to broaden and deepen your understanding of the human experience.

Recommended Books

The Norton Anthology of American Literature

This book covers American literature from its beginning to the present. The two volumes are divided into five parts- American Literature Beginnings to 1820, American Literature 1820-1865, American Literature 1865-1914, American Literature 1914-1945, and American Literature since 1945. The book features topical gatherings of texts that illuminate the cultural, historical, intellectual, and literary concerns of their respective periods. For example, readers will find the topics “Native American Oral Literature” and “Ethnographic and Naturalist Writing” in the part “American Literature Beginnings to 1820”. This shorter ninth edition further expands its selections of women writers and writers from diverse ethnic, racial, and regional backgrounds.

The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing

This book collects classic works drawn from many periods and cultures. It is organized into four parts focusing on fiction, poetry, drama, and critical thinking and writing. The first three parts explain the literary elements of each genre-fiction, poetry, and drama- and how to write them, and explore several additional approaches to reading literature and conclude with an anthology of literary works. The fourth part provides detailed instruction on thinking, reading, and writing about literature that can be assigned selectively throughout the course. This book also includes sample student papers and more than 2,000 assignments.