PSU English Blogs

Discover more blogs from Plymouth State’s English Program!

COURSE BLOGS

American Literature I

“What constitutes an American literary text? Must it be written by an American-born author? Written in the U.S.? About the U.S.? What is the difference, if there is one, between American Literature and Literature of the Americas? In an era increasingly defined as “global,” how durable and stable is the category of the nation in defining a literary tradition?”

British Literature II

“Focuses on British literature from 1660 through the mid-20th century. Centers on a particular theme of the instructor’s choosing and investigates how this theme interacts with the historical events and literary trends of the period.”

Critical Theory (Section I, Section II)

““Critical Theory” seeks to” … “acquaint students with specific modern and contemporary schools of literary theory including: Formalism, Reader Response, Psychoanalysis, Structuralism, Semiotics, Marxism, Poststructuralism, Feminism, Queer Theory, Postcolonial Theory, and New Historicism. “

Digitalit: When the story goes digital…

“More and more, the contemporary reading public is turning to digital technology as a means to experience literature. The ubiquity of the Internet and hyperlink technology, the popularity of e-readers, and readers’ desire for multi-media experiences seem, on the surface, to put the future of the book at risk. Scholars for decades have been lamenting the rise of technology and prophesying the death of the book and the humanities itself. However, rather than seeing one technology (the Internet) defeat another (the printed book), perhaps we are witnessing the dawn of a new genre: digitalit.”

Eating American Literature

“What are the cultural politics, narratives, and images associated with eating in American literature? Taking into account contemporary environmental debates about food politics, organic farming, and locavorism, this course explores the American literary history of food and eating.”

Rethinking Early American Literature

“What is Early American literature? Where might we find it today? In an era increasingly defined as “global,” how durable and stable is the category of the nation in defining a literary tradition? We will grapple with these questions as we examine American texts from the period of early colonization to the end of the Civil War.”

FACULTY BLOGS

Liz Ahl (Creative Writing, Poetry)