Ways of Reading: Adaptations: From Page to Stage
ENGL 201N
Fall 2024
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01
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Ways of Reading courses introduce students to the characteristics thought of as literary and the methods for studying them. This is a gateway course into the English major. Only one of the ENGL201 series may be taken for credit.
Ways of Reading courses develop strategies for careful and close reading, and techniques for the analysis of literary forms such as poetry and drama, and prose narratives such as novels and short stories. They familiarize students with some of the protocols of the literary-critical essay, examine the idea of literature as a social institution, and explore ways of connecting textual details and the world beyond the text. The ways of reading learned in the course are powerful tools for critically assessing discourses that expand far beyond the realm of literature. So while students will become adept literary critics, they also will learn quickly that to be a literary critic is to read critically and carefully all the time: in poems, novels, and plays, but also in political speech, in popular culture, and in the discourses that shape everyday life.
This course investigates dramatic adaptations that have originated from poetry, short stories, novels, and historical events. Through multiple modes of inquiry, we interrogate form, genre, narrative, aesthetic, and intended audience as well as the social, political, gender, sexuality, and/or racial context of each literary piece. Within these various "page to stage" adaptation processes, we track the evolution of our source texts and chart the longevity and changeable dynamics of elements, such as character, theme, plot, point of view, setting, and time, as they appear within each dramatic iteration. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (ENGL)(THEA) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
In addition to critical scholarship and documentaries, major readings include the following novels, plays, poetry, and autobiography:
Langston Hughes, HARLEM
Lorraine Hansberry, A RAISIN IN THE SUN
Elizabeth Alexander, THE VENUS HOTTENTOT
Suzan-Lori Parks, VENUS
Toni Morrison, THE BLUEST EYE
Lydia Diamond, THE BLUEST EYE
Harriet Jacobs, INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL
Lydia Diamond, HARRIET JACOBS: A PLAY
Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER
Suzan-Lori Parks, THE RED LETTER PLAYS
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Examinations and Assignments:
Frequent writing assignments ranging from brief textual analyses to 5+ page essays. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Gateway course for English major. Priority enrollment will be given to prospective English majors during Drop/Add. |
| Instructor(s): McMahon,Rashida Times: ...W.F. 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: TST114; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 0 | JR major: 0 | | |
| Seats Available: -3 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 0 | JR non-major: 1 | SO: 13 | FR: 1 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 1 |
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