Dark Writing: Poetry and Doubt in Early Modern England
ENGL 308
Fall 2026
| Section:
01
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At the same time that the rigorous system of humanism crisscrossed Renaissance Europe, a persistent anxiety tracked close on its heels. Was the promise of a humanist education realized in its students? Were its philosophies of teaching sound, its account of learning right? This course looks at those poets who emerged from this intellectual revolution to ask fascinating questions about teaching, learning, and understanding. Instructions on how to read, so clearly prescribed in the prose of rhetoricians and preachers, met with doubt and experimentation in the poetry: silly teachers, careless students, difficult texts, and hapless interpreters abound. Alongside the poetry of Edmund Spenser, John Donne, George Herbert, and Mary Wroth, we will read a range of philosophers, pedagogues, and religious reformers all contending with similar questions: is poetry a suitable medium for teaching? What actually makes us learn? How should I read a difficult text, and how do I know when I've understood it? |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
TBD
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Examinations and Assignments:
TBD |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Contributes to the fulfillment of the following English major requirements:
British Literature, Literary History 1, elective |
| Instructor(s): Retica,Rachel Times: .M.W... 10:50AM-12:10PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 5 | JR major: 5 | | |
| Seats Available: 11 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 0 | JR non-major: 0 | SO: 5 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 1 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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