An introduction to the study of literature. Why is imaginative literature worth reading and taking seriously? How do we prepare ourselves to be the best possible readers of imaginative literature?

In this class students will learn to identify, describe, and analyze aesthetic phenomena, understand the social role and ongoing evolution of human creative expression, and develop their own approach to creative expression.

Analyzes the major writings of Poe, Emerson, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, Thoreau, and Dickinson. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.engl.virginia.edu/courses.

Focuses on the rise of sentimental novels and sensational novels between the American Revolution and the Civil War. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.engl.virginia.edu/courses.

Limited enrollment. Topics vary from year to year. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.engl.virginia.edu/courses.

The Pavilion Seminars are open, by instructor permission, to 3rd and 4th year students. They are 3-credit, multidisciplinary seminars, focused on big topics and limited to max. 15 students each. For detailed descriptions of current offerings, see http://college.artsandsciences.virginia.edu/PAVS.

'Critical method' is the point at which general philosophical or political claims intersect with specific techniques of interpretation. The aim of this course is to give students a thorough introduction to current debates in the methodology of literary and cultural studies in ways that will aid their own future thinking and writing. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.engl.virginia.edu/courses.

A single semester of independent study under faculty supervision for MA or PhD students in English doing intensive research on a subject not covered in the usual courses. Requires approval by a faculty member who has agreed to supervise a guided course of reading and substantial written exercise, a detailed outline of the research project, and authorization by the Director of Graduate Studies in English. Only one may be offered for Ph.D credit. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.engl.virginia.edu/courses.

M.A. students in English may choose to write a substantial thesis directed by a faculty member. Students opting for a thesis should draw up a proposal and secure a director to supervise the project. Students choose between a critical thesis of 10,000-15,000 words and a pedagogical thesis (described on our website). Students enroll in this three-credit course for a single semester, either fall or spring; it is not available during the summer. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.engl.virginia.edu/courses.

Students taking this course are expected to prepare for their M.A. oral examination and proceed with their M.A. research. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.engl.virginia.edu/graduate/current.

Topics range from the colonial period to the cultural influence of pragmatism. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.engl.virginia.edu/courses.

Students taking this course are expected to prepare for their preliminary qualifying oral examinations for the doctorate. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.engl.virginia.edu/courses.

For doctoral dissertation, taken under the supervision of a dissertation director. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.engl.virginia.edu/courses.