ENGL 103 B02: Case Studies in Research: Representations of History

K. Smitka

In this class, we will explore how literature helps us think about history. The literary works we will study focus on historical atrocities as a way to think about ongoing terrains of debate regarding colonialism, class, gender, identity, nationalism, and race. Students will be encouraged to think not only about historical events, but also the ways in which these events are studied, archived, and retold. As with every section of ENGL 103, this course introduces students to methods of literary research. Students can expect to learn about, and put into practice, the stages in a research process-from identifying a research question or problem, to finding and evaluating useful supplementary materials-and learn how to place their ideas in conversation with the knowledge they build from research.