I. General Information
1. Course Title:
Honors Literature: The Great Books
2. Course Prefix & Number:
ENGL 1460
3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:
Credits: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
4. Course Description:
This is a seminar course of the great books of non-Western and Western literature. Students will read, discuss, analyze, and evaluate creative literature (plays, novels, poetry collections) and non-fiction literature. Students will compose two, formal, written response to the ideas presented in the literary works. While this course will use the language of literature to discuss characterization, plot, conflict, setting, and tone, the course focuses mainly on the ideas presented in the texts.
5. Placement Tests Required:
6. Prerequisite Courses:
ENGL 1460 - Honors Literature: The Great Books
There are no prerequisites for this course.
7. Other Prerequisites
Admission to the Honors program
9. Co-requisite Courses:
ENGL 1460 - Honors Literature: The Great Books
There are no corequisites for this course.
II. Transfer and Articulation
1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:
|
Name of Institution
|
Course Number and Title
|
Credits
|
|
St. John’s University
|
Honors 311: Great Books/Great Ideas
|
3
|
|
St. Mary’s University
|
LH305: Literature and the Arts
|
3
|
III. Course Purpose
MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:
Goal 6 – Humanities and Fine Arts
IV. Learning Outcomes
1. College-Wide Outcomes
| College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies |
Students will be able to: |
| Demonstrate oral communication skills |
This outcome will be achieved through seminar discussions, Socratic lectures, oral exams, round table debates, and mock trials. |
| Demonstrate written communication skills |
Students will compose two, formal, analytical papers, submit several online discussion postings and journal entries. |
| Demonstrate reading and listening skills |
Students will read masterworks for literature and discuss the ideas, conflicts, cultural and ethical dilemmas presented in the great books. |
| Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations |
Literary analysis is an abstract process; students will learn practical steps to approach this abstract process. Students might analyze a literary work to determine how the concepts such as justice, redemption, or liberty function in the text or in multiple texts. |
| Work as a team member to achieve shared goals |
Through Socratic discussions, and peer-led discussions, students will share work together to examine literary works and define their responses to the ideas presented in the texts. Students also participate in discussions (electronically and personally) to exchange ideas and interpretations. |
| Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments |
Students will read a diverse selection of literary works, all of which are products of a specific culture and environment. Using journal and essay assignments that focus on cultural and environmental issues that influence a work of literature, students will respond to a rhetorical scenario. |
2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of
the course:
|
Expected Outcome
|
MnTC
Goal Area
|
|
Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.
|
6
|
|
Understand those works as expressions of individual and human values within a historical and social context.
|
6
|
|
Respond critically to works in the arts and humanities.
|
6
|
|
Engage in the creative process or interpretive performance.
|
6
|
|
Articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the arts and humanities.
|
6
|
V. Topical Outline
Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.
1. Lecture Sessions
Literary Analysis
- What is a great book, and what can the great books teach us?
- The language of criticism
- Literary journal
Unit 1: The Good Life
- What does the “good life” mean?
- How have the literary works depicted “the good life?”
Unit 2: “The Soul Selects [its] Own Society”
- How is individualism represented in literature?
- What does society value when it comes to individualism?
- What does it seek to destroy?
Unit3: Justice and Suffering
- How is justice represented in literary works?
- How is suffering represented in literary works, i.e., social oppression, gender stratification, slavery, abuse, et al.
Unit 4: Hero/Citizen
- Does the hero still have “a thousand faces?”
- Fulfilling the role of the citizen.
I. General Information
1. Course Title:
Honors Literature: The Great Books
2. Course Prefix & Number:
ENGL 1460
3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:
Credits: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
4. Course Description:
This is a seminar course of the great books of non-Western and Western literature. Students will read, discuss, analyze, and evaluate creative literature (plays, novels, poetry collections) and non-fiction literature. Students will compose two, formal, written response to the ideas presented in the literary works. While this course will use the language of literature to discuss characterization, plot, conflict, setting, and tone, the course focuses mainly on the ideas presented in the texts.
5. Placement Tests Required:
6. Prerequisite Courses:
ENGL 1460 - Honors Literature: The Great Books
There are no prerequisites for this course.
7. Other Prerequisites
Admission to the Honors program
9. Co-requisite Courses:
ENGL 1460 - Honors Literature: The Great Books
There are no corequisites for this course.
II. Transfer and Articulation
1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:
|
Name of Institution
|
Course Number and Title
|
Credits
|
|
St. John’s University
|
Honors 311: Great Books/Great Ideas
|
3
|
|
St. Mary’s University
|
LH305: Literature and the Arts
|
3
|
III. Course Purpose
2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:
Goal 6 – Humanities and Fine Arts
IV. Learning Outcomes
1. College-Wide Outcomes
| College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies |
Students will be able to: |
| Demonstrate oral communication skills |
This outcome will be achieved through seminar discussions, Socratic lectures, oral exams, round table debates, and mock trials. |
| Demonstrate written communication skills |
Students will compose two, formal, analytical papers, submit several online discussion postings and journal entries. |
| Demonstrate reading and listening skills |
Students will read masterworks for literature and discuss the ideas, conflicts, cultural and ethical dilemmas presented in the great books. |
| Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations |
Literary analysis is an abstract process; students will learn practical steps to approach this abstract process. Students might analyze a literary work to determine how the concepts such as justice, redemption, or liberty function in the text or in multiple texts. |
| Work as a team member to achieve shared goals |
Through Socratic discussions, and peer-led discussions, students will share work together to examine literary works and define their responses to the ideas presented in the texts. Students also participate in discussions (electronically and personally) to exchange ideas and interpretations. |
| Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments |
Students will read a diverse selection of literary works, all of which are products of a specific culture and environment. Using journal and essay assignments that focus on cultural and environmental issues that influence a work of literature, students will respond to a rhetorical scenario. |
2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of
the course:
|
Expected Outcome
|
MnTC
Goal Area
|
|
Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.
|
6
|
|
Understand those works as expressions of individual and human values within a historical and social context.
|
6
|
|
Respond critically to works in the arts and humanities.
|
6
|
|
Engage in the creative process or interpretive performance.
|
6
|
|
Articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the arts and humanities.
|
6
|
V. Topical Outline
Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.
1. Lecture Sessions
Literary Analysis
- What is a great book, and what can the great books teach us?
- The language of criticism
- Literary journal
Unit 1: The Good Life
- What does the “good life” mean?
- How have the literary works depicted “the good life?”
Unit 2: “The Soul Selects [its] Own Society”
- How is individualism represented in literature?
- What does society value when it comes to individualism?
- What does it seek to destroy?
Unit3: Justice and Suffering
- How is justice represented in literary works?
- How is suffering represented in literary works, i.e., social oppression, gender stratification, slavery, abuse, et al.
Unit 4: Hero/Citizen
- Does the hero still have “a thousand faces?”
- Fulfilling the role of the citizen.