EN 12—Introduction to Literature

     This course explores methods of responding to literature. New Worlds of Literature, an anthology edited by Beaty & Hunter which is both contemporary and multicultural, includes the three basic literary genres: fiction, plays, and poetry.

      Students learn how to distinguish the features of each of those three basic genres. This fundamental knowledge helps them formulate and "own" their individual interpretations of any given work of literature—both for this course and for their future reading. For this purpose we use Reading, Writing, and the Study of Literature, edited by Biddle and Fulweiler, a book of sound advice that is not overly complex or arcane.

     In a project that extends from the first to the last week of the course, students are asked to write an interpretive research paper on one of two works of literature: the play Fences, by August Wilson, or the novel Love Medicine, by Louise Erdrich. Research materials for this paper are supplied to the students, so that they can concentrate on the more important matters of thinking and interpreting, rather than getting overwhelmed in a treasure hunt for the "best" article.

     Through writing this paper, students learn how to create and defend their own hypotheses about the meaning of a literary work—even when they are faced with a dozen scholarly articles, each of which advances its own different theory of the work's meaning. I encourage my students to be brave enough to value their own ideas, to be informed but not intimidated by the "experts" they quote in their papers. In this way, students see how it is that a literary work can hold nuances of meaning as diverse as its readers.

      In the final section of the course, small teams of students choose poems from Beaty & Hunter and lead whole-class discussions focusing on the integration of poetic form and meaning. These teams are charged to elicit a broad range of interpretations from class members.

      Throughout the semester, students continue to work on their writing skills, using selected passages from The Prentice-Hall Handbook for Writers.

      The rationale for the course is to demystify the study of literature with an active and enjoyable approach. Learning how to engage literature with imagination and patience can help any student with further study.