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| Literature (School of Humanities and Social Sciences) |
| LITR-2110 Introduction to Literature A study of major literary works that introduces students to basic ideas and terminology in literary criticism. Students learn to read and interpret a selection of novels, plays, poetry, or other forms of writing to be determined each semester by the instructor. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2150 Contemporary Literature A study of significant works of world literature of the 20th century. Each work provides the student with a concrete experience of some overriding problem of our time—for example, the difficulty of becoming one’s self in the modern age. Fall and spring terms annually. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2310 The Human Mind in Fiction Works of literature reflect theories about the human mind. Just as people have vigorously debated theories about the movement of planets in the material world, they have proposed radically different notions of the mental world. All seek to explain emotion, reason, dreams, and memory. Drawing on material from Homeric Greece to 20th-century cyber-culture, this course pairs one psychological explanation of mind with a corresponding literary work. Fall term alternate years. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2350 Shakespeare A study of the major plays of William Shakespeare, including his comedies, histories, and tragedies. As well as textual discussion, students will have an opportunity to view film versions of the dramatic works and to perform or read extracts in class. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2360 The Novel Study of about seven representative novels. Each book is reviewed as a unique work of art, as an outgrowth of certain traditions, as a mirror of its time, and as an expression of one author’s personal vision of human nature and the human condition. Fall term alternate years. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2420 Art of the Film A survey of selected films whose directors have contributed to the resources of the medium, as well as a study of technical and aesthetic considerations that distinguish film from other arts. Reading assignments in film history, techniques, scripts, and special research projects. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2450 Utopian Literature An exploration of the use of fiction to propagate ideas about ideal or nightmarish societies. This course examines the artistic techniques employed in this distinct tradition and the unusual interplay between fiction and reality that this popular genre represents. Students work toward the design of their own utopian scheme in short story or other form. Fall term alternate years. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2460 Black Film A survey of black films of the 20th century and an analysis of the plot, theme, cultural construction, characterization, moral-,philosophical implications, blacks images, and historical context to black life and national conditions. Offered on availability of instructor. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2470 Study of African-American Literature This course provides an introduction to black authors and their literary contributions and an analysis of their relationship to black thought and culture. Various forms of literature, such as folk tales, poetry, short story, prose, and essay, will be presented with emphasis on literary style and content as influenced by the social environment of the periods of America’s historical development from 1619 to the present. Students will write about these works in class, including a thirty-page (typed) critical research paper outside of class. Workshops, lectures, oral reports, and group discussions will be the methodology for each class session. Offered on availability of instructor. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2500 The Short Story A study of outstanding short stories from 19th- and 20th-century Europe and America, usually including works by such writers as Boccaccio, Flaubert, Chekhov, Borges, Ellison, Faulkner, Hemingway, Chopin, Joyce, Kafka, O’Connor, and Welty. Offered on availability of instructor. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2540 Modern Drama A survey of the work of modern dramatists such as Shaw, Ibsen, and O’Neill, as well as more contemporary playwrights such as Miller, Williams, Brecht, Beckett, Orton, and Stoppard. Offered on availability of instructor. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2770 Women Writers A study of works of literature written by women, featuring such writers as Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, George Eliot, and Virginia Woolf, and including the work of selected contemporary writers. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2940 Literature Studies Readings and projects adapted to the needs of individual students. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-2960 Topics in Literature Experimental courses tried out in one or two terms. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-4150 Science and Fiction An exploration of the ongoing dialogue between science/technology and literature through the reading of landmark works about science and fictional works that describe scientific ideas and methods. Topics include artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and cyborgs. Offered alternate years. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-4210 Humor, Comedy, and Satire Readings of literature from various periods in these three modes, including works by classical, renaissance, and contemporary writers. May include film, videos, and audio recordings. Prerequisite: one literature course. Spring term alternate years. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-4410 Film Theory The purpose of this course is to study significant theories of representation that analyze the visual codifications generically called “film.” We will examine theories of visual rhetoric and of narrativity; look at the way economic and technological factors have affected the construction of cinematic codes, styles, and trends; examine influential psychoanalytic theories and feminist theories; and consider the ways in which popular films participate in the cultural narratives specific to their moment of production. Prerequisite: any film course or permission of instructor. Offered annually. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-4450 Nonwestern Fiction and Film This course explores the work of indigenous writers and filmmakers from the Pacific Islands, Africa, India, and China and considers how local/native, national, and transnational identities are constructed through their voices. The books and films studied deal with immigrant experience, the condition of diaspora, the politically self-conscious invention of a national voice, and critique of the postcolonial nation-state. Prerequisite: any film course or permission of instructor. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-4960 Topics in Literature Experimental courses tried out in one or two terms. 4 credit hours |
| LITR-6330 Critical Theory Focuses on the major philosophical, political, and psychological theories that have shaped literary studies since 1965. Students will be introduced to major theories [including Deconstruction, Psychoanalysis (Freud-Lacan), Marxism, Feminism] and to a series of topics that ask students to integrate two or more of these theories. Prerequisite: graduate standing or permission of instructor. Offered on availability of instructor. 3 credit hours |
| LITR-6940 Literature Studies Readings and projects adapted to the needs of individual students. 3 credit hours |
| LITR-6960 Topics in Literature Experimental courses tried out in one or two terms. 3 credit hours |
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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 110 8th St., Troy, NY 12180. (518) 276-6000 Please direct questions regarding this site to catalog@rpi.edu. |