GOAL ONE: Analysis and Appreciation of Literature

ENG 241 students will improve their ability to analyze literature. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• demonstrate critical reading, thinking, and writing skills by analyzing a variety of American literary genres;
• identify content, structure, and style in literary texts;
• use literary terminology to analyze works of literature;
• recognize the value inherent in literary art forms and the powerful impact they may have on audiences.

GOAL TWO: Relevance of Literature to Culture

ENG 241 will demonstrate the connections between a culture and the literature it produces. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• identify and analyze the connections between the literature and American history and philosophical and religious movements;
• recognize the contribution of the literature to the development of contemporary culture.

GOAL THREE: Characteristics of American literature

ENG 241 will introduce students to the specific forms and conventions of American literature. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• define and provide examples of the literary characteristics of works by American authors from the pre-colonial period to the mid-nineteenth century;
• discuss some recurring themes of American literature (e.g., the meaning and purpose of life, the role of the individual in society, race, war, the family, values and mores, individualism, nature, and the role of the writer.)