Collage of authors

History of Literature in English

ENGL 200
Undergraduate
Fall/Winter 2026/2027
6 Units
In-person
3
  • Level 2 or above or 6.0 units of ENGL
  • ENGL 110
one-way Exclusions
  • Norton Anthology of English Literature, Shorter Edition, Volumes 1 & 2
  • Jane Austen, Persuasion 3rd Norton Critical Edition

These texts will be available in a discounted bundle at the Campus Bookstore (ISBN 9781324139973)

**Subject to change**
 

The purpose of ENGL 200 is to gain familiarity with the forms and concerns of English literature from the Medieval to contemporary periods. In addition to studying formal conventions and innovations, we will pay particular attention to the construction of explanatory narratives (e.g., national history; the Christian story of temptation, fall and redemption) and systems of order (of the self, society and the cosmos) as well as ideas about the purpose of literature (to teach or delight) and the role of the poet.

Authors studied will likely include: Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, John Donne, John Milton, Alexander Pope, Jane Austen, William Wordsworth, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, T. S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Tom Stoppard.

Assessments

Grading Components

  • essays
  • in-class writing
  • quizzes
  • exam at the end of each term

**Subject to change**

Instructor

Christopher Fanning


This is a core course for all English plans. On-campus students are strongly encouraged to take this course in person.

The online offering of this course will be offered through Arts and Science Online and will be reserved for online distance students.