All Courses
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EN3253 Strange Times: Issues in Contemporary Literature [2220]
What is “the contemporary”? How has contemporary literature since the turn of the twenty-first century engaged with some of the most pressing social, political, and cultural concerns of the current moment? This module takes the experience and representation of time as its central analytic for examining these questions. Through a range of novels written since the turn of the twenty-first century, the module aims to introduce students to the emergent social, political, and cultural concerns currently occupying the contemporary imagination.
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EN3263 Singapore Literature in Context [2220]
This module aims to give students good grounding in Singaporean literature via texts written in a variety of mediums. It will explore the styles and concerns in the works of several key poets, fiction writers, and dramatists across Singapore’s cultural history. Students will be challenged to ask how these writers affect their understanding of Singaporean society and the role of Singaporean literature.
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EN4222 Topics in the Eighteenth Century [2220]
Course Description: This module explores the broader significance and implications of new tendencies that arose in the eighteenth century, and the ways in which they herald the concerns of the 'modern world.' In this particular iteration of EN4222, we will focus on "material cultures," broadly conceived, and so will discuss materialism as it pertains to science and philosophy, early mercantile capitalism and the emergence of consumer culture, the emergence of an imperial consciousness, and the print marketplace. Across the term, we will work to understand how a focus on material objects pervades scientific, political, literary, and religious thinking, while we will also investigate current scholarship in material culture. Finally, we will also think about how 'things' relate to 'individuals,' as the 'modern' individual emerges across the century. Course Objectives: To promote a deeper understanding of the “long eighteenth century,” and to introduce students to some of the major literary innovations of the period. To trace an important theme—the focus on the material object—through the tremendously diverse literary output of the eighteenth century. To develop in students more attentive methods of close reading, and to explore literary texts within their specific social, historical, and intellectual contexts. For details, please see "Syllabus."