Syllabus for ENGH201 Reading and Writing about Texts

At first glance, literature and war have little connection. Literature is about creating something; war is the most destructive activity in which human beings engage. Writing usually requires order, quiet, and solitude; war creates chaos and noise, and requires an enemy. However, given that war has been a nearly constant facet of human existence, it would be surprising if writers did not attempt to capture some of the reality of war within their works. People write partly from their own experience — though their imaginations are equally important to the process — and war has been a nearly ineluctable part of human experience since long before literature existed. In addition, more literature derives from pain, anger, and despair than from joy, and war is the source of pain, anger, and despair on an immense scale. Indeed, on the most fundamental level, virtually all literature derives from the awareness of death and the desire to communicate one’s thoughts to others before one is silenced forever, and nothing makes one more aware of death than war does. Writers know that great literature grants its authors a kind of immortality, or at least a more enduring influence on the world: the authors we are reading are dead, but we can still hear their voices and engage with their thoughts. Moreover, literature virtually requires both irony and paradox, and war provides both. As terrible as war is, it also provides the opportunity to demonstrate many qualities that we admire, such as courage, camaraderie, and occasionally chivalry. As deadly as war is, proximity to death makes one feel more alive than one might otherwise. As brutal as war is, it can also be spectacular and awe-inspiring. War is not only a suitable subject for literature, it is a nearly irresistible one.

Over the course of the semester, we will explore some of the ways that literature has dealt with the subject of war by reading and viewing different genres (epic poetry, novels, lyric poetry, film). Traditionally, we might label these ways with adjectives such as epic, heroic, realistic, naturalistic, dramatic, satirical, absurd, and lyric, but what is important is how each approach deepens and enriches our understanding of the experience of war. We will also consider how literature about war has changed to reflect changes in war itself. As part of George Mason’s general education program, now known as Mason Core, this course aims to provide you with the critical thinking skills necessary to make the reading of and engagement with great works of literature meaningful and ongoing aspects of your life, and to discuss these works in a spirit of inquiry and respectful debate. Students successfully completing literature courses in the Mason Core program will be able to

1) Read for comprehension, detail, and nuance.
2) Identify the specific literary qualities of language as employed in the texts they read.
3) Analyze the ways specific literary devices contribute to the meaning of a text.
4) Identify and evaluate the contribution of the social, political, historical, and cultural contexts in which a literary text is produced.
5) Evaluate a critical argument in others’ writing as well as one’s own.