ELIT 2152
Literature in English: Modern Texts and Contexts
What is modern English literature, and how do we tell its story? Is it a succession of literary movements from romanticism to realism to modernism and beyond? Is it a canon of classic texts to survey? Is it a sustained critique of that canon's exclusions, a recentering of the marginalized authors whose works reveal previously obscured accounts of modernity? It is, in fact, all of the above. In this course, we will introduce students to the central themes, forms, and forces that have shaped the history of English-language literature from the late 18th century to the present, as well as to the tools, vocabularies, and critical practices of contemporary literary studies. Throughout, we will examine the norms and assumptions of literary history, including those based in race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality. Students will encounter fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction from Britain and the United States, along with African, Caribbean, or other global literatures in English. Authors studied may include William Wordsworth, Phillis Wheatley, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Frederick Douglass, Oscar Wilde, T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Claude McKay, Samuel Beckett, James Baldwin, Wole Soyinka, Toni Morrison, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, and Zadie Smith. Note: This course satisfies one of the two 200-level requirements for the English major.
Instructors
Bill McKelvy, Erin Finneran, Ian Clark, Sarah Weston, Wolfram Schmidgen
Reviews
Loved Modern Lit with Dr. Clark, he is great at facilitating discussion and cares about his students.
12/4/2025
Professor Finneran doesn't really care about teaching. She only really cares about her books. And she expects you to know as much as her after decades. Its preposterous.
11/15/2025
I will never take another course with her again. I seriously considered dropping the ampersand class I was in because of her as a teacher. Avoid her if you know what's good for you.
11/15/2025
Amazing professor! Took her first-year seminar on the cosmos in literature and it was fascinating! Quite a bit of reading, but I enjoyed it. Not an especially harsh grader, but gives great feedback on everything. She's overall just an incredibly kind and passionate person and joy to have as a professor..
4/29/2025
I LOVE SCHMIDGEN! He is a great professor, very engaging with the students and even though I took him for Early Texts (which is required), he still made the material and discussions interesting and lively. He also is very knowledgeable about the Middle Ages/17th century and sprinkled in some history throughout, which was great.
4/22/2025
Prof. Finneran can, admittedly, be a lot to handle in the morning, but she's a passionate and caring professor who does her best to keep her class interested and engaged. She is incredibly knowledgeable and the feedback she gives on essays + her Tools for Writing Well module are invaluable. She is a bit out of touch, but overall she's a good prof.
12/25/2024
Professor Weston is the greatest ever. She is so kind, caring and genuine. Her lectures are always very informative and the discussions are intellectually stimulating and balanced between her leading and the students leading. She is very supportive and enthusiastic with all of the creative writing as well. Take her class!
11/7/2024
Professor Weston is an amazing professor! She knows and cares a lot about English literature and is always willing to share her own takes and opinions about the content. There's not a lot of homework and when there is it's always fun and interesting. Discussions are intellectually stimulating and open. MT&C is a great class with a great professor!
11/7/2024
He gives the most boring lectures you have ever heard. Be prepared. He will chastise you for looking at the time or getting up to use the bathroom. He will call on you blindly and is a very hard grader. Avoid if you can.
2/7/2024
Overall, he is bland. In discussion, Professor McKelvy will repeat your points as if they are his own. He does not make the content exciting or applicable but is a decent guy. He also refuses to use technology and doesn't submit grades on Canvas. I wouldn't recommend taking the course with him.
5/9/2023
Professor McKelvy is brilliant and is so well educated in what he is teaching. He is able to lead discussion very well, using every student's comments in a positive way. He is very kind and helpful - in class and with essays.
1/9/2018
A solid professor. Will neither be your favorite of the year, nor your least favorite. Dry sense of humor, and appropriately knowledgeable as a professor. Worth taking, and certainly not worth avoiding. Has an incredibly knack for picking up whatever nuggets of truth his students suggest in discussion, no matter how asinine or off-topic. Is kind.
1/7/2014