ENGL9918.01 Fall 2025 PhD Seminar: Issues and Methods in English Studies [Weiskott]
header: Denzel Washington as Macbeth (2021)
This course offers an introduction to doctoral research in the field of English studies, with focus on problems of method revolving around the field’s burning question, What is literature? We read a range of recent scholarship, exploring approaches, methods, and issues of interest, including formalism vs. historicism, literary and cultural theory, poetics, book history, and periodization. Primary works assigned are drawn from different centuries and all major genres, mainly from Britain. Students write either a research paper on a primary text or a substantial position paper on an issue or a method. As the PhD seminar, this course also functions as a workshop in genres of scholarly writing, such as book reviews, conference abstracts, and articles.
All assigned readings not found in required course texts and not provided with an external link on the syllabus can be found by clicking Files to the left of your screen.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|