ENG 287: Life Stages in Literature Hello, I'm Linda Trinh Moser and I'm an Associate Professor of English. In addition to teaching "Life Stages in Literature," I teach "Women's Literature," ethnic American and world literature. In the course that you'll be taking, ENG 287, Life Stages in Literature, the works and literature that we'll read and discuss describe, just as the title suggests, the various stages of life from birth to death. Under the broad categories of childhood, young adulthood and later adulthood, we'll look at themes such of coming of age, fitting in, family relations, love, crisis and death. By examining the life stages of both women and men and of course, boys and girls, whose experiences cross historical eras, cultures, and social economical class, we can begin to distinguish commonalities, without ignoring differences. In this way, those aspects of the stages which are biologically determined and which are socially and culturally constructed will begin to merge. Keep in mind that we'll be doing a lot of reading and writing this semester. This means that it is very very important that you keep up with the assignments. In the past, students who have fallen behind in their readings have had to drop the course. Because each reading and writing assignment builds upon the previous ones, you cannot pass this course if you don't keep up. But if you're willing to stay on task, by the end of the course, you'll be rewarded. You'll have gained a deeper understanding of the various aspects which affect how you and other individual experience life. More significantly, you'll develop various strategies that will enable you to confront opposing and differing life experiences while learning more about your own. I look forward to meeting and working with you. |