This introductory literature course focuses on poetry and fiction written in the first person, as a particular form of written expression. Each of the assigned texts adopts one or more specific standpoints, using first-person perspective to perform a strategy of "self-expression" unique to the work. Whom do we meet when a work has an "I"? What is persona, and how is it performed? What kinds of authenticity are available to an author, a narrator, and a speaker? We'll consider these questions in each individual case, as well as across the reading, considering the relationship between form and content as we examine the ways in which written works create meaning.

We will read works by a range of authors, from Sir Philip Sidney to Rita Dove, and including Dostoevsky, Nabokov, and George Eliot, examining the different ways a "self" can be presented in poetry and fiction.

This class is designed to help you identify and develop the skills involved in the study of literature, beginning with active, critical reading. You will be asked to propose and evaluate a variety of interpretations through discussion and regular reading responses, in addition to three formal essays and a final exam.