Honors Program: A pathway to excellence.

HON 201/401
Reading England from Renaissance to Revolution: literature, politics, and the birth of the modern

The course will be an intensive study of the rhetorical politics of England in the 16th and 17th centuries. The seminar will focus on both the primary works of authors including but not limited to Shakespeare, Milton, and Hobbes, as well as the historiographical, interpretive, and theoretical debates surrounding the period. Students will produce independent creative/scholarly work tailored to course level and desired substitution.

Students in Honors 201/401 will be in the service of local political candidates. After studying various types of political rhetoric from the English Renaissance, students will apply their knowledge during the Dillon elections. In November, candidates for city council present their views before election-day via The Dillon Tribune. Before this publication, our students will write to each candidate, offering to read and rhetorically edit these position pieces. In combination with this activity, we will invite participating candidates to class to talk about their use of political rhetoric to class. Students will have a chance to meet the candidate behind the words as well as write a critical essay about the finished product they helped produce for The Dillon Tribune. This project will give students real-life experience with political rhetoric that matters on a local level. By applying what they've learned about effective political language, they will see the power of language in action.
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HON 201/401 Reading England is available for either lower or upper division credit.

Substitutions:
HON 201 will substitute for the General Education requirements in Behavioral & Social Sciences (either part) or Humanities: Literary and Artistic Studies.
HON 401 will substitute for ENGL 454, ENGL 455, HIST 409, or POLS 409.


Instructors: Dr. Bethany Blankenship and Dr. Sean Eudaily

Time: Fall 2006, Block 3, 12-3pm

Prerequisite: ENGL 102