ENGL 1184 Lit Core: Literature, Testimony, Justice
This section of Literature Core will explore how literary texts bear witness to historical events and address social issues. Through the study of poetry, fiction, drama, and autobiography, we will examine how writers have used a variety of literary genres and forms to transform traumatic memories and the experiences of displacement and oppression into art. Topics include slavery and the Holocaust. Texts may include Herman Melville's Benito Cereno, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Toni Morrison's Beloved, Art Spiegelman's Maus, Tommy Orange's There There, and The Laramie Project.
Course overview
- Department
- English
- School
- MCAS
- Credits
- 3
- Level
- Undergraduate
Catalog details
- Satisfies core
- Cultural Diversity,Literature
Requirements fulfilled
- University Core: Cultural Diversity (All undergraduates)
- University Core: Literature (All undergraduates)
Course evaluations
- Course rating
- 4.30 / 5 · Very Good
- Instructor rating
- 4.51 / 5 · Excellent
- Terms evaluated
- 9
| Term | Instructor | Course overall | Instructor overall | Well organized | Clear learning objectives | Intellectually challenging | Helpful assignments | Applicable beyond course | Attendance necessary | Weekly effort | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | Lori Harrison-Kahan | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4–6 hrs/week | 19 of 22 |
| Fall 2025 | Lori Harrison-Kahan | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 1–3 hrs/week | 44 of 49 |
| Spring 2025 | Lori Harrison-Kahan | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4–6 hrs/week | 38 of 47 |
| Fall 2024 | Lori Harrison-Kahan | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.7 | — | 21 of 24 |
| Fall 2023 | Lori Harrison-Kahan | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 36 of 48 |
| Spring 2023 | Lori Harrison-Kahan | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4–6 hrs/week | 15 of 25 |
| Fall 2022 | Lori Harrison-Kahan | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 1–3 hrs/week | 39 of 50 |
| Spring 2022 | John Brooks | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 1–3 hrs/week | 23 of 26 |
| Fall 2021 | Courtney Miller | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 1–3 hrs/week | 23 of 34 |
| Fall 2021 | John Brooks | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4–6 hrs/week | 24 of 33 |