Survey of British Literature (LITR 2156) provides an overview of key works by major writers in the history of British Literature. This course is a survey course; it does not attempt to be comprehensive. It covers major writers in each of the large periods of English literary history—the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Restoration, and the Romantic Period, on through the Victorian Age, and finally the Modern Period—examining works within their social, historical, and political contexts and analyzing the bearing such aspects as genre and form have on this context. Because it includes only “the most important English writers and their works”, this course is implicated in the contentious activity of canon formation. As such, one of the recurring questions throughout the course will be identifying the criteria for including some writers over others. In one or two instances, students may examine works not freely accessible within the public domain; in such cases, supplementary resources will be provided by the instructor.