Scholar’s Seminar: Literature at the Limits

Full-year course. Scholars’ Seminar: Literature at the Limits is designed to engage advanced rhetoric-stage students in reading, literary discussion, and literary analysis. Students will be asked to identify multiple limits within each novel, and to explore what happens when these limits are pushed to the point of breaking, causing the characters of the text to move into uncharted territory. Students will encounter the limits (or lack thereof) of humanity, technology, and of literature itself. 

Scholars’ Seminar: Literature at the Limits guides students in the close reading and critical analysis of classic and contemporary works of literature and helps them appreciate the texts and the contexts in which the works were written. This course requires students to read challenging texts in advance of the weeks that are spent discussing them in class. As such, students will develop the ability to manage cognitive load as they practice daily reading and notetaking habits for one set of readings while working through in-class discussions and assignments on the previous set of readings, a valuable skill set for further academic success.

Please note: This course is designed for high-school students. Several of these readings contain topics, scenarios, subjects, and themes that younger and/or more sensitive readers may find upsetting or unsettling. While these texts are appropriate for most mature high school students, students and parents should be aware of the complexities and intensities of these readings in advance. If you have any concerns we encourage you to check the texts out at the local library before enrolling your student.

*Alternates with Scholar’s Seminar: Competing Identities.