Undergraduate Study
The study of literature provides knowledge and skills essential not only to revelations of one’s inner self, but, as well, to the development of conscientious citizenry. An undergraduate who studies literature at the University of New Mexico will examine a variety of texts, including drama, fiction, poetry, film, and historical documents: cultural productions that articulate a rich history of human experience.
Students engaged in examination of these texts will learn to think critically about different kinds of discourse and express themselves effectively through language, both oral and written. They will also strengthen their ability to use a basic understanding of evidence and argument to make connections and understand the interrelations between texts and the cultural work they perform.
Questions often addressed in Literary Studies include:
How do social conditions and cultural contexts determine the shape of texts? In what ways do different genres of literature give voice to human identity? What sorts of representations of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation may we notice in fiction? in plays? in poetry? How do peoples living in different time periods and different cultures variously construct identity?
