ENGL 206

Fall 2026 Part of Term 1

Part of Term 1
Aug 24-Dec 9

Enlightenment Literature and Culture

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Credit: 3 hours.

Study in Anglophone and global texts from the period 1600 to 1800, with attention to cultural and historical contexts.

Same as CWL 257. Prerequisite: Completion of the Composition I requirement.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2022 for:

Humanities – Lit & Arts

Cultural Studies - Western

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ENGL 206 class schedule data for fall 2026
	Status		CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
			39502	Online	X	9:00AM -9:50AM	MWF	n.a.	Nazar, H	Availability: CrossListOpen Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Degree Notes: Humanities - Lit & Arts, and Cultural Studies - Western course. Section Info: FA26 ENGL / CWL 206 - Hina Nazar - Have you ever wondered what people mean when they say that the United States is a child of the Enlightenment, or that the Enlightenment is under attack by nativist forces, or that we need to return to Enlightenment values? This course enables you to engage such statements knowledgeably by providing a broad-based introduction to the Enlightenment, a multifaceted cultural and intellectual development of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (roughly the period 1650-1800). While many of you are probably familiar with key texts and figures of the American Enlightenment, this course focuses on the European—and, more particularly, the British—Enlightenment, which preceded the founding of the United States. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Europe witnessed unprecedented social, economic, political, and cultural changes that collectively produced a giant leap toward the world we inhabit today. It was an Age of Revolution and of newfound faith in the rights of the individual though these rights were by no means extended to all. It was an Age of Reason, of tremendous advances in science and technology, though reason was by no means the only altar at which so-called enlightened individuals worshipped: God and sentiment remained powerful forces throughout the long eighteenth century. We will consider how the modern mindset that is associated with the Enlightenment was developed by some of the most significant texts of the period, and how it challenged traditional understandings of duty and humanity’s place in the world. Our readings are divided into four modules. After an overview of the Enlightenment spirit in Module 1, we will dig deeper into such crucial concerns of the period as property, race, and empire (Module 2); morality or virtue (Module 3); and education (Module 4). Gender figures prominently in all four modules since women were finding a public voice and entering the literary marketplace in unprecedented numbers at this time. As the moment in history that is credited with creating the modern world, the Enlightenment continues to speak to us today—as is evidenced by its continued currency in public discourse—and our aim this semester is not only to understand its core values but also to link them with our own.