CWL 257

Spring 2026 Part of Term 1

Part of Term 1
Jan 20-May 6

Enlightenment Literature and Culture

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Credit: 3 hours.

Same as ENGL 206. See ENGL 206.

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

Humanities – Lit & Arts

Cultural Studies - Western

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CWL 257 class schedule data for spring 2026
	CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
	31986	Online	B	9:30AM -10:45AM	TR	n.a.	Nazar, H	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Degree Notes: Humanities - Lit & Arts, and Cultural Studies - Western course. Section Info: SP26 ENGL 206 / CWL 257 - Enlightenment Literature and Culture - 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 individualistic 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. The course is divided into 8 modules, covering such representative topics of the Enlightenment as natural rights, the social contract, the role of women in society, the claims of science and reason, the rise of the novel and of satire as literary forms, rational religion, and innovations in educational thought. Gender figures prominently in virtually all 8 modules since women were finding a public voice and entering the literary marketplace in unprecedented numbers over the course of the long eighteenth century. 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 in this course is not only to understand its core values but also to connect them to our own.