Open Educational Resources
Document Type
Syllabus
Publication Date
Fall 8-20-2024
Abstract
In this course we will study John Milton’s most famous poem, Paradise Lost, alongside a selection of his major verse and prose works. Milton’s literary projects were inextricably political, and we will wade into the discourse of his legacy as either—or both—state propagandist or public scholar. We will discuss and explore Milton’s role in the charged political climate of the British Revolution of the 17th century, as well as his work on gender, marriage, divorce, the free press, sin, and heroism.
How do we read Milton’s work in our own political climates of unrest? How has deconstruction of the literary canon affected the ways in which we read Paradise Lost? What might Milton have to offer the modern university and its increasing calls for publicly-engaged scholarship? Toward answering these questions, we will also read receptions of Milton in critical contexts of eco-justice, critical race studies, queer theory, and disability studies.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
CUNY OER Funding
CUNY OER Initiative
Included in
History of Christianity Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Renaissance Studies Commons
