British Literature 1660-1790: Defoe to Austen

Introduces students to a crucial period in British literary history that includes: the rise of the novel; the reinvention of lyric poetry; the growth of satire as an important genre; the first writing by formerly enslaved Africans; the invention of the gothic genre; the popularity of travel literature; and the growth of the public sphere of political discourse. Authors include: Aphra Behn, William Congreve, Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, John Gay, Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, Frances Burney, Phillis Wheatley, Olaudah Equiano, Thomas Gray, Oliver Goldsmith, and Charlotte Smith.