In this course, students read widely from the works of a notable author or authors focusing on biographical, historical, and aesthetic contexts. Authors to be studied are chosen by the instructor and vary semester to semester. This course is a pre-capstone course and requires an in-depth research project of at least ten pages. This course will be offered annually, and students are advised to take it as juniors. May be repeated up to two times for a maximum of 12 credits. May be repeated up to two times for a maximum of 12 credits.