Course Description:
In this course Milton will be the subject of ideology critique--reconstructing the ideological conditions in which Milton is and has been (re)produced as a major figure within the institutional discourses (pedagogical, canonical, etc.) of English literature. Milton's major poem, Paradise Lost, is worthy of study as an important canonical text of English literature, and many modern readers will find it an impressive work of art. But Milton's significance as a major early proponent of the defining values of Modernity adds a rich source of interest to the study of his work.

Milton's representations of rationalist humanism--particularly as expressed in his views on the individual's relationship to God, the individual's relationship to the state, and the marriage relationship--have engaged artists, propagandists and polemicists from the early eighteenth century to the present moment; Whigs, Tories, Romantics, Modernists, "second-wave" Feminists, Marxists and Postmodern futurists all have struggled over the political and cultural terrain that Milton mapped out in writings.

Required Texts
The primary text for the course is the Riverside Milton, edited by Roy Flanagan. Supplemental readings are listed on the reading schedule web page, with links to an electronic reserve file where the texts can be read on-line or downloaded. A "user name" and "password" is required for access to these reserve texts; I will provide these in class.

Grading Formula

First essay ........................................................................35%
Second essay ....................................................................35%
Class participation & Weekly Response................................30%