Survey: introductory, boring. Right? Wrong. Surveys are in fact most exciting to those who already know something-for whom the survey is a chance to step back, reflect, take stock, make connections, contemplate the larger picture. You asked for it-you got it. This is a team-taught survey for the serious English major-a course conceived in response to a suggestion from the Majors Committee of 2004-05. How did English literature become a major presence in a tradition dominated above all by classical Latin and Greek literature and secondarily by French and Italian? We start with Augustine's indictment of Virgil and its influence on the Middle Ages, and we end with the Puritan closure of the theaters in 1642. We will look at the evolution of epic and romance from Beowulf to the Faerie Queene, the rise of drama from medieval mystery plays to Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Jonson, and the development of the lyric from medieval love poetry to John Donne. We will also look at prose writers, like Boethius, Machiavelli, and Sidney, who helped define culture, politics, and style. Format: discussion/seminar. Requirements: student oral reports will initiate discussion for each class. In consultation with the instructors students will have a choice of writing three 5- to 7-page papers or one 15- to 20-page paper. Prerequisites: one other Pre-1700 course. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 15). Preference to upper-level English and other literature majors. (Pre-1700)