This course introduces the foundational skills, strategies, and concepts central to literary studies. Investigating a representative selection of literary texts, students will learn the critical thinking skills of close reading, interpretation, and analysis and apply these skills in thesis-driven essays. They will also develop the research skills required for evaluating, synthesising, and incorporating secondary sources effectively in their essays. As they work towards building informed, text-based analyses, students will engage with the concepts that literary texts provoke and the historical and cultural discourses with which they interact. Finally, students will reflect on the course texts and on their research and writing process in ongoing written tasks and participate in collaborative learning activities, such as peer-led discussions and informal group presentations, to develop their conceptual and historical understanding of literary texts and their contexts.