ENGL 119
Literary Cities: Literary London: Tales of Two Cities
Description: Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Enforced requisite: English Composition 3 or 3H. Exploration of place of literary imagination in making of cities, with focus on questions of cultural exchange, development, migration, urban rebellion, and style. Topics may include meaning of urban space and time, city as urban village or cosmopolitan hub, segregated dystopia or postmodern future, and impact of exile, tourism, and migration in making of cities. May be repeated for credit with topic or instructor change. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - I enrolled in this class thinking it would be a boring class, but instead, I was pleasantly surprised, and have gained a ton of knowledge on the progression of London as a city through the lens of literature. Professor Makdisi is extremely well-versed in London's history and the themes he presents to us in class, and he is very enthusiastic about sharing his interpretations of London through the books we read. Each week, we are assigned 1-4 readings, which we then discuss in great detail in lectures. I would recommend attending lectures every week, as he does not post the slides he uses in class. It is also important to pay attention to the themes he presents at the start of the quarter, which follow us throughout the rest of the texts. Most of the texts are relatively short at the beginning of the quarter and are pretty engaging. As the quarter goes on, the readings get a little heavier, as we transition more into novels. However, I found those to be the most engaging texts of the quarter. If you do not want to do all of the readings, I would suggest focusing on 1-2 texts and going to lecture to understand the main themes he wants us to take away, because the main assignments we have (midterm/final/map/paper) all focus on the themes/contexts discussed in lecture. Additionally, my TA, Sunny, was super helpful in clarifying main concepts and was always available for you to ask questions or voice any concerns you may have had. All the assignments were graded by her, and she seemed to be a very lenient grader, focusing more on understanding than grading for correct writing style or grammar. I was never stressed once about my grade in this class. I will say that many of the assignments are too broad, as Makdisi basically just tells you that you can "write/do whatever you want", so it was a bit stressful to have absolutely no direction as to where to go. However, he makes it clear that if you just talk to him or the TA in office hours, he will approve practically any idea you bring. From believing this class would be extremely boring, to everything I have taken away from it today, this class is definitely worth taking, and is actually very informative, giving you a whole new way to look at modernity, time, and the city of London.
Fall 2025 - I enrolled in this class thinking it would be a boring class, but instead, I was pleasantly surprised, and have gained a ton of knowledge on the progression of London as a city through the lens of literature. Professor Makdisi is extremely well-versed in London's history and the themes he presents to us in class, and he is very enthusiastic about sharing his interpretations of London through the books we read. Each week, we are assigned 1-4 readings, which we then discuss in great detail in lectures. I would recommend attending lectures every week, as he does not post the slides he uses in class. It is also important to pay attention to the themes he presents at the start of the quarter, which follow us throughout the rest of the texts. Most of the texts are relatively short at the beginning of the quarter and are pretty engaging. As the quarter goes on, the readings get a little heavier, as we transition more into novels. However, I found those to be the most engaging texts of the quarter. If you do not want to do all of the readings, I would suggest focusing on 1-2 texts and going to lecture to understand the main themes he wants us to take away, because the main assignments we have (midterm/final/map/paper) all focus on the themes/contexts discussed in lecture. Additionally, my TA, Sunny, was super helpful in clarifying main concepts and was always available for you to ask questions or voice any concerns you may have had. All the assignments were graded by her, and she seemed to be a very lenient grader, focusing more on understanding than grading for correct writing style or grammar. I was never stressed once about my grade in this class. I will say that many of the assignments are too broad, as Makdisi basically just tells you that you can "write/do whatever you want", so it was a bit stressful to have absolutely no direction as to where to go. However, he makes it clear that if you just talk to him or the TA in office hours, he will approve practically any idea you bring. From believing this class would be extremely boring, to everything I have taken away from it today, this class is definitely worth taking, and is actually very informative, giving you a whole new way to look at modernity, time, and the city of London.
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