Provides an in-depth study of English writer Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). Hardy is known as a Victorian novelist and a modern poet; his work thus crosses literary (generic) and historical boundaries. Hardy wrote 14 novels, 50 short stories, roughly 1,000 poems, one epic drama, seven volumes of published letters, an auto-biography, and a number of essays on literary and sociological topics. Students will read selected novels and poems as we trace Hardy's career and examine literary topics such as serial publication, the circulating library, and censorship, along with themes such as the Victorian "Woman Question," the part-real, part-invented land of Wessex, social class, law, and the "ache of modernism" in his later novels. Students will engage in primary (letters, notebooks, etc.) and secondary (critical) research as they explore these and other topics in two research projects during the semester. The course emphasizes the process of writing a research paper. Prerequisite: Morrissy scholar or permission. Fulfills general education requirement in literature. [3 credits]