Department of English Course Descriptionssummer and Fall 2013
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Department of English Course DescriptionsSummer and Fall 2013
Summer 2013
IA ENG 204-01: Creative WritingDoreski TR 6-10
Introduction to the basic strategies and techniques of writing fiction and verse. Assigned exercises, accompanied by readings, are discussed in class. Opportunity to develop creative and critical skills through assignments and independent work. Prerequisite: ITW 101.
IH ENG 286-01: Children’s LiteratureWhite TR 6-10
Reading and discussion of representative texts and illustrations from the genres of children's literature, such as folklore, fantasy, contemporary realistic fiction, historical fiction, biography, poetry, and information books. Prerequisite: ITW 101.
IH ENG 392-01: Studies in Literature: Israel and PalestineStickney TR 12-3:45
Much of what Americans know about the Middle East emerges from the context of conflict and war. But rich and varied cultural traditions thrive even in the midst of conflict. In this course, we will read and write about the short fiction and poetry of Israel and Palestine as an introduction to these genres and to the region itself. Film screenings and insights gained from the instructor's travel experience in the region will supplement the readings. Prerequisites: 24 credits in ISP, including ITW 101 and IQL 101. Not open for credit toward the English major.
ENG 490-01: Advanced Studies: EmersonLong MW 6-10
A course dedicated to reading Ralph Waldo Emerson and exploring his enduring legacy in American literary, philosophical and religious thought. Students will study Emerson’s sermons, essays, lectures and poems; the intellectual, biographical and cultural influences on his thinking; and the provocations his writing presents to readers—from the nineteenth-century British social critic Thomas Carlyle to the late twentieth-century philosopher Stanley Cavell. May be repeated as topics change. Prerequisites: ITW 101, one 200-level English course, and two 300-level English courses.
ENG 497-01: Writing/Publishing InternshipTirabassi (TBA)
This seminar and experiential learning opportunity allows students to gain practical writing/publishing experience in a professional site. Seminar meetings involve discussion of readings on writing/publishing theory/practice, investigations of graduate and professional writing opportunities, and sharing of internship experiences. Students will develop a portfolio showcasing work developed for the internship site. Prerequisites: ITW 101, one 200-level English course, one 300-level English course, and permission of instructor.
Writer’s ConferenceDoreski/Friedman
A week of intensive workshops, writing sessions, readings, and craft talks that will help you revise and continue writing you've already begun as well as inspire new projects and get you started on them. Ample time to meet individually with members of the faculty and visiting writers for consultations on whatever aspects of your work you wish considered. The conference will end with a reading for participants in which you'll be able to share your best work with the whole group. Instructor permission required. Meets 7/28-08/03.
Fall 2013
IH ENG 199-01 Introduction to PoetryStroup MW 10-11:45
This integrative humanities course is designed to help you read, appreciate, understand, write about, and hopefully even acquire a lifelong enjoyment of poetry. Students will attend readings by visiting writers, conduct research in the Modern Poetry Archive in Mason Library, and study traditional forms of English poetry. No prerequisite except a willingness to think, feel, and learn.
IH ENG 199-02 Introduction to World LiteratureCharry TR 8-9:45
This course will introduce you to literature from across the ages and from different parts of the world. We will examine the uses to which authors from different cultures have put language and literary forms, and think about the role, place, and value of literature from early history to today. We will also explore the connection between the literary text and the cultural and historical context it emerges from. Reading these texts should give you a sense of the richness and variety of the human literary tradition. Reading range from Babylonian epic, Ancient Hindu literature and the Old and New Testaments to contemporary post-modern literature.
ENG 202-01: Creative NonfictionTirabassi TR 4-5:45
Introduction to the basic strategies and techniques of creative nonfiction. Extensive writing and reading of creative nonfiction that will be discussed in class. Opportunity to develop creative and critical writing skills through assignments and independent work. Prerequisite: ITW 101.
IA ENG 204-01: Creative WritingFriedman MW 2-3:45
Introduction to the basic strategies and techniques of writing fiction and verse. Assigned exercises, accompanied by readings, are discussed in class. Opportunity to develop creative and critical skills through assignments and independent work. Prerequisite: ITW 101.
IA ENG 204-02: Creative Writing Hitchner TR 10-11:45
Introduction to the basic strategies and techniques of writing fiction and verse. Assigned exercises, accompanied by readings, are discussed in class. Opportunity to develop creative and critical skills through assignments and independent work. Prerequisite: ITW 101.
ENG 208-01: Writing and Walking Friedman MW 4-5:45
Take a Walk on the Wild Side and Write about it. Walking will be the trigger and shaping force for your writing. The rhythm, sound, and feeling of each of your walks will define and shape the rhythm, sound, feeling and mind of your stories, poems, essays and journal entries. Your writing will enter new territories, hiking over tricky terrain, stumbling, getting lost in dense woods, winding into unknown neighborhoods, stopping in front of shop windows, weaving around other walkers, picking up a snack in the bakery or deli, and eventually finding a way back, a stopping point. May be repeated as topics change. Prerequisite: ITW 101.
ENG 215-01 Literary AnalysisLong TR 8-9:45
An introduction to the major in English, the course concentrates on refining critical reading abilities through intensive writing. Students will learn to ask questions about literary texts - their authorship, historical contexts, genres, construction, and the reasons for their complexity. Prerequisite: ITW 101. All English majors must take ENG 215 before completing 12 credits in English. English majors and minors only.
ENG 215-02 Literary AnalysisSharpe MW 4-5:45
An introduction to the major in English, the course concentrates on refining critical reading abilities through intensive writing. Students will learn to ask questions about literary texts - their authorship, historical contexts, genres, construction, and the reasons for their complexity. Prerequisite: ITW 101. All English majors must take ENG 215 before completing 12 credits in English. English majors and minors only.
IH ENG 220-01: King Arthur Lit/Art/FilmPages WF 10-11:45
Examines a particular period or literary movement, or the works of a particular author or group of authors from the British Isles, or a recurring theme in fiction or other literary forms. Prerequisite: ITW 101.
IH ENG 240-01: American DramasMallon TR 2-3:45
Modern and contemporary American drama has its roots in classical and early drama, even while changing its form and focus to confront challenges new to our global society. In this course, we’ll be looking at dramatic themes—like family feuds, women’s equality, racism—both inside specific American communities and against the backdrop of universal mythic stories, as they get worked out on stage (mostly video, for us) and in the written texts. Prerequisite: ITW 101.
IH ENG 286-01: Children’s LiteratureWhite TR 8-9:45
Reading and discussion of representative texts and illustrations from the genres of children's literature, such as folklore, fantasy, contemporary realistic fiction, historical fiction, biography, poetry, and information books. Prerequisite: ITW 101.
ENG 301-01: Fiction WorkshopCharry MW 2-3:45
This is an intermediate fiction writing workshop for those who have done some writing on their own, have taken IA ENG 204, or who are experienced in other kinds of writing and aren’t interested in a beginning-level course. You will spend most of your time here writing and discussing your own and other students’ original work, though we will also be reading and discussing contemporary fiction by other published writers.Prerequisites: ITW 101 and one 200 level English course.
ENG 302-01: Poetry WorkshopDoreski MW 12-1:45
Class discussion of original student work combined with extensive reading in poetry and poetics. Analysis of major theories, technical innovations and innovators. Prerequisites: ITW 101 and one 200 level English course.
ENG 303-01: Nonfiction WorkshopTirabassi TR 2-3:45
Nonfiction essay writing, focusing on style, rhetorical theory and strategies, and publication. Workshop format. Prerequisites: ITW 101 and one 200 level English course.
ENG 315-01 Literary Form & History (Drama)StroupTR 10-11:45
This course is designed to structure the study of literary history around a particular genre. In this section we will survey the development of the drama from its earliest forms recorded in writing (Aeschylus) through the work of recent playwrights such as Paula Vogel and Tony Kushner. Prerequisites: ITW 101 and English 215.
ENG 315-02 Literary Form & History (The Novel)Schur MW 4-5:45
A study of literary form and history through readings and theoretical investigations of a single genre, such as poetry, fiction, drama, or the essay. This section of Literary Form and History traces the emergence and development of the novelistic form from the 18th-century to the present. Readings will be selected from the list of such classics as Defoe, Austen, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Zola, James, Woolf, Conrad, Camus, Nabokov, Coetzee, and others. Prerequisites: ITW 101 and English 215.
ENG 312-01: Descriptive GrammarJoyce MW 4-5:45
Examination of English grammar and theory, including traditional, transformational generative, and case grammar. Collateral readings will focus on applied linguistics and American dialects. Students develop skills for teaching grammar through written/oral exercises. Required for secondary English teacher certification. Open only to junior and senior English Majors, or by permission of instructor. Prerequisites: ITW 101 and one 200 level English course.
ENG 323-01 Medieval Literature (pre-1800)Pages WF 12-1:45
Advanced survey of medieval literature focusing particularly, but not exclusively, on the development of literary genres and themes in the British Isles. All texts will be read in translation. Prerequisites: ITW 101 and one 200-level English course.
ENG 326-01: Renaissance Literature(pre-1800)Fienberg TR 4-5:45
Intensive study of the drama, poetry, and prose of the English renaissance. Special attention will be paid to a particular social or aesthetic dimension of these literary texts. Prerequisites: ITW 101 and one 200-level English course.
ENG 330-01: Brit Lit 1789-presentStroup W 12-1:45
This course provides a context for the study of several major writers from the Romantic, Victorian, and Modern periods of British Literature. Frequent essays and lively discussion. Readings will include "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," "Ode to a Nightingale," "Goblin Market," The Importance of Being Earnest, The Waste Land, A Room of One's Own, "In Memory of W.B. Yeats," and more.Prerequisites: ITW 101 and one 200 level English course.
ENG 360-01: Voices of Resistance and Protest(DCP)Mallon TR 10-11:45
This course will examine the novels of contemporary international writers who use their creative voices to confront the various structures of oppression that define and confine both their own and their nations’ identities. From Chinua Achebe (Nigeria) to Nawal El Saadawi (Egypt), these men and women have written narratives that explore issues of power, creativity, independence, resistance and more. We will read their novels as well as secondary texts that address how literary perspectives are informed by cultural vocabularies and national histories. This course will satisfy the Differing Cultural Perspectives requirement. Prerequisites: ITW 101 and one 200 level English course.
ENG 390-01: Postcolonial Friendship(DCP)Sharpe MW 12-1:45
How do colonialism’s lasting structures influence individual relationships? To begin to answer this question, we will look to an array of modern Anglophone writings from the British Empire and its former colonies, with a particular interest in literary representations of friendship, partnership, and collaboration. Friendships between fictional characters might cross cultures, classes, genders, languages, and races. A fictional friendship might play an allegorical role, standing in for the relationship between former colonies and colonizers. It might fail or it might succeed—and its failure or success has much to tell us about empire’s evolution and colonialism’s legacy. May be repeated as topics change. This course will satisfy the Differing Cultural Perspectives requirement.Prerequisites: ITW 101 and one 200 level English course.
IHENG 391-01: Alone Against the World: Alienated Hero in European Lit. Schur TR 10-11:45
Outsiders, dissenters, introverts, lone wolves and other misfits, alienated from their communities, from tradition, from nature and from themselves, populate European literature from the 18th century onwards. The course will consider such classical portraits of the alienated hero as Goethe’s Faust (Faust), Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov (Crime and Punishment), Turgenev’s Superfluous Man (The Diary of a Superfluous Man), Kafka’s Joseph K (The Trial), Nabokov’s Cincinnatus C (Invitation to the Beheading), and Camus’s Meursault (The Stranger). Not open for credit toward the English major. Prerequisites: 24 credits in ISP including ITW 101 and IQL 101.
IH ENG 391-02: Studies in Literature: Arabian Nights, Arabian DreamsPages TR 2-3:45
The compilation of Middle Eastern fairy tales known as The Thousand and One Nights or The Arabian Nights was not known to Europeans prior to the eighteenth century. Upon its introduction to French society early in the eighteenth century, however, the text soon became widely popular, and the craze for all things Oriental soon spread throughout Europe. In this class, we will discuss the translation and transmission of The Arabian Nights from the Middle East to Europe and the United States. We will also explore the impact of this work on the popular image and perception of the Middle East in Europe and North America. Not open for credit toward the English major. Prerequisites: 24 credits in ISP including ITW 101 and IQL 101.
II ENG 399-01: Women and War in Literature and ArtSharpe TR 10-11:45
What does wartime mean for women? What social roles are women expected to play in times of war? What rights do women gain and lose during a conflict? How do female artists define war on local, national, international, and ideological levels? In this course, we will analyze women’s creative output from around the world, including literature, music, film, and visual art. Rather than an exhaustive survey of war literature, this course seeks to introduce an array of global responses to conflict. These texts challenge the boundaries between the battlefront and the home front, demonstrating how women might be both victims and agents of change during times of social upheaval and strife. Not open for credit toward the English major. Prerequisites: 24 credits in ISP including ITW 101 and IQL 101.
ENG 395-01 American Poetry and PoeticsLong TR 12-1:45
A course focused on American poetry and poetics from the nineteenth century to the present. Students will read and talk about exemplary and representative poems, study the critical and theoretical conversation concerned with American poetry, and examine the particular historical and cultural contexts in which poetry has been written and read. An opportunity to read a lot of poetry and to experience the excitement and attendant controversies that circulate among readers and writers of poetry as they wrestle with broader questions about language, culture and imagination. Prerequisites: Eng 215, Eng 315 and 60 credits. English majors only.
ENG 395-02 Renaissance Poetry and Drama(pre-1800)Charry MW 10-11:45
This year-long sequence focuses on Renaissance literature in all its richness and variety. You will be immersed in the period’s literary traditions, innovations, and debates. We will also look at how emerging modernity (the movement to print technology, the Reformation, the new globalism) impacted literary practices. The first part of the course (ENG 395) will focus on Renaissance poetry and prose, while the second part (ENG 495) will be a study of Renaissance drama. This course will satisfy the pre-1800 requirement. Prerequisites: Eng 215, Eng 315 and 60 credits. English majors only.
ENG 402-01: Theory/Practice/Nonfiction Sandy TR 12-1:45
This course examines the critical and theoretical contexts of various genres. Readings will include both theory and the genre under discussion. Students are required to write original work in the genre as well as critical and interpretive essays. May be repeated as topics change. Prerequisites: ITW 101 and one 200 and one 300 level English course.
ENG 405-01: Writing PortfolioDoreski MW 2-3:45
Independent selection and intensive revision of writing completed for the writing minor. Students will compile a portfolio under the direction of an English faculty member. May be taken concurrently with another writing minor course. Prerequisites: ITW 101 and one 200 and one 300 level English course, 12 credits COMPLETED toward the Writing Minor, AND Permission of instructor.
ENG 490-01: Minds on Fire: Emerson, Whitman, JamesLong WF 10-11:45
An exploration of literary, philosophical and religious inquiry in nineteenth-century America focused on the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman and William James. Students will read Emerson’s sermons, essays and lectures; Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and prose writing; and James’ writings on philosophy, science and religion. Students will also study the intellectual and biographical history of these three writers as well as the cultural history of nineteenth-century America. Prerequisites: one 200 and two 300 level English courses.