COURSE DESCRIPTION BOOKLET
DEPARTMENT
OF
ENGLISH
State University of New York at Fredonia
FALL
2015
Notes:
Former Speaking Intensive courses, except for ENGL400 andENED450, DO NOT apply to the new oral communication requirement in the CCC effective
Fall 2012.
All ENGL pedagogy courses have been retitled with ENED as their prefix.
The new ENED courses count the same as the prior ENGL courses for English Adolescence Education majors.
EDU419 has been retitled and renumbered to ENED 451.
EDU430 has been retitled and renumbered to ENED 453.
•••
PRE-REQUISITE OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR:
STUDENTS: You must have the appropriate pre-requisites for FALL 2015 registration. Check the online listings to see what the current pre-requisites are -- note that these may be different from what is listed in the current catalogue.
TO THE STUDENT:
Before selecting a course, consider the following: You might find it useful to decide what your purpose is in selecting a course in English: curiosity? knowledge? involvement with issues? background for major or career? Have you consulted your advisor? Have you thought of asking for a conference with the instructor of the course?
Also consider:
It is strongly advised that you take a 200-level introductory course in literature before taking a 300-level course.
300-level courses are studies that usually require some research, perhaps an oral report, probably a major paper. These courses are intended for the serious student, but not exclusively for English majors.
400-and 500-level courses are for advanced students who are ready for specialized study and research.
FOR THE MAJOR OR MINORS IN ENGLISH:
See the catalog and/or handouts for requirements.
ENGL 106 01 THE ENGLISH MAJOR:
INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY STUDIES
Description:
ENGL 106 will provide students with a full semester overview of the major areas within and current approaches to literary students. It is required for all students entering the English major (323) and is designed to open the many different fields of English studies to new majors and to help students develop a context for the courses they may have already have taken and will be taking throughout their career as English majors at Fredonia. Students will gain insight into literary history, the process of and critical debates concerning canon formation, and the multiple functions and genres of literature and writing. This course will also require a significant literary research paper designed to introduce students to effective modes of library research, strategies for integrating secondary sources, and important terms and concepts that are fundamental to literary analysis.
Readings:
A variety of short fiction, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, introductory critical theory, and literary scholarship.
Exams, Papers:
Mandatory attendance; two short analytical essays; annotation of critical scholarship; and a research portfolio containing a topic statement and description, a sample source summary, an annotated bibliography, a Says/Does outline, and a final research essay of 8-10 pages.
Time Class Meets: MWF2-2:50
Instructor: D. Kaplin
ENGL 205 01, 02EPIC AND ROMANCE
Description:
In this course, we will read epics and romances from various time periods and geographical locations. Our discussions will particularly focus on the concepts of desire, heroism, and social class.
Readings:
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Aeneid
Memed, My Hawk
Tristan and Iseult
The Sorrows of Young Werther
Exams, Papers:
Five one-page response papers, one 1000-word book review,
midterm (take-home essay), presentation.
CCC Fulfilled:Category 7 - Humanities
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets: 01:MW3-4:20
02:MW4:30-5:50
Instructor:I. Vanwesenbeeck
ENGL 206 01SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE
Description:
This survey will introduce students to the history of American literature up until the Civil War, a vast period of rich and diverse literary traditions. The course readings will include multiple genres and a diverse range of authors.
Readings:
TBA, but will likely include several longer works (captivity narratives and novels) and plenty of short stories and poems by early and 19th-century American authors, both canonical and non-canonical.
Exams, Papers:
TBA, but certainly will include analytical essays and response papers, and likely a mid-term exam.
CCC Fulfilled: Category 7
Time Class Meets:MWF11-11:50
Instructor:E. VanDette
ENGL 207 01, 02DRAMA AND FILM
Description:
This course will explore drama and film as visual texts in works ranging from ancient Greece to the present. Through a thematic lens of the journey, whether physical or metaphorical, and in some cases with an eye to adaptation, we will critically examine texts, including theatrical elements. What choices can be made and have been made in the visual (re)presentation? These questions will inform our discussion of the drama and the film. Our study will consider the relationship of the texts to the historical times and places in which they are situated, tracing ways the texts reflect their cultures.
Readings:A range from Sophocles to Kushner
Exams, Papers:
Response papers, research paper, final project, and active participation
CCC Fulfilled:Category 7 - Humanities
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:01:TR11-12:20
02:TR12:30-1:50
SCREENING:W5-7:30McEwen G26
Instructor:A. Siegle Drege
ENGL 207 03DRAMA AND FILM
Description:
We will explore drama from many different cultures and time periods, from the ancient Greeks to works of a more contemporary nature. The films we view will also offer the work of a variety of filmmakers from a diversified selection of countries and time periods.
Readings:
The Bedford Introduction to Drama 5th Edition
Edited by: Lee A. Jacobus
Exams, Papers:
- Participation in Class Discussions
- Response papers
- A Midterm Exam
- One longer paper of analysis/synthesis
- Student led class discussion
- Reading quizzes
CCC Fulfilled:Category 7 - Humanities
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets: MWF2-2:50
SCREENING:M4:30-7Fenton 153
Instructor: C. Thomas Craig
ENGL 208 01AMERICAN POPULAR AND
AMST 210 MASS CULTURES
Description:
This course will focus on American popular and mass culture from the early part of the 19th century to the present. We will discuss popular culture as a convergence of economic forces, technological developments, and various historical and cultural trends. Specific topics will include such things as spectacles: circuses, freak shows, dime museums, stunts and publicity events; technology: photography, film, television, the Internet; history: Wars and their aftermath, immigration, race relations, travel and tourism, as well as multiple other topics.
Readings:
Undecided, probably Doctorow, Ragtime, Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Moore, Watchmen
Exams, Papers:
Formal and informal student writing, including probably written assignments including probably a reading journal in the form of a blog, a midterm quiz, a final project, attendance and participation in class discussion, additional exercises as assigned.
CCC Fulfilled:Category 4 – American History
Time Class Meets:TR11-12:20
Instructor:S. McRae
ENGL 209 01, 02NOVELS AND TALES
Description:
A study of long and short fiction of several kinds, including myth, fable, and realistic narrative, from a variety of places and times. The course will familiarize students with basic approaches to reading, interpretation, and literary analysis. This section will examine the role of bodies in these diverse narratives including how language constructs bodies, the meaning produced by body language and gestures in the texts, as well as the impact of the body of the author and reader. We will study the ways literary narratives are filled with bodies in multiple forms and figures: including bodies that gaze and bodies that are gazed upon; bodies in motion (working, grasping, pointing, birthing, dancing); bodies marked by race, class, gender and sexuality; as well as figurative bodies: bodies of knowledge, social bodies, bodies of evidence, and national bodies.
Readings:
Allende, IsabelEva Luna
Danticat, EdwidgeThe Farming of Bones
Gaiman, NeilHansel and Gretel
Ozeki, RuthMy Year of Meats.
There will also be additional readings posted on ANGEL
Exams, Papers: 3 response papers, discussion leading, blog posts, contemporary connections presentation, Final Project
CCC Fulfilled:Category 7 - Humanities
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:01:MWF11-11:50
02:MWF1-1:50
Instructor:S. McGee
ENGL 209 03, 04NOVELS AND TALES
Monsters on the Global Stage
Description: Like a reanimated corpse back from the dead, this version of Novels and Tales has returned to cause mischief, mayhem and, hopefully some delightful learning. In this section we will read a variety of fictional works from different historical periods and cultures, examining the roles that “monsters” play in these texts. In addition to analyzing formal elements of each work, we will explore how characterizations of the monstrous, evil, strange, grotesque, and “other” reflect the cultures in which they were created. What do these figures symbolize? How do they represent specific social concerns of their time? How do notions of the “monstrous” highlight what counts as “normal” in a given time and place? As we investigate these and other questions, students will also develop their critical reading, thinking, and writing skills.
Tentative Reading List
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus
Brooks, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
Bulgakov, The Heart of a Dog (IF I can find a decent translation)
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown and Other Stories
Franz Kafka, “The Metamorphosis”
Joyce Carol Oates, Zombie OR Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (Norton Critical Ed.)
Bram Stoker, Dracula
Writings by Marquez, Le Guinn, de Maupassant, Jackson, O’Connor, Vonnegut, Homer, Beowulf author, and others (as well as study of Godzilla texts)
Exams, Papers: Several critical essays (various lengths), final research project, brief contemporary monster text presentation, discussion questions, final exam, and spirited participation.
CCC Fulfilled: CCC 5
Time Class Meets:03:TR12:30-1:50
04:TR9:30-10:50
Instructor:C. Jarvis
ENGL 209 05NOVELS AND TALES
Description:
This section of Novels & Tales will deal with ideas of immortality. Our texts and discussions will involve characters questing for immortality, fears of death and the unknown, and the consequences one would face if we lived forever.
Readings:
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins, The Epic of Gilgamesh, as well as various short stories, myths, poems, fairy tales, and current research into prolonging human life indefinitely.
Exams, Papers: Multiple response papers, reading quizzes, and a final essay assignments
CCC Fulfilled:Category 7 - Humanities
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:MWF10-10:50
Instructor:D. Laurie
ENGL 211 01WORLD POETRY
Description:
Our focus will be on using poetry to honor the dead. We will critically examine poems from a variety of nationalities, ethnicities, and time periods. We will begin the semester with close readings, learning how to critically examine poetry. We will then engage literary criticism to further our understanding of poetry.
Readings:
Inventions of Farewell: A Book of Elegies, edited by Sandra M. Gilbert; handouts and readings on Angel.
Exams, Papers:
1 midterm critical analysis, 1 short literary analysis, 1 final project on a poet of one's choice, 1 group presentation, original poem(s), and discussion questions; mandatory class attendance.
CCC Fulfilled:Category 7 - Humanities
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:MWF9-9:50
Instructor:A. Fearman
ENGL 211 02, 03WORLD POETRY
Description:
We will read, recite, and write poetry. In some cases, we will trace the evolution of poetic verse forms from around the world and across the centuries. Ancient poetry and literary criticism will foreground our semester examination of poetry as both cultural artifact and personal expression. Discussion of traditional forms will include the ode and sonnet, whose migrations from Ancient Greece and Medieval Italy throughout the world, and their eventual transformation into politically charged and global contemporary practices we will follow. Additionally, study of both Eastern and Western poetics (through a comparison of figurative-based verse) will focus on renowned poets Kahlil Gibran and Wislawa Szymborska. Discussions of contemporary verse from current texts and periodicals provides the denouement for our trip “around the world and through the ages… in 15 weeks”.
Readings:(subject to change)
Handouts provided by instructor and/or available via ANGEL.
Hirsch, Edward. How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry
Washburn, Katharine and Major, John S Editors. World Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from Antiquity to Our Time
Oliver, Mary. A Poetry Handbook.
Gibran, Kahlil. The Prophet
*Poetry book of student choice, costing no more than $15.00
Exams, Papers:
Final paper and minor projects require students to read, write, examine, memorize, recite, theorize and discuss poetry.
CCC Fulfilled:Category 7 - Humanities
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:02:TR9:30-10:50
03:TR11-12:20
Instructor:K. Moore
ENGL 211 04WORLD POETRY
Description: TBD
Readings:TBA
Exams, Papers: TBA
CCC Fulfilled:Category 7 - Humanities
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:TR2-3:20
Instructor:Staff
ENGL 260 01, 05, 06INTRO CREATIVE WRITING
Description:
In this class, students will form a community in which they learn about fiction and poetry writing through reading and discussion of published authors’ work, and through the creation and sharing of the students’ own stories and poems. The class will study different forms and genres, drafting and revision techniques, and more. Student workshops will be conducted, and attendance is mandatory.
Readings:
Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (Third Edition), by Janet Burroway; The Oxford Book of American Short Stories, edited by Joyce Carol Oates, (1992); MLW Visiting Writers Series authors’ books (two per semester); and poetry and story handouts (distributed in class).
Exams, Papers:
Short writing assignments, midterm project (creative), final revision project (takes the place of final exam), workshop material and letters to classmates, in-class writing, and reading quizzes.
CCC Fulfilled: Category 8 – Arts
Time Class Meets:01:MW3-4:20
05:TR2-3:20
06:TR3:30-4:50
Instructor:R. Schwab Cuthbert
ENGL 260 02, 03INTRO TO CREATIVE WRITING
Description:
Introduction to Creative Writing is the first in a sequence of Creative Writing courses offered at Fredonia. Through close reading of poetry and short fiction, we will study concepts of form and content in contemporary literature. We will practice our craft via in-class writing exercises, workshops, recitations, and discussions. This class attracts students from a wide range of disciplines, and is therefore designed to relate to both beginning writers and writers further along in their practice. One of the major goals of the course is to create a community of writers that can help each participant grow, no matter how new or accustomed to the concerns of creative writing.
Readings:
- Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within. Addonizio, Kim. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 2009.
- Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft. Burroway and Stuckey-French Ed. 9th Edition. New York: Pearson, Longman, 2014.
- The Peripatetic Coffin Ethan Rutherford
- New Testament Jerico Brown
Exams, Papers:
- Midterm Short Stories Analysis
- Illuminated Poem Assignment
- Final Reflective Portfolio
CCC Fulfilled: Category 8 - Arts
Time Class Meets: 02:MW4:30-5:50
03:MW6-7:20
Instructor:J. Daly
ENGL 260 04INTRO TO CREATIVE WRITING
Description:TBD
Readings: TBA
Exams, Papers: TBA
.
CCC Fulfilled:Category 8 – Arts
Time Class Meets:TR12:30-1:50
Instructor:Staff
ENGL 291 01BIBLE AS LIT
Description:
In this course, we examine the Bible as a set of literary, cultural, and historical works with specific cultural origins and reflective of complex values and thoughts.
Readings:
Besides reading and analyzing books of the Old and New Testament directly, we will look as well at literature that surrounds it, including Sumerian and Egyptian antecedents and later literary and artistic works.
Exams, Papers:
Coursework includes close and careful reading, class discussion, short papers, and a final project.
CCC Fulfilled:Category 5Western Civ
Time Class Meets:TR2-3:20
Instructor:S. McRae
ENGL 296 01 AMERICAN IDENTITIES
AMST 296
Description:
An exploration of the historical construction of American gender, ethnicity/race, and class; their present status; and their literary and cultural representations. Focusing on intersections between these categories of identity, the course will utilize an interdisciplinary approach, integrating materials from fields such as literary studies, history, women's studies, ethnic studies, geography, sociology, music, and art.
Readings:
Some of the following: Playing Indian, Deloria; Black Like Me, Griffin; The Intuitionist, Colson Whitehead; A People’s History of the United States, Zinn; In the Shadow of No Towers, Spiegelman; The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, Jacobson and Colon; Angels in America, Kushner; The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston; leadbelly, Tyehimba Jess; The Country Without a Post Office, Agha Shahid Ali; Fever, John Edgar Wideman.
Exams, Papers:Mid-term, final, several short responses.
CCC Fulfilled: Category 4 - American History
Category 11 – Speaking Intensive
Time Class Meets:TR2-3:20
Instructor:D. Parsons
ENGL 303 01GLOBAL LITERARY LANDMARKS
Description: We will read ancient and modern texts from India, South Africa, and the Middle East.
All texts in English or English translation.
Readings:TBA
Exams, papers:Research paper, short essays, midterm exam.
Time Class Meets:MWF11-11:50
Instructor:I. Vanwesenbeeck
ENGL 313 01SCRIBBLING WOMEN
Description:
The prolific and successful American women writers from the 19th century – the group of authors Nathaniel Hawthorne once referred to as “that damned mob of scribbling women” – were excluded from 20th-century memories and studies of American literature. Thanks to recovery efforts of the past 20-30 years, many of the neglected works of women writers have been restored to print. This resurfacing of women’s literature has changed the American literature canon to account for the rich, diverse, and complex literary traditions shaped by women writers in the nineteenth century.