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Course Descriptions

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT COURSES:

120 - Fiction:
This course is an introduction to fiction with emphases on close reading, critical thinking, discussion, and writing skills. Course topic and content vary from course to course; not all 120-level courses will be offered each semester.

Fall 2012

• 120B - Fiercely Funny Fiction
• 120D - Tragedy, Passion, and Sacrifice

Spring 2013

• 120A - Science Fiction: Aliens/Outer Space
• 120E - Growing Up in Literature

121 - Fiction and Film:
This course is an introduction to fiction and film with emphases on close reading, crictical thinking, discussion and writing skills. Course topic and content vary from course to course; not all 120-level courses will be offered each semester.  

122 - Fiction and Poetry:
This course is an introduction to fiction and poetry with emphases on close reading, critical thinking, discussion, and writing skills.  Course topic and content vary from course to course; not all 120-level courses will be offered each semester.

Fall 2012

• 122D - Fiction and Poetry
• 122E - "An Atlas of the Difficult World": Reading Poetry, Fiction, and Memoir

Spring 2013

• 122D - Birds, Lords, and Love

123 - Poetry:
This introduction to poetry with emphases on close reading, critical thinking, discussion and writing skills. Course topic and content vary from course to course; not all 120-level courses will be offered each semester.

124 - Cultural Studies:
This course introduces students to methods for understanding literary genres, history and elements of popular culture by applying insights drawn from the field of Cultural Studies. This course will expand upon the study of traditional literary texts by examining other forms of cultural discourse--painting, photography, music, film, video and other elements of cultural discourse; not all 120-level courses will be offered each semester.

Fall 2012

• Looking Hard at Movies

185 - Special Topics:
This introductory-level course fosters close reading, critical thinking, dicussion and writing skills across a variety of genres--from fiction and poetry to film, pop music, autobiography, blogs, travel and beyond. The course topic and content vary from course to course; not all 185 courses will be offered each semester.

211 - Writing Well:

Practice in writing for various audiences and in a variety of nonfiction forms. Attention to grammar, mechanics, paragraph development, and much more. Prerequisite: Completion of FYS.

Fall 2012

• Natural Expressions

213 - Seminar in Creative Writing

Workshop/seminar in the principles and techniques of writing any two genres such as short fiction, poetry, mixed genres, and creative nonfiction prose.

Fall 2012, 2 sections

Spring 2013

220 - Creative Investigations:

The theory and practice of research in literary and cultural studies in preparation for a written project of the student's choice--literary or cultural critique, memoir, historical fiction, biography, or many more. This course is an excellent preparation for an honors thesis in the humanities.

Spring '12

221 - World Literatures:
In this series, students read World Literatures, often in translation. Course topic, content, and historical period vary from course to course; not all 221 courses will be offered each semester. No prerequisites.

Spring 2013

• 221B - Medieval Literature: Homer to Dante

222 - Literatures in English:
Literatures in English is a topics course. Each version of this course will investigate texts with an historical breadth of 75 to 100 years. Subjects may include texts from England, and/or Anglophone literatures from various English-speaking countries (India, Ireland, Australia, etc.). They may also adress and investigate questions of literary or cultural continuity and boundaries within a chosen 75 to 100 year historial period. No prerequisites.

Fall 2012

• 222A - Literature of English Renaissance

223 - Literature of the Americas

Courses taught under the generic heading "Literature of the Americas" might focus solely on literature written in the United States of by U.S. writers; however, the title challenges the common notion that the United States is America and America is the United States and encourages the development of course whose literary and historical content spans North, Central, and South America and the Carribbean. Literary texts will be situated in relevant social, political, and economic contexts, and some versions will include film, art, music, and other kinds of material culture. No prerequisites.

Fall 2012

• Becoming a Man: Masculinities in North American Literature, 1850-1950

Spring 2013

• 223B - "Hooray for Hollywood!": A Cultural History of the First 100 Years of Hollywood Cinema

243 - Literary Theory and Criticism:

Introduction to literary and cultural theory. Students apply theoretical texts or concepts to literary or cultural texts (e.g., novels, films, television, popular arts, clothing, architecture, and public spaces). This class serves as a thrilling introduction to Marx, Freud, Derrida, Foucault, Zizek, and other amazing theorists.

Fall 2012

Spring 2013

286 - Introduction to Film Studies:

This course offers an introduction to film as a medium of communication and representation. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, a survey of the development of film and the movie business, techniques of acting, directing, cinematography, narrative style, and film theory. The vocabulary of cinema and representative films of the first hundred years of filmmaking is covered.

Fall 2012

Spring 2013, 2 sections

311 - Writing Essays:

Theory and practice of writing longer nonfiction forms (essays, articles) dealing with complex subject matter. Study of the rhetorical strategies used in non-technical writing drawn from a variety of disciplines. Concentration on development of the student writer's voice and style.

Fall 2012, 2 sections

Spring 2013, 2 sections

313 - Advanced Seminar in Creative Writing:

Advanced workshop/seminar in a particular genre such as poetry, fiction, mixed genres or creative non-fiction prose. A semester in this class will reveal precisely how much of a shame it is that short story collections tend to be crammed, unloved and hidden away, behind corpulent novels or cast to the dusty end of a Fiction shelf. Students will read short stories (excellent examples of the form) and write their own.

Spring 2013

315 - Writing: Special Topics:

Theory and practice of writing special genres such as biography or memoir, normally not included in other writing courses, or workshop/seminar in editing and publishing, business writing, technical writing, etc.

Fall 2012

• 315A - Writing in Business

Spring 2013

• 315B - Editing and Publishing

325 - Studies in Drama:

Study of a number of plays related to one another by theme, historic or national provenance, subgenre, or by some other significant connection. *Typically a London Study Abroad course.

341 - British Literature to 1700:

Course offerings under this title might be organized by theme, by historical period, by region or by genre. Texts from past classes include Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen, John Milton's Paradise Lost, Marjorie Kempe's The Book of Margery Kempe, a variety of poetry, and much more.

342 - British Literature after 1700:

Course offerings under this title might be organized by theme, by historical period, by region or by genre. This course will focus on Britain in light of Nature, industrialization, and the British colonial Empire.

Spring 2013

346 - U.S. Literature to 1865:

Reading and analysis of prose and poetry from pre-Colonial times to the Civil War. This class is specifically concerned not just with the texts of the period, but the economics, history, and politics of the time. Authors studied in past classes have included Adam Smith, Olaudah Equiano, Thomas Jefferson. Other textual selections include pirate stories, poems, and Puritan debates about slavery.

Fall 2012

347 - U.S. Literature after 1865:

Reading and analysis of prose and poetry from the Civil War to about 1920. Topics from past classes have included: Mark Twain, W.E.B. DuBois, Henry James, Willa Cather, O.E. Rolvaag, Anges Smeley, Edith Wharton, Henry Ross, and others.

351 - Chaucer:

This course will introduce students to the early English poet, exploring the Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde as well as some shorter poems. Students can expect to familiarize themselves with medieval economics, Middle English, and manuscript culture.

352 - Shakespeare:

For some, if you say "Shakespeare," you have practically said "English literature." This class focuses on reading closely, discussing, and writing about Shakespeare's work. The topic varies by semester: Early plays are studied in the fall, late plays in the spring.

Fall 2012

355 - Studies in Individual Authors:

Study of several works by one or two authors. Works in translation acceptable. The topic for English 355 changes yearly, but topics include:

361 - British Novels to 1900:

Longer prose fiction from Defoe to Eliot and Hardy. Other authors studied may include Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

362 - *American Novels after 1920:

The European novel has tended to tell the story of a young person "coming of age" and finding his place in society. The American novel, on the other hand, tends to depict society as opposed to individual identity and life.

*The last time this course was taught was 1997-1998

365 - Current Issues in Literary Studies:

Explores the history and current state of literary studies. Students analyze and discuss significant literary texts; they examine debates that have shaped the discipline of literary studies; and they complete a substantial research project. Thematic focus of the course varies with instructor.

Fall 2012

Spring 2013

366 - Studies in Modern Literature:

A selection of fiction, poetry and/or other forms written in late 19th to mid-20th centuries. This period is one of extreme changes, cataclysms, and excitement - the literature of the time reflects this. Some of the works studied may include Joseph Conrad's The Heart of Darkness, James Joyce's Dubliners, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Ernest Hemmingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, and many others.

367 - Studies in Contemporary Literature:

A selection of fiction, poetry and/or other forms written in the past 30-50 years. Topics for the course may include contemporary reworking of "canon" literature, hybrid forms, graphic novels, hypertext novels, and even graffiti! Some of the past works studied include Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, Joe Sacco's Palestine, and Suzan-Lori Parks' The Red Letter Plays.

369 - Studies in Critical Theory:

Study of selected critical theories and application. Topics may range from reggae and Rastafarianism to Marxist theory to a synthesis of classic literary texts, pop culture, and critical theory.

Spring 2013

381 - Literature by Women:

In spite of the many ways in which women writers have been silenced throughout history, they have produced a diverse and challenging body of poetry, fiction, drama, essays, and memoirs. This class will analyze texts from several feminist approaches - each as unique as the texts themselves.

Spring 2013

382 - Race and Ethnicity/U.S. Literature:

A study of literature from several of the ethnic, racial and other groups that make up United States culture with attention to the historical and social contexts in which this literature arises. Other topics include representation, diversity, multicultural, transnational, freedom, hybridity, diaspora, borders, globalization, and community.

Spring 2013

383 - Post Colonial Literature:

A study of literature, partly in translation, from African, Asian and the Caribbean countries. The course focuses on the specific historical and cultural contexts in which these literatures arise. Past classes have studied the works of Salman Rushdie, Frantz Fanon, Naomi Klein, Chinua Achebe, and many others.

Fall 2012

385 - Studies in Literature:

Study of a special topic. Intended for subjects that are not readily treated in standard courses. The topic for English 385 changes yearly, but topics include:

*Note: not typically offered.

Fall 2012

• 385J - Medieval Literature

386 - Studies in Film:

This course analyzes film through one or more theoretical aspects. Psychoanalytic, feminist, cultural studies, and reader-response theories are among possible approaches offered. A selection of films is viewed for illustrative and interpretive purposes.

Fall 2012, 2 sections

Spring 2013

387 - Intro to Linguistics:

This course covers the history and development of the English language, its grammar and structure, and also language acquisition and use in society. Students will complete a research paper delving into their choice linguist region - this is a phenomenal adventure into the English language.

Fall 2012

388 - Studies in Popular Culture:

Critical reading of such popular arts and practices as film, television, music, newspapers, etc. In this course, you will read, analyze, and discuss a cluster of critical essays about America's most important mediums of communication.