What can you do with an English major? This course is designed to answer that question from a wide variety of perspectives. Topics include academic choices within the major, minor(s), undergraduate research opportunities, English-related student organizations, study abroad, internships, scholarships, career options and career planning, graduate and professional programs, study abroad and internships. You will begin to plan the direction you want to go with your English major and with your subsequent career through writing projects and attendance at Department and University events.
English 2000 Section 001 CRN 93045
Markelis
Introduction to Creative Writing1400-1515 TR
This course will introduce students to the writing of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama. Students will participate in workshops of their creative work and read writing in each genre.
English 2009G Section 001 CRN 93959
Beebe
Literature and Human Values: Love, Hate, Obsession 900-950 MWF
English 2009G is a general education course, studying significant works of literature (fiction) from diverse cultures and of the ways in which they depict meaning, identity, and action in the world.
In this course we will investigate how the concepts of Love, Hate, and Obsession are related in complex, dynamic ways, and how these concepts provide the basis for some of the most challenging and provocative stories and human events. In short, we’ll be investigating the extreme in narratives, and we’ll do so in short stories, novels, non-fiction, and film. The goal here is not only to increase your analytical and reading skills—developing your ability to talk with precision and sophistication about books and movies and the cultures they come from—but also to enjoy some beautiful and challenging stories).
English 2011G Section 001 CRN 93342
Campbell
Literature, the Self, and the World: Fiction1230-1345 TR
During the past two decades, the U.S. has experienced a renaissance of reading as book clubs have sprung up across the country and electronic devices have made reading more portable and accessible than ever before. As a result, sales of books in general, perhaps fiction especially, have been on the rise (see, for example, the “Oprah Effect”). This is a phenomenon that we will consider as we discuss the notions that reading fiction informs how we engage with the world, how we learn about ourselves, and how we empathize with others. In this course, we will read a selection of novels and short fiction that will allow us to explore a variety of subgenres of fiction (mystery, adventure, romance, historical fiction). We will consider some works that have made best seller lists recently, as well as some that have been around for a while. We will also take some cues from book club style as we occasionally analyze texts in small groups that make their own reading selections.
English 2205 Section 001 CRN 93047
Campbell
Introduction to Literary Studies 930-1045 TR
There are as many ways to view a text as there are readers, and each reader brings to a text her or his own perceptions, prejudices, and experiences. When reading and writing about literature are approached from a variety of perspectives, exciting things happen. Texts come alive artistically, historically, and politically in fascinating ways, and we realize that readers co-create meaning with writers. A text is a two-way street. English majors are encouraged to learn to view literature from a variety of critical stances that have evolved into the field called literary theory. In this writing intensive course we will read a selection of works from several theoretical standpoints and discuss the historical development of literary criticism.
Prerequisites and Notes: ENG 1105 or concurrent enrollment in ENG 1105.
English 2760 Section 001 CRN 91527
Fredrick
Introduction to Professional Writing1100-1215 TR
This course introduces students to the principles and practices of communication in professional settings. Students will complete case-based and/or client-based projects in multiple genres and media. The course will also address ethical communication, document design, intercultural/global communication, collaboration, basic copyediting, and oral presentation.
English 2901 Section 001 CRN 91233
Jad Smith
Structure of English 0930-1045 TR
An introduction to the English language: its phonology and word forms, the parts of speech and their functions, basic sentence structures and their representation, stylistic patterns, standard and nonstandard dialects, viewed according to traditional and modern grammars.
English 2901 Section 002 CRN 90333
Vietto
Structure of English 1300-1350 MWF
Language is one key to empowerment. In this introduction to the English language, we will explore the analytic approaches to language that can help prepare us to use language to achieve goals of many kinds. Our study of the grammar of the English language is meant to help you think critically about language-related social issues and to apply an understanding of English grammar to a variety of practical uses, including your own writing in a variety of settings, teaching at a variety of levels, editing, and other language-related work. There will be several tests throughout the semester, a final exam, and a short research project.
English 2901 Section 003 CRN 90334
Fredrick
Structure of English1530-1645 TR
In this class students will analyze the rules that govern the English grammatical system. They will develop a deeper understanding of the systematic nature of language. By the end of the course they will be able to comprehend the major differences between traditional, structural, and transformational approaches to grammar, identify sentence patterns and their expansions, and understand verb tense, aspect, voice, and modality. There will be several tests throughout the semester, a final exam, and a short research project.
English 2950 Section 001 CRN 93048
Martinez
Transatlantic Literary History: Culture, Literacies, and Technologies I 0900-0950 MWF
More than simply an introduction to the key cultural movements and genres in British and American literary history, this course will ask you not just to accept but also to think critically about literary history and tradition. In addition to familiarizing you with the history of orality, literacy, and print technology in textual production from the Anglo-Saxon period to the beginning of the 18th century, this core course of the English major will prepare you to enter your concentration with a foundation in critical issues surrounding the lives and afterlives of texts, genres, and traditions.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Genre, Form & Poetics; Education & Society; Media, Technology & Popular Culture
English 3001 Section 001 CRN 90335
Engles
Advanced Composition1100-1215 TR
This course will improve your writing skills as you gather your forces toward a career in a professional work environment. Nearly all professional fields include more writing tasks than those entering them usually realize, and the quality of a worker's writing greatly affects interactions with colleagues and supervisors. In addition to getting your skills up to speed for specific forms of professional writing, this course will help you anticipate key features of your future workplace, including those related to race, class, gender, and sexuality.
Themes: Identity and Culture; Law and Social Justice
English 3001 Section 002 CRN 90336
Park
Advanced Composition 1530-1645 TR
This course investigates our relationships to technology, and especially the historical uses of writing with different media. In the course, we will read a number of key arguments on media ecology—that is, the technological environment in which we are steeped, and the concomitant perils and pleasures of what Marshall McLuhan called “the media extensions of man.” We will ask why, as does Sherry Turkle in her book Alone Together, texting appears to offer “just the right amount of access, just the right amount of control.” Turkle describes texters as “modern Goldilockses”: “texting puts people not too close, not too far, but at just the right distance.” We will emphasize practice in two things: 1) the clear exposition of ideas through the grammatical and stylistic command of writing and 2) the thoughtful reading of challenging texts that invite serious reflection on one’s own technologically-driven habits. Readings will come from a variety of sources, ranging from Michel Foucault on panoptic societies to Nicholas Carr on the death of “deep reading,” from Kazuo Ishiguro on the dystopic era of “donations” to Thich Nhat Hanh on “mindfulness."
As in all writing classes, the written word rules here. We will examine how good writing looks (grammar), how it sounds (style), and where it goes (audience-oriented rhetoric). Over the course of the semester, you will produce essays through stages of brainstorming, drafting, and fleshing out theses. You will not do this alone, of course. This is a workshop course, which means that, much as in the world outside the university, you will be writing for an audience larger than your professor. You will receive and offer feedback on fellow students’ work. In these feedback loops, you will be encouraged to keep an eye on your own growth as a writer of clear, effective, persuasive, and citation-savvy arguments.
English 3001 Section 600 CRN 94047
Binns
Advanced Composition Online
Advanced Composition centers on advanced applications of the principles of writing analyses and arguments. This course offers opportunities to explore a variety of research sources and genres of writing. Attention will be given to analyzing writing situations, including the purpose for writing, assumed audiences, and appropriate styles and tones. Active participation in online class activities is required. In addition to major writing projects, homework assignments will consist of analytic reading responses or pieces of writing that contribute to larger writing projects-in-progress. The class will have class and group discussions online during which students will discuss their responses to readings, collaborate on exercises, or provide feedback on strategies and plans for major writing assignments. Students will also evaluate and provide feedback on one another’s writing as part of peer response groups.
English 3008 Section 001 CRN 93344
Ames
Digital Writing and Multimodal Texts0930-1045 TR
This course engages with the history, theory, and production of digital writing and multimodal texts. Students will consider the importance that multimodal literacy has for 21st century learners and consumers. Course study will involve analyzing how digital texts both reflect and influence larger cultural contexts and how such multimodal texts (and technology more generally) impact (or aim to impact) individual audiences. The required work for this course will be customized to fit students’ specializations and may include any of the following: digital texts/portfolios, pedagogical tools, research essays, audience studies, social media analysis, and individual/group presentations.
Themes: Education & Society; Genre, Form & Poetics; Media, Technology, & Popular Culture
English 3009G Section 001 CRN 91235
Bredesen
Myth and Culture1530-1645 TR
Modern society sometimes uses “myth” as another word for “lie” (“the Five Myths of Weight-Loss Exploded!”). But cultures and literary masterpieces have developed myths as a way to deeper truths. Myths help structure our thought; we live by certain myths. Rather than a chronological look at the myths of different civilizations, this course juxtaposes Classic mythic stories of different cultures with modern ones. Themes of this course will include “Origins,” “Transformations,” “Resistance,” and a final section on “When Myths Collide."
Course objectives and requirements: Students will be able to identify, appreciate, analyze and discuss myths of different cultures, including one’s own. Requirements include attendance and participation and intellectual collaboration based on careful reading of assigned texts. Assignments will include in-class and take-home writing, some independent research, a mid-term and final exam.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Genre, Form & Poetics
English 3062 Section 001 CRN 93049
Abella
Intermediate Poetry Writing 0930-1045 TR
Description coming soon.
Prerequisites and Notes: ENG 2000 or equivalent.
English 3063 Section 001 CRN 93962
Markelis
Intermediate Fiction Writing 1100-1215 TR
Students will work on developing their eye for detail, dialogue, and voice—all-important components of the short story. Later in the semester we will consider the mechanics of plot and pacing. Several short writing exercises will be required, though the major part of this course will be devoted to the workshop.
Prerequisites and Notes: ENG 2000 or equivalent.
English 3099G Section 099 CRN 90339
Wixson
Myth and Culture, Honors 1400-1515 TR
Even the observant animals are aware That we’re not very happily home here In this --- our interpreted world.
--Rainer Maria Rilke
This course explores the ways in which myth and myth-making across cultures relate to issues of identity, desire, language, epistemology, and violence. Requirements include short papers, critical essays, vigorous participation in discussion, a midterm, and a final exam.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Genre, Form & Poetics
Note: Admission to University Honors College or Departmental Honors Program required.
English 3300 Section 001 CRN 93050
Beebe
Seminar in English Studies--The Literary Gothic/Game of Thrones: Narratives of Power & Terror 1200-1250 MWF
In this seminar, we will look at the phenomenon called Game of Thrones through the lens of the literary gothic (a kind of fiction that developed at the end of the 18th century), and we will use this comparison to investigate how narratives structure power and terror. While we will look at several points of connection between the literary gothic and Game of Thrones (such as gender and social politics, family dysfunction, intense subjectivity, and the narrative privileging of complex, tortured relationships), one of our primary points of emphasis will be the problem of moral ambiguity—how do the literary gothic and Game of Thrones invite and complicate discussions of good and evil? What are we to make of these fictional worlds where subversion—dark desire, sexual transgression, fantastic deviance—takes center stage?
As designed by the English Department, this required seminar is intended to be a different kind of learning experience for students of all concentrations. Within a seminar format, students will take an active role in leading and participating in class discussion. You will complete a variety of writing projects (of varying lengths and for both popular and academic audiences) and short presentations, and, along the way, develop advanced research skills. You will also complete and present a research project—the focus, shape and scope of which will be up to you to design. Students will be strongly encouraged to develop projects that complement their concentration in the English major and (where possible) relate to their career goals.
Prerequisite: ENG 2205 or equivalent
English 3300 Section 002 CRN 93352
Worthington
Seminar in English Studies--Becoming a Public Intellectual 1400-1450 MWF
Especially now, the world needs to hear from smart people who can think critically and communicate well. The world needs to hear from you. In this course, we will explore the myriad ways you can bring your substantial skills as an English major to bear in various public forums, from newspaper editorials, magazine and blog entries, multi-modal projects, effective web and twitter presences, as well as more traditional essays and presentations.
Methods of Teaching Composition in the Secondary School 1400-1515 TR
This course explores various best practices and approaches to teaching and evaluating written composition in secondary schools. Course work will consist primarily of reading and responding to pedagogical texts, applying the findings in such to contemporary educational concerns, and crafting/modeling instructional tools both independently and cooperatively in ways that mirror professional learning communities. The required work for this course includes crafting lesson plans, thematic units, a course design, and various reflective essays. This course requires five on-site pre-clinical experience hours and the live-text submission of one required assignment.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Education & Society; Genre, Form & Poetics; Media, Technology, & Popular Culture
Prerequisites & Notes: ENG 2901 and SED 2000. Prerequisites or co-requisites: EDP 3331 and SED 3330; for ISEP students, SED 3000 and 3100; for Middle Level Education majors, MLE 3110.
Notes: University Approval to Teacher Education is required prior to taking this course.
English 3405 Section 001 CRN 90342
Kory
Children's Literature 1000-1050 MWF
In this course we will focus on the remarkable range of classic and contemporary works written or published for children. By the end, you will be familiar with the distinctive formats of children’s literature (e.g. “picture book” and “easy reader”) and more aware of the complicated interaction of oral, literary, visual and narrative elements in them. One of our primary goals is to develop a vocabulary rich enough to describe and evaluate this literature, and more attentiveness to the strategies authors and illustrators use to accommodate the developing abilities of their audience. We will also work towards greater understanding of the historical and social contexts in which children’s literature has been produced. Formal papers, informal writing assignments on D2L, and group projects will provide opportunities to explore the many excellent resources available via Booth Library and the web to scholars and professionals who work with children and their literature.
Themes: Genre, Form & Poetics; Education & Society
English 3405 Section 002 CRN 93051
Jamila Smith
Children's Literature 1400-1515 TR
This course will introduce you to the exciting world of literature for children (focus will center on infants through fifth/sixth grade students) as well as provide you with a variety of critical tools for reading, discussing, and writing about the literature. Through readings, film, lecture, and discussions (both in small and large groups) we will develop our multicultural and social justice awareness, our ability to write and perform thoughtful, insightful prose, and our ability to read texts for both their literary merit and aesthetic value.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Education & Society
English 3504 Section 001 CRN 90343
Murray
Film and Literature--Comics, Graphic Narratives, and the Movies: Expanding the Boundaries of Film 1530-1710 TR
ENG 3504, Film and Literature, will explore comics, graphic novels, and film as “expanded cinema” or as Paul Wells suggests In Animation and America "art-works transcending paradigm[s] by using their aesthetic specificity to create symbolic interpretations of more complex and contradictory aspects of human experience." This section of 3504 will explore the boundaries of comics, graphic novels, animation, and adaptation as interpretive "artworks" in multiple genres of film and literature.
British Romantic Literature: Harry Potter and the Romantics 1230-1345 TR
How could this boy be turning twenty? That is, how could the literary series about this boy be turning twenty? And why did this boy—“the chosen one”—become so ridiculously famous in the first place? “Harry Potter and the Romantics” is a course (and not the name of a bad cover band) that will focus on J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series as a modern cultural phenomenon that draws heavily on the particular fixations of the 18th- and 19th-century British Romantics. These obsessions include the gothic (in architecture and in storytelling), the unique individual (who knew that this was ever not a thing?), psychological aberration (lots of it), genius (for better or worse), search for origins, return of the repressed, and love of all things medieval (Hogwarts!).
English 3903B Section 001 CRN 93964
Ludlow
Women, Literature, and Language, Post-1800—Becoming the Beholder: Women Writing Women’s Lives 1000-1050 MWF
I loved the girl some thought too strange,
too dark, who spoke the cadence
of her own mythology, her own sanity,
with the words from books
trailing her lips like shadows.
~Lorna Dee Cervantes, from “Caribou Girl”
ENG 3903 will explore the power of language and visual arts to critique structural oppression and empower feminist resistance. In particular, we will pay attention to texts that explore the relationship of feminist thinking and activism to the body. Students enrolled in this section of ENG 3903 will engage significantly with the feminist art exhibition scheduled in the Tarble Art Galleries on campus this fall. Course texts may include: Julia Alvarez, In the Time of the Butterflies; Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands La Frontera; Ana Castillo’s So Far from God; Louise Erdrich’s Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse; Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate; Gayl Jones’ Corregidora; Cherríe Moraga’s “Heroes and Saints”; Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming and selected essays, poems, and short stories. ENG 3903 counts toward the Women’s Studies minor. 50% or more of the course materials in this section will be by authors who identify as Chicana, Latina, Latin American, or Caribbean; therefore, this course will count as an elective toward the Latin American Studies minor.
English 4060 Section 001 CRN 93965
Fredrick
English Studies Career Development1500-1550 M
This course is designed to prepare English majors and Professional Writing minors for the job market and/or for graduate school applications.In this course, you will research job openings and professional organizations, participate in discussions with professional guest speakers, analyze your own professional skills and abilities, and read course materials related to career development. As part of the class, you will create your final resume, a cover letter template, a print portfolio, and a professional website or online portfolio.
English 4275 Section 600 CRN 94048
Fredrick
Internship in Professional Writing Online
Students must meet with the Internship Coordinator (Dr. Fredrick) to arrange an internship placement before registering for ENG 4275.
A community-based experience featuring practical application of skills developed in the English curriculum, the Internship is open to any student who has taken ENG 2760 or ENG 3005. To the extent possible, placement is matched to career goals with the expectation that students might approach graduation and the job search with writing/editing portfolios to show potential employers. Recent English interns have worked as writers or editors for nonprofit organizations, small businesses, corporations, libraries, local government offices.
English 4275 is a four-hour course offered on a credit/no credit basis. In addition to work created as part of the internship, students will engage in reflective writing about the internship and organizational culture. The coordinator and site-supervisors cooperate in evaluation. Students who have taken English 4275 previously may repeat it again as an elective; students who repeat the course will be placed at a different internship site.
English 4742 Section 001 CRN 93348
Wixson
Studies in Genre: Two Contemporary African-American Playwrights---August Wilson and Suzan-Lori Parks 0930-1045 TR
This course explores work by two Pulitzer-prize winning dramatists, August Wilson and Suzan-Lori Parks. Wilson’s ambitious “Pittsburgh cycle” chronicles his vision of the African-American experience through each decade of the twentieth-century. Parks is currently at work on her own epic play cycle (in nine parts), inspired by Homer’s The Odyssey and stretching from the Civil War to the present day. Our primary task will be to read (and, whenever possible, see) a sampling of the plays --- living in the language together and responding meaningfully to the choices made by these two brilliant storytellers. We will be particularly attentive to the ways in which the plays speak to one another in dialogue about the legacies of histories and cultures as well as notions of collective and personal identity. On the reading list will also be work by historians as well as period documents that will contextualize the cultural moments in which the plays are set/were written. Time will be devoted as well to staging some productive collisions with other genres (via texts by James Baldwin, Ta-Nahisi Coates, Ralph Ellison, Spike Lee, and Toni Morrison) to help illuminate the unique mode of representation that theater and the “history play” affords these writers. Requirements include dedicated participation in discussion and both critical and creative projects. The course is open to majors and non-majors, and future teachers will find it especially useful, as Wilson’s work is taught fairly often in high schools.
Prerequisite: ENG 2205. This course may be repeated once with the permission of the department chairperson.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice; Genre, Form, & Poetics
CLASSES NUMBERED 4750 THROUGH 4999 - THESE CLASSES ARE OPEN TO JUNIORS, SENIORS, AND GRADUATE STUDENTS. GRADUATE STUDENTS ARE LIMITED TO NINE HOURS OF COURSEWORK IN THIS CATEGORY.
English 4760 Section 600 CRN 94049
Binns
Special Topics in Professional Writing Online
This course features focused study of professional writing, designed to enhance understanding of workplace writing and provide experience in producing it. This semester's topic will focus on accessibility in professional communication. Course objectives include the following:
Use effective professional communication strategies to create accessible materials and high-quality projects
Demonstrate understanding of principles of and research on professional communication and accessibility
Use communication and collaboration strategies to solve hypothetical and real workplace problems (i.e., critical thinking and problem solving)
Adapt general professional communication principles (related to content, organization, tone, and design) to specific audiences, purposes, and contexts
Use revision and editing to improve your own and others’ writing.
English 4761 Section 001 CRN 90358
Markelis
Advanced Nonfiction Writing 1500-1730 M
In this class students will develop a repertoire of artistic strategies in the writing of literary nonfiction prose. Students will deepen their understanding of creative nonfiction and its subgenres through intensive writing; at least four essays and revisions of essays will be required. Students will participate in workshops, submitting at least two essays for class critique.
Prerequisites and Notes: ENG 3061 or, with permission of Department Chairperson, ENG 3062, 3063, or 3064. May be repeated once with permission of the Department Chairperson.
English 4764 Section 001 CRN 93966
Abella
Advanced Dramatic Writing 1230-1345 TR
So, you write stories and novels? How can you make your characters have more well-rounded and meaningful personalities with whom your readers can connect more fully? By seeing them come to life, by watching them interact with each other. A ten-minute play is a short play that explores an idea, a moment, a scene, or even a life. But does it in ten minutes in ten pages. In this class you will be writing ten-minute plays in order to help you develop character, dialogue, story. These plays will also help you prepare for the larger work of a screenplay. Together we will explore the art of contemporary play and screenplay writing. We will read and discuss various contemporary plays and screenplays in order to learn what makes drama powerful and entertaining. The main focus of the class, however, will be the plays and screenplay you create and share in a workshop format with the class in order to discover and refine your own voice and style. You will be graded on your plays, screenplay journal, and participation.
Prerequisites and Notes: ENG 3064 or, with permission of Department Chairperson, ENG 3061, 3062, or 3063. May be repeated once with permission of the Department Chairperson.
English 4765 Section 001 CRN 91238
Fredrick
Professional Editing1400-1515 TR
Editing is an important part of the work professional communicators do. In this course, we will practice all levels of editing: copyediting for grammatical correctness and consistency, fact-checking, editing for style, editing for design, and developmental editing for content and organization. We will edit texts from disciplines such as health, technology, business/marketing, and the sciences. Because editing, like all communication, is contextual, we will address the rhetorical choices editors have to make across cultures and disciplines, and we will look at the different style guides that might influence what and how you edit. Because editing usually takes place within a larger organizational setting, we will also discuss project management, editor-author relationships, and electronic editing.
English 4775 Section 001 CRN 90359
Ringuette
Studies in Literary & Cultural Criticism: Inquiry, Method, & Imagination1100-1215 TR
The primary focus of this course is on the relation between inquiry and imagination in poetry and prose as it concerns both writer and reader. Speaking of inquiry, Samuel Taylor Coleridge emphasized the importance of “method.” Method, he says, “becomes natural to the mind which has been accustomed to contemplate not things only, or for their own sake alone, but likewise and chiefly the relations of things, either their relations to each other, or to the observer, or to the state and apprehension of the hearers.” What is the relation between the poem and the world or experience, between poet and poem, between reader and poem? How can an understanding of these relations help us understand the work, the function, of imagination? William Carlos Williams insists that “Imagination is not to avoid reality, nor is it description nor an evocation of objects or situations; it is to say that poetry does not tamper with the world but moves it.”
We will read a variety of thinkers and writers—ancient to contemporary—who have influenced how we perceive such issues. From our close attention to specific readings, we will try to draw reasonable hypotheses concerning the shifts, changes, and differences in our ways of thinking about—and thinking with—imaginative writing.
Lots of great writing and reading, and several opportunities to follow out those ideas that engage your imagination.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice; Genre, Form, & Poetics
Notes: May be repeated once with permission of Department Chair.
English 4850 Section 001 CRN 93967
Bredesen
Studies in Postcolonial and Third World Literatures—From Nelson Mandela to Trevor Noah: Modern South African Literature, Politics and Culture 1230-1345 TR
Beginning with Daily Show host Trevor Noah’s recently published memoir Born a Crime, we will plunge into the literature, music, art, history, and politics of South Africa. Most of what we will read and listen to has been produced since 1994, that is, after the overthrow of a system of legislated racism known as “apartheid.” We will examine novels, auto/biography, poetry, music, film, historical documents, newspaper reports, etc—and consider how these narratives contribute to this process of nation-building twenty-three years on from South Africa’s first democratic vote as well as the meanings these narratives and events may have for university students and communities on the other side of the planet.
English 4850 is a writing-intensive course, intended to enable motivated students improve their written expression, as well as reading comprehension, critical thinking, and oral expression. Course requirements include attendance and participation, 2 essays, a mid-term and final exams, as well as in-class assignments that will enhance learning and engagement.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice
Notes: May be repeated once with permission of the Department Chairperson.
GRADUATE SEMINARS
English 5000 Section 001 CRN 90361
Bredesen
Introduction to Methods and Issues in English Studies1900-2130 M
What do creative and business writers, English and composition teachers, and literary scholars have in common? They need to know from where they have come and where they are going. This course introduces the history of literary studies (and English departments), research methods, and current issues in literary and composition studies. The theoretical and practical approaches covered in this course will help you think like a literary critic; see like a writer; perform like a professional academic. Charles Dickens’s classic novel Bleak House as well as shorter genre fiction and penny dreadfuls will serve as test cases for the theories and problems we will consider. Other texts that will inform our analyses and conversations include George Lakoff's Metaphors We Live By and Carolyn Levine's Forms: Whole, Rhythm, Hierarchy and Network.
English 5004 Section 001 CRN 93968
Jad Smith
Studies in Restoration and Eighteenth Century British Literature: Literature and Visual Culture in the Long Eighteenth Century 1530-1800 T
Encompassing a wide range of cultural forms from illustrated street ballads to stage spectacle, restoration and eighteenth-century visual culture is a rich counterpart to the literature of the period. Approaches to the long eighteenth century emphasizing visual culture largely grew out of cultural studies, a field of study that according to Paul Gilroy, “directed scholarly attention toward areas hardly taken seriously elsewhere as objects of sustained academic interest.” Practitioners of cultural studies tend to break down the high and low art distinction, and to demonstrate how individual texts emerge and circulate within larger historical networks of production and consumption. Our work in the course will follow this pattern, for instance, approaching Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave alongside illustrated travel literature, John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera alongside William Hogarth’s paintings and engravings, and William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience alongside illustrated broadside hymns, manuals, and subscription tickets related to the charity school movement.
English 5007 Section 001 CRN 91407
Binns
Composition Theory and Pedagogy1900-2130 W
This seminar introduces graduate assistants to the theories and pedagogies that shape our understanding of how to teach writing at the college level. We will explore the foundational pedagogies, history, and theory of the discipline of Composition. The course will explore how knowledge gets made in Composition/Rhetoric. As part of the course, students will write analytical responses to readings. Students will also complete a seminar paper based on secondary and/or primary sources.
Course Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate breadth and depth of knowledge about the history, theories, and movements within Composition Studies
Analyze and synthesize diverse composition theories
Demonstrate preparation to apply composition theories and pedagogies to one’s own teaching
Demonstrate effective oral and written communication
Demonstrate the ability to produce a research article that could lead to presentation or publication.
English 5025 Section 001 CRN 92266
Markelis
Creative Writing Professional Development 1400-1450 M
In this course we’ll examine effective ways of submitting work to literary journals and magazines. We’ll also discuss emerging and established online venues, the use of blogs to showcase work, employment opportunities for writers, and suggestions for applying to graduate programs for further study. We will also work on effective ways to read your work aloud. At the end of the semester, we will have a group reading where members of the class will share their creative work with a wider audience.
English 5061A Section 001 CRN 94156
Campbell
Special Topics in Literature and Literary Theory--Shakespeare for All: Shakespeare in Renaissance Popular Culture and Pop Culture Today 1530-1800 R
When we read or teach Shakespeare, sometimes the complexity of the language, Renaissance dramatic constructs, and historical contextualization required can seem intimidating. Moreover, we are often haunted by the notion that Shakespeare’s work is exclusively “high culture,” that is, belonging only to the culture of the elite. In this course we will confront these issues through an exploration of the range of Renaissance popular culture in which Shakespeare’s works reside. We will also examine ways in which Shakespeare's plays have been adapted in our own popular culture.
English 5960 Section 600 CRN 94145
Fredrick
Internship in Professional Writing Online
Students must meet with the Internship Coordinator (Dr. Fredrick) to arrange an internship placement before registering for ENG 5960.
A community-based experience featuring practical application of skills developed in the English curriculum, to the extent possible, placement is matched to career goals with the expectation that students might approach graduation and the job search with writing/editing portfolios to show potential employers. Recent English interns have worked as writers or editors for nonprofit organizations, small businesses, corporations, libraries, local government offices.
English 5960 is a three-hour course offered on a credit/no credit basis. Internship work is part time (an average of 10 hours per week over a 15-week semester) and can be completed while enrolled in other courses and/or while holding a graduate assistantship. In addition to work created as part of the internship, students will engage in reflective writing about the internship and organizational culture. The coordinator and site-supervisors cooperate in evaluation.
EIU SENIOR SEMINARS AND INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSES
EIU 4106G Section 001 CRN 93969
Caldwell
War Stories 1000-1050 MWF
In this course we will examine the impact of some of the major wars and conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries by reading fiction that treats various aspects of war. In particular, we will seek to understand the all-pervasive impact of war on both individuals directly involved in fighting and conflict, as well as their society and families; and we will look at how the casualties and traumas of war occur both on and off the battlefield. Texts may include Persepolis, Maus, When the Emperor Was Divine, Empire of the Sun, The Things They Carried, In the Lake in the Woods, various films and perhaps even some popular music.
Notes: This University Senior Seminar does not fulfill the English Senior Seminar requirement. Completion of 75 semester hours required.
EIU 4192G Section 099 CRN 90367
Martinez
Film and Contemporary Society (Honors EIU Senior Seminar) 1500-1820 W
This EIU Honors senior seminar will explore how various filmmakers use cinema to study and assess a variety of social and philosophical problems that affect human life. Students will encounter exciting films, both foreign and American, across a range of genres (e.g., war/combat films, romantic comedy, thrillers) and important cinematic schools of thought (e.g., French New Wave). Requirements include short response papers, a term paper, and participation in discussion.
Notes: This University Senior Seminar does not fulfill the English Senior Seminar requirement. Completion of 75 semester hours required.
WST 2309G Section 001 CRN 90864
Jamila Smith
Women, Men, and Culture 1100-1215 TR
This course explores the complex and intersectional dynamics of women and men across the social constructions of race, gender, sexuality, place, and age. Specifically, we will analyze and deconstruct the power of systematic and systemic oppressions within people and communities of color. Heavy emphasis is placed on critical and creative writing and engaged discussion.
Notes
ENG 1002G is a prerequisite for 2000-level courses and above.
All courses designated with a G (for example, ENG 2009G) fulfill requirements in the EIU General Education Program.
ENG 3010G and 3090G, courses in the General Education Program, do not fulfill requirements in the English major or minors.
Concurrent or prior registration in ENG 2205 is strongly recommended for majors in all courses at the 2000-level and above.
