Fall 2018 English Course Descriptions
English 1009G Section 600 CRN 94804
Randall Beebe
Stories Matter: Health & Medicine: "Because I Could Not Stop for Death": The Body, Illness, & The Stories They Tell Online
This course investigates the fundamental and vibrant ways that humanities and medical/health studies complement each other’s focus on health, illness, and the complexity of what it means to be human as we confront our bodies, disease, and our mortality.
This course satisfies the Gen Ed Humanities & Fine Arts requirements. All majors are welcome.
English 1105 Section 001 CRN 92264
Randall Beebe
English Forum 3:00-3:50 pm W
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
Bess Kosinec
Introduction to Creative Writing 11:00-11:50 am MWF
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 2205 Section 001 CRN 93047
Melissa Caldwell
Introduction to Literary Studies 10:00-10:50 am MWF
This course is designed for students beginning the English major. Ideally, you will also be concurrently enrolled in English 2950 (Transatlantic Literary History I), and together these courses provide beginning students with foundations to the major: what it is that serious students of literature do, how we do what we do, and why we do literary studies at all.
More than anything, this course will equip you to better understand—and excel—in your other English courses by walking you through the central problems of our discipline—problems of textuality, interpretation, research, and context. As this course will demonstrate for you on a daily basis, the foundation for success within our discipline is close, careful attention to language—to words, to structures of expressions, and to cultural contexts. Readings will be challenging and diverse, and we will also be considering in our discussions texts you are using in other English courses, specifically English 2950.
Specific requirements include: short- & medium-length papers, midterm and final exam.
Prerequisites and Notes: ENG 1105 or concurrent enrollment in ENG 1105.
English 2760 Section 001 CRN 91527
Donna Binns
Introduction to Professional Writing 3:30-4:45 pm TR
This course offers an introduction to the principles and practices of writing in professional settings. Students will complete case-based and/or client-based projects in multiple genres and media. ENG 2760 will also address ethical communication, document design, intercultural/global communication, collaboration, basic copyediting, and presentation.
English 2901 Section 001 CRN 91233
Terri Fredrick
Structure of English 10:00-10:50 am MWF
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 2901 Section 002 CRN 90333
Daiva Markelis
Structure of English 11:00 am-12:15 pm 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 2901 Section 003 CRN 90334
Angela Vietto
Structure of English 2:00-2:50 pm 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 2950 Section 001 CRN 93048
Robert Martinez
Transatlantic Literary History: Culture, Literacies, and Technologies I 12:00-12:50 pm 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
Suzie Park
Advanced Composition 11:00 am-12:15 pm 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 002 CRN 90336
Dana Ringuette
Advanced Composition 2:00-3:15 pm TR
Advanced study and practice of writing in public, professional, and discipline-specific genres.
English 3008 Section 001 CRN 93344
Timothy Taylor
Digital Writing and Multimodal Texts 10:00-10:50 am MWF
Addresses digital writing and multimodal theory and production through the lens of one or more areas of English Studies. Course engages the history of digital and multimodal literacy.
English 3009G Section 001 CRN 91235
Tim Engles
Myth and Culture-Asian Collectivism and Western Individualism 11:00 am-12:15 pmTR
Generally, European and North American cultures have long been considered individualistic, with an emphasis on independence and self-containment. Asian cultures have long been considered more collectivist, with an emphasis on the group and interconnectedness with others. A closer look reveals both the general truths of such contrasting cultural tendencies and some myths that undergird them.
What are the foundations of such general tendencies? How do these ideas about personhood clash when people from such opposing cultures meet? As we will see, literature and other documents can illuminate the truths and the countervailing myths of an overly sharp division between “Western” individualism and “Eastern” collectivism, especially as such ideologies play out in ordinary people’s lives.
Theme: Identity & Culture
English 3062 Section 001 CRN 93049
Olga Abella
Intermediate Poetry Writing 11:00 am-12:15 pm TR
This class assumes your interest in and seriousness about being a poet. You will workshop your poems to develop your editing skills and poetic voices by listening to the feedback you receive. You will further learn to do this by reading contemporary poets and studying their use of language, imagery and form. You will keep a journal of your study of these poets’ works so you can develop a stronger sense of what kinds of poems appeal to you and why, and in the process learn how your work fits into the kinds of poetry being written today. At the end you will be graded on a portfolio of revised poems, the journal and class participation.
Prerequisites and Notes: ENG 2000 or equivalent.
Themes: Genre, Form & Poetics
English 3063 Section 001 CRN 93962
Bess Kosinec
Intermediate Fiction Writing 1:00-1:50 pm MWF
An intermediate course centered on the writing of fiction. Class time will be devoted to writing, reading, and discussion of fiction.
Prerequisites and Notes: ENG 2000 or equivalent.
English 3099G Section 099 CRN 90339
Christopher Wixson
Myth and Culture, Honors 3:30-4:45 pm 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, dedicated participation in discussion, a midterm, and a final exam.
Note: Admission to University Honors College or Departmental Honors Program required.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Genre, Form & Poetics
English 3300 Section 002 CRN 93352
Robert Martinez
Seminar in English Studies--Are the Boys Broken?: Masculinity, Culture, and Violence in Literature and Film
2:00-2:50 pm MWF
Following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School in Florida, Michael Black started a viral discussion about the lack of conversation surrounding how boys grow into men and the sometimes confusing and dangerous expectations of masculinity. In this course we will examine this question of masculinity and identity, particularly as it relates to differing cultural attitudes regarding masculinity and the “cultures of violence” that frequently surround it.
Students will encounter an exciting array of literature and film from around the world in this course, including works by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Martin Amis, Pat Barker, Gus Van Sant, J. G. Ballard, Héctor Tobar, Vivek Shanbhag, bell hooks, Todd Boyd, and Gary Oldman. We will study a variety of topics from relationship issues across cultures, to the impact of technology on sexuality and gender identity, to the emergence of the new black superhero, and Latin American machismo. Students will complete a variety of writing and presentation projects for both professional and popular audiences.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Genre, Form, & Poetics; Education & Society; Media, Technology, & Popular Culture
Prerequisite: ENG 2205 or equivalent
English 3401 Section 001 CRN 90341
Donna Binns
Methods of Teaching Composition in the Secondary School 12:30-1:45 pm TR
This course explores various best practices and approaches to teaching and evaluating written composition in secondary schools. Coursework 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: 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 002 CRN 93051
Brownson
Children's Literature 2:00-3:15 pm TR
Study of the rich variety of texts written for or primarily read by children, including picture books, poetry, fairy tales, chapter books, and novels. Emphases include historical, cultural, pedagogical, critical, and theoretical perspectives.
English 3705 Section 600 CRN 94805
Tim Engles
American Multicultural Literatures-Coming of Age Narratives Online
Our topic will be “coming of age” literature, especially that which foregrounds what it means to differ in significant ways from “all-American” norms. We will investigate varying conceptions and depictions of what it means to “grow up,” and to do so under the influence of such shaping forces as race, class, gender, and sexuality. We will also study the unconventional storytelling methods and themes that multicultural authors often use for representing identity formation and maturation.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice; Education & Society
English 3800 Section 001 CRN 94638
Melissa Caldwell
Medieval British Literature: Magic, Visions, and Visionaries 4:30-5:45 pm MW
Much of medieval literature is animated by the idea of the supernatural in its various guises. In this course, we will explore the discourses of mystery in medieval literature ranging from Arthurian romance to dream visions to religious texts and mystical visions. Towards the end of the course, we will also consider why representations of the medieval period continue to preoccupy our imagination.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Genre, Form & Poetics
Art 3685/English 3903B Section 001 CRN 93964
Rehema Barber, Director and Chief Curator, Tarble Arts Center, and
Jeannie Ludlow, Coordinator, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Women, Literature, and Language, Post-1800 9:30-10:45 am TR
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”
In response to the political and socio-economic shifts of the 1960s and 70s, much of the art, music, and literature of women became proclamations against male domination and white supremacy, especially as they relate to the body. Women's arts asserted that the bodies and minds of women were heated and hotly debated battlegrounds. In the Eye of the Beholder is a Fall, 2018, visual art exhibition at the Tarble Arts Center. It will juxtapose the work of established activist and feminist women artists with contemporary and emerging women artists to create a dialogue about the progress and realization of feminism and our hopes for its future. This team-taught and jointly-designed course will focus on this exhibit as well as on other creative arts by women, placing them in conversation with literary works that show how diverse women resisted patriarchal domination and claimed their own artistic space for exploring feminist thinking. Themes that may be explored in this course may include immigration, politics, labor, pay equity, productivity and reproductivity, health, intimate partner and sexual/gendered violence, altered beauty, and religious freedom. ART 3685 and ENG 3903 both count as electives toward the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor. ENG 3903 will also count as an elective toward the Latin American Studies minor because 50% or more of the course materials in ENG 3903 will be by authors who identify as Chicanx, Latinx, Latin American, or Caribbean.
English 4060 Section 001 CRN 93965
Terri Fredrick
English Studies Career Development 3:00-3:50 pm 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
Terri 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
Melissa Ames
Studies in Genre--Vampires, and Zombies, and Fear- Oh My!: What Trends in Horror Sub-Genres Reveal about Societal Concerns 12:30-1:45 pm TR
Scholars have long discussed the ways in which horror narratives embody and reflect on societal fears about a range of issues: race, gender, sexuality, disease, terrorism, capitalism, and more. Therefore, studying trends in horror sub-genres can provide great insight into the cultural climate that produced them. This course analyzes vampire and zombie narratives across genre and media attending to the social commentary contained within these fictional stories. From novels, films, and graphic novels to television, video games, and choose-your-own-adventures books, students will reflect on how these supernatural figures are much more than just narrative devices meant to trigger emotional responses. Through a series of presentations and projects (with options ranging from academic research papers to creative writing pieces), students will take a historical stroll through time looking at the evolution of these two horror sub-genres, focusing most heavily on their increasing popularity and proliferation in the 21st century.
Themes: Genre, Form & Poetics; Education & Society; Media, Technology & Popular Culture
Prerequisites and Notes: ENG 2205. This course may be repeated once with the permission of the department chairperson.
CLASSES NUMBERED 4750 THROUGH 4999 - THESE CLASSES ARE OPEN TO JUNIORS, SENIORS, AND GRADUATE STUDENTS. GRADUATE STUDENTS ARE LIMITED TO TWELVE HOURS OF COURSEWORK IN THIS CATEGORY.
English 4760 Section 001 CRN 94049
Donna Binns
Special Topics in Professional Writing-Writing about Health & for Health Organizations Online
This course involves focused study of professional writing, designed to enhance understanding of health-related workplace writing and provide experience in producing it. Students will gain experience in writing about and for health organizations. Topics covered include grant writing, accessibility, usability, writing for non-profit health organizations, and writing about health-related topics for specialized and non-specialized audiences. May be repeated once (with a different topic) for credit. Study of professional writing, designed to enhance understanding of workplace writing and provide experience in producing it. Topic will vary semester to semester. May be repeated once for credit.
English 4761 Section 001 CRN 90358
Daiva Markelis
Advanced Nonfiction Writing 9:30-10:45 am TR
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 94639
Olga Abella
Advanced Dramatic Writing 2:00-3:15 pm 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 it does 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 a final portfolio of your plays, journals, and participation.
Themes: Genre, Form & Poetics
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
Terri Fredrick
Professional Editing 12:00-12:50 pm MWF
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 4850 Section 001 CRN 93967
Dagni Bredesen
Studies in Postcolonial and Third World Literatures—From Nelson Mandela to Trevor Noah: Modern South African Literature, Politics and Culture 11:00-11:50 am MWF
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.” To prepare us for our examination of novels, auto/biography, poetry, historical documents, newspaper reports, music and film, we will spend four weeks immersed in a "Reacting to the Past" Role-playing game "The Collapse of Apartheid and the Dawn of Democracy."
Ultimately, our goal will be to understand how these narratives contribute to this process of nation-building twenty-four years on from South Africa’s first democratic vote, while simultaneously considering the meanings that these narratives and events may hold for university students and communities on the other side of the planet.
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
Randall Beebe
Introduction to Methods and Issues in English Studies 7:00-9:30 pm W
An introduction to critical approaches, research methods, and current issues in English studies. Required in first year of enrollment.
English 5003 Section 600 CRN 94906
Julie Campbell
Studies in Seventeenth Century British Literature-Shakespeare for All Online
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 5007 Section 001 CRN 91407
Robin Murray
Composition Pedagogies 7:00-9:30 pm T
Composition Pedagogies will focus on theories and pedagogies of teaching writing. In this course, students will explore a variety of composition pedagogies, be introduced to the various theoretical influences that have shaped the teaching of writing, and learn about the history of Composition/Rhetoric as a discipline.
English 5025 Section 001 CRN 92266
Olga Abella
Creative Writing Professional Development 3:30-4:20 pm R
The focus of this seminar is to prepare your work for public presentation, and for publication. We will discuss: your “voice” and how to develop it orally for an audience; writing cover letters and bios for publishing your work; researching venues for publishing your work; preparing a manuscript for submission; reactions and impressions of literary events you are required to attend; and your future as a writer. As a final project, the class will test their honed voices by giving a public reading.
English 5061D Section 600 CRN 94907
Jad Smith
Special Topics in Literature and Literary Theory-Science Fiction Vanugards: New Wave and Cyberpunk Online
In this seminar, we will examine the complex histories of two SF vanguards, New Wave and cyberpunk. The New Wave took shape in the U.K. during the mid-1960s, largely after Michael Moorcock assumed the editorship of New Worlds and pushed the magazine in avant-garde directions. Cyberpunk emerged in the U.S. in the early 1980s, after Bruce Sterling and other writers associated with what was then called “The Movement” declared genre SF a “backwater anachronism” and aimed to turn it into a “cultural force” instead. Both of these vanguards fostered literary experimentation, shook up the genre at large, and left a lasting impact on the field. We will consider the work of a writer who was a key influence on both New Wave and cyberpunk—Alfred Bester—and discuss a range of representative texts and writers related to both movements. Readings will likely include work by John Brunner, Pat Cadigan, Samuel R. Delany, Thomas M. Disch, James Tiptree, Jr. (i.e., Alice Sheldon), Joanna Russ, Bruce Sterling, and William Gibson.cription pending.
English 5260 Section 001 CRN 94641
Terri Fredrick
Communication in Science and Technical Organizations 2:00-4:30 pm W
This graduate course looks beyond academic writing to the types of communication professionals use in their careers. The course will introduce students to practices and principles of audience-centered communication within organizational settings. The applied and strategic nature of this communication will be emphasized throughout the course, and students will learn to communicate scientific and technical information to internal and external stakeholders. Thus, the broad content areas covered in the class will include organizational communication, professional writing, technical writing, and public relations.
**This course is cross-listed with Communication Studies and will be team-taught by a faculty member in Professional Writing and a faculty member in Public Relations/Organizational Communication.**
English 5960 Section 600 CRN 94145
Terri 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 organization, small business, 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.
Notes
- ENG 1002G is a prerequisite for 2000-level courses and above.
- All courses designated with a G (for example, ENG 1009G) fulfill requirements in the EIU General Education Program.
- Concurrent or prior registration in ENG 2205 is strongly recommended for majors in all courses at the 2000-level and above.
