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 32969
Pence
Introduction to Creative Writing 1100-1150 MWF
This introductory course will introduce students to writing creatively in four major genres of creative writing: poetry, fiction, nonfiction and drama. We will articulate the distinctions of each genre, such as the importance of dialogue in drama and character development in fiction, while simultaneously exploring the connections between the genres and the need to create a text that fully engages a reader’s imagination. Finally, we will grapple with the larger questions of why it is that we write and why it is that we want to be a part of somebody else’s imaginative world. Through analysis of literary models in each genre, individual and class criticism of students’ work, and discussions on craft, students will create a portfolio of writing to present at the semester’s end.
English 2011G Section 001 CRN 32970
Kory
Literature, the Self, and the World: Fiction 1000-1050 MWF
When was the last time you read a book for pleasure? In this class, you will get a chance to remember what that was like, and you will also benefit from the expert guidance of Booth librarians as you learn how to find novels and short fictions you will enjoy. In discussion posts on D2L and class discussion, we will think about what makes these fictions “work” for us, and what might make them appealing or satisfying or appropriate (or not) for other readers. Analysis of our reading experiences, along with guided research, will help you develop material for book talks about self-selected books and group presentations about, for example, the conventions and appeal of books in popular genre (mystery, fantasy, thriller, romance, historical fiction). In addition to self-selected readings, we will read and discuss – as a class – a sampling of classic and contemporary books in both conventional and experimental formats and genre (including fantasy and graphic narrative). Writing assignments will include analytic responses and more fully developed pieces of writing like blog posts and a book review essay (suitable for submission to the EWP).
English 2099G Section 099 CRN 32443
Campbell
Literature and Human Values, Honors: Faith, Survival, Progress 1530-1645 TR
Honors Literature and Human Values: Faith, Survival, Progress, is a course designed to introduce you to a variety of early texts in Western literature whose messages, styles, or techniques have survived in later periods. In each section, we will have a selection of early texts and one modern or contemporary text to consider. The themes of all of these works resonate with those of the course title. We will explore the notion of survival on two levels: the survival of key themes and motifs in literary history and survival itself as characters struggle for it in their own contexts. We will examine how faith and progress seem to operate in these works as well, no matter the literary period. Questions to explore include the following: how are these themes central to the human condition? What gives works that include such themes a sense of universality? What are some of the most “adaptable” themes that we find as we traverse literary history? As we move through the semester, I will ask you to share with the class examples of the survival and adaptation of the themes of this course that you find in media that you encounter.
Note: Admission to the University Honors College or Departmental Honors Program required.
English 2205 Section 001 CRN 30540
Park
Introduction to Literary Studies 1230-1345 TR
A study of fundamental issues underlying literary criticism and interpretation focusing on literary works, diverse critical practices, and historical backgrounds of critical strategies. Required of English Majors.
Prerequisites and Notes: ENG 1105 or concurrent enrollment in ENG 1105.
English 2760 Section 600 CRN 33052
Binns
Introduction to Professional Writing Online
This course provides 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. This course will also address ethical communication, document design, intercultural/global communication, collaboration, basic copyediting, and presentation.
English 2901 Section 001 CRN 30541
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 30542
Vietto
Structure of English 1300-1350 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 2960 Section 001 CRN 32971
Worthington
Transatlantic Literary History: Culture, Literacies, and Technologies II 0900-0950 MWF
An introduction to the key cultural movements and genres in Transatlantic literary history aimed at familiarizing students with the history of literacy, and print and non-print technology in textual production from the eighteenth century to the present. Requirements will include: several short essays, 2 longer essays, a presentation and a final exam.
English 3001 Section 002 CRN 30544
Park
Advanced Composition 0930-1045 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 003 CRN 33567
Swords
Advanced Composition 1530-1645 TR
“You write the best you can, and you take your chances.” Raymond Carver
The overall purpose of this class is to help you develop your ability to share your writing with an audience. To this end, all papers written during the semester will be read out loud and shared with the class as a whole, which will enable everybody to work on being both a presenter and a listener. The papers that you’ll write will be fairly short, around two single-spaced pages, and you’ll also be writing regular responses to each other’s work. Part of the purpose of the course is help everybody learn how to talk about another person’s work and to have our own talked about, as well, not just in terms of constructive criticism or assessment, but in terms of some sort of genuine response. This is not the sort of writing workshop where writing will be bashed or negatively criticized. Instead, the aim is to create a supportive environment in which everyone can take their writing to the next level.
English 3001 Section 004 CRN 30545
Jad Smith
Advanced Composition 1230-1345 TR
This advanced course covers a range of academic and professional writing and requires the development of skills in the following areas: analysis and critical thinking; review of scholarly literature in a discipline; collaboration and peer review; oral and visual communication; résumé and letter writing; and portfolio construction. Students will be expected to complete a variety of writing tasks; to give oral presentations; to read and discuss challenging academic texts, as well as take mid-term and final exams.
English 3001 Section 005 CRN 32972
Engles
Advanced Composition 1400-1515 TR
This course is designed to improve your writing skills as you gather your forces toward a career in the kind of environment you will likely join, that is, a professional, “white-collar” workplace (even if your collar won't actually be white). Nearly all professional careers include more writing tasks than you probably realize, and the quality of your writing will definitely affect how well you interact with your supervisors and colleagues, and thus how they perceive your effectiveness as a coworker. In addition to getting your writing and speaking 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 and gender.
English 3008 Section 001 CRN 32973
Murray
Digital Writing and Multimodal Texts 1100-1215 TR
ENG 3008, Digital Writing and Multimodal Texts, will address digital writing and multimodal theory and production through the lens of nonfiction literary, film and media texts. The course will also engage the history of digital and multimodal literacy.
Themes: Law & Social Justice; Genre, Form & Poetics; Science & the Environment; Media, Technology & Popular Culture.
English 3009G Section 001 CRN 32661
Wixson
Myth and Culture 1100-1215 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, a midterm, and a final exam.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Genre, Form & Poetics
English 3010G Section 600 CRN 30863
Worthington
Literary Masterworks Online
This course will provide a wide-ranging survey of significant works of literature written in English from a variety of time periods and nationalities by authors of various genders, races and cultures. Texts may include works as disparate as Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice, The Color Purple and The Great Gatsby. Requirements will include multiple short responses, two longer essays and a final exam.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Genre, Form & Poetics
English 3061 Section 001 CRN 33568
Markelis
Intermediate Nonfiction Writing 0930-1045 TR
This course is designed to introduce students to nonfiction as a genre of creating writing, to give them ample practice in writing various short nonfiction pieces, and to teach them to revise these pieces effectively. At the end of the term, students will submit a creative writing portfolio consisting of all four assignments and revisions of each.
English 3099G Section 099 CRN 33583
Wixson
Myth and Culture, Honors 0800-0915 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
English 3300 Section 001 CRN 32974
Swords
Seminar in English Studies 0930-1045 TR
This course is structured around a set of texts that in various ways interact with each other. Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible is a relatively recent novel about an American missionary family who move to the Congo in Africa in 1960, just as the country changes from a colony of Belgium to self-government. Through an interesting structure and savvy fictional approach, Kingsolver is able to explore deeply the history and experience of a wide range of people in a key political moment. Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost is a history of the Congo, setting out the background to the events that Kingsolver chronicles in her book. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, written in 1899 while the Belgian Congo was at its most horrific, covers much the same ground through fiction as Hochschild does in his history. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and his famous essay challenging Conrad's story approaches all this history from an African perspective. What we will explore through these texts is the way that various genres of writing work in terms of themselves and in relation to other genres and perhaps come to some answers for questions like these. What can novelists do that historians can't, or the other way around? What does the world look like through African eyes? American eyes? What can a book written over one hundred years ago tell us? What can it not tell us? What can one written in our own time? In a way, these texts fit together like pieces of a puzzle, and it will be up to us to figure out what picture they reveal.
Throughout the semester, you'll write a paper about each of these texts and one long paper at the end of the term to tie things together. Some of these papers will be ones that you read to the class as a whole, and some of them will not be in ways that we can figure out as we go. Other rules and regulations for the class are as follows: regular, consistent attendance is required, the reading must be kept up with, and participation in class discussion is expected and rewarded.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice; Genre, Form & Poetics; Science & the Environment
Prerequisite: ENG 2205
English 3402 Section 001 CRN 30547
Binns
Methods of Teaching Literature in the Secondary School 1530-1645 TR
This course will provide theoretically-based, yet practical ways to integrate literature, reading, and media literacy in a language arts classroom. The course thus centers on creating a literature unit and rationale that builds on the needs of a well-planned language arts class. Students will gain an understanding of current literary and pedagogical theory and its application by reading and responding to literary and secondary texts. Live-text submission of a literature unit and a clinical experience essay are required component of the course. Students must complete five hours of classroom clinical experiences.
Themes: Identity & Culture, Education & Society
Prerequisites: ENG 1002 and SED 2000. Prerequisites or co-requisites: ENG 2901.
Notes: University Approval to Teacher Education is required prior to taking this course.
English 3406 Section 001 CRN 33570
Fern Kory
Literature for Pre-Adolescents 1500-1615 MW
Donelson and Nilsen (2006) note that “in the late 1980s and early 1990s . . . publishers began focusing their attention on junior high and middle school readers.” Award-winning works such as Holes (Sachar), Ella Enchanted (Levine), The Watsons Go to Birmingham~1963 (Curtis); books in the phenomenally popular Harry Potter series; and increasingly sophisticated hybrid works (novels in verse, graphic novels) belong to this body of literature. In this course we will focus our critical eye on these works that fall between “children’s literature” and “young adult literature.” Literature for “tween” readers (approximately ages 8-12, grades 4-8) encompasses poetry and non-fiction as well as a rich variety of classic and popular novels in diverse genre: from contemporary realism to historical fiction, from dystopia to epic fantasy and fractured fairy tale. Our exploration of these works will take into account their historical and social contexts and the ideological issues they raise. And we will work to develop criteria for evaluating them that highlight literary quality and craft (the strategies and techniques used by adult authors to accommodate their intended audience). Assignments will reflect the genre and media scholars and used by professionals working with youth literature (e.g. academic essay, book review, blog post, book talk) and will give you a chance to work with the print and electronic resources that document the lively contemporary discussion of this literature.
Themes: Genre, Form & Poetics; Education & Society; Media, Technology & Popular Culture
English 3701 Section 001 CRN 30549
Boswell
American Literature: 1800 to Mid-19th Century 1530-1800 T
Between 1800 and 1865, writing generated in the United States reflected a wide variety of needs, fears, and hopes among a diverse population who lived in a culture on the brink of civil war. We will read some of the most interesting of these texts, including novels, short fiction, poetry, life-writings, and essays, and we will try to make sense of the many voices represented in these texts. Among our writers: Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Margaret Fuller, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman.
Requirements: thorough reading, participation in class discussions, 2/3 papers; comprehensive final exam.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Genre, Form & Poetics
English 3703 Section 001 CRN 30550
Swords
American Literature: 1900 to 1950 1230-1345 TR
Books for the course:
Nina Baym, ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 1914-1945
Willa Cather, The Professor’s House
W.E.B. Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Dashiel Hammett, The Maltese Falcon
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth
The period covered in this class, 1900-1950, represents the full flowering of American literature, art, and culture. It’s hard to imagine a more vibrant, complex, and explosive time, filled with major changes in personal living, technology, politics, warfare, economics, and most of all for our purposes, artistic and cultural expression. American artists initiated an explosion in all the arts, creating innovative and lasting works in poetry, fiction, drama, criticism, film, music, coalescing into a style still called “modern” even though some of these innovations are more than one hundred years old. During the semester, we will try to explore as much of this as we can, reading widely and deeply in the literature of the time, sampling some of the film and music, and overall, attempting to see how this period of American culture fits with our own.
Rules and regulations:
Keeping up with the reading, attendance, and participation matter. If you want an A, act like an A student. During the semester, there will be a mix of in-class and out of class writing. Sometimes I will ask you to respond to what we’re reading in your own terms, sometimes I will ask you to do some research on topics as they come up. There will be a large take-home final at the end of the term.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice; Genre, Form & Poetics;
English 3705 Section 600 CRN 33606
Engles
American Multicultural Literatures 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 3802 Section 001 CRN 30552
Caldwell
Shakespeare Goes to War 1300-1350 MWF
It is not an accident that many of Shakespeare’s plays either directly involve wars or examine the consequences of war. Even one of the bard’s most innocuous comedies, Much Ado about Nothing, begins with a festive pastoral scene abruptly interrupted by the return of soldiers coming back from war. An as recently as last spring, the British Library made available a speech handwritten by Shakespeare in which a character makes an impassioned plea for the humane treatment of refugees. Taking up the theme of war in Shakespeare’s plays this semester will allow us to look at some of the most pressing issues in Renaissance England and our own time: the relationship between personal ambition and social welfare; the benefits of good leadership and the dangers of tyranny; the role of the “average person” in politics; ethics on an individual and national scale; the way personal trauma affects not just an individual, but a relationship, a family, and a country. We will seek to understand why Shakespeare was so preoccupied with war, how these plays can help us understand the global political unrest that we face today, and whether or not we can view Shakespeare as an anti-war poet or not. Alongside readings of Shakespeare’s plays, we will watch film adaptations that explicitly engage in the theme of war, e.g., Richard III (1995) set in 1930s Britain, Patrick Stewart’s Stalin-esque performance of Macbeth (2010), Julie Taymor’s horror-inspired indictment of violence in Titus (1999), the filming of Shakespeare’s bloody Roman play Coriolanus in Serbia (2011). Come prepared to read, think, and discuss.
In the honors version of this course, students will be responsible for reading Shakespeare’s plays alongside additional primary sources that treat the art and ethics of war and peace, e.g., the theories of Machiavelli, Hugo Grotius. The honors students will also be responsible for presenting this material to the class and, if the numbers allow, “assigning” the class a Shakespearean play to read during a designated time in the semester.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice; Genre, Form & Poetics; Media, Technology & Popular Culture
English 3803 Section 001 CRN 30553
Campbell
Renaissance and 17th Century British Literature 1100-1215 TR
English literature of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is a rich amalgam of English concerns and Continental styles. In this course we will explore the poetry, drama, and prose of a wide variety of writers from these periods, including Queen Elizabeth, Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, Mary Wroth, Ben Jonson, Aemilia Lanyer, William Shakespeare, John Donne, and others. We will examine how these English writers adopted and adapted the literary styles of Continental Europe to ameliorate their own national literature, and we will explore how Continental political and religious trends influenced them. By the end of the semester, you should have both a broad understanding of the shaping forces of the period upon English literature and plenty of experience analyzing key texts from our selection of writers. The exciting developments in literary history during this period make it one of critical interest to scholars today. They give us fascinating insights into “the big picture” of English literature as we have received it, and they beckon us to explore connections between the early modern world and our own.
The Victorian Age is alive and well in the 21st century. From popular television series (Ripper Street, The Paradise, Whitechapel, Sherlock, and Penny Dreadful) to recurring film adaptations of novels by Dickens, the Brontës, and Hardy, to the rise of steampunk and neo-Victorian fiction, our culture remains transfixed by the Victorians. But what’s behind this cultural appropriation of a past age? What can it teach us about the real Victorians and ourselves?
In this course we will read Victorian literature against the backdrop of today's fascination with “Victoriana.” Across a range of literary genres, we will map the nineteenth-century British obsession with sex, crime, and empire as we study how these stories portray Victorian Britain as a society of extreme contrasts. On the one hand, it witnessed an unprecedented outpouring of inventions, scientific advances, and humanitarian reforms, backed by an array of outstanding literary and political figures. On the other hand, it practiced harsh economic policies at home (resulting in chronic poverty for most of the population) and maintained severe imperial policies abroad, subordinating many of the peoples of Africa and Asia to British control.
Perhaps it’s the legacy of this severe paradox (“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”) that we’re seeing at play in our own culture’s appropriation of Victorian Britain. Join the discussion to see just how good—and how bad—it really was. Requirements will include short papers, a group presentation, final research paper, and final exam.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice; Media, Technology & Popular Culture
English 3809 Section 001 CRN 31156
Martinez
Contemporary British and Anglophone Literatures 1100-1150 MWF
English 3809 is a study “in fiction, poetry, and drama published since 1950 in one or more of the following countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland).” In this course, we will explore the exciting genesis of new fictions and art forms that emerged in Britain after World War II. Specifically, we will look at how the punk explosion of 1976 serves as a galvanizing force that transforms not only contemporary British life but also Western society at large. Students will learn about the variety of economic, political, and social crises of our contemporary times (e.g., the political violence in Northern Ireland, the rise of Thatcherism, the eruption of race riots, the fears of nuclear warfare and the advent of global terrorism) as well as new developments in literary and artistic styles (e.g., radical experiments in postmodern and feminist writing, film, and thought; new developments in music after punk; startling criticism of race and “Britishness” through postcolonial theory). Not only will we study British writers, but we will also consider how other British artists use mediums such as drama, film, and popular music to explore and evaluate the vast socio-political and economic changes to their environment.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice; Genre, Form & Poetics; Science & the Environment; Education & Society; Media, Technology, & Popular Culture
English 3892 Section 099 CRN 32976
Caldwell
Shakespeare, Honors: Shakespeare Goes to War 1300-1350 MWF
It is not an accident that many of Shakespeare’s plays either directly involve wars or examine the consequences of war. Even one of the bard’s most innocuous comedies, Much Ado about Nothing, begins with a festive pastoral scene abruptly interrupted by the return of soldiers coming back from war. An as recently as last spring, the British Library made available a speech handwritten by Shakespeare in which a character makes an impassioned plea for the humane treatment of refugees. Taking up the theme of war in Shakespeare’s plays this semester will allow us to look at some of the most pressing issues in Renaissance England and our own time: the relationship between personal ambition and social welfare; the benefits of good leadership and the dangers of tyranny; the role of the “average person” in politics; ethics on an individual and national scale; the way personal trauma affects not just an individual, but a relationship, a family, and a country. We will seek to understand why Shakespeare was so preoccupied with war, how these plays can help us understand the global political unrest that we face today, and whether or not we can view Shakespeare as an anti-war poet or not. Alongside readings of Shakespeare’s plays, we will watch film adaptations that explicitly engage in the theme of war, e.g., Richard III (1995) set in 1930s Britain, Patrick Stewart’s Stalin-esque performance of Macbeth (2010), Julie Taymor’s horror-inspired indictment of violence in Titus (1999), the filming of Shakespeare’s bloody Roman play Coriolanus in Serbia (2011). Come prepared to read, think, and discuss.
In the honors version of this course, students will be responsible for reading Shakespeare’s plays alongside additional primary sources that treat the art and ethics of war and peace, e.g., the theories of Machiavelli, Hugo Grotius. The honors students will also be responsible for presenting this material to the class and, if the numbers allow, “assigning” the class a Shakespearean play to read during a designated time in the semester.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice; Genre, Form & Poetics; Media, Technology & Popular Culture
Note: Admission to the University Honors College or Departmental Honors Program required.
English 4275 Section 600 CRN
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 only to upper-division students. 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 written for newspapers, edited magazines, designed documents, and prepared publicity materials for Eastern, Lake Land, the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, the Tarble Arts Center, the Coles County Association for the Retarded, and Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center.
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.
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 4750 Section 001 CRN 30556
Jamila Smith
Studies in African-American Literature: Women of the Black Arts Movement 1200-1250 MWF
This course explores the Black Arts Movement of the late 1960s to mid-1970s, with particular attention to the literary and artistic contributions of Black women. We will analyze the epistemological, historical, and sociopolitical frameworks that underscore their artistry, and apply these concepts to literary works, music, film, and performing arts. We will situate ourselves in conversations of the Women’s Liberation Movement, Black feminism, sexism, class oppressions, and the impact of these intersections on the Black community.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Education & Society
Note: May be repeated once with permission of Department Chairperson.
English 4760 Section 001 CRN 30558
Vietto
Special Topics in Professional Writing: Literary Publishing 0900-0950 MWF
We will explore the many dimensions of literary publishing, including the traditional publishing system, small presses, online journals, and online platforms for self-publishing and small press publishing. Students will explore the various roles for writers and editors through the publishing and marketing process and practice many of the steps along the way, as well as studying cases in literary publishing. We will produce both collaborative and individual publishing projects. Creative writers may choose to publish their own work, but this is not a requirement and work for our projects will be solicited from outside the class as well.
Themes: Genre, Form & Poetics; Media, Technology & Popular Culture
English 4762 Section 001 CRN 30559
Pence
Advanced Poetry Writing 1400-1630 M
This advanced-level poetry writing course continues the practices and studies in poetic craft began in ENG2003. Weekly, students will submit poems to be workshopped. Since part of the writing process is the revision process, workshop will play a fundamental role in our course. In workshop, students’ poems will be critiqued with the goal of a revised, polished manuscript presented by each writer at the semester’s end. This class is not an introductory course, which means that more is expected of each writer: more investment in learning craft, more time in reading published poems, and more focus with revising than at the 2000-level.
Themes: Genre, Form, & Poetics
Prerequisites and Notes: ENG 3062 or, with permission of Department Chairperson, ENG 3061, 3063, or 3064. May be repeated once with permission of the Department Chairperson.
English 4763 Section 001 CRN 33571
Markelis
Advanced Fiction Writing 1230-1345 TR
Students will continue working on the elements of fiction, including narrative, character, and dialogue. They will read a variety of short stories in order to develop a language for talking about how fiction works. Several short in-class writing exercises will be required. The major part of this course will be devoted to workshops; students will submit at least two short stories for class critique. The final portfolio will consist of three stories or several chapters of a novel and will also include in-class writing exercises.
English 4764 Section 001 CRN 33667
Abella
Advanced Dramatic Writing 1400-1515 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
English 4765 Section 600 CRN 33609
Fredrick
Professional Editing Online
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 4801 Section 001 CRN 30560
Ames
Integrating the English Language Arts 1630-1900 W
This course centers on connecting pedagogical theory and its practical applications for integrating the English language arts, including reading, writing, speaking, listening, critical thinking, and media analysis. Future teachers will have the opportunity to learn how to integrate a variety of methods grounded in theories in the teaching of English language arts, as well as strategies for teaching non-traditional texts from popular culture. Adapting written and oral communication to audience and situation; recognizing components of effective oral and written communication; and integrating technology and media into the language arts classroom will be key elements of this course. Course work will include: pedagogical research, lesson plans, unit design, authentic assessments, and various presentations. This course is not recommended for practicing secondary instructors.
Themes: Education & Society; Media, Technology & Popular Culture
Prerequisites: ENG 1002G and ENG 2901. Prerequisites or co-requisites: ENG 3008, SED 3330, and SED 4300.
Notes: University Approval to Teacher Education is required prior to taking this course. The above listed prerequisites do not apply to graduate students enrolling in this course.
English 4903 Section 001 CRN 31157
Jamila Smith
Young Adult Literature 1000-1050 MWF
This course is designed to introduce you to a range of literature for young adults (ages 12-18) as well as provide you with a variety of critical tools for reading, discussing, and writing about the literature. Through the readings, lectures, films, and discussions (both in small and large groups) we will examine the intricacies of multiculturalism in young adult literature; we will explore the role of multiple literacies as pedagogical and theoretical sites of learning; we will write and perform thoughtful, insightful prose; and, finally, yet fundamentally, we will examine the literature from a critical lens.
Studies in Film: American Splendor—Classic Cinema 1530-1850 R
When we hear someone refer to a novel or a film as “a classic,” or a “masterwork,” what does that mean? Who decides what is classic, and how? How do we recognize a classic film? Or a classic car? (Ok, we probably won’t study classic cars, but we might). We will explore some great American films, and read some interesting works by film scholars on “classic film” throughout the semester. The final project for the course will be to write a scholarly syllabus in which you design and defend the titles in a hypothetical course on classic film.
Requirements: perfect attendance, class participation, 2/3 short papers, final seminar project.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Genre, Form & Poetics; Media, Technology & Popular Culture
Note: May be repeated once with permission of Department Chairperson.
GRADUATE SEMINARS
English 5005 Section 001 CRN 32978
Wharram
Foreign Matters: Contagious Texts of the 19th Century 1530-1800 R
As I write this course description, allow me to document what “contagion” under a google “news” search reveals. 1) A commentary documenting fears that an Irish bus strike may lead to further work stoppages within the entire transport sector. 2) A story about an “uptick” in Mideast violence with “one attack leading to another.” 3) Numerous articles about loss of economic confidence in and “contagion risks” both from Germany’s largest bank and various Chinese lenders. 4) A review of a zombie-themed haunted house in Texas. 5) A story about an Australian town “gripped by suicide contagion” of its teenager population. 6) An article questioning whether the spread of the Zika virus might be connected to global warming.
What do contract negotiations, terrorist attacks, economic data, Zombie theme parks, teenage suicide, and mosquito-born viruses have to do with one another? This course will address this question by offering literary, cultural, critical, and historical reasons why we believe that more than just words are exchanged when we have contact with each other—locally, and across the globe.
Recent critical work in numerous fields of inquiry has identified the concept of “contagion” as a means to bring together cultural and scientific phenomena that seem highly disconnected. By looking at episodes of “contagion” entering into literature and culture in the nineteenth century, we will launch into a transdisciplinary conversation between critical theory and public health, between philosophical reason and global networking, between the biological and the political. In the new and international ecology of the nineteenth century, how were fears and hopes of intimate contact between all parts of the globe negotiated and managed? How, for example, might we see Jane Austen not as the writer of “the novel of manners,” but the first and best recorder of the burgeoning world of biopolitical globalism? We will also look back to some of the founding documents of the eighteenth century (Hume, Smith) and observe how their legacies continue to infest our popular and critical imaginaries in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (outbreak—including zombie—narratives).
English 5010 Section 001 CRN 32979
Ludlow
Language and Power: Intersectionality in 20th Century US Literature 1530-1800 T
How does the study of literature position us to create change in the power structures that shape human lives? This seminar aims to provide a laboratory for answering that question. Intersectionality as a critical frame attends to the interconnected dynamics of identity markers (race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, etc.), particularly as they shape and respond to systemic power. This graduate seminar traces the genesis of feminist intersectionality in literature, focusing thematically on sexuality/reproduction, with the aim of using what we learn to create and share new knowledge for the 21st century. Texts will span the 20th century, from Hopkins’ Contending Forces (1900), Gilman’s Herland (1915), and Hughes’ “Cora Unashamed” (1934) to works by contemporary authors Louise Erdrich, Ana Castillo, and Lin Cao, among others. Seminar expectations include: readiness to participate in unfamiliar or uncomfortable conversations; preparation for seminar sessions; and completion of both professional (scholarly/academic) and public writing assignments.
English 5011 Section 001 CRN 30561
Binns
Studies in Composition and Rhetoric: Genre Theory & Pedagogy1900-2130 W
The concept of genre has been redefined in the past few decades. Genres are seen as rhetorical actions as opposed to formal categories. As a result, genres are viewed as socially significant ways that people use language to achieve their purposes. In this course, we will study recent genre theory and applications of that theory, particularly in relation to teaching. In our study of genre, class participants will:
Discuss what constitutes a genre and what difference it makes
Examine interactions between generic constraint and individual creativity
Analyze relationships between “literary” and “non-literary” genres
Consider how a genre can change over time in response to changing cultural contexts
Analyze how genres operate in communities, reflecting the group’s values, beliefs, and assumptions
Explore ways in which genre theory can be applied to teaching reading and writing
Determine whether explicitly teaching genres helps or harms novice writers.
Examine how multimodal literacies influence emerging genres and explore related teaching implications.
Analyze a genre of their choosing
Compose a potential journal article on a topic related to genre theory and/or pedagogy.
English 5091B Section 001 CRN 32981
Markelis
Language/Linguistics/Literacy: Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics 1900-2130 R
Two of the major subfields in contemporary linguistics are semantics and pragmatics. Semantics concerns itself with meaning while pragmatics deals with the ways in which context contributes to meaning. We will begin with a brief history of these concepts and then will move on to denotation, speech act theory, the relationship between semantics and phonetics, metaphor, and humor. In the second part of the course we will focus on semantics and pragmatics as they relate to second language acquisition. Requirements include a short paper, an annotated bibliography, and a major research project.
English 5260 Section 001 CRN 32982
Fredrick
Communication in Science and Technical Organizations 1700-1930 T
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 5502 Section 001 CRN 30562
Taylor
Mentored Composition Teaching 1700-1930 M
This course provides a foundation for the effective teaching of first-year composition and other writing classes. Building from theory and pedagogy covered in English 5007 and English 5500, we will immerse ourselves in the praxis of teaching writing at the college level. Students should be prepared to engage vigorously in discussion, analysis, reflection, and performance.
The seminar will address these topics and activities:
Exploring various research strands related to the teaching of writing
Designing writing assignments
Crafting lesson plans
Facilitating peer review and workshops
Implementing strategies for effective conferences
Responding to and evaluating writing
Mock teaching of activities and/or concepts related to a writing assignment or an analytical reading/writing activity based on lesson plans
Facilitating productive discussions and small group work
Using in-class assessment practices
Reflecting on teaching experiences
Establishing ethos as an instructor
Building a course policy and syllabus
Constructing a persuasive and visually appealing curriculum vitae
Assembling a teaching portfolio—curriculum vitae, teaching philosophy, sample course policy, ENG 1001 course syllabus, sample assignments, and sample handouts
English 5960 Section 003 CRN 30564
Fredrick
Internship in Professional Writing ARR
**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, the Internship is open only to upper-division students. 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 written for newspapers, edited magazines, designed documents, and prepared publicity materials for Eastern, Lake Land, the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, the Tarble Arts Center, the Coles County Association for the Retarded, and Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. English 5960 is a three-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 research issues connected to professional writing and organizational culture. The coordinator and site-supervisors cooperate in evaluation.
EIU SENIOR SEMINARS AND INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSES
EIU 4106G Section 001 CRN 33618
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 4114G Section 001 CRN 32456
Robin Murray/Sally Renaud
EIU Senior Seminar: Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies in Matters of Culture, “Women and Film” 1400-1515 TR
This co-taught course will examine the depiction of women in films of the United States from the silent era to today. Readings of films by and about women will allow us to explore the multiple stages of a woman's life, from childhood to old age, examining representations and stereotypes through historical periods and cultural contexts. By reading U.S. movies through multiple lenses, the course will also intertwine history, media, women’s studies, film studies and sociology.
Notes: This University Senior Seminar does not fulfill the English Senior Seminar requirement. Completion of 75 semester hours required.
EIU 4192G Section 099 CRN 32219
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, thriller) and important cinematic schools of thought (e.g., French New Wave).
Notes: This University Senior Seminar does not fulfill the English Senior Seminar requirement, English 4300/4390. Completion of 75 semester hours required.
WST 2309G Section 001 CRN 30587
Martinez
Women, Men, and Culture 1300-1350 MWF
This course will examine gender roles and development in a historical context from a variety of theoretical and disciplinary perspectives and within a variety of frameworks: political, economic, cultural, religious, and social. In this section of WST 2309G, we will examine these frameworks through works of fiction and nonfiction, including inquiries into how gender plays out in comedy, music, art, and the wider social/business world.
WST 2309G Section 002 CRN 33588
Jamila Smith
Women, Men, and Culture 1400-1450 MWF
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.
The Victorian Age is alive and well in the 21st century. From popular television series (Ripper Street, The Paradise, Whitechapel, Sherlock, and Penny Dreadful) to recurring film adaptations of novels by Dickens, the Brontës, and Hardy, to the rise of steampunk and neo-Victorian fiction, our culture remains transfixed by the Victorians. But what’s behind this cultural appropriation of a past age? What can it teach us about the real Victorians and ourselves?
Perhaps it’s the legacy of this severe paradox (“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”) that we’re seeing at play in our own culture’s appropriation of Victorian Britain. Join the discussion to see just how good—and how bad—it really was. Requirements will include short papers, a group presentation, final research paper, and final exam.