Spring 2020 English Course Descriptions
English 1105 Section 001 CRN 34744
Caldwell
English Forum 1200-1250 M
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
Markelis
Introduction to Creative Writing 1400-1515 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 2205 Section 001 CRN 30540
Campbell
Introduction to Literary Studies 0930-1045 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 600 CRN 33052
Vietto
Introduction to Professional Writing Online
Introduction to the principles and practices of writing in professional settings. Students will complete case-based projects in multiple genres and media. We will also address ethical communication, document design, intercultural/global communication, collaboration, basic copyediting, and oral presentation. Please note: This online course requires steady, regular attention and participation; like a face-to-face course, you should plan to set aside several hours every week throughout the semester to work on the assignments for the course.
English 2901 Section 001 CRN 30541
Caldwell
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 002 CRN 30542
Smith
Structure of English 0930-1045 TR
This course is an introduction to the grammar of English. It is designed to help you learn to describe and analyze the structure of sentences in English and, as such, focuses primarily on syntax. However, phonology (pronunciation), morphology (word forms), and semantics (meaning) will also come up from time to time. Although we will consider grammar from both traditional and modern perspectives, we will take a rhetorical rather than rules-based approach. In other words, we will treat grammar as a tool for reflecting on possible stylistic choices, not as a set of inflexible rules. Ideally, this course will heighten your understanding of the complexity of the English language and help you develop strategies for communicating clearly and effectively in speech and writing.
English 2960 Section 001 CRN 32971
Worthington
Transatlantic Literary History II--Culture, Literacies, and Technologies 1100-1150 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 group presentation and a final exam.
English 3001 Section 001 CRN 34091
Skinner
Advanced Composition 1100-1150 MWF
This course will prepare you to creatively approach writing in a variety of public, professional, and discipline-specific genres. You will deepen your readerly sensitivities by studying the techniques of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and you will draw from creative strategies to enliven your writing for a range of academic and professional environments.
English 3001 Section 002 CRN 30544
Engles
Advanced Composition 1400-1515 MW
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.
English 3005 Section 001 CRN 35391
Campbell
Technical Communication 1400-1515 TR
This course is designed to help you develop professional communication skills. No matter whether you are writing a memorandum, creating a manual, or designing a web site, the same critical thinking and communication skills are needed to help you do the job effectively. The main goals of our course will be as follows:
--To help you learn to analyze audiences and to design communications for both
specialists and non-specialists.
--To give you practice creating a variety of documents that that are commonly used in
professional writing.
--To give you opportunities to design and give oral presentations.
To succeed in this course, you must be willing to work independently on individual and group projects. Some important skills that you will develop include working individually and in groups to meet deadlines; critiquing and editing your own writing and that of others; and using research methods and materials effectively.
English 3009G Section 001 CRN 32661
Bredesen
Myth and Culture 1230-1345 TR
Modern society sometimes uses "myth" as another word for "lie" ("the Five Myths of Weight-Loss Exploded!"). But culture and literary masterpieces have developed myths as a way to deeper truths. Myths help structure our thoughts; 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 begin with "Origins," and end with "Collisions."
Students will read, compare, discuss, and write about myths and their diverse intersections with and impacts upon other myths and cultures, including their own. In the process, students will develop and expand their skills to think critically, conduct relevant research from reliable sources, present their ideas and research in informal small group settings and formal presentations for the whole class.
English 3061 Section 001 CRN 33568
Markelis
Intermediate Nonfiction Writing 1100-1215 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 34650
Bredesen
Myth and Culture, Honors 1100-1215 TR
Modern society sometimes uses "myth" as another word for "lie" ("the Five Myths of Weight-Loss Exploded!"). But culture and literary masterpieces have developed myths as a way to deeper truths. Myths help structure our thoughts; 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 begin with "Origins," and end with "Collisions."
Students will read, compare, discuss, and write about myths and their diverse intersections with and impacts upon other myths and cultures, including their own. In the process, students will develop and expand their skills to think critically, conduct relevant research from reliable sources, present their ideas and research in informal small group settings and formal presentations for the whole class.
Note: Admission to University Honors College or Departmental Honors Program required.
English 3300 Section 001 CRN 32974
Bredesen
English Studies Seminar--Before and After Sherlock Holmes 1530-1645 TR
The rise of detective fiction in the mid-nineteenth century coincides with what is, arguably, the hey-day of domestic fiction, a type of novel that celebrates the everyday and the familial. At first glance, the very ordinariness of the domestic sphere would seem to stand in opposition to the extraordinary behaviors of criminals and their victims' experiences. We will find, however, that detectives first make their literary appearances probing beneath the veneer of respectability to expose the secrets at the heart of the domestic circle. In this course, we will investigate the intersection of social history and imaginative construction, private and public spheres, legal contexts and urban transformations that gave rise to the detective in fact and in fiction, culminating in Arthur Conan Doyle's creation of Sherlock Holmes. We will be reading and studying detective stories as detective in fact and in fiction, culminating in Arthur Conan Doyle's creation of Sherlock Holmes. We will be reading and studying detective stories as well as its sister genre--Sensation fiction--fictional casebooks of male and female detectives, journalistic accounts of crimes, investigation and punishment. Our readings will be augmented by a study of several contemporary "true crimes" all of which set the stage for Holmes and those detectives that follow in his footsteps. Feminist theory, narratology and post-colonial criticism will supplement our reading of primary texts. Course requirements will include: class presentations, discussion-leading, a short paper, and a final analytical research-informed project/paper.
Prerequisite: ENG 2205
English 3402 Section 001 CRN 30547
Murray
Methods of Teaching Literature in the Secondary School 1100-1215 TR
This course will provide theoretically based, yet practical ways to integrate literature, reading, and media literacy in a language arts classroom. The course centers on creating a literature unit and rationale that builds on a well-planned language arts class. Students will gain an understanding of current literary and pedagogical theory and its applications by reading and responding to literary and secondary texts. Grades will be based on weekly responses, presentations, a unit and rationale, as well as active class participation and completion of a professional portfolio. Live-text submissions are a required component of the course. Themes: Identity and Culture, Education and 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 3405 Section 001 CRN 34652
England
Children's Literature 1400-1515 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 3604D Section 001 CRN 35393
Ludlow
Special Topics in Multicultural Literatures--Genre, Form, and Gender in Native American Literatures 1500-1615 MW
This poem is written in the language
the presidents speak.
That is another reason to learn a new tongue.
Linda Hogan, “Folksong”
Laguna Pueblo/Sioux scholar Paula Gunn Allen explains that modern and contemporary Native American writers often create in two literary traditions simultaneously: indigenous oral storytelling; and Western literary conventions. In addition, she notes that storytelling in Native cultures is often a gendered activity. Native American literatures, then, are complex literatures requiring complex reading strategies. In this class, we will look at the ways modern and contemporary Native authors write within, mix, and playfully revise these two literary traditions, with particular attention to genre and form and gendered storytelling. We will read fiction, plays, graphic narratives/comics, and poetry to see how they use the aesthetic power of language to share indigenous experiences.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Genre, Form, & Poetics
English 3802 Section 001 CRN 30552
Campbell
Shakespeare 1100-1215 TR
In the twenty-first century, interest in the works of William Shakespeare shows no sign of abating. Shakespeare studies are still one of the most vibrant and exciting areas of English Renaissance literature, in part because Shakespeare had the good fortune to be a great synthesizer of the most popular trends in Renaissance literature, philosophy, and drama. This semester we will consider the Shakespeare of the English Renaissance, as well as the Shakespeare(s) of the present. Our primary goals will be to familiarize you with the categories of Shakespeare’s plays and to introduce you to the techniques that Shakespeare uses, the historical, political, and cultural backdrops to the plays, and ways of analyzing character, theme, and structure in them. Ultimately, this class is meant to prepare you to read Shakespeare on your own and to enjoy the plays in performance in an informed manner. To facilitate these goals, we will examine a few representative plays in great depth.
Themes: Identity and Culture; Genre, Form, and Poetics
English 3809 Section 001 CRN 35766
Martinez
Contemporary British and Anglophone Literatures--Contested Youth in Contemporary Britain 1400-1515 TR
English 3809 (3-0-3 credits, Group 3C) 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 youth culture emerges as a contemporary phenomenon during the post-war era, especially following the punk explosion of 1976. Students will learn about how youth culture becomes a potent critical voice of various economic, political, and social crises in the UK (e.g., the political violence in Northern Ireland, the controversial economic policies of Thatcherism, the eruption of racial politics and racial strife, and protests of and concerns about nuclear warfare and advanced communications technologies) through new developments in literary and artistic styles (e.g., radical experiments in postmodern, postcolonial, and feminist writing; avant-garde film; and punk, post-punk, shoegaze, hip hop, and new wave music).
Students in this course will study youth culture by examining writers, filmmakers, and musicians that encompass both the Young Adult (YA) literature genre and genres outside of YA literature. Artists covered in the course may include the following: writers such as Angela Carter, Sarah Kane, David Mitchell, Siobhan Dowd, Savita Kalhan, Ian McEwan, Pat Barker; filmmakers like Andrea Arnold and Mike Leigh; and bands from the Sex Pistols and The Clash, to Joy Division and The Smiths, to Radiohead, Portishead, and The 1975. Students will emerge from this course with a wider understanding of the intellectual, social, theoretical, and popular forces at work that have shaped our present moment.
This course is writing intensive and requires a shorter analysis paper, a research term paper, several online forum posts and in-class writing exercises, active class discussion, and midterm and final examinations. This course actively aims to prepare students to meet EIU’s University Learning Goals of critical thinking, writing and critical reading, speaking and listening, quantitative reasoning, and responsible citizenship. This course is “Writing Intensive.”
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice; Genre, Form, & Poetics; Science & the Environment; Education & Society; Media, Technology, & Popular Culture.
English 3892 Section 099 CRN 32976
Campbell
Shakespeare, Honors 1100-1215 TR
In the twenty-first century, interest in the works of William Shakespeare shows no sign of abating. Shakespeare studies are still one of the most vibrant and exciting areas of English Renaissance literature, in part because Shakespeare had the good fortune to be a great synthesizer of the most popular trends in Renaissance literature, philosophy, and drama. This semester we will consider the Shakespeare of the English Renaissance, as well as the Shakespeare(s) of the present. Our primary goals will be to familiarize you with the categories of Shakespeare’s plays and to introduce you to the techniques that Shakespeare uses, the historical, political, and cultural backdrops to the plays, and ways of analyzing character, theme, and structure in them. Ultimately, this class is meant to prepare you to read Shakespeare on your own and to enjoy the plays in performance in an informed manner. To facilitate these goals, we will examine a few representative plays in great depth.
Themes: Identity and Culture; Genre, Form, and Poetics
Note: Admission to the University Honors College or Departmental Honors Program required.
English 4275 Section 600 CRN 33608
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 students who have completed ENG 2760 or 3005. To the extent possible, placement is matched to career goals with the expectation that students will be able to approach graduation and the job search with writing/editing portfolios to show potential employers. Past internship sites have included nonprofit organizations, small businesses, college and university departments, libraries, journals and micro presses, and city and county 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.
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 001 CRN 30558
Abel
Special Topics in Professional Writing--Storytelling in Professional Writing 0930-1045 TR
Storytelling is our most important tool of human connection. Yet, in professional settings, sometimes the necessity of narrative can get lost among other important goals. Learning to tell a story well, though, is a crucial asset whether you’re writing to secure yourself that dream job with a cover letter, nab a grant, demonstrate how your product changes lives, or grab people’s attention on social media. Through this course, you’ll focus on how to use the elements of story to your best advantage in workplace writing. The class will culminate in the creation of a multifaceted client project.
English 4762 Section 001 CRN 30559
Abel
Advanced Poetry Writing 1230-1345 TR
Poetry readership is on the rise, as more and more people turn to poems to provide solace, or to reflect their feelings in our uncertain times. This course will focus on the writing and revising of poems at an advanced level. Using some of the best collections of poems from the past few decades as our guide, we'll craft and revise poems that showcase each student's individual voice. Through intensive workshops, students will end the course with a complete chapbook of poetry.
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
Kosinec (Winter)
Advanced Fiction Writing 1100-1150 MWF
This course builds on the concepts of writer’s craft introduced in Intermediate Fiction. It challenges writers to both workshop their own fiction intensively and approach the published work of contemporary authors with an eye to how those authors construct their writerly fascinations—voice, subject matter, the interplay of the personal and the fictional, and the little tics that make fiction vital, human, and necessary—and sustain them over the course of a book or body of work. Participants will read and discuss several short story collections in their entirety, and workshop multiple short stories of their own. By the end of the course, they will have developed a greater awareness of their own writerly fascinations, more familiarity with advanced workshop and revision strategies, and an increased ability to approach contemporary published work critically, like a writer.
English 4764 Section 600 CRN 35748
Kosinec (Winter)
Advanced Dramatic Writing--Screenwriting Online
This reading- and writing-intensive course builds on the craft and dramatic concepts introduced in Intermediate Dramatic Writing. Students will deepen their knowledge of dramatic writing by turning their focus to writing for the screen, across a variety of formats. In addition to reading scripts, they will view shorts and sequences from feature films with an eye toward how film storytelling works. They will then write and workshop several scripts of their own. By the end of the course, they will have developed an awareness of screenplay formatting, craft, and genres, as well as a basic understanding of film concepts and terminology. They will also possess a deeper familiarity with the contemporary film landscape, and will have written and revised several original scripts of various lengths.
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. 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. Middle and high school teachers enrolled in this course will have an opportunity to explore how different types of editing might translate to classroom instruction.
English 4775 Section 600 CRN 35395
Wharram
Studies in Literature, Culture, Theory--Biopolitics in Literature and Culture Online
This course introduces students to the ways that theory can assist in (and sometimes complicate) the study of literature and culture. By focusing specifically on theories that address how texts address questions of biology and politics, we will introduce ourselves to many of the thought-provoking and influential forms of biopolitical theory that have developed over the course of the last few centuries.
We will be discussing how placing biopolitics at the center of human developments since the mid-1700s can challenge the ways we do literary and cultural scholarship. There are a number of thinkers over the past few decades, such as Michel Foucault, Donna Haraway, Jacques Derrida, Roberto Esposito and Peter Sloterdijk, who consider biopolitics and immunology to be the best approaches to explaining how humans have developed in the ways they have, and come to the decisions they have made. This timeframe, beginning in the mid-eighteenth century, coincides with the newly acknowledged period of the “Anthropocene,” an era of global history marked by human influence on the global ecosystem through, primarily, the burning of fossil fuels. We will be examining how many recent theorists, by linking our understandings of biology and politics, have argued how we might change how we “read” the literatures and cultures in the Anthropocene era.
English 4776 Section 001 CRN 34088
Fredrick
Research and Rhetoric in Professional Writing 1500-1615 MW
How is knowledge about writing developed? What questions do researchers ask about how writing works in classrooms, in professional organizations, and in society in general? How do we choose the right methods to answer our questions? What makes an interview effective? What ethical concerns should writing researchers have? How do theory and practice come together through research? In this special topics course, we will explore some of the core issues in qualitative research about writing. Students will have the opportunity to complete hands-on research-based activities and to design their own research project.
English 4801 Section 001 CRN 30560
Ames
Integrating the English Language Arts 1230-1345 TR
This course centers on connecting pedagogical theory and its practical applications for integrating the English language arts, including literature, composition, speech, drama, and media. 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: response papers, pedagogical research, lesson plans, unit design, authentic assessments, and various presentations. In accordance to NCATE guidelines, five clinical experience hours and one Live Text submission are required for this course.
Themes: Identity & Culture; Law & Social Justice; Genre, Form, & Poetics; Education & Society; Media Technology, & Popular Culture
Prerequisites: ENG 1002G and SED 2000.
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.
GRADUATE SEMINARS
English 5008 Section 600 CRN 35396 Online
English 5008 Section 001 CRN 35397 1530-1800 R
Vietto
Studies in Colonial American Literature--Early American Literature After Hamilton
Every generation or so, the United States re-tells the story of its founding, with significant differences in the story that tell us a great deal about the moment when the story is re-told. The smash Broadway musical Hamilton is arguably a pivotal moment in today’s national understanding of our origins. As a scholar of the era, I think it’s essential to attend to popular renditions of early American culture with both an appreciative and a critical eye, and Hamilton provides a tremendous opportunity to think through issues of racial, gender, and class identity in early America.
So we will begin with an appreciative and critical consideration of Hamilton—and yes, you can do this even if you haven’t paid $500 or more to see the show. Hamilton will help us clarify and delineate some crucial questions about early American culture. We will turn then to biographies, autobiographies, and novels from early America in search of answers to those questions, returning to Hamilton periodically along the way. As a final goal, of course, since this is a graduate course in literature, you’ll be developing a writing project of your own that has ties to the material we’ll be reading.
For the final project, I ask that you work in a genre that has some relevance to your professional interests—but that still leaves a lot of room for creativity. If you are a working teacher at any level K-12, you might choose to develop a unit plan using some of the content from our course—but you could also consider something like a series of blog postings for other educators about these materials and how they might be useful, or a podcast or other multimedia presentation for your students or for a professional audience. If you are a creative writer, you might choose to write some historical fiction using the archival materials we will work with (creative work such as this will require a critical introduction that traces your use of course materials). A working or future librarian might develop materials for an exhibit related to our course materials, or a proposal for purchasing/developing a collection of materials around the course topic/themes. If you are considering applying to PhD programs in literature, you should probably plan to write an article of the type published in academic literary journals, or some other academic format (two conference papers or a thesis prospectus would be good choices). And if you’re doing something else that I haven’t thought of—developing video games, working as a journalist, preparing for a career as a hip hop artist—I’m happy to work with you to help you find some genre that makes sense for your project.
English 5010 Section 600 CRN 35398
Engles
Studies in 20th-Century American Literature--History, Memory, and Multicultural Graphic Narratives
Online 8 week course (1/13 - 3/5)
Scholars and teachers now generally agree that the medium of comics has never deserved its reputation as something less than “art,” and that many comic books instead deserve a place on any literary shelf. This new appreciation for comics has contributed to a recent explosion of novel-length stories, or “graphic narratives,” many of which reach astounding heights of artistry. Some of these narratives also stress the significance of historical memory, an especially consistent theme in comics produced by artists who create with minoritized perspectives. Such works exploit the unique possibilities of comics for encouraging new understandings of the past, often by depicting an interplay between broad historical narratives and individual memory, and between dominant forms of historical denial and subordinated understandings of the current relevance of alternative histories. We will study canonical and more recent multicultural graphic narratives in these terms, as well as scholarship that illuminates how insightfully comics can portray vexed personal memories against the backdrop of competing histories.
English 5011 Section 600 CRN 34764
Murray
Studies in Composition and Rhetoric--Teaching to Transgress in an Expressive Feminist Classroom, Student-Centered Pedagogies in Composition and Rhetoric Online
In Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, bell hooks asserts, “the classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy.” Such a classroom supports student-centered tenets like knowledge co-creation, community, empowerment, attendance to voice and experience, and reflection. For hooks, “As a classroom community, our capacity to generate excitement is deeply affected by our interest in one another, in hearing one another’s voices, in recognizing one another’s presence.” This section of English 5011 will explore ways to build and support such classroom communities for courses in composition and rhetoric.
English 5020 Section 001 CRN 34656
Skinner
Workshop in Creative Writing 1900-2130 M
This fiction workshop will foreground the concept of point of view and consider its critical relationship to other principles of craft. You’ll read classic and contemporary stories, critique your classmates’ pieces, and contribute original fiction to the workshop. Along the way, our discussions will be bolstered by a range of supplementary readings on craft and creativity.
Final grades will be based on workshop participation, written critiques, midterm presentations, and final portfolios.
English 5061D Section 600 CRN 34766
Smith
Special Topics in Literature and Literary Theory--Science Fiction Vanguards, 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.
Note: Course may not be retaken if previously completed with this topic. If you have questions, please contact the Graduate Coordinator.
English 5502 Section 001 CRN 30562
Taylor
Mentored Composition Teaching 1530-1800 T
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:
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Exploring various research strands related to the teaching of writing
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Designing writing assignments
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Crafting lesson plans
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Facilitating peer review and workshops
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Implementing strategies for effective conferences
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Responding to and evaluating writing
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Teaching observations
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Facilitating productive discussions and small group work
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Using in-class assessment practices
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Reflecting on teaching experiences
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Establishing ethos as an instructor
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Building a course policy and syllabus
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Constructing a persuasive and visually appealing curriculum vitae
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Assembling a teaching portfolio—curriculum vitae, teaching philosophy, sample course policy, ENG 1001 course syllabus, sample assignments, and sample handouts
English 5960 Section 600 CRN 34096
Fredrick
Professional Writing Internship 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, the Internship is open only to upper-division students. To the extent possible, placement is matched to career goals with the expectation that students will be able to approach graduation and the job search with writing/editing portfolios to show potential employers. Past internship sites have included nonprofit organizations, small businesses, college and university departments, libraries, journals and micro presses, and city and county government offices.
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 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, thrillers) and important cinematic schools of thought (e.g., French New Wave). Requirements include short response papers, a term paper, group presentation, and participation in discussion.
Notes: This University Senior Seminar does not fulfill the English Senior Seminar requirement, English 4300/4390. Completion of 75 semester hours required.
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.
English Major Themes
In order to allow students to choose courses that meet their intellectual interests, English courses numbered between 3005 and 4904 are tagged with the following themes:
Education and Society: These courses address changing practices, values, and/or theories of education over time; changes in literacy and readership, and how these changes may have affected writers and their readers; education as a theme in literature.
Media, Technology, and Popular Culture: These courses address changes in communications media and technologies over time; changes in readership and viewership; the growth and development of popular audiences; the relationship of popular culture to ideology; the effects of media, technology and popular culture on writers and their readers.
Genre, Form, and Poetics: These courses focus closely on the relationship of form to meaning; historical considerations of generic traditions and conventions; uses, appropriations of, and changes to genre over time; hybridity and experimentation; genre, poetic, and narrative theories.
Science and the Environment: These courses examine issues and controversies in science or the environment through the lens of literature, film, or other media; environmental advocacy; writing for or about the sciences and/or the natural world.
Identity and Culture: These courses explore the relationship among the individual’s sense of self, membership in identity groups, life experiences, and perceptions. In other words, these courses answer the question: how does who I am shape my understanding of the society and the world?
Law and Social Justice: These courses explore the ways individuals and groups influence social norms regarding ethics and morals. In other words, these courses answer the question: what needs to be changed in the world, and how can I work to change it?
