Autumn 2002 200-Level ENGL courses

Course Descriptions (as of 24 September 2002)
The following course descriptions have been written by individual instructors to provide more detailed information on specific section sthan that found in the General Catalog. When individual descriptions are not available, the General Catalog descriptions [in brackets] are used. (Although we try to have as accurate and complete information as possible, this schedule remains subject to change.)

200 A (Reading Literature)
Dy 8:30
(W)
Barnett
Establishing A Reading Practice. Once freed from the guidance (or tyrnny) of Required Texts as determined by a given college course – how will you choose your own reading material? This course hopes to provide a basis for answering that very question. We will begin our discussion of the various texts by first establishing a set of critical terms. A basic assumption of the class is that reading for pleasure and the critical analysis of a text are intertwined. The reading schedule is rigorous and expect to write constantly. Additionally, class discussion is dependent on your enthusiastic participation. You’ll be responsible for a daily journal, weekly critical essays and a final paper. Texts: Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies; Toni Morrison, Paradise; Davis Sedaria, Naked; Gregory Maguire, Wicked; Michael Chabon, The Wonder Boys; Annie Proulx, The Shipping News; William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom!

200 B (Reading Literature)
Dy 8:30
(W)
Gunn
What makes a short story a short story? The course will examine this question by way of discussion and readings of primary texts as well as a survey of the critical discourse on the form. We’ll track the development of the modern short story from Hawthorne and Poe through contemporary stories that vie for our attention in magazines and journals. We’ll also spend some time looking at what E. A. Poe, Mary Louise Pratt, Charles May and others have to say about the form: What are the boundaries of the genre? What expectations do we as readers, bring to a short story? How are short stories constructed and how has that construction changed through time? Bring a willingness to contribute to lively discussion and be prepared to do a lot of reading. Requirements will include two major papers as well as shorter response papers. Texts: Charters, The Story and Its Writer; May, ed., The New Short Story Theories.

200 C (Reading Literature)
Dy 9:30
(W)
Gonyer-Donohue
Arthurian Legends and the Modern Reader. Since 1990 there have been at least twenty films, mini-series, and animations released based on some aspect of the Arthurian legend, not to mention the countless number of fantasy books, comics, and video games. In fact, Steven Spielberg recently announced that he is developing a big-budget mini-series based on King Arthur for HBO. Why is this 1000-year-0ld legend so appealing to a modern 21st-century audience? What does this myth tell us about our own experience today? Through reading various Arthurian texts in this class, we will explore “contemporary” issues such as history and nationality, family and loyalty, desire and responsibility, piety and corruption, leadership and governance, and gender politics and sexuality. Even though many of the texts are medieval, this is not an historical survey course and all readings are in modern English. Readings will include Sir Thomas Malory, Marie de France, Chrétien de Troyes, Geoffrey Chaucer, T. S. Eliot, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Films will include The Fisher King, Mists of Avalon, and, of course, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Workload: Daily class discussion, response papers, group research, two formal papers (6-7 pages). Texts: Baines, tr., Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthure: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table; photocopied course pack.

200 D (Reading Literature)
Dy 12:30
(W)
Goss
[Techniques and practice in reading and enjoying literature. Examines some of the best works in English and American literature and considers such features of literary meaning as imagery, characterization, narration and patterning in sound and sense. Emphasis on literature as a source of pleasure and knowledge about human experience.] Texts: William Shakespeare, King Lear; Carole Maso, Ava; Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness; Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are.

200 E (Reading Literature)
Dy 1:30
(W)
Nimura

“Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are.” --Jean Brillat-Savarin, 1853

Whether we look at the popularity of the Food Network’s Japanese TV show “Iron Chef” or Eric Schlosser’s bestselling exposé Fast Food Nation, it’s clear that we’re living in food-obsessed times. In this course, we’ll consider the intersections of food and identity in several literary forms: short story, novel, essay, and memoir. In other words, we’ll explore how “what we eat” is intricately related to “who we are,” and how various writers have played with this theme, from chefs to novelists to documentarians. Key questions that we’ll discuss include: * How do writers use food as a rhetorical trope, or tool for persuasion, in literature? • How are issues of identity (race, culture, class, gender, and nation) related to food? • Why are most chefs men, while most home cooks are women? • How does the form of each literary text affect its content? • What do we make of the fairly recent “foodie” craze? What does this trend reveal about our culture? • How does food shape, create, and delineate community? Outside readings and paper topics will be shaped to accommodate a wide variety of disciplines and interests. Class requirements will include active, engaged participation, several short response papers, a longer critical essay, and a group presentation. I will also ask for a restaurant review and a “food journal”; both assignments will contain analytical components. Texts: Ruth Ozeki, My Year of Meats; Holly Hughes, ed., Best Food Writing 2000; Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential; John Lanchester, The Dept to Pleasure; optional: Andrea Lunsford, The Everyday Writer.

200 F (Reading Literature)
Dy 2:30
(W)
Woiak
Redesigning Humanity. This course will trace the history of science fiction and utopian/dystopian literature addressing ideas about how science and technology might be used to transform the human body and mind. Fictional works speculate that manipulation of our biology might be carried out by such means as eugenics, genetic engineering, surgery, cybernetcis, or nanotechnology. In this course we will situate examples of this literature within the context of the history of science since the late nineteenth century, and we will consider the narrative conventions used to construct futuristic societies and generate meaning from them. Many of the selected texts will lead to discussions about modified gender relations, race and class issues, and definitions of “normalcy.” Another theme we will frequently encounter is that of crossing boundaries: what fantasies and anxieties might accompany prospects of physically blending human beings with “others” such as machines (cyborgs), animals, or aliens? Science fiction also raises social and ethical concerns about various technologies of transformation. Can these be used benignly to enhance our quality of life, or should we beware their potential to undermine our individual rights or even our humanity? Class assignments will include writing exercises, short essays, a group project, and regular participation in discussions. Texts: H. G. Wells, The Island of Doctor Moreau; Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland; Aldous Huxley, Brave New World; William Gibson, Neuromancer; Octavia E. Butler, Dawn; Sheri S. Tepper, The Gate to Women’s Country; Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age.

207 A (Introduction to Cultural Studies)
Dy 8:30
Linder
After a brief introduction to the cultural studies methodology as a whole, we’ll narrow our focus and attempt our own cultural study of the connections between American identity and twentieth-century consumer economy. How have Americans responded to the growth of consumption and commodity goods? What does it mean to live in a land of department stores? Our study will take the birth of widespread commodification at the turn of the century as a starting point and conclude with the yuppie craze of the 1980s (remember Alex Keaton from Family Ties or Gordon Gecko from Wall Street?). We’ll look at both Jazz Age flappers and 1950s Leave-It-To-Beaver culture as we search for answers to these types of questions. And in keeping with a cultural studies methodology, our readings will be drawn from a wide range of cultural texts: novels, essays, political tracts, sociological studies, and even movies. Course requirements: Two larger essays (5-7 and 8-10 pages, respectivesly), midterm exam, final exam, and group presentation. Texts: Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People; Don DeLillo, White Noise; Jack Kerouac, On the Road; William Leach, Land of Desire; Anita Loos, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes.

207 B (Introduction to Cultural Studies)
Dy 11:30
Parris
This course will introduce students to two specific areas of work in Cultural Studies. The first week will offer a brief history of Cultural Studies as a field. The course will then be broken into two sections: theories of Everyday Life and theories of Emotional Life. Theories of Everyday Life invite us to consider the little details of our daily existence that we often overlook -- such as brushing our teeth, cooking dinner, or walking across campus – and to ask questions about how these details shape and are shaped by self and society. Theories of Emotional Life examine the social implications and imbrications of emotion and enable us to look beyond such traditional formulations as emotion versus reason, of emotion as mere biological reaction, of women as “naturally” more emotional than men and men as “naturally” emotionally stifled. These two fields provide us the opportunity to investigate the way the things we take for granted participate in major and often unnoticed ways to create meaning in our world. We will read theoretical texts as well as fiction, poetry, and comic books. We will also consider other types of cultural texts, such as film, advertisement, cookbooks, and music. Assignments will include reading responses and two course projects. Texts: Roland Barthes, Mythologies; Nicholson Baker, The Mezzanine; Tanana Yoshimotao, Lizard; Ellen Forney, Monkey Ford; photocopied course packet.

210 A (Literature of the Ancient World)
MW 1:30-3:20
Webster
An introduction to the ancient literary tradition and why it matters. We’ll read some classics, and some key late adaptations and transformations of them. No majors, Registration Period 1. (210B represents 5 spaces in this section reserved for new transfer students.) Texts: Greek Tragedies; Homer, Odyssey; Apuleius, The Golden Ass; Ovid, Metamorphoses; Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream; Sonnets; Conan Doyle, Hound of the Baskervilles.

211 A (Medieval and Renaissance Literature)
MW 9:30-11:20
Taylor
In this course we will examine literary texts from the middle ages and the early modern period, from both England and the continent. Works have been selected to represent the various literary genres which become dominant between 1400 and 1650. Frequent short papers, term paper, midterm and final. No majors, Registration Period 1. (211B represents 5 spaces in this section reserved for new transfer students.) Texts: Dante, Inferno; Langland, Piers Plowman; Marie de France, Lais; Petrarch, Canzoniere (selections); Rabelais, Gargantua; Sidney, Astrophel and Stella (selections); Shakespeare, The Tempest.

212 A (Literature of Enlightenment and Revolution)
MW 10:30-12:20
--cancelled--

212 B (Literature of Enlightenment and Revolution)
TTh 12:30-2:20
Gribben
An introduction to Romanticism and Victorianism, this course develops and challenges the notion that one is "shown" the world through the senses. Major nineteenth-century enlightenments and revolutions result from debates about evolution, the sexes, industrialism and faith. However, this class focuses primarily on the ways in which these debates affect the concept of imagination as a mode of perception. Readings and projects, therefore, explore how theories of perception reflect changing cultural notions of what the visual "tells" us about the world. Texts have been selected for the degree to which they either embody a way of seeing or posit an alternative way of seeing, which means we will be reading a lot of poetry and fantasy novels. Assignments include short response papers, two 6-7 page papers, a midterm and a final. Non-majors only, Registration Period 1. (212C represents 5 spaces in this section reserved for new transfer students.)Texts: Abrams, et al., Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2; Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass; Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray; George DuMaurier, Trilby; Bronte, Wuthering Heights; Charles Dickens, Hard Times.

213 A `(Modern & Postmodern Literature)
TTh 8:30-10:20
Elkington
The Question of Meta-narrative. Jean-Francois Lyotard once characterized Postmodernism as an incredulity toward meta-narratives. But what is a meta-narrative? And if Postmodernism abandons them, does this mean that Modernism does not? Starting with Lyotard, this course looks at the concept of Modernism in relation to Postmodernism in its development through novels of the 20th century. Along the way, we’ll define meta-narrative, looking for evidence of how a variety of texts employ, contain, resist, or subvert the very concept in reaction to literary and cultural contexts. No majors, Registration Period 1. ( 213B represents 5 spaces in this section reserved for new transfer students.) Texts: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby; Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises; Charles Johnson, Middle Passage; Jeanette Winterson, Written on the Body; John Lanchester, The Debt to Pleasure; photocopied course packet.

213 C (Modern & Postmodern Literature)
Dy 1:30
Elkington
The Question of Meta-narrative. Jean-Francois Lyotard once characterized Postmodernism as an incredulity toward meta-narratives. But what is a meta-narrative? And if Postmodernism abandons them, does this mean that Modernism does not? Starting with Lyotard, this course looks at the concept of Modernism in relation to Postmodernism in its development through novels of the 20th century. Along the way, we’ll define meta-narrative, looking for evidence of how a variety of texts employ, contain, resist, or subvert the very concept in reaction to literary and cultural contexts. No majors, Registration Period 1.( 213B represents 5 spaces in this section reserved for new transfer students.) Texts: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby; Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises; Charles Johnson, Middle Passage; Jeanette Winterson, Written on the Body; John Lanchester, The Debt to Pleasure; photocopied course packet.

225 A (Shakespeare)
MW 10:30-12:20
(W)
Sucich
In this course we will look at five plays: two comedies (A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Merchant of Venice); two tragedies (Othello and King Lear); and a romance (The Tempest), though we have the option of adding other works to our reading list. Since a major focus of this course will be to imagine and examine these texts from the perspective of performance, we will be viewing productions (primarily film/video) as well as reading plays. Course requirements: Two main papers, midterm and final. Students should also be prepared to participate in class readings and discussions. Texts: Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Merchant of Venice; Othello; King Lear; The Tempest.

225 B (Shakespeare)
Dy 11:30
(W)
Schillinger
[Survey of Shakespeare's career as dramatist. Study of representative comedies, tragedies, romances, and history plays.] Text: Greenblatt, et al., eds, The Norton Shakespeare.

228 A (English Literary Culture: to 1600)
MW 12:30-2:20
Remley
[British literature from the Middle ages to the end of the sixteenth century. Study of literature in its cultural context, with attention to changes in form, content, and style.] No majors, Registration Period 1. (228B represents 5 spaces in this section reserved for new transfer students.) Texts: Hamer, A Choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse; Thorpe, ed., Geoffrey of Monmouth: History of the Kings of Britain; Hanning & Ferrante, tr., The Lais of Marie de France; Stone, King Arthur's Death.

229 A (English Literary Culture: 1600-1800)
TTh 11:30-1:20
Osell
[British literature in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Study of literature in its cultural context, with attention to changes in form, content, and style.] No majors, Registration Period 1. (229B represents 5 spaces in this section reserved for new transfer students.) Texts: Robert Demaria, ed., British Literature 1670-1789; Samuel Richardson, Pamela; Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice; John Gay, The Beggar’s Opera.

230 A (English Literary Culture: After 1800)
TTh 9:30-10:20
Butwin
(quizzes TTh 10:30, TTh 11:30, TTh 1:30)
Certainly more of what we call literature has been generated—written, printed, distributed—in England between 1800 and 2002 than in all periods in all countries put together before that time. We have ten weeks in which to account for it, and we will do so with the help of three novels, a course packet of poetry and prose, two movies and a few audiotapes. What these should yield is an impression of enormous change in little time. In 1800 there was no railroad, no telegraph; by the time Dickens wrote Hard Times (1854) and when Hardy wrote Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1890) there was hardly a corner of England (1850s) and of the world (1890) that couldn’t be reached by steam and electricity. By the time Virginia Woolf wrote Mrs. Dalloway (1925) her world was scarred by the most global and mechanical of activities—modern warfare. Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936) and the recent films of Hanif Karishi will help to bind the past and the perplexing present. Large lecture, small discussion groups, essays and exams. No majors, Registration Period 1. Texts: Charles Dickens, Hard Times; Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles; Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway; photocopied course packet, "A Selection of Prose and Poetry, 1800-2002". films (on reserve): Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times; Hanif Karishi, My Son, the Fanatic.

242 A (Reading Fiction)
Dy 8:30
(W)
Buck
Fictions of Self Consciousness, Self-Conscious Fictions. “It arrived,” writes Henry James, “in truth, the novel, late at self-consciousness; but it has done its utmost ever since to make up for lost opportunities.” In this course, we will use Henry James’ statement to approach the genre of the novel from a variety of perspectives by asking “What is self conscious about the novel?” Answering this question will involve examining the novel both as a form concerned with imagining the self as a creation of narrative and as a self-conscious genre, increasingly concerned with its own fictionality. To explore these issues, we will focus on closely reading three pairs of fictional texts by writers like Italo Calvino, Nabokov, Rhys and Conrad along with some short secondary material. As a class, we will also learn to become self-conscious readers of fiction. Course requirements include several short response papers, a class presentation, a midterm, and a final paper. Texts: Italo Calvino, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler; Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire; Jean Rhys, Voyage in the Dark; Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness.

242 B (Reading Fiction)
Dy 9:30
(W)
Barnett
So often when reading, we expect to encounter a protagonist and a narrative structure that makes us comfortable and makes everything clear. When instead we find ourselves with an unreliable narrator, a flawed protagonist, a narrative structure that defies easy comprehension, or even mysteries of plot that are never solved – how do we cope? This class will attempt to answer just that question. Expect a rigorous reading schedule, class discussion that depends on your enthusiastic participation. Also, you’ll be required to write a daily journal, a weekly critical essay and a longer final essay. Texts: William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom!; Ana Castillo, So Far From God; Gloria Naylor, Mama Day; Fae Myenne Ng, Bone; Nella Larsen, Quicksand and Passing; Charles Brockden Brown, Wieland.

242 C (Reading Fiction)
Dy 12:30
(W)
Gunn
What makes a short story a short story? The course will examine this question by way of discussion and readings of primary texts as well as a survey of the critical discourse on the form. We’ll track the development of the modern short story from Hawthorne and Poe through contemporary stories that vie for our attention in magazines and journals. We’ll also spend some time looking at what E. A. Poe, Mary Louise Pratt, Charles May and others have to say about the form: What are the boundaries of the genre? What expectations do we as readers, bring to a short story? How are short stories constructed and how has that construction changed through time? Bring a willingness to contribute to lively discussion and be prepared to do a lot of reading. Requirements will include two major papers as well as shorter response papers. Texts: Charters, The Story and Its Writer; May, ed., The New Short Story Theories.

242 D (Reading Fiction)
Dy 1:30
(W)
Cooper
The Figure of the Double. A frequently recurring theme in fiction is that of the double -- someone who co-exists intimately with another character and whose presence serves to expose the peculiar nature of that character. Having two figures play off one other in this way gives rise to a variety of ironic situations and conflicts between same/different, self/other, and separation/unity, as characters attempt to reconcile their sense of isolation and alienation with an incessant yearning for wholeness, transcendence and validation through association or identification with another. In addition to reading modern works, we will also consider the figure of the double as it appears in folktales and myths, and what its enduring use in literature tells us about the human fascination with duality. Texts: Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray; photocopied course packet.

250 A (Introduction to American Literature)
MW 9:30-11:20
Whitmire
This course surveys the themes, concerns and developments of American literature from the colonial period to the present. We will address the cultural and historical contexts as well as the aesthetics of the texts we read. While the course covers a broad range of material, the focus will be on intensive critical reading of and writing about the texts. In the process of coming to terms with individual texts and major authors of American literature, we will also consider what constitutes a national literature, as well as the relation of that literature to ideas of national identity or national belonging. We will read short fiction, non-fiction, novels and poetry. Authors will include: Franklin, Douglass, Jacobs, Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Dickenson, Twain, Gilman, Faulkner, Hemingway, Ellison and Morrison. No majors, Registration Period 1. (250B represents 5 spaces in this section reserved for new transfer students.) Text: Baym, ed., The Norton Anthology of American Literature, shorter, 5th ed.

250 C (Introduction to American Literature)
TTh 8:30-10:20
Keeling
In 1837, sixty-one years after the United States declared its political independence from Great Britain, Ralph Waldo Emerson called for a cultural revolution as well: “Our day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close. The millions that around us are rushing into life, cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests.” Simultaneously, however, he insisted upon our recognition of a notion of “the universal nature,” upon “a relation between the hours of our life and the centuries of time.” In this Introduction to American Literature – please note that this is not a survey course per se – we will consider texts of the United States as the philosophies of both visionary insight and progressing tradition. Authors may include: Anne Bradstreet, Tom Paine, James Fenimore Cooper, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sarah Orne Jewett, Margaret Fuller, Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nella Larsen, W.E.B. DuBois, and E. L. Doctorow. No majors, Registration Period 1.

250 D (Introduction to American Literature)
TTh 1:30-3:20
Keeling
During the first ten years of the twentieth century, Gertrude Stein reflected upon the “youth” of the United States: “It has always seemed to me a rare privilege, this of being an American, a real American, one whose tradition it has taken scarcely sixty years to create. We need only realize our parents, remember our grandparents[,] and know ourselves[,] and our history is complete.” In this course (an Introduction To rather than a survey of American Literature) we will explore notions of “tradition” and “history,” of “complet[ion],” and of “realiz[ing],” “remember[ing]” and “know[ing]” as such notions are reflected in the literatures of the United States – not over a span of “scarcely sixty years,” but over centuries of promise, hope, strife, and endurance. Texts will include speeches, fiction, and poetry from some of the following authors: Anne Bradstreet, Tom Paine, James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau, Henry James, Thorstein Veblen, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and James Baldwin. No majors, Registration Period 1.

250E (Introduction to American Literature)
MTWTh 9:00-11:00
(W)
Wacker
Early Fall Start (August 26 - Sept. 20; new freshmen only)
Contemporary American Literature (1948 to the present) is a unique area of literary study. The output and the range of innovation practiced by writers during this period is enormous. At the same time the grounds for determining what is truly masterful in this literature are unsettled; time has not yet performed its trick of securing some reputations that once seemed obscure and upending those that once seemed mighty. There is often surprisingly little overlap in the booklists for courses in this period as there is so much literature of genuine interest and so little certainty about its central figures and central works. Outside the windows of our writers, post war American society was itself undergoing dizzying social, technical and cultural transformation. Their writing reflects this fact, and their innovations in style and language, their explorations of new themes, are accelerated by the momentum of the times. Our course will look closely at some representative work and at the complexities of the way it mirrors the society in which it was written. We will begin by reflecting on the role literature played during the prewar period, particularly as articulated in the influential work of T. S. Eliot, and we will trace the way postwar writers reinterpreted and often worked against the grain of Eliot's ideas of tradition and of the moral and artistic nature of modern writing. We will identify new ideas about the nature of knowledge, of beauty and of the relationship of literature to society that emerge in Robert Lowell's Life Studies, Saul Bellow's Seize the Day, Elizabeth Bishop's Collected Poems, and Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Please Note: this course assumes no prior knowledge of the period and will focus on learning the skills needed to critically read and write about literature. We will use frequent short writing assignments to develop and deepen reader responses. We will closely examine specific passages to develop styles of reading appropriate to the particular work, and we will review the contemporary social and cultural contexts in which the work was written. Short essays built on your reading, your short overnight writing assignments, class discussion and student presentations will be completed on each of the above major works. Only new freshmen may register for Early Fall Start.

258 A (African-American Literature, 1745-present)
TTh 9:30-11:20/F 9:30-10:20
(W)
Ralston
(Added 7/23; sln: 9810)
As the title indicates, this course is a survey, which means that it is an overview. African American literature of the United States begins in 17th century with the oral tradition and continues today as we enter the 21st century. This is a diverse and demanding literary history, one that requires a certain dedication. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to African American literature and to help you understand its content, form, and aesthetic development so that when you encounter contemporary African American literature or literature that we have not studied in class, you will have a basis for understanding it, growing through it, and enjoying it. Unfortunately, we are challenged by the short time we have together. Despite this disadvantage, I worked to organize our syllabus to provide a strong understanding of African American literature and literary history in the context of US history. If we all work hard together, you will have a profitable and enjoyable experience. This course is designed as a large seminar and student discussion is required. This course is designed to create an environment oriented around the critical thinking process, which we will use to explore works by African American writers. We will be engaged in discussion of both cultural and ideological beliefs as well as the representation of those beliefs and you will be expected to participate in the on-going class discussions about what we are reading and about what we will be writing. Some familiarity with US history and African American history preferrable but not required. Commitment to keeping up with reading and discussion [is important.]. Each student will participate in a group presentation once during the term. There will be two take-home exams. There will be ONE 6-page paper. The paper topics will ask you to treat several authors’ works in a comparative analysis. Participation: 10% 2 exams: 40% Oral Presentation: 20% Final paper 30% Joint-listed with AFRAM 258.

281 A (Intermediate Expository Writing)
MWF 8:30
Goh
[Writing papers communicating information and opinion to develop accurate, competent, and effective expression.] No freshmen, Registration Periods 1 & 2. Text: photocopied course packet.

281 B (Intermediate Expository Writing)
MWF 8:30
Enomoto
The German cultural critic Walter Benjamin once wrote that “There is no document of civilization which is not at the same time a document of barbarism.” In this expository writing class, we will explore the implications of Benjamin’s remark as it applies to the ideology of “the American Dream.” Calling attention to the social, historical, and economic relations that underlie “modern” American society and that are easily taken for granted, this course will focus on developing the critical reading, writing, and thinking skills that will enable students to analyze arguments and appeals in their own disciplines. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which written texts have shaped and transformed our understanding of the world, challenging our unquestioned assumptions about “freedom,” “equality,” “justice,” and “progress.” Our studies will examine the “work” of language—that is, how words are used to inspire and infuriate; how documents are used to construct, to question, and to criticize different versions of “reality.” No freshmen, Registration Periods 1 & 2. Texts: Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America; Howard & Barton, Thinking on Paper: Refine, Express, and Actually Generate Ideas by....

281 C (Intermediate Expository Writing)
MWF 9:30
Major
This expository writing course will use genre theory as the critical avenue for both analyzing and producing academic prose writing, primarily persuasive argumentation. A series of assignments will incorporate short exercises and longer papers that will be developed through workshops, conferences, and revisions. These papers will be based on readings which will be provided or available to download from the course website (no course text will be required); the topic of our examinations will be language use and academic writing itself. In the final assignment sequence, each student will choose, analyze, and write about a genre of writing pertinent to his or her own interests No freshmen, Registration Periods 1 & 2. No texts (readings will be available for download from instructor's web site.)

281 D (Intermediate Expository Writing)
MWF 12:30
McDonald
A sports writer from the 1950s once said: "I hate writing. I love having written." This sentiment is often shared by student writers who are navigating different kinds of writing in academia. Why do we write in the first place? Writing is a "way of knowing" that equips as well as forms you: this course will investigate forms of academic writing and the implications behind them. We will look at the disciplinary expectations that your particular career path demands and how to make your writing matter. We'll explore practices of rhetoric itself and how to make meaning with words. You will write in multiple genres (editorials, reviews, summaries, parodies, argumentative essays, etc.) and often reflect on the conventions of these particular genres. There will be a number of short assignments in addition to three longer papers and a collaborative assignment. No freshmen, Registration Periods 1 & 2. Text: photocopied course packet.

281 E (Intermediate Expository Writing)
MWF 1:30
Karl
[Writing papers communicating information and opinion to develop accurate, competent, and effective expression.] No freshmen, Registration Periods 1 & 2. Text: photocopied course packet.

281 F (Intermediate Expository Writing)
MWF 2:30
Rompogren
This expository writing course focuses on language as a shaper and conveyer of thought, using discourse analysis as an approach to understanding how language users produce and interpret language in context. In this course we will discuss the ways in which the lexical, grammatical, and organizational properties of texts are affected by contextual and sociolinguistic factors. We will start with an overview of the various approaches that describe and explain the structure and function of written discourse, followed by a look at critical applications, which go beyond simple description into social critique, often including challenges to the status quo. In analyzing and producing academic texts, we will focus on linguistic communication as not just a manipulation of formal units but also a collaborative process, in which language users rely on various kinds of world knowledge to design and interpret texts by making inferences, detecting background assumptions, and framing judgments about a writer’s intentions. Assignments will include: A brief oral presentation on individual research topic; frequent reader-response journal entries and various short assignments; a midterm paper (5-6 pages); a longer final paper (8-10 pages). No freshmen, Registration Periods 1 & 2. Text: photocopied course packet.

283 A (Beginning Verse Writing)
MW 2:30-3:50
Arthur
An introduction to the craft of poetry. In this course, you’ll write between five and eight poems, with close attention to such poetic devices as alliteration, enjambment, and line breaks. If you don’t know what these terms mean, don’t sweat it ... by the end of the class, you will. We’ll also have talked about the professional aspects of writing and you will have submitted at least one batch of poems to a literary magazine. Participation is extremely important in this course, so be forewarned that you’ll have a fair bit of work to do for each class. Don’t buy any textbooks now, but do be prepared to spend about fifty dollars for course materials; we’ll discuss all this on the first day of class. Majors only, Registration Period 1; no freshmen Registration Periods 1 & 2.

283 B (Beginning Verse Writing)
TTh 9:30-10:50
Shapiro
Intensive study of the ways and means of making a poem. We'll discuss traditions in poetry and focus on contemporary poets and works. Emphasis will be on craft, close readings and constructive feedback. Besides learning the elements of craft, revision and critical analysis of poems will be central. Please don't purchase books ahead of time, but do plan on c. $50 for the class, with more information forthcoming the first week of class. (Majors only, Registration Period 1; no freshmen Registration Periods 1 & 2.)

284 A (Beginning Short Story Writing)
MW 11:30-12:50
Sherman
This course introduces and provides practice in the elements of short literary fiction, including (but not limited to) imagery, characterization, setting, plot, etc. In-class assignments will consist of the discussion of contemporary short stories in terms of craft, short writing exercises, and workshopping of student pieces. Texts: Hansen & Shepard, eds., You've Got To Read This: Contemporary American Writers Introduce Stories that Held Them in Awe; Gardner, The Art of Fiction. (Majors only, Registration Period 1; no freshmen Registration Periods 1 & 2.)

284 B (Beginning Short Story Writing)
TTh 9:30-10:50
Ayerza
Conventional workshopping, craft-focused readings of short stories and developmental exercises centering on techniques of fiction are at the heart of this course. A willingness to play on paper with the many aspects of storytelling is primary; a close second is active participation in discussions and in-class writing. The only required text is a simple reader available week one (or sooner with email). (Majors only, Registration Period 1; no freshmen Registration Periods 1 & 2.)

AUTUMN 2002 200-Level Courses

AUTUMN 2002
200-Level Courses