Summer 2006 Course Descriptions

• Maymester,
• Summer I, and
• Summer II.

MAYMESTER

ENGL 283M-001 THEMES IN BRITISH WRITING TBA MADDEN

Study abroad course in Ireland that explores Irish culture and literature, with special attention to the literature of the last two centuries. Issues to be discussed include the political and cultural debates informing the literature, especially the ways that gender informs representations of the nation. The class will incorporate visits to historical and cultural sites, theatrical performances, and cultural tours to heighten our understanding
of Irish history and culture.

ENGL 419M/WOST 430M SEX, LITERATURE & POPULAR MEDIA M-F 11:00-1:45 STERN

This course explores the complicated relationship between representation, gender, and sexuality. From Mary Shelley=s Frankenstein to the modern fascination with plastic surgery; from Florence Nightingale=s lament of enforced female boredom in Cassandra to our own Desperate Housewives; from Matthew Arnold=s advocacy of muscular Christianity to Fight Club, the syllabus for this course traces major issues in gender, sexuality, and cultural studies from the 19th century to the present. We will be engaging with heated debates about issues including birth control, erotic desire, bodily norms, and gender identity.

Our discussions of the readings B which include various genres of literature, journalism, works of art, magazines, comic books, and film B will be framed by contemporary theories about the relationship between representation and reality. For example, does pornography cultivate a culture that degrades sex? What is at stake in speaking Athe love that dare not speak its name@? Does advertising promote eating disorders? Did Charlotte Brontë=s spunky heroines create new identities for women? The purpose of this class is not to answer these questions, but rather to provide a vocabulary and a variety of theoretical apparatuses with which students may engage rigorously with them, to come to their own conclusions.

This will be a challenging course, meant to provide an introduction into the field of cultural studies, to acquaint students with basic terms in gender studies, and to encourage meaningful scholarly play with serious issues.

ENGL 431M-001 CHILDREN'S LITERATURE M-F 11:00-1:45 JOHNSON

This course, most appropriately, would be titled AMulticultural American Children=s Literature.@ It will begin with an examination of L. Frank Baum=s The Wizard of Oz, published at the turn of the century, and will go on to examine other texts which are in some way related to central ideas of and about America and Americans. In the second half of the course, we will read books by and about Asian, African, Hispanic, Native, and other Americans.

ENGL 439M-001 COMICS AND AMERICAN CULTURE M-F 1:00-1:45 WHITTED

This course is a rigorous and scholarly study of how comics engage pivotal cultural, social, and political issues in American life. Drawing on works from the last two decades, we will explore how comic book writers and artists have revised the popular superhero motif to raise critical questions about power and authority, to interrogate silences regarding race, gender, and class inequality, and to demonstrate the ways in which the dynamic fusion of sequential art and writing can be used to tell any American story (not just those featuring caped crusaders). With the help of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, we will briefly consider aesthetic strategies for how to Aread@ comics as a medium with its own unique vocabulary. Excerpts from Bradford Wright=s study, Comic Book Nation, will familiarize students with the historical evolution of this work from its Depression-era origins. Grades will be determined by active class participation, daily response papers, a research project, and a final exam. Texts under investigation: Watchmen (Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons); Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (Chris Ware); Ghost World (Daniel Clowes), Truth: Red, White & Black (Robert Morales/Kyle Baker), and Ex Machina: Vols. 1-2 (Brian K. Vaughan/Tony Harris). Please note: some familiarity with comics is useful, but not required.

ENGL 439M-002 BOB MARLEY: LYRICAL GENIUS M-F 8:00-10:45 DAWES

Using the lyrics of Bob Marley, video footage, and several texts that engage with Marley the artist and figure, along with close analysis of his music paying attention to issues of politics, religion, race, sexuality and identity, this course will introduce students to one of the most important musical icons of the twentieth century. The course will combine lecture, discussion and an innovative journaling system to connect students with the music of Bob Marley.

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SUMMER I

ENGL 282-001 FICTION M-TH 1:00-3:15 GREER

Fiction from several countries and historical periods, illustrating the nature of the genre. For more
information, contact the instructor.

ENGL 283-001 THEMES IN BRITISH WRITING M-TH 8:00-10:15 SIBLEY-JONES
(Designed for Non-majors)
The purpose of the course is to examine the content of several major literary works produced in the last two centuries. We shall read the following five works: Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice; Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness; James Joyce, Dubliners; Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse; Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day; Roddy Doyle, A Star Called Henry. There will be a final exam in which the student answers in essay form a question that deals with the thematic content and its specific treatment in at least three of the works. The student will also produce a three- to four-page paper on one aspect of one of the works.

ENGL 285-001 THEMES IN AMERICAN WRITING M-TH 10:30-12:45 STEELE
(Designed for Non-majors)
This course will examine the ways that American Literature comes to terms with questions of history and memory. There will be a midterm, a final, and a short critical paper.

ENGL 287 Is Required for English Majors

ENGL 287-001 AMERICAN LITERATURE M-TH 10:30-12:45 CARRASQUEIRA

This course will survey representative texts, periods, and themes in American Literature, since the Puritan settlers to the most contemporary voices. It will focus on how the authors have contributed to the creation of
a distinct American voice in literary production, exploring issues of identity (in respect to class, gender and/or race) and national construction. Given the nature of the course, class discussion will be a major element of its structure. REQUIREMENTS: One short paper (3-5 pages); One take-home midterm exam; One Final Exam; Quizzes will be given at the beginning of each class period. TEXTS: The Norton Anthology of American
Literature (Concise Edition). For any further information, please contact the instructor.

ENGL 380-001 EPIC TO ROMANCE M-TH 10:30-12:45 GWARA

Discussion of major works of literature: the Iliad, Ovid=s Metamorphoses, Beowulf, romances by Chrétien de Troyes, and Chaucer=s Troilus and Criseyde. Two papers and a mid-term. Daily quizzes on the readings.

ENGL 427-001 SOUTHERN LITERATURE M-TH 10:30-12:45 BUTTERWORTH

A study of major Southern authors of the 19th and 20th centuries: Poe, Twain, Chopin, Ransom, Tate, Warren, Faulkner, Hurston, O=Connor, Percy. Lecture discussion. 2 critical papers (1000-1500 words). Pop tests. 2 hour examination. Texts: Poe: Poetry, Tales and Essays; Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn;
Chopin: The Awakening; Pratt: The Fugitive Poets; Faulkner, Sanctuary; Hurston: Their Eyes WereWatching God; O=Connor: Wise Blood; Percy: The Moviegoer.

ENGL 432-001 ADOLESCENT LITERATURE M-TH 1:00-3:15 JOHNSON

The subject matter of this course is contemporary American young adult literature. Students will examine texts which are in some way related to central ideas about America and Americans of various backgrounds and experiences. Discussion topics will include the meaning of literary excellence in the YA literature world, the politics of the children's book publishing industry, and current issues and controversies in the field, including awards, censorship, gender, authorship, and race.

ENGL 437/WOST 437 WOMEN WRITERS M-TH 8:00-10:15 BEALER

Writing the Female Writer:The figure of the female author has consistently inspired awe and ire throughout literary history. From Nathaniel Hawthorne=s Adamned mob of scribbling women@ to the solitary inhabitant of Virginia Woolf=s ARoom of One=s Own,@ the woman writer is an enigmatic and elusive figure. English 437 will focus on representations of literary women. We will examine how female writers imagine their fictional counterparts through novels, short stories, poetry, and essays, as well as include a few selections from men who write about women who write. The course will also include theoretical texts to enrich our investigation of the literature. Students will complete two close reading exercises and one 12-15 page research paper.

ENGL 450/LING 421 ENGLISH GRAMMAR M-TH 1:00-3:15 DISTERHEFT

An intensive survey of English grammar; sentence structure, the verbal system, discourse, and transformations. Also discussed are semantics, social restrictions on grammar and usage, histories of various constructions, etc. Please read Chapter 1 of the textbook before the first class meeting. REQUIREMENTS: one midterm, one final. TEXT: Dorothy Disterheft, Advance Grammar: a manual for students. Prentice-Hall.

ENGL 463-001 BUSINESS WRITING M-TH 1:00-3:15 STAFF

Extensive practice in different types of business writing, from brief letters to formal articles and reports. For more information, please contact the instructor.

ENGL E463-300 BUSINESS WRITING M-TH 6:00-8:15 GREEN

Extensive practice in different types of business writing, from brief letters to formal articles and reports. For more information, please contact the instructor.

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SUMMER II

ENGL 282-001 FICTION M-TH 1:00-3:15 ELLWANGER

The term fiction (when used to denote a literary genre) is a troublesome one B it is often associated with narrative prose, yet certainly a poem could constitute a fictional account; it would seem to suggest that sort of writing which deviates from the representation of the real or of objectively established truth, yet some works claim to be Abased on a true story,@ which is to simultaneously claim a certain fidelity to the occurrence of actual events and to acknowledge some deviation from their truth. How, then, can we better understand both the category of fiction itself and the ways in which that term circulates in a broader cultural context?

This course will expose you to a wide selection of texts that are considered to be fictional ones in the interest of strengthening your interpretive skills and complicating your notion of how fiction is unique from other types of writing and art in general. The writing that you produce over the course of the semester will allow you time to reflect on some qualities of writing that are common to much fiction. We will pay special attention to the texts we read that offer commentary on writing, text, aesthetics and art B an examination of how fiction and art are discussed within the work of fiction will further our goals in a variety of ways: in addition to exposing us to a variety of texts that highlight the range of stylistic modes subsumed under the term fiction, it will also attune us to some of the aesthetic and cultural assumptions that guide the composition of fictional works.

ENGL 285-001 HEMES IN AMERICAN WRITING M-TH 8:00-10:15 JIVIDEN
(Designed for Non-majors)
This class will explore the myth of the American Dream within the context of gender and socioeconomic status from the 1890s through the twentieth century. We will examine the reality of existence for immigrants who sought better lives on American soil during an era concurrent with the "conspicuous consumption" of the leisure class. We will discuss women's achievement of equal rights (or lack thereof) and how gender influences opportunity. We also will consider the
plight of the American laborer throughout this time, including the socialist movement of the working class in the early half of the century, the rise and fall of unions, and the exchange of domestic industry for a "global economy." How has the American Dream evolved over the twentieth century? To whom was it accessible, and to whom is it still? Why is the myth such a foundation for American tradition? Texts will include Crane's Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Olsen's Yonnondio, and Roth's American Pastoral.


ENGL 285-002THEMES IN AMERICAN WRITING M-TH 10:30-12:45 LURIA
(Designed for Non-majors)
Reading a variety of American texts that exemplify persistent themes of American culture. For more information, please contact the instructor.

ENGL 289 Is Required for English Majors

ENGL 289-001 ENGLISH LITERATURE II M-TH 1:00-3:15 RICE

This course is, first of all, a critical and historical survey of British literature from the end of the eighteenth century through the modernist period, which ends about 1945. We will examine, against the historical and cultural context of their times, the major authors of the so-called ARomantic@ era (principally Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, and Keats), of the Victorian period (principally Tennyson and Browning), and of the modernist movement (principally Conrad, Joyce, Yeats, Woolf, and Eliot).

In addition to giving students experience in reading and critically analyzing literary works in a variety of genres, the course will place emphasis on gaining a better understanding of the technical features that define these genres: form and figurative language for poetry, for example, and the Aelements@ of fiction.

The class will mix informal lecture and discussion. There will be two term-examinations (15% ea.), on the Romantics and Victorians res pectively, and a final examination on the modern period (30%). Students will also write a brief diagnostic explication-essay at the beginning of the term (c. 3 pp.C5%), a brief poem analysis at midterm (c. 3 pp.C10%), and a final limited research paper on fiction (c. 6 pp.C15%). Class attendance and participation grade: 10%

ENGL 384-001 REALISM M-TH 1:00-3:15 STAFF

Literature of Realism in its cultural contexts, explored through representative works. For more information, please contact the instructor.

ENGL 405-001 SHAKESPEARE=S TRAGEDIES M-TH 10:30-12:45 GIESKES

We will read a representative selection of Shakespeare=s tragedies while placing the plays in their dramatic and historical contexts. Our intent will be to read the plays closely as literatureBobjects of verbal art-and as playtextsBscripts for theatrical production. In addition we will attempt to situate Shakespeare=s plays in the context in which they were produced: early modern London. TEXTS: likely to include Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. We will also read extensive selections from McDonald=s Companion to Shakespeare. REQUIREMENTS: three paper, a play or film review, a treatment of one scene, and a final exam.

ENGL 428-001AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE M-TH 10:30-12:45 DAWES

A close textual study of the works of the major African American authors of the last fifty years with close attention to recent African American writers. It will include writers like Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Zora Neal Hurtson, Jean Toomer, James Baldwin and others. Evaluation: Three essays, one research paper, in class presentations and a final exam. TEXT: Norton Anthology of African American Writers, ed., Henry Louis Gates.

ENGL 435-001 E SHORT STORY M-TH 8:00-10:15 RICE

A brief historical survey of the short-story genre, from Hawthorne to the present, and in-depth reading of four international masters of the form: Anton Chekov, Katherine Mansfield, James Joyce, and Jorge Luis Borges. This class will concentrate on close reading, analysis, and interpretation of individual stories, on the cultural contexts of the works, and on theories of narrative. Texts: R.S. Gwynn, ed. Fiction: A Pocket Anthology; A. Chekov, Short Stories; K. Mansfield, Selected Stories; J. Joyce, Dubliners; J.L. Borges, Ficciones; Papers (2): a brief diagnostic essay (c. 2 pp.) and a comparative critical essay (c. 5 pp. ea.); Examinations (2): short answers (possible), identifications, and analytical essay(s). Format: mix of informal lecture and class discussion, with emphasis on the latter.

ENGL 457-001 AFRICAN-AMERICAN ENGLISH M-TH 1:00-3:15 WELDON

This course is designed to introduce students to the structure, history, and use of the distinctive varieties of English used by and among many African Americans in the U.S. In this course, we will examine some of the linguistic features that distinguish African-American English (aae) from other varieties of American English. We will consider theories regarding the history and emergence of aae. We will look at the representation of aae in literature. We will examine the structure and function of various expressive speech events in the African-American speech community. And we will consider attitudinal issues regarding the use of aae, especially as they relate to education and the acquisition of Standard English.

ENGL 462-001 TECHNICAL WRITING M-TH 1:00-3:15 BAILEY

Extensive practice in different types of business writing, from brief letters to formal articles and reports. For more information, please contact the instructor.

ENGL 463-001 BUSINESS WRITING M-TH 10:30-12:45 YITAH

Extensive practice in different types of business writing, from brief letters to formal articles and reports. For more information, please contact the instructor.

ENGL E463-001 BUSINESS WRITING M-TH 6:00-8:15 STAFF

Extensive practice in different types of business writing, from brief letters to formal articles and reports. For more information, please contact the instructor.

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