Department of English: Storrs Campus
Course Description Booklet
Fall 2017
University of Connecticut
Storrs Campus
1
Fall 2017
Course Descriptions
Classes begin Monday, Aug. 28
The pages that follow contain section-by-section descriptions of the Department of English
undergraduate course offerings for the fall 2016 semester at the Storrs campus. Prepared by
individual instructors, these descriptions are much more precise and detailed than those given in
the University Catalog.
English 1004, 1010, and 1011 are omitted from this booklet. Information about these courses can
be obtained from Lisa Blansett at [email protected], in Austin 125, or online at
http://freshmanenglish.uconn.edu/about/. Information on English 2011 is available at
http://www.honors.uconn.edu/academics/courselist.php
Information on graduate courses is available from the Graduate Coordinator, Mary Udal in
Austin 234.
THE UNDERGRADUATE ADVISORY OFFICE
All other questions about the department, its programs, courses, and requirements should be
referred to Inda Watrous in the Department of English Undergraduate Advisory Office. Her office
is in AUST 201B and you are welcome to stop by with questions. The office is open weekdays
from 8:00-11:30 and 12:30-4:00. Inda keeps track of the records for English majors, assigns major
advisors, and generally expedites registration procedures.
A variety of pamphlets are available to English Majors in the office, including "Writing Internship
in the English Department," "English Majors With An Interest In Law," "If You Plan to be an
English Teacher," "Advising Students With An Interest in Business," "Thinking of Graduate Study
in English?," "Counseling Services," and "Career Services". Information on the concentrations in
Creative Writing, Irish Literature, and Teaching English are also available in the Advising Office.
All brochures are available on the department’s website http://english.uconn.edu/undergraduate/ .
If you are considering a minor in English, stop by the office to declare the minor and obtain more
information about the details. The minor in English requires that you take at least one of the
courses in the two-semester sequence in British literature (English 2100 or 2001) and one of the
courses in the two-semester sequence in American literature (English 2201/W or 2203/W). You
have the freedom to put together your own selection of studies beyond that minimum, with a few
exceptions.
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Announcements and brochures concerning Department of English events and English major
programs are posted on the bulletin boards on the second floor of AUST outside of 208 and 209,
and are sent to English majors via the Department of English undergraduate Listserv.
COURSE SELECTION
Following your academic requirements each semester through PeopleSoft is invaluable. You
should also use your assigned Plan of Study for guidance in course selection. Duplicate copies of
your assigned plan can be obtained in the Undergraduate Advisory Office. The courses required for
graduation will vary based on the assigned catalog year.
The Department offers courses that fall under a number of categories that include Literature,
Honors, Advanced Study, Special Topics, and Writing.
HONORS COURSES
Honors courses are limited to fifteen to twenty students in each section. They are open only to
Honors Students or with the consent of the instructor. This semester, we are offering Creative
Writing I 1701-03, Drama 2405-01, and Renaissance English Literature 3113W-01.
ADVANCED STUDY COURSES
All students pursuing a major in English must complete an Advanced Study or Capstone Course.
These courses are restricted to students who have completed English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or
3800 and have junior standing or higher. The advanced study courses offered this semester
include, American Literature 4201W-01: The Human Cost of Capitalism, Ethnic Literature
4203W-01: Spike Lee and Toni Morrison, Poetry 4401W: Byron, Seminars in Literature
4600W: Nabokov, and Literary Criticism and Theory 4601W.
OTHER SPECIAL TOPICS
Special Topics courses such as Literature and Culture of the Third World 3318-01, Studies in
Individual Writers 3509-01: Kerouac and Ginsburg, Studies in Latina/o Literature 3607-01, Studies
in Literature and Culture 3623: Science Fiction. Historical Novel and Graphic Narrative offer a
more specialized look at a particular genre, theme, time period, or relationship between literature
and other disciplines.
WRITING COURSES
While nearly all of the courses in the Department involve written assignments, the primary focus
for some is on the development of the writer. Whether you aspire to literature, have your heart set
on the more commercial world of television, advertising, science, magazine, or children's book
writing, or yearn for the private pleasure of a well-kept journal or a fascinating correspondence,
skill in writing is a basic prerequisite. These courses will help you sharpen your powers of
observation and organization, improve your ability to think clearly, and add a completely new
dimension to your intellectual growth.
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“W” Courses: A “W” course is one in which special attention is devoted to teaching the student to
write clearly and cogently. Substantial writing assignments (at least fifteen pages) are required.
Students may expect to write successive drafts and consult with the instructor on their revisions. A
substantial part of the grade for the course, at least half, must be based on the student’s writing.
Writing is evaluated for both content and expression.
Expository Writing: A facility in expository writing is basic to all forms of writing, including
poetry and fiction. English 3003W-Advanced Expository Writing provides that groundwork.
Remember that 85% of everything that is published is nonfiction, and professional guidance will
expand your capacity to formulate your ideas with coherence and verve.
Creative Writing: This semester, the department offers Creative Writing I 1701, Creative
Writing II 3701, Writing Workshop 3703, and Creative Writing 3711-01: Writing for Child and
Young Adult Readers. In order to register for the upper division Creative Writing courses,
students must receive consent of the instructor. Students attempting to enroll in these courses
must submit materials for review to the instructor(s). Please review the course descriptions for
more details. Please contact the instructor directly with questions.
Other courses available this semester with a focus on the development of the writer include
Writing Practicum: Grammar 3692 and Writing Internship 3091.
Independent Study
Advanced work in creative and expository writing may also be possible through Independent
Study 3699. Independent Study is a one-to-one tutorial with an instructor of your choice.
WRITING INTERNSHIPS
Writing Internships provide a singular opportunity for students to learn to write in a non-academic
setting in which they are supervised by a professional writer. The Department of English has made
revisions to English 3091 to allow more flexibility. English majors have priority of choice;
however, the course is open to applicants from other disciplines. This is a variable credit course,
and students may elect from one to six credits of training. The course may be repeated for credit
with no more than eight credits per placement. Grading is on the S/U scale. Both on-campus and
off-campus placements offering a wide variety of professional experiences are available. For more
information and application materials see the English Department websites:
www.english.uconn.edu, look under undergraduate, then Internships or
http://www.english.uconn.edu/internships/internships.html.
Instructor consent is required to register for an internship. Internship packets are available online
http://english.uconn.edu/overview/ and in the Undergraduate Advisory Office, Austin 201B.
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Time Sheet
Sections by hour
Please note that offerings are subject to change.
The most accurate information will be in the Student Admin system.
MWF 9:05am - 9:55am
1013W-01
1101-02
2100-01
2301W-01
3123W-01
Deans
Gallucci
Rumbo
Coundouriotis
Dickstein
MWF 12:20pm - 1:10pm
1012W-02
1616W-04
2408W-01
3111W
Bird
Testa
Moon
Goodrich
Monday 6:00pm - 8:30pm
3703-01
Litman
MWF 10:10am - 11:00am
1012W-01
1616W-02
2203W-01
2401-03
2411W-01
3212-01
3623-01
3631-01
Bird
Cordon
Russell
Gatten
Mollmann
Schlund-Vials
Bleiler
Coundouriotis
MW 4:40pm - 5:55pm
1201-01
2274W-01
3003W-01
Vials
Duane
Krzywda
MWF 11:15am - 12:05pm
1503-01
1616W-03
2100-02
2203-02
2203W-04
3240-01
3503-01
MW 6:10pm - 7:25pm
1616W-05
Shea, P.
5
Krzywda
Arranged
Wednesday 6:00pm – 8:30pm
3711-01
Rumbo
Cordon
Dickstein
Burns
Testa
Franklin
Gallucci
3091-01
3082-01
Fairbanks, R.
Tonry
TuTh 8:00am - 9:15am
1616W-01
2201W-02
3420-01
3503W-01
Makowsky
Goldman
Capshaw
Reinwald
TuTh 12:30pm - 1:45pm
1616-01
1701-06
2203W-02
2401-01
2407-06
2600-02
3122-01
3207-01
3629-01
2201-02
3113W-01
Phillips
Choffel
Reynolds, Jn
Forbes
Mathews
Knapp
Burke
Eby
Breen
Staff
King’oo
TuTh 3:30pm - 4:45pm
3214W-01
1701-02
1701-03
2100-03
2203W-03
2407-04
3003W-02
3509-01
3613-01
Phillips
Davis
Forbes
Gouws
Courtmanche
Staff
Grossman
Charters
Breen
Tuesday 6:00pm - 8:30 pm
1701-01
Pelizzon
TuTh 9:30am – 10:45am
1103-01
1701-05
2201W-01
2401-04
2405-01
2600-03
3117W-01
3601-01
4201W-01
Reynolds, Js.
Choffel
Goldman
Cohen
Winter
Igarashi
Fairbanks, H.
Sonstroem
Eby
TuTh 12:30pm - 2:15pm
2011-01
2011-02
Salvant
Marsden
TuTh 5:00pm - 6:15pm
2101-01
2407-05
4203W-01
Gouws
Grossman
Cutter
TuTh 11:00am - 12:15pm
1701-04
2100-04
2203-01
2401-02
2407-01
2600-01
3120-01
3320-01
3422-01
3607-01
4401W-01
Cohen
Biggs
Reynolds, Js.
Staff
Knapp
Tonry
Burke
Mathews
Smith
Gebelein
Mahoney
TuTh 2:00pm - 3:15pm
1101-01
2101-02
2201-01
2407-02
2407-03
2409-01
3318-01
3507-01
3611-01
3701-01
4601W-01
Somerset
Smith
Reynolds, Jn
Davis
Codr
Winter
Shringarpure
Semenza
Fairbanks, R.
Cohen
Hogan
Tuesday 8:25am-9:15am
3692-01
Sonstroem
Tuesday 3;30pm - 6:00pm
4600W-01
Thursday 8:25am – 9:15am
3692-02
Sonstroem
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Igarashi
Thursday 6:00pm - 8:30 pm
3701-02
Pelizzon
“W” 1012 BUSINESS WRITING I
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
1012W-01
(MWF 10:10-11:00)
Bird, Trudi
This course provides an introduction to the rhetorical and genre conventions of business writing. Expect to
work on many different kinds of letters, memoranda, reports, press releases, and proposals. Expect to
improve your persuasive skills and become a more effective writer. Depending on the interests of the class,
we may also work on resumes and cover letters for job applications, on job descriptions and letters of
reference, on the various kinds of writings involved in conducting meetings, and on the etiquette of
international correspondence.
Since one goal of business writing is to be concise, most of the assignments will be under a page in length.
Revision of most assignments will be required, after peer review and instructor feedback. The course
requires that these brief written assignments and revisions be submitted on a near-daily basis, beginning on
the first day of class. There will be several short written “one-pagers”, responses to the course readings. You
will need to purchase a hard-copy version of the required text. No electronics will be used during class
meetings.
The course will not duplicate, but will rather supplement BADM4070W and BADM4075W. It is open to all
UConn students.
1012W-02
(See Description Above)
(MWF 12:20-1:10)
Bird, Trudi
“W” 1013 TECHNICAL WRITING I
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
1013W-01
(MWF 9:05-9:55)
Deans, Tom
Through case studies, readings, lectures, and class discussions, we will address the big questions about
context, audience, purpose, and ethics that should be asked in every writing situation; cover several
workplace and scientific genres (reports, proposals, letters, memos, digital communications); learn key
strategies for earning credibility, sequencing information, integrating text with visuals, and testing for
usability; and gain more fluency in technical style. Assignments will include weekly writing projects, a
series of quizzes, an annotated bibliography, and a major collaborative writing project for a local
organization.
1101 CLASSICAL AND MEDIEVAL WESTERN LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
1101-01
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Somerset, Fiona
This course surveys key writings of the ancient and medieval Mediterranean and their dissemination into
western Europe. We will learn to notice how authors rework and even quote older author’s stories in order
to reconsider the problems they raise (love, death, family, war, exile, freedom) in a new cultural context.
You will be expected to do the readings, come to class, and participate in our collective inquiry through
discussion and informal online writing. Other requirements include two short papers and a final exam.
1101-02
(MWF 9:05-9:55)
1103 RENAISSANCE AND MODERN WESTERN LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
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Gallucci, Mary
1103-01
(TuTh 9:30-10:45)
Reynolds, Joseph
This course is a celebration of diversity in terms of perspective and style, and as such, we will have sections
devoted to short fiction, drama, and long fiction. We will include selections from Oscar Wilde,
Hemingway, Joyce, Marquez, Graham Greene, and Kate Chopin amongst others, and leave room in each of
the three sections for students to make suggestions, and always emphasize debate. I also try and emphasize
different types of expression when it comes to the assignments that conclude the three sections. The short
fiction section will be thesis driven, the drama section will provide students with a list of conceptual
response prompts to choose from, and the long fiction section will be an exercise in close reading of
particular passages.
No matter the forum, I will always be looking for an exposition of your reasoning. We reside in the realm
of the humanities—there is no objective truth or finite solutions. As such, declaratory statements mean
nothing—make an honest effort to form a distinct analytical position, and more importantly, tell me why
you think what you think with clarity and explanation, and you will have every chance to succeed to the
outmost in the course. This is my promise.
1201 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN STUDIES
(Also offered as AMST 1201 and HIST 1503) (Not open to students who have passed INTD 276)
1201-01
(MW 4:40-5:55)
Vials, Chris
This course will serve as an introduction to American Studies, a method that studies U.S. culture by
bringing together techniques from across a wide range of disciplines such as literature, history,
anthropology, art history, media studies, political science, economics, and more.
Our major theme for this particular section will be 20th century social movements in the United States – left
and right – and how these movements have been shaped by the world outside U.S. borders. Situating the
U.S. in a global context, we will use literature, photography, radio broadcasts, visual art, political
manifestos, and secondary historical works to examine diverse historical phenomena such as the Great
Depression, Cold War geopolitics, Keynesian and neoliberal economics, immigration, industrialization and
de-industrialization, American socialism and American fascism, racism and racial justice movements, the
“new left” and the “new right,” and the Vietnam War.
1503 INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
1503-01
(MWF 11:15-12:05)
Rumbo, Rebecca
In this introductory course, we will read and discuss a selection of Shakespeare’s poetry and plays
(comedies, tragedies, and histories) in roughly chronological order. Our reading and discussion will take
into account not only the structure and language of the literature, but also the historical, social and artistic
contexts within which Shakespeare lived and wrote. For example, what events shaped the sudden
blossoming of theatre in the 1590s? What restrictions—political, religious, technical—limited the freedom
of playwrights? What conventions governed the theatre? How did Shakespeare adapt when fashions
changed? Should we think of him primarily as a great artist, or as a shrewd businessman?
Class will consist primarily of discussion based on reading assignments. I’ll show film clips whenever
possible, because plays are scripts; they are meant to be seen in performance. But because these are
extraordinarily rich scripts, we will also analyze the elements that contribute to Shakespeare’s reputation as
the greatest writer in English.
We’ll have frequent writing assignments, regularly scheduled quizzes, a midterm and a final. The course is
aimed at non-English majors, but open to English majors who want some grounding in Shakespeare before
the required advanced course.
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1616 MAJOR WORKS OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
1616-01
(TuTh 12:30-1:45)
Phillips, Jerry
It is said that great literary work is not only satisfying as an aesthetic product, it is also compelling as
"equipment for living." In other words, great literary works are powerful commentaries on the tension
between ideals and experience, identity and difference, and social history and the human condition. These
dichotomies, as lived by the individual, are mediated above all by politics, the organization of "community"
into "society." Thus, it might be said that the great topic of the literary masterwork is the morality of a
certain politics. In our time, the political seems identical with a permanent state of crisis. We will be tasked
with the question: what does literature offer in this climate? In this course we will address the complexity
and irreducibility of the political in a range of works, including: Shakespeare, "Julius Ceasar," Joseph
Conrad, "The Secret Agent," Norman Mailer, "The Armies of the Night" and Margaret Atwood, "The
Handmaid's Tale." Course requirements: two papers and a final examination.
“W” 1616 MAJOR WORKS OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
1616W-01
(TuTh 8:00-9:15)
Makowsky, Veronica
Who Am I? Am I the same person I was yesterday? What will I be tomorrow? To what extent do I control
my identity and to what extent is it imposed upon me by my historical and cultural context? We will explore
these questions about identity and change as we read and discuss major works of poetry, drama, and fiction.
In the first half of the course, we will survey some important works from the Renaissance through the
nineteenth century. In the second half of the course, we will focus on modernism and on American ethnic
literature. Students will write and revise six short papers and will also submit a final short paper. Class
participation is essential and will include almost daily in-class writing assignments. The textbook is The
Norton Introduction to Literature (Shorter, Twelfth Edition), and as the title indicates, the course in meant as
an introduction reading and interpreting English and American literature with no background required other
than having met the first-year writing requirement.
1616W-02
(MWF 10:10-11:00)
Cordon, Joanne
“Bad Girls and BFFs”
Thucydides ends Pericles’ funeral oration in his History of the Peloponnesian War (423 BCE) with a word
of advice for war widows in particular and all women in general: “The greatest glory of a woman is to be
least talked about by men, whether they are praising you or criticizing you.” In this class, we are going to
look at texts that contain women who do not conform to this ancient Greek paradigm. We will consider what
makes them bad? And what does the bad in “bad girls” really mean? Is it true, as the quotation often
attributed to Mae West suggests, that good girls go to heaven, but bad girls go everywhere? And do bad girls
make the best friends? To shape our own responses to these questions, we will read a selection of works
with some interesting female characters, which may include some classic fairy tales, Oliver Goldsmith’s She
Stoops to Conquer, Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,
Anita Loos’s Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, and Alice
Walker’s The Color Purple. Course requirements include class discussion, in-class writing workshops, three
essays.
1616W-03
(Please See Description Above)
(MWF 11:15-12:05)
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Cordon, Joanne
1616W-04
(MWF 12:20-1:10)
Testa, Richard
We will read novels and short stories from some of the most popular genres of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Works will include a transatlantic novel, detective stories, social realism fictions, comedies, and stories of
suspense, among others. Movie adaptations of some of the works will also be discussed.
This will not be a lecture course; you will be expected to keep up with the reading and add to each class’s
discussion. The course fulfills a general education requirement. And since this is also a W (writing) course
requirement outside of your major, you will be expected to write and revise at least 15 pages (three 5-page
papers) during the semester.
1616W-05
(MW 6:10-7:25)
Krzywda, Steve
English 1616W starts with Julius Caesar (Signet Classic). Why? Like Orwell’s 1984, this play, given all the
controversy over the ‘16 presidential election, is once again in vogue. Among other things, it showcases
politicians’ using rhetoric and oratory to sway the populace. For poetry, we dine with Andrew Marvell,
“one of the greatest of the 17th century metaphysical poets.” Marvell’s poems are like an eclectic feast. We
will sample nine from the Dover Thrift edition. The main course—John Lanchester’s demonically clever
The Debt to Pleasure (Picador USA). Ostensibly a combo cookbook and travelogue, the novel, replete with
many interesting historical and culinary tidbits, eventually morphs into a murder mystery; the narrator, as it
turns out, is kinked! The Debt to Pleasure is a challenging text; read it well in advance. Course
requirements: three five-page essays (since this is a W course, first and second drafts are mandatory). A
mini grammar lesson will kick-start each class, once and forever dispelling your grammar phobia. The
grammar text is Susan Thurman’s The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need (Adams Media).
1701 CREATIVE WRITING I
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
1701-01
(Tu 6:00-8:30)
Staff
1701-02
(TuTh 3:30-4:45)
Davis, Susanne
In this introductory creative writing course we will read good contemporary fiction and poetry and write
stories and poems of our own, practicing and studying the various elements and techniques of the genres.
We will use a workshop format and the first half of the semester craft exercises to help develop a polished
short story. The second half of the semester will focus on poetry; five poems to go into a final portfolio at
the end of semester. We will read fiction by Hemingway, Diaz, Monroe, Carver, Packer, Alexie and others
from our fiction text, Writing Fiction, by Janet Burroway. We will read poems by Rilke, Oliver, the Beats
and those in our text, The Discovery of Poetry. But just like the craft of writing, this course relies upon the
mysterious something, call it passion, or the creative spirit itself. It does not take a back seat—it wants to
get in front and drive.
1701-03
(TuTh 3:30-4:45)
Forbes, Sean
HONORS SECTION
The Speaker: The Eye of the Poem and the Short Story
According to Frances Mayes, “the poet ‘finds’ the right speaker and the right listener, usually by trying out
several approaches.” In this introduction to creative writing class we will examine the different approaches
that a writer can take when trying to establish a speaker in a poem or short story. We will look at exemplary
works of poetry and fiction from writers like Robert Hayden, Elizabeth Bishop, Richard Blanco, and Justin
Torres. Students will produce a final portfolio of their original work. Class participation is an essential
component to this largely workshop-based course along with weekly writing prompts such as writing in
iambic pentameter and challenging prose sketches.
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1701-04
(TuTh 11:00-12:15)
Cohen, Bruce
This introductory class to creative writing will provide instruction to the craft, techniques and esthetics of
writing poetry and creative nonfiction. Students will also focus on critical analysis of other students’ work
and develop a “community” language for discussing literature; therefore, class participation will be
essential. Students will be required to compose five poems and two creative nonfiction essays. Students will
learn to become acquainted with the “workshop” format and be required to read contemporary poetry and
non-fiction with the end result being to better understand and deepen their appreciation of the practice of
creative writing. Students will also be required to attend at least two readings on campus.
1701-05
(TuTh 9:30-10:45)
Choffel, Julie
This course provides an introduction to the writer’s workshop in poetry, short fiction, and creative
nonfiction. We will approach creative writing as an experimental and highly collaborative process. In this
class you will be required to read and write daily through new styles and forms; to take unexpected turns
and risks in your own writing, to destroy and reconstruct through creative revision, and above all, to
contribute to conversations about the results every day. We will talk and write about what we read and what
we write and what happens next. Immersed in this practice, you will make your own works of short fiction,
nonfiction, and poetry, and revise your strongest works for a final portfolio. Additional class requirements
include regular attendance, timely completion of assignments, and keeping a writer’s journal.
1701-06
(See description above)
(TuTh 12:30-1:45)
Choffel, Julie
2100 BRITISH LITERATURE I
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
2100-01
(MWF 9:05-9:55)
Rumbo, Rebecca
English Lit Survey is primarily a high-volume reading course; our text will be the Norton Anthology of
English Literature: Major Authors, Volume 1, and perhaps a Shakespeare play to be named later. Our
readings will cover 1000 years of English literature during the semester; works will be considered not only
formally, but within social, historical, and artistic context. We will read poetry, drama and prose from the
early and late Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, the Restoration, and the Eighteenth Century.
The course will be arranged chronologically.
Assignments: papers, four quizzes, midterm and final exams.
2100-02
(MWF 11:15-12:05)
Dickstein, Jonathan
This course will review canonical texts from the Old English, Middle English, Early Modern, and
Restoration periods to provide students with a broad understanding of their culturo-historical contexts,
trends, and transformations. Alternating between lecture and discussion, each session will consider generally
and specifically how the remembrance of things past in these texts proves to complicate social, political, and
psychological matters while also being complicated by them. Successful completion of the course will be
evaluated according to a combination of written work and short exams. As only First-Year Writing is a
prerequisite, the course should appeal to both majors and non-majors who want to reflect on some of the
stakes and implications of humanistic inquiry.
2100-03
(TuTh 3:30-4:45)
Gouws, Dennis
This lecture course surveys British literature from the medieval period through the 18th century. Intended to
provide preparation for more advanced courses in British literature, ENGL2100 is strongly recommended
for English majors. Class participation, three tests, and a final exam determine the grade. The required text
is Greenblatt, Stephen et al. Eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume 1, 9th Edition, 2012.
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2100-04
(TuTh 11:00-12:15)
Biggs, Frederick
This course, a survey English literature from the Middle Ages (Beowulf ) to the Eighteenth Century
(Fantomina, by Eliza Haywood), will prepare students for more advanced courses in the field and so is
strongly recommended for English majors; others are of course welcome. Readings selected from the
Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume 1 will be covered by lectures and through discussion.
There will be group reports, two papers, a mid-term, and a final exam.
2101 BRITISH LITERATURE II
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
2101-01
(TuTh 5:00-6:15)
Gouws, Dennis
This lecture course surveys nineteenth- and twentieth-century British literature. Intended to provide
preparation for more advanced courses in British literature, ENGL2101 is strongly recommended for
English majors. Class participation, three tests, and a final exam determine the grade. The required text is
Greenblatt, Stephen et al. Eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume 2, 9th Edition, 2012.
2101-02
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Smith, Victoria Ford
This survey familiarizes the students with British authors from the nineteenth to early twentieth century.
Readings cover a wide variety of genres including the novel, poetry, essay, short story, drama, and
children’s literature. In addition to paying attention to genre and literary movements—an endeavor that will
involve close attention to texts’ formal elements—we will explore the ways authors represent and respond to
their historical, cultural, and political contexts, discussing topics such as nature, art, industrialization, class,
nationalism, imperialism, gender, sexuality, science, and war. Throughout, we will examine literature
alongside other literary and artistic forms, including newspaper articles, legislation, painting, photography,
and the industrial arts. Authors may include Mary Wollstonecraft, John Keats, William Blake, Jane Austen,
Robert Browning, Christina Rossetti, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Hardy, Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot,
and W. B. Yeats, among others. Course texts will include an anthology (edition to be determined), one or
two supplementary novels, and readings made available online. In addition to a demanding reading
schedule, students will be responsible for engaged class participation, a short (2- to 3-page) and longer (6- to
7-page) paper, a midterm, and a final exam.
2201 AMERICAN LITERATURE TO 1880
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800)
2201-01
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Reynolds, John
2201-02
(TuTh 12:30-1:45)
Staff
“W” 2201 AMERICAN LITERATURE TO 1880
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
2201W-01
(TuTh 9:30-10:45)
Goldman, Eric
This class will range broadly over American literature from the writings of the first European explorers and
settlers to the works of Hawthorne, Emerson, Fuller, Whitman, Dickinson, Douglass, and other writers of
the “American Renaissance.” Our discussions will focus on the theme of captivity and freedom in some of
their various forms: physical, legal, psychological, and artistic. More than merely affirm freedom and
denounce captivity and other forms of restriction, the American authors we will study ask us to consider the
complex questions of what kinds of freedom are worth having as well as what kinds of captivity are perhaps
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worth accepting. We will focus discussion not only on these authors’ ideas, but also on features of their
writing that have made them so compelling and provocative to generations of readers.
Students will prepare a written response to discussion questions for each class, write and revise two short
papers and two long ones, give a presentation on a selected topic, and demonstrate comprehension of key
terms and concepts in a final examination.
2201W-02
Please See Description Above
(TuTh 8:00-9:15)
Goldman, Eric
2203 AMERICAN LITERATURE SINCE 1880
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
2203-01
(TuTh 11:00-12:15)
Reynolds, Joseph
I prefer structuring this course as an “author’s” course, giving us the opportunity to take an in-depth,
discursive, and discussion based look at a few giant and influential figures of the last century. We will read
short and long selections from prominent figures like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Heller, Salinger, and
Morrison, and debate their nuances vigorously and openly, with each class discussion originating from your
interpretive reactions. There are no exams. Students will be graded on three formal comparative essays that
accompany the end of each formal section of the course, and a journal, which serves as an informal
collection of your reactions to the readings and discussions throughout the entirety of the term.
No matter the forum, I will always be looking for an exposition of your reasoning. We reside in the realm
of the humanities—there is no objective truth or finite solutions. As such, declaratory statements mean
nothing—make an honest effort to form a distinct analytical position, and more importantly, tell me why
you think what you think with clarity and explanation, and you will have every chance to succeed to the
outmost in the course. This is my promise.
2203-02
(MWF 11:15-12:05)
Burns, Meghan
This class will cover a broad range of American literary texts from 1880 to the present by approaching
certain key issues during this time period: slavery, gender, the frontier, race, war, and class. We will also
consider major literary movements: realism, modernism, and postmodernism. Our examination of these
issues and movements will feature both canonical and non-canonical writing, working to elucidate the
perspectives of marginal voices as well as the more traditional points of view. We will question what is
remembered and eulogized during this span of American literary history, as well as determining what has
been labeled unimportant, buried, ignored, or forgotten.
“W” 2203 AMERICAN LITERATURE SINCE 1880
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
2203W-01
(MWF 10:10-11:00)
Russell, Patrick
2203W-02
(TuTh 12:30-1:45)
Reynolds, John
2203W-03
(TuTh 3:30-4:45)
Courtmanche, Jason
Power, Privilege, and Prejudice in Modern and Contemporary American Literature
The abuse of privilege, the arbitrary exercise of power, the stoking of prejudice for personal advantage. Of
course I’m describing some of the major themes of The Great Gatsby—or any of the other works we will be
reading, discussing, and writing about in this section of American Literature Since 1880.
Building on transactional theories of reading and writing, students will be asked to make connections
between literature and the world, and to compose a term paper that interprets some aspect of our
contemporary world through the lens(es) of the course texts.
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Because this is a W, there will be regular writing work, including response groups and conferences, and the
drafting and revising of a 15 page paper (around 4500 words). I expect regular attendance and participation.
There will be some brief lectures, but expect mostly discussion and small group work.
Required Texts (a preliminary list)
Twain’s Huck Finn, Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Cather’s O,
Pioneers!, Baldwin’s Go Tell It On The Mountain, Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Fitzgerald’s The Great
Gatsby, and McCarthy's Blood Meridian.
2203W-04
(MWF 11:15-12:05)
Testa, Richard
In this course, we will examine short stories and novels from writers of Realistic fictions from the 1880s to
the present. In this day and age, when the truth of daily life seems to be continually questioned, the class
will survey a number of works that call into question the nature of the so-called American Dream. We will
also review adaptations of some works created for other media.
“W” 2274 DISABILITY IN AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
2274W-01
(MW 4:40-5:55)
Duane, Anna Mae
Disability in American Literature and Culture
The term “freaks,” like so many other derogatory epithets, has come to have a two-fold meaning. Originally
meant pejoratively, the word freak has been reclaimed by many within the disabled community as a badge
of difference, as a mark of one’s identity, and as an indication of being extraordinary. In this course we will
explore the ways in which the extraordinary body has been used culturally to help reinforce ideas of
normality. We will ask how disability has been enfolded in depictions of various “others,” including African
Americans, women and children. We will also consider how ideas of disability continue to evolve, and how
our quest for perfection shapes everyone’s future. In the process we will also be engaging a variety of
theoretical questions that have material consequences on social policy, and the lives of people affected by
those policies.
“W” 2301 WORLD LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
2301W-01
(MWF 9:05-9:55)
Coundouriotis, Eleni
A world literature in English is one legacy of the extended history of the British Empire and its aftermath.
Either writing back to empire or appropriating and adapting the English language as their own, postcolonial
subjects have shaped a hugely diverse and rich literary history. We will explore this literature through texts
written in the first person: fiction, memoir, poetry, essays. Key questions for the course will be: how history
shapes the self, what conditions of possibility exist for telling the story of the self, how does world literature
in English respond to literary conventions, is there an evolution in the form of first person writing that can
be detected in the longer historical view from colonialism to the present. Students will fulfill the “W”
requirement by choosing one figure we study in class and writing and revising several assignments on this
one figure. There will also be regular quizzes on the reading to make sure the reading is completed.
2401 POETRY
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
14
2401-01
(TuTh 12:30-1:45)
Forbes, Sean
This course is an introduction to poetry in English, designed to familiarize you with a range of poetic forms
and modes from the 16th through the 21st centuries. We’ll read, discuss, and write about many different
kinds of poems as ways of enjoying their wealth of rhythms, figures, and rhetorical effects. We’ll pay
attention to the way poems sound, you’ll hear poems aloud in class, and at visiting writer events. You’ll also
memorize and recite poems yourself, since memorization allows you inside a poem in a rather magical way.
By the end of the course, you’ll have a good understanding of how content and sound work together in
poetry, and you’ll know a selection of important poems and poetic forms.
2401-02
(TuTh 11:00-12:15)
Staff
2401-03
(MWF 10:10-11:00)
Gatten, Alex
This course will focus on primarily on how poetry is made, rather than what it means. We will explore
major verse forms in English, such as the sonnet, as well as the smaller units that make up those forms, such
as meter and rhyme. Further, we will consider how we can talk about those things in addition to, and
perhaps even as distinct from, what poems might "mean." Additionally, the class will call attention to the
benefits and limits of categorizing poetry into genres and forms throughout historical time periods. Class
sessions will primarily center around discussion of assigned readings of poetry, with occasional contextual
reference, and will include additional in-class writing. Assigned work will likely include two papers and a
final.
2401-04
(TuTh 9:30-10:45)
Cohen, Bruce
This course will focus on the close reading and analysis of verse to expand your appreciation of the
traditions of poetry. We will explore poetic techniques, forms and strategies and learn to critically analyze
poetry. In essence, we will delve into what makes a poem a “poem.” We will discuss some of the various
“schools” of poetry to provide you with some historical context for the sensibilities and conventions of the
poetry. The goal of the course is to expand your interest in poetry to the point that you will read it outside of
class, well after the course has concluded. Course requirements include class participation, quizzes, two
papers, and a final exam.
2405 DRAMA
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800)
2405-01
HONORS SECTION
(TuTh 9:30-10:45)
Winter, Sarah
This course will provide an introduction to the history and performance of drama. We will study
major plays and changing theatrical conventions from classical Greek drama to the present.
Requirements: a 5-7 page paper and an 8-10 page paper; a small group presentation; and a final
exam.
2407 THE SHORT STORY
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
2407-01
(TuTh 11:00-12:15)
Knapp, Kathy
This course will examine short fiction, particularly that originally appearing in The New Yorker, and its role
in reflecting, shaping, and educating the burgeoning middle class of the postwar years. By reading the
stories of John Cheever, John Updike, Philip Roth, and Saul Bellow among others, as well as that of
contemporary writers such as Jhumpa Lahiri, Jamaica Kincaid, George Saunders, and Junot Diaz, we will
see how this fiction has helped the “commuter class” form its identity as it has come to “arrive” in the
suburbs and wrestle with the anxieties peculiar to their station: numbing conformity, debilitated manhood,
15
and, more recently, a rapidly changing and increasingly globalized world. These stories have alternately
offered the middle class a glamorized version of themselves, exposed their weaknesses, preyed upon their
fears, and challenged their assumptions concerning race, gender, and privilege.
2407-02
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Davis, Susanne
In this dynamic seminar class, we will examine some classic American short stories and some contemporary
ones, as well as classic and contemporary international stories. We will begin by looking at select great
American writers (Carver, Cheever, Faulkner, Baldwin, Hemingway, Welty, Packer, Munro and others) and
then move to voices on the other side of the Atlantic (Woolf, Joyce, Chekhov, Murakami, Lahiri and others).
We will discover how each short story is a lens for its time and author, and how short stories become
timeless in helping us lead our lives. Matters of craft and technique create unique effect and we will study
these devices and discuss literary theory, too. One presentation and several short papers required.
2407-03
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Codr, Dwight
This course will entail the study and analysis of the history, formal properties, and political and social
implications of the short story. We will read classic, canonical writers like Poe and O’Connor, as well as
lesser-known recent writers in an attempt to discover what makes a story work, and the way that language
actively shapes the way we think about people, places, events, and things. Among other requirements,
students will be required to keep a journal chronicling their reading experiences, interpretations, and ideas.
2407-04
Please See Description Above
(TuTh 3:30-4:45)
Codr, Dwight
2407-05
(TuTh 5:00-6:15)
Grossman, Leigh
The years from the 1930s through the 1970s were sort of a golden age for commercial short story writers.
With a wide range of popular magazines and less competition from television, long-form novels, and the
nonexistent internet (though more from movies), you could make a living as a commercial short story writer,
and many did. Much of that writing was done, not in glossy literary magazines, but in popular genre
magazines ranging from “pulps” to rack-sized digest magazines.
This class will look at some of the best short story writing in genre magazines from the 1930s to today, with
a focus on the relationship between the writer and the audience, and the technical side of short story writing.
We’ll look less at larger themes than on specific writing techniques and the ways stories achieve particular
literary effects, evoke particular emotional responses, and solve particular narrative problems. Each class we
will look at one or two stories in context, focusing on what the writer intended to achieve with the story and
how they would be read by contemporary audiences.
2407-06
(TuTh 12:30-1:45)
Mathews, Rebecca
This course introduces the ever-popular genre of the short story through a critical study and an analysis of an
extensive selection of short stories from different parts of the globe and from various periods in literary
history. This study encourages an exploration of a set of wide-ranging themes and techniques employed by
these writers and attempts to promote an in depth examination, interpretation and understanding of human
nature.
Course Requirements: As this course involves discussions, quizzes, presentations and written responses,
participation in classroom activities is mandatory. Students are expected to read the assigned literature for
each class, as well as all the relevant material from the Commentary and the Casebook sections of the text in
order to be prepared for in-class activities. These include active participation in discussions, presentations,
in-class writing, a mid-term exam and a final essay.
“W” 2408 MODERN DRAMA (Formerly offered as 3406)
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
16
2408W-01
(MWF 12:20-1:10)
Moon, Sarah
In this course, we'll read, discuss and conduct class projects around a series of 15-20 Modern British,
American, and Continental plays including the work of Bertolt Brecht, Eugene Ionesco, Amiri Baraka and
Maria Irene Fornes. The course will progress chronologically, considering with each play the social and
historical context in which it was written and public response to its initial production. As a W class, writing
will be a significant component of the course with regular in-class free writes, several short papers and two
long papers. The second long paper will be connected to final group projects taking a dramaturgical
response to one of the plays read in the course. Classes will be a combination of lecture and discussion with
students assisting in discussion facilitation. This course is open to students who have previously taken
English 1010, 1011 or 2011.
2409 THE MODERN NOVEL (Formerly offered as 3409)
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
2409-01
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Winter, Sarah
This course will examine modernist transitions in narrative technique and the representation of psychology
and language, as well as the changing historical, cultural, and aesthetic frameworks of novels by Thomas
Hardy, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, E. M. Forster, and Zora Neale Hurston.
The course will also serve as an introduction to narrative theory. Requirements: midterm; final; a short
critical analysis paper and presentation; 6-7 page final paper.
“W” 2411 POPULAR LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
2411W-01
(MWF 10:10-11:00)
Mollmann, Steven
The Apocalypse and After
Apocalyptic literature has been consistently popular across the twentieth century, and the twenty-first
century shows no signs of this changing. Ever since it became possible to conceptualize that mankind could
destroy the world, we have wanted to see it happen. This course will take in a number of popular novels
featuring the apocalypse, especially those where the process of rebuilding afterwards is foregrounded: H. G.
Wells’s The Time Machine, Nevil Shute’s On the Beach, Octavia Butler’s Dawn, Brian K. Vaughan’s Y:
The Last Man, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, and Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games. We will
also watch films (The World, the Flesh and the Devil and Planet of the Apes) and episodes of television
programs (The Twilight Zone, Survivors, The 100, and True Detective). Critical readings from literary
studies and philosophy will be assigned.
Class time will consist of brief lectures, seminar-style discussions, small group work, and in-class writing.
Over the course of the semester, students will be expected to produce at least fifteen pages of revised writing
in the form of a five-page midterm essay and a ten-page final research essay. In addition, students will
demonstrate comprehension of key concepts and readings in a series of quizzes and/or response papers.
2600 INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY STUDIES
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to English Majors, others with instructor’s consent)
2600-01
(TuTh 11:00-12:15)
Tonry, Kathleen
This course is an introduction to the English major, and an extended exploration of what we do with books.
How does one read like a scholar, like a critic? What does it mean to analyze a text, what are the multiple
ways to do that, and why do we say “text” instead of “book” anyway? Over the semester, we’ll use a
handful of literary works – some old, some new – to engage a wide range of critical techniques and
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vocabularies. Assignments will include a midterm and final, several brief papers, and an annotated
bibliography.
2600-02
(TuTh 12:30-1:45)
Knapp, Kathy
This course introduces you to the field of literary studies and its central questions and methodologies. We
will begin by reading poetry to give you a brief historical overview of the major literary movements. Then
we will engage different theoretical approaches and apply these to a wide swath of poetry as well as to short
stories, essays, a novel, and a film, focusing on what is involved in composing a literary critique and
engaging with other literary scholars, and, it must be said, the larger world. Time constraints mean that your
tour of the major historical and theoretical movements is necessarily whirlwind. This course is meant to
launch you on your way by providing key terms and a skeletal framework to help you commence doing the
things that English majors do: we will read critically, write critically, and think critically about the texts
before us, recognizing that the more we practice these interrelated skills and develop an ever deeper
contextual pool, the more difficult and gratifying the work becomes.
2600-03
(TuTh 9:30-10:45)
Igarashi, Yohei
The one course that every English major takes, “Introduction to Literary Studies” reflects on literary studies
itself and focuses on the important methods that drive and define the academic discipline of “English.”
Readings include Lydia Davis short stories, a novel or two, portions of Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie
Queene and an assortment of other English poets, and readings about the history of literary studies. The
course covers the following: literary interpretation; key literary and rhetorical terms; some background on
English as a university discipline; research using bibliographical tools like the MLA Bibliography; some
literary criticism and theory; and how to devise and write a good literary critical essay.
“W” 3003 ADVANCED EXPOSITORY WRITING
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to juniors or higher)
3003W-01
(MW 4:40-5:55)
Krzywda, Steve
The mission of this course is to refresh and improve those skills associated with expository, persuasive and
analytical essays. That would include, among other things, how to exploit the full potential of the intro, main
body and conclusion, especially the third component of the summary wherein a student connects some
bigger dots. We will peruse some sample “A” papers. We start each class with a mini grammar lesson that
will once and forever rid students of their grammar phobia. While there is a grammar text—Susan
Thurman’s The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need—there is no main text. Instead, we will rely on
articles from Harpers, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker and The Economist. The semester starts with
three short essays. We will cap off the course with a five-page term paper (students will choose their own
topic). Since this is a W course, first and second drafts are mandatory. Most students leave this course
feeling notably more confident about the fundamentals of composition.
3003W-02
(TuTh 3:30-4:45)
Grossman, Leigh
A hands-on approach to writing, the course focuses on composing and revising a longer work in each
student's area of interest. Students will be expected to write quickly and effectively, and to learn how to
usefully critique other students' work—as well as their own. Each student will set writing goals for an
approximately 30,000-word project with the instructor at the beginning of the semester, and will be expected
to achieve those goals. Between your project and written critiques, expect to write about 150 pages in
standard manuscript format over the course of the semester.
3082 WRITING CENTER PRACTICUM
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
Instructor Consent Required
18
3082-01
(Days and Hours Arranged.)
Tonry, Kathleen
This practicum introduces tutors to current Writing Center and Writing Across the Disciplines scholarship,
and supports undergraduate research projects in those fields. Students will design research projects with the
goal of presenting work at regional and national conferences. Please note: This is open by instructor
consent, and is designed for current Writing Center staff.
3091 WRITING INTERNSHIP
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011. Open to juniors or higher. Credit and hours by arrangement,
not to exceed six credits per semester. May be repeated for credit.)
Instructor Consent Required
3091-01
(Hours Arranged)
Fairbanks, Ruth
Writing Internships
Writing Internships provide unique opportunities for students to write in non-academic settings in which
they are supervised by professional writers. Increasingly internships are recognized as an important aspect of
undergraduate education; and many employers prefer applicants with internship experience. English majors
have priority of choice for English 3091, but the course is open to students in other disciplines. Both oncampus and off-campus placements offering a wide variety of professional experiences are available. This is
a variable-credit course, and students may elect from one to six credits of training. Grading is on the
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory scale. The course may be repeated for credit with no more than eight credits per
placement.
Placements have included Cashman & Katz Advertising, Connecticut Landmarks, Connecticut Public
Broadcasting, Inc., Connecticut Public Radio, Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, Eastern
Connecticut Healthcare Network, Globe Pequot Press, The Hartford Courant, Hartford Advocate, The
Governor’s Prevention Partnership, Legal Assistance Resource Center of Connecticut, The Dodd
Research Center and Archive, Mystic Seaport, New Britain Museum of American Art, UConn Alumni
Foundation, UConn School of Pharmacy, UConn Women’s Center, and Von der Mehden Development
Office. Many other placements are available. Consent Required. See Inda Watrous in CLAS 201B for
application materials and review the information packet for additional information.
“W” 3111 MEDIEVAL ENGLISH LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
3111W-01
(MWF 12:20-1:10)
Goodrich, Micah
Medieval English Literature addresses texts predominately created, circulated, and reimagined within
what is now known as the island of Great Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland. We will begin with the
earliest texts known in English such as Beowulf and move temporally through the language marking
periods of linguistic change. Students will encounter riddles with double-entendres, elegies that will keep
you up at night, disorderly debates between birds, saints with a chip on their shoulder, psychedelic dream
poems, a somewhat debauched band of cranky pilgrims’ stories, mystical visions, and mystery plays that
were performed in processions through towns. We will be working with the original language of texts
throughout the course, but texts that pose difficulty will be given in translation. Most importantly this
course will situate medieval English literature on a global stage and ask how other linguistic, social, and
religious traditions influenced the medieval English canon as we have come to understand it today.
Students will be required to do daily readings, short responses, and a group project. All of the in-class
writing and shorter assignments will act as scaffolding to help each student produce two papers, a midterm and a final paper. There will be no final exam in the course. Participation is, of course, fundamental.
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“W” 3113 RENAISSANCE ENGLISH LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
3113W-01
(TuTh 12:30-1:45)
King’oo, Clare
HONORS SECTION
This course, designed with Honors students in mind, delves into the major writers and literary traditions of
England from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth century (or, roughly,
from Sir Thomas More and Sir Thomas Wyatt to John Donne and John Milton). Our principal aim will be to
familiarize ourselves with the most popular genres of the time, including autobiography, martyrology, lyric
verse, epic poetry, prose fiction, and drama. We will also investigate how the literature of the period
interacted with contemporary social, cultural, and economic upheavals—such as the arrival of the printing
press, the development of Humanist thought, the growth of capitalist enterprise, the exploration and
conquest of the new world, the expansion of the enclosure movement, and the often-violent religious
conflicts of the Reformation. Our discoveries will be the focus of our own rigorous writing practices, as we
work on improving our argumentative and stylistic skills through a range of reports and essays (with
revisions). Lively participation in class discussions will be expected and warmly encouraged. Students who
have already completed an early English literature course (British Literature I, Medieval English Literature,
or Shakespeare, for example) will be particularly well prepared for this class.
“W” 3117 ROMANTIC BRITISH LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
3117W-01
(TuTh 9:30-10:45)
Fairbanks, H.
The Romantic Period was a time when many people in Britain hoped and believed that their world was on
the verge of a tremendous change in which the old institutions of the ancient régime—monarchies, religious
hierarchies, rigid class structures, and stultifying gender roles—would crumble and be succeeded by
liberation of the divine in man. On the other side, defenders of the status quo perceived these reformers to be
dangerous “enthusiasts” who threatened to overturn civic order. We shall read works addressing these
themes by poets including Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, P.B. Shelley, and Keats as well as some
less well-known figures; by two or three novelists including Jane Austen; and by polemicists such as
Wollstonecraft. Assignments include three papers, a midterm, and a final.
3120 IRISH LITERATURE IN ENGLISH TO 1939
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to juniors or higher)
3120-01
(TuTh 11:00-12:15)
Burke, Mary
This course will situate Irish drama, prose, and poetry up to the mid-twentieth century in its evolving
linguistic, historical, social, political, economic and religious contexts. We will read works by some (but not
all) of the following: Brian Merriman, G.B. Shaw, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory
and J.M. Synge. A number of Irish films or films on an Irish theme will be screened during the course. The
course is predicated on group discussion. Writing: a practice essay, a mid-term paper, and a final exam. This
class fulfills one of the four courses focusing on Irish Literature or Language required for the Concentration
in Irish Literature, which is open to English majors.
3122 IRISH LITERATURE IN ENGLISH SINCE 1939
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to juniors or higher)
20
3122-01
(TuTh 12:30-1:45)
Burke, Mary
This course will situate contemporary Irish drama, prose, and poetry in its evolving historical, social,
linguistic, and political contexts. No previous knowledge of Irish writing or culture is assumed. Authors to
be discussed include Seamus Heaney, Pat McCabe, Martin McDonagh, Conor McPherson and Marina Carr.
A number of contemporary Irish films or films on a contemporary Irish theme (e.g. McDonagh’s 2005
Oscar-winning short) will be screened during the semester. Class is generally predicated on group
discussion and class presentation. Writing: a practice essay, a midterm paper, film reports, and a final exam.
“W” 3123 BRITISH LITERATURE FROM 1890 TO THE MID TWENTIETH CENTURY
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800. Not open for credit to student who have not completed
3119/W)
3123W-01
(MWF 9:05-9:55)
Dickstein, Jonathan
This course will review both canonical and underrepresented texts from the Fin-de-siècle, Modernist, and
Postmodernist periods of British literature to provide students with a broad understanding of their culturohistorical contexts, trends, and transformations. Mostly discussion-based, each session will consider
generally and specifically how the relationship between subjectivity and language in these texts proves to
bear on both the forms and contents of personal and public experiences. Being writing intensive, the course
will be evaluated according to the successful submission of drafts and edited versions of a series of
thematically framed essays. As only First-Year Writing is a prerequisite, the course should appeal to both
majors and non-majors who want to reflect on some of the stakes and implications of humanistic inquiry.
3207 AMERICAN LITERATURE SINCE THE MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to sophomores or higher)
3207-01
(TuTh 12:30-1:45)
Eby, Clare
Concentrating on fiction that breaks new ground (particularly in terms of narrative form and structure), this
class begins with two classics from shortly after the middle of the 20th century: Sylvia Plath’s vivid and
disturbing The Bell Jar, an acid-sharp examination of the position of women in midcentury America; and
Thomas Pynchon’s wacky, conspiratorial, postmodern quest narrative, The Crying of Lot 49. We then move
on to Art Spiegelman’s holocaust narrative and autobiography Maus (the text that, more than any other,
established the graphic novel as a serious art form). Next, we sample texts from the 21st century.
One likely candidate is Jennifer Egan’s stunningly interlocking short stories, A Visit from the Goon
Squad, which experiments with narrative form to pose questions about how technology changes social
interactions. Another is Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which uses first person narration to
disarm and ultimately implicate the American reader in international events. We will probably read Gary
Shteyngart's satirical dystopia, Super Sad True Love Story, and definitely read the heartbreaking,
multigenerational saga of exile, Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. There will be seven
or so books total. Requirements: regular quizzes and in-class writing, a midterm, a final, and lots of class
discussion.
3212 ASIAN AMERICAN LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 3800; open to juniors or higher) (Also offered as AASI 3212)
3212-01
(MWF 10:10-11:00)
Schlund-Vials, Cathy
We will consider the many histories, experiences, and cultures that shape Asian American Studies, an
interdisciplinary field marked by what cultural critic/literary scholar Lisa Lowe observed is heterogeneity,
hybridity, and multiplicity. Through history, literature, drama, photography, and documentary film, we will
examine dominant characterizations of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans alongside the works of
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authors and other cultural producers who challenge these notions. Racial formation, immigration,
citizenship, transnationalism, gender, class, and war will serve as initial themes for the course.
“W” 3214 BLACK AMERICAN WRITERS I
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800; open to juniors or higher) (Also offered as
AFRA 3214W)
3214W-01
(TuTh 3:30-4:45)
Phillips, Jerry
Ralph Ellison noted that African American history is "a most intimate part of American history." The great
American questions of freedom, democracy, opportunity, individuality and progress are all highlighted by
the African American experience. But Ellison also noted that African American history goes right to the
heart of the core ontological issues of the human condition: "Who am I, what am I, why am I and where?" In
this course, we will trace out the political, historical and philosophical controversies that have marked
African American literature across the ages. Our goal is to understand the cognitive, imaginative and moral
frames in which writers have made their aesthetic choices. Like all artists, the African American writer is
fundamentally concerned with reality, in all its actuality and potentiality. The artist well knows that
American historical reality has its traumatic side, but it also has its hopeful aspect, and the artist would not
lose sight of that, lest their vision leads to nihilism. Writers to be studied include: Frederick Douglass,
W.E.B. Du Bois, Richard Wright, Toni Morrison and Colson Whitehead.
3240 AMERICAN NATURE WRITING
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 3800; open to juniors or higher)
3240-01
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Franklin, Wayne
This course surveys how Americans have conceived of and written about the natural environment from the
colonial era to the present. We will read a variety of different kinds of texts, including Thoreau’s Walden.
Other readings will be drawn from the following: John Muir’s My First Summer in the Sierra, Mary
Austin’s Land of Little Rain, John Steinbeck’s Log from the Sea of Cortez, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring,
John Graves’s Goodbye to a River, Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire, and Terry Tempest Williams’s
Refuge. Students will keep nature journals.
3318 LITERATURE AND CULTURE OF THE THIRD WORLD
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800. May be repeated for credit with a change in topic)
3318-01
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Shringarpure, Bhakti
Topic: African Classics
Though literary and cultural traditions of the African continent are vast, we will limit ourselves to available
English language texts that are foundational to African literary history. We will start with the Epic of
Sundjata and make our way to some of the important novels from early and mid-twentieth century. Readings
will include works by Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Chinua Achebe, Ousmane Sembene, Ama Ata Aidoo, J.M
Coetzee, Mariama Bâ, Ayi Kwei Armah and Tayeb Salih among others. Film will also be incorporated with
an eye towards adaptation theories. We will explore the role of colonialism, the concept of a classic and a
canon, literary history, issues of gender, and questions of genre. Student will be expected to participate in
class discussions, take two essay exams and complete a digital project.
3320 LITERATURE AND CULTURE OF INDIA
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 3800; open to juniors or higher. Not open for credit to students who
have passed English 3318, if taught as topic “India”)
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3320-01
(TuTh 11:00-12:15)
Mathews, Rebecca
The objective of this course is to offer a passage to India through a selection of representative literary works
and films. It provides an overview of ancient as well as contemporary aspirations of a country that is
traditionally recognized as the birthplace of numerous religions, philosophy, and great works of literature. In
addition, it is now also emerging as a major player in the global economy. The goal of this course is to
examine and understand the seeming paradoxes of a country that celebrates diversity even as it successfully
synthesizes varied linguistic, religious, cultural and political forces.
As this course involves discussions, quizzes, presentations and written responses, participation in classroom
activities is mandatory. Students are expected to read the assigned literature for each class and be prepared
for the activities in class. Course requirements include active participation in discussions and presentations,
a mid-term exam, in-class writing and a final essay.
3420 CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
3420-01
(TuTh 8:00-9:15)
Capshaw, Kate
This course examines the features of the modern canon of children’s literature, analyzing children’s books
both as works of art and as powerful cultural influences. The class begins by studying landmark fairy tales
like Cinderella, Puss-in-Boots, and Sleeping Beauty, noting their roots in oral culture as well as their
significance to contemporary child readers. We will then turn to the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, the “golden age” of children’s literature by examining Alice in Wonderland and The Secret
Garden. We will study the interaction of text and image in Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things
Are. We will then investigate the role of children’s literature to the Harlem Renaissance by reading poems
by Langston Hughes, pageants by schoolteachers, and didactic material by prominent religious and political
figures. Finally, we will explore modern canon formation by considering issues of ethnicity and form in
contemporary children’s and young adult books, including Rita Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer,
Shawn Tan’s The Arrival, and Sherman Alexie’s Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The second
half of the course focuses on writers of color.
3422 YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to juniors or higher. Not open to students who have
passed English 201)
3422-01
(TuTh 11:00-12:15)
Smith, Victoria Ford
In the 1980s, David Lubar writes, young adult literature gave us “837 rapes, 943 murders, 1,247 suicides,
12,457 dead parents, 19,382 dead pets, and three smiles.” The assumption that these books are melodramatic
and formulaic has led many critics to dismiss YA literature as a lowbrow pit stop between children’s and
adult literature. However, in recent years YA has enjoyed unprecedented popularity among audiences of
children, adults, and teens. While adolescent literature must claim its duds as well as its victories, we will
spend this semester taking the genre seriously.
Our discussions and readings will examine YA literature in two ways. First, we will think about YA texts,
both historical and contemporary, as cultural artifacts. How do authors imagine young adults, as characters
and as readers, and what can we learn about shifts in the significance of adolescence from these books and
readers’ responses to them? How do authors represent the experiences of growing up in a variety of
environments and circumstances—and, in particular, how do texts for young adult readers answer the
demand for diversity? And how does YA affirm or contradict the culture and discourse of adolescence acted
out in everything from music and fashion to education and neuroscience? Second, we will discuss YA books
as literary and aesthetic texts approachable through a range of critical frameworks, including theories of
narrative, gender, and trauma. What techniques and innovations do authors for young adults employ? How
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can we discuss their use of voice, structure, genre, and illustration? What critical frameworks are most
useful in examining young adult literature? We will end the semester not with an authoritative definition of
YA, as its boundaries are constantly in flux, but instead with a firm grasp of how to read texts for
adolescents—and why. Readings will include primarily fiction from the 1960s forward, including authors
such as S. E. Hinton, Judy Blume, Paul Zindel, Robert Cormier, Francesca Lia Block, E. Lockhart, Isabel
Quintero, Jandy Nelson, and Jason Reynolds, among others. Students will be evaluated on regular and
engaged class participation and a series of written assignments—likely a short (3-4 page) and a longer (7-8
page) paper, a midterm, and a final exam.
3503 SHAKESPEARE I
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
3503-01
(MWF 11:15-12:05)
Gallucci, Mary
“W”3503 SHAKESPEARE I
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011)
3503W-01
(TuTh 8:00-9:15)
Reinwald, Elizabeth
This course will explore Shakespeare, dramatist and poet, by developing a sense of his dramatic career and
situating him within the political and social environment of sixteenth and seventeenth century London
theater culture. We will focus mainly on his major works, but we will examine a few lesser known plays as
well. My main goal is to foster appreciation and understanding of Shakespeare’s artistry, major concerns,
and continued relevance. To that end, we will consider dramatic structure, language, and historical context,
explore the major dramatic genres in which Shakespeare worked, look at some of the themes Shakespeare
explored, and discuss the basic terms and tools of early modern drama. We will also be reading and
analyzing a number of contemporary critical responses to and filmic interpretations of Shakespeare as part
of our discussion of his continued relevance and impact on contemporary culture. Through our close
analysis of his texts, and your own personal analyses in the papers you write, we will develop and improve
your skills in textual analysis, close reading, and convincing argumentation.
3507 MILTON
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to juniors or higher)
3507-01
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Semenza, Greg
Paradise Lost is arguably the most influential—and perhaps the most controversial—poem in the English
language. Its author, John Milton, is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented figures in popular
culture. Often labeled a “puritan” (a term whose Renaissance meaning is extraordinarily complex) by
modern readers who mean to highlight what they perceive as the man’s conservatism, Milton was by
seventeenth-century standards a heretical thinker and writer. Further, we might accurately call him the most
radical pre-twentieth-century author in the English literary canon, a man whose radicalism was especially
well understood by his contemporaries. Milton was also a great writer, of course. His great epic poem is a
treasure trove of beautiful poetry, mind-bending theological twists and turns, sublime imagery, and one of
the most mesmerizing anti-heroes in world literature. Paradise Lost is a poem that warrants reading and rereading, and it never ceases to yield new wonders.
In this class, we will read Paradise Lost of course, but also enough of Milton’s other poetry and prose to
keep the poem in proper perspective. Other primary readings will include a selection of the early poetry,
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Comus, Areopagitica, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes, as well as a number of modern
adaptations of Milton’s work. Assignments will include participation, short papers, a midterm, and a final
examination.
3509 STUDIES IN INDIVIDUAL WRITERS
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to juniors or higher)
3509-01
Kerouac and Ginsburg
(TuTh 3:30-4:45)
Charters, Ann
3601 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800; open to juniors or higher)
3601-01
(TuTh 9:30-10:45)
Sonstroem, David
Each day we read, hear, write, and speak thousands of words and sentences without paying much attention
to the language that we use. This course is designed to make us more aware of what we are doing when we
use English. We shall focus in particular on English syntax (the patterns into which we 28 arrange our
words) and English usage (the sometimes logical, sometimes arbitrary conventions that direct our phrasing).
Many students who enroll in English 3601 plan to teach English in high school or middle school. This
course is designed to help them thoroughly master what they will be teaching there. English 3601 helps
them achieve this mastery not only by presenting matters of syntax and usage in the abstract but also by
offering frequent quizzes, to enable students to recognize grammatical constructions wherever they occur.
The grade for the course will be determined by frequent (7-10) quizzes and by a final exam
3607 STUDIES IN LATINA/O LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English1010 or 1011 or 2011 or instructor consent; open to juniors or higher. May be repeated
for credit with a change of topic) (Also offered as LLAS 3233)
3607-01
(TuTh 11:00-12:15)
Gebelein, Anne
Hybridity, Sexuality and Transitional Identity Among Latinx Youth
This course is a collaboration between faculty in El Instituto and students in the Latinx Book Club. All are
welcome to join in a conversation about contemporary identity among Latinx youth; we will consider its
joys and its complications in a variety of formats, including novels, memoirs, poetry and spoken word. This
course will be discussion-driven and both students and faculty will have the opportunity to direct
conversations about writing that they find meaningful, as well as learn about literary theory together as it
relates to readings chosen. We will read writers such as Diane Guerrero, Raquel Cepeda, Junot Diaz, Daniel
Alarcon, Salvador Plascencia, Rigoberto Gonzalez and Gabby Rivera, among others. Different faculty will
be invited to participate in a “book club” environment and share how they relate course themes to their own
constructions of Latinidad. Some of the themes we will explore include the increasing hybrid identity of
today’s Latinx youth, who are often bicultural, bilingual and binational; transnational loyalties and the
impact of immigration on families and identity; and intersections of queer and Latinx identity. Coursework
includes papers, leading class discussion, and a final exam.
3611 WOMEN’S LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800; open to juniors or higher) (Also offered as
WGSS 3611)
25
3611-01
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Fairbanks, R.
This course will focus primarily on British and American writers and consider the short fiction, drama,
novels, and poetry that demonstrate aesthetic and political shifts in Women’s Literature from about the turn
of the 20th century to the present. We will consider writers such as H.D., Sarah Orne Jewett, Charlotte
Perkins Gilman, Kate Chopin, Willa Cather, Djuna Barnes, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Ann Sexton,
Margaret Edson, Sarah Ruhl (and others) as well as numerous literary directions (Realism, Imagism,
Modernism, Expressionism, Surrealism, and Symbolism). Course Requirements: Midterm, Final, oral
reports, two papers, quizzes, class participation.
3613 INTRODUCTION TO LGBT LITERATURE
(Also offered as WGSS 3613)
3613-01
(TuTh 3:30-4:45)
Breen, Margaret
This course provides an overview of LGBT literature from the mid twentieth century forward. We will focus
on the ways in which gender and sexual acts, desires, and identity categories shape our understanding and
literature’s representation of LGBT culture. Some of the questions to which we will pay special attention are
the following: Whose gender and sexual lives count; whose do not? How do gender, gender identity, gender
and sexual acts, sex, sexuality, race, and class figure as determining factors as to whether or not one is
considered fully human or, in terms of the state, a fully enfranchised citizen? How and when can literature
(and, more specifically, storytelling) grant voice and agency to the disenfranchised? How are literary
conventions (modes of storytelling, metaphors, images, and so on) gendered, raced, and so on? How do
innovations in narrative form and style resist or even overturn readers’ class-, race-, and gender-marked
assumptions and expectations? What does it mean to be a queer reader?
Likely texts include mid-twentieth-century novels such as Clare Morgan’s [Patricia Highsmith’s] The Price
of Salt and James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room; late twentieth-century works such as Jeanette Winterson’s
semi-autobiographical novel Oranges are not the Only Fruit, Leslie Feinberg’s trans classic, Stone Butch
Blues, and Tony Kushner’s play about AIDS, Angels in America; and recent works such as Hasan Namir’s
God in Pink and Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees. Requirements: 1 hourly exam (essay format);
2 essays (6-7 pages); 1 final exam (essay format)
3623 STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND CULTURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800. May be repeated for credit with a change in topic)
3623-01
(MWF 10:10-11:00)
Bleiler, Richard
Science Fiction
We will examine major genre science fiction texts (including the occasional motion picture and graphic
novel) written in English between 1888 and the present. We will discuss pulp magazines, cyberpunk,
steampunk, alternative worlds, aliens, utopian and dystopian literatures, individual rights, space and time
travel, outer and inner spaces, robots and androids, the past and the future, and (re)presentations of gender
and social systems. The natures of “serious” and “escape” literature will also be examined, as will Ursula
K. LeGuin’s statement that, “if we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s
our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!” At the conclusion of this course, all
students will be asked to formulate a definition of science fiction, and provide relevant examples from the
primary and secondary readings, or explain in detail why they are unable to provide such a definition, also
with examples from the primary and secondary readings. Attendance and participation are essential.
Students will be required to write a one-page opinion paper on each novel, to be submitted before the novel
is discussed in class. All students will be asked to give a 5-minute oral reports on authors being read and
movements being studied, presenting essential information. In addition, students will write two research
papers and collaborate on two group projects.
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3629 INTRODUCTION TO HOLOCAUST LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to sophomores or higher. Not open for credit to students
who have passed 3623 or 3619 when taught as Holocaust literature)
3629-01
(TuTh 12:30-1:45)
Breen, Margaret
What does it mean to create art from the ashes? In studying literature of the Holocaust we will explore how
trauma shapes identity and consider the commitment to write: to document the unspeakable. We will
engage a variety of genres, including essay, memoir, poetry, fiction, and documentary film. All of these
share an absolute imperative – at times even a compulsion – to tell their story. If is true, as Elie Weisel
claims, that at Auschwitz not only man died but the idea of man, how do we now conceive of the
human? How do we survive? As reader-listeners, we witness the human spirit’s drive to remember and be
remembered.
Likely texts include Wiesel’s Night, Levi’s Survival in Auschwitz, Tec’s Dry Tears, Frank’s Diary of a
Young Girl, Delbo’s Auschwitz and After, Spiegelman’s Maus, and Desbois’s Holocaust by Bullets.
Documentaries: Night and Fog, Shoah, and Weapons of the Spirit. One 5-7-page midterm essay; one hourly
exam; one 10-page final essay.
3631 LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND HUMANITARIANISM
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to sophomores and higher. (Also offered as HRTS 3631)
3631-01
(MWF 10:10-11:00)
Coundouriotis, Eleni
A world literature in English is one legacy of the extended history of the British Empire and its aftermath.
Either writing back to empire or appropriating and adapting the English language as their own, postcolonial
subjects have shaped a hugely diverse and rich literary history. We will explore this literature through texts
written in the first person: fiction, memoir, poetry, essays. Key questions for the course will be: how history
shapes the self, what conditions of possibility exist for telling the story of the self, how does world literature
in English respond to literary conventions, is there an evolution in the form of first person writing that can
be detected in the longer historical view from colonialism to the present. Students will fulfill the “W”
requirement by choosing one figure we study in class and writing and revising several assignments on this
one figure. There will also be regular quizzes on the reading to make sure the reading is completed.
3692 WRITING PRACTICUM
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to juniors or higher. Maybe repeated for credit with a
change in topic)
3692-01
(Tu 8:25-9:15)
Sonstroem, David
Grammar
Your last chance to learn to write better. A rapid review of basic grammatical principles and a consideration
of strategies and techniques of expository composition. Very frequent, very short assignments. Text to be
determined.
3692-02
Please see the description for 3692-01
(Th 8:25-9:15)
3701 CREATIVE WRITING II
(Prerequisite: English 170. May be repeated once for credit)
Instructor Consent Required
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Sonstroem, David
3701-01
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Cohen, Bruce
Musings: Poetry & Prose: the Cross-Genre
This class is designed for students who have a serious interest in writing and discussing poetry and
exploring the new cross-genre that combines both prose & poetry: not prose poems per se, but poetic/prose
“musings”. We will be reading and discussing books of poems & a variety of these “musings”. Naturally,
students will be required to produce original work in both genres and actively participate in the writing
workshop. Aside from attending campus readings, students will be asked to research outside writers and
share work with the class. It is assumed that all students have taken English 1701 and have an active
vocabulary and understanding of creative writing. Email [email protected] for consent
3701-02
This course is pending
(Th 6:00-8:30)
Staff
3703 WRITING WORKSHOP
(Prerequisite: English 1701; may be repeated once for credit)
Instructor Consent Required
3703-01
(M 6:00-8:30)
Litman, Ellen
Advanced Fiction Workshop
This seminar is designed for upper-level undergraduate students interested in writing fiction, and as such it
will require a great deal of writing, reading, and revising. Students will write 3 original short stories (of
novel chapters) and complete a series of exercises. The final project will involve preparing two of the three
original pieces to be submitted for publication. Texts will likely include a few novels and a few collections
of short stories, plus some essays on the craft of fiction. Active class participation is required. For a
permission number, please e-mail 4-6 pages of your fiction as a .doc or .pdf attachment to Professor Litman
at [email protected]
3711 CREATIVE WRITING FOR CHILD AND YOUNG ADULT READERS
(Prerequisite English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800; open to juniors or higher. Recommended preparation:
English 1701)
Instructor Consent Required
3711-01
(W 6:00-8:30)
Shea, M. Pegi
COURSE OBJECTIVES: 1) to tailor students’ creative writing skills to the formats, quality, and
developmental stages specified in the children’s literature field; 2) to develop analytical and editorial skills
pertaining to writing for children specifically, and to writing poetry and prose in general; 3) to write
manuscripts for submission to editors. 4) to develop writing discipline with weekly assignments. The course
format is instructor-guided workshop: a safe community in which students constructively critique each
other’s works, and revise their own works after receiving constructive criticism from instructor and peers.
Course is ideal for those juniors and seniors in the Creative Writing Concentration, in NEAG, or in pediatric
studies, e.g. child psychology. Email [email protected] for a permission number to enroll.
“W” 4201 ADVANCED STUDY: AMERICAN LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 and at least 12 credits of 2000-level or above English courses or
consent of instructor; open to juniors or higher. May be repeated for credit with a change of topic)
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4201W-01
(TuTh 9:30-10:45)
Eby, Clare
The Human Costs of Capitalism
In the United States, business interests reign supreme and largely unquestioned. That's partly because
capitalism has been marketed as "free enterprise" (and who wants to stand against freedom?), partly because
capitalism is said to be a perfect mechanism for delivering consumers the best goods at the cheapest price,
thus benefiting us all, at least in theory. But when freedom is defined in economic terms, what happens to
less quantifiable, and arguably more fundamental, types of freedom, such as freedom of speech? What are
the implications of praising competition in an era of endless corporate consolidations which clearly decrease
competition among firms? Most important, what are the human costs of letting capitalism define our
identity? Do we remain citizens--or just consumers? This capstone seminar looks at contemporary literature
that engages disturbing economic trends such as income inequality, unequal access to health care, the
expansion of corporate personhood (the legal mechanism for ensuring that corporations enjoy Bill of Rights
protections), job insecurity, and the accompanying challenges to privacy and personal identity. Literary
readings will probably include Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, Gary Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love
Story, Chang-Rae Lee's On Such a Full Sea, Mohsin Hamid's How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia or The
Reluctant Fundamentalist, Dave Eggers's The Circle, Helen Phillips's The Beautiful Bureaucrat, and Richard
Powers’ Gain. To round things out, we will read bits of Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-first
Century and of David Harvey's Seventeen Contradictions at the Heart of Capitalism. To develop a
vocabulary for discussing these timely issues, we will also read a number of entries in Keywords for
American Cultural Studies. And to clarify what is at ultimately at stake, we will spend time on Citizens
United (2010), a much-publicized Supreme Court decision reasserting the rights of the corporation in the
twenty-first century. Requirements: one 5-6 page paper, one 8-10 page research paper, one presentation,
quizzes and in-class writings, and lots of class discussion.
“W” 4203 ADVANCED STUDY: ETHNIC LITERATURE
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800; open to juniors and higher. May be repeated for credit
with a change of topic).
Meets with AFAM 4994W
Instructor Consent Required
4203W-01
(Hybrid course meets Tu 5:00-6:15)
Cutter, Martha
The Films of Spike Lee and the Novels of Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison and Spike Lee have a large impact on how the United States conceptualizes issues of race.
This interdisciplinary course will consider the ways the films of Lee and the novels of Morrison complicate
dominant historical and cultural perceptions of the meaning of race, gender, and sexuality. The course will
be organized around key historical issues; on each topic Morrison and Lee present nuanced and multifaceted critiques of the dominant society’s understanding of these topics. Possible texts/units will include:
Unit One: Black Rage, Activism, and Protest (Toni Morrison: Beloved; Spike Lee: Do the Right Thing; Toni
Morrison: Song of Solomon; Spike Lee: Four Little Girls; Spike Lee, Malcolm X); Unit Two: Racism and
the African American Child (Spike Lee, Crooklyn; Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye); Unit Three: Music and
the Boundaries of Expression (Toni Morrison, Jazz; Spike Lee, Summer of Sam); Unit Four: Race in
Modern American Consciousness (Spike Lee: When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts; Toni
Morrison: A Mercy; Spike Lee, Jungle Fever; Spike Lee, Bamboozled).
Requirements: Students should expect to write informal responses on Husky CT, a short paper (4-6 pages),
and a long paper (8-12 pages) which will be interdisciplinary in focus and involve secondary research.
Students should also expect to give one oral presentation that focuses on historical/cultural contexts of the
unit under discussion. Please note: out of class homework will include reading the books and watching the
movies, which will be placed on reserve at the library. Frequent class participation is a requirement for
successful completion of this class.
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A majority of the seats in this section of 4203W are being held for NEAG/ENGL dual degree students.
Please email [email protected] to request a permission number. Please indicate if you are in
the IB/M program
“W” 4401 ADVANCED STUDY: POETRY
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800; open to juniors and higher. May be repeated for credit
with a change of topic)
4401W-01
(TuTh 11:00-12:15)
Mahoney, Charles
Byron
‘Mad, bad, and dangerous to know’ – so George Gordon, sixth baron Byron (1788-1824), was notoriously
characterized by a discarded lover, and subsequently known to much of the English and European reading
public at the height of his fame. Byron was not only one of the greatest poets but also one of the greatest
celebrities of the early nineteenth century, and has continued to influence both English poetry and popular
culture. Simultaneously the most ‘romantic’ of the English Romantic poets (the brooding, misunderstood
persona of the Byronic hero; the scandalous love affairs; dying a hero’s death while fighting for Greek
independence) and the least (the seemingly conservative, Augustan poetics he practiced throughout much of
his career), Byron defies easy categorization. Accordingly, we will consider both the works and the life of
this brilliant writer in an attempt to sort out just what constitutes the ‘Byronic Hero’ and what makes this
poetry so . . . ‘Byronic.’
Poems likely to be considered: Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, The Giaour, The Corsair, Lara, Manfred,
Beppo, Sardanapalus, Don Juan (complete), as well as numerous shorter lyrics and selections from journals
and letters.
Likely requirements: short weekly response papers, two short essays (5-7pp), and one longer essay (1012pp).
“W” 4600 ADVANCED STUDY: SEMINARS IN LITERATURE
4600W-01
(Tu 3:30-6:00)
Igarashi, Yohei
Topic: Nabokov
This capstone course is devoted to one of the twentieth century’s greatest and most dazzling authors, the
Russian-born American writer, Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977). Readings are in English and include Lolita,
Pnin, Pale Fire, Ada or Ardor, Speak, Memory (Nabokov’s autobiography), selected short stories and
poems, lectures and interviews on literature, and some Nabokov scholarship. The course focuses on close
reading the works, Nabokov’s biography and milieu, and topics such as art and aesthetics, the literary
imagination, exile, multilingualism and translation, memory, literary influences on and by him, and
butterflies (he was a lepidopterist too).
“W” 4601 ADVANCED STUDY: LITERARY CRITICISM AND THEORY
(Prerequisite: English 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800; open to juniors or higher. May be repeated for credit
with a change of topic)
4601W-01
(TuTh 2:00-3:15)
Hogan, Patrick
Identity
What does it mean to be me, or you, or anyone else? We sometimes think of identity in relation to groups—
religious, ethnic, national, and so on. But identity is also particular; it is also personal identity. As such, it is
bound up with a series of questions and conundrums. What is the relation between self and self-narration?
To what extent is one’s sense of self a matter of introspection or immediate experience and to what extent is
it a matter of social ascription, or social presentation (“impression management”)? What is the relation
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between our sense of uniqueness and our various senses of group identification? To what extent is identity a
matter of constancy or consistency (and what is the relation of this to “personality”)? Is identity at least in
part a function of memory? If so, what are we to think about memory loss and identity? And what is the
relation of identity to the future rather than the past, thus to aspiration? What happens when one finds one’s
aspirations rendered impossible, by say age or disability? What is the relation of self or sense of self to such
emotions as nostalgia, loneliness, hope, gratitude, and affection? What is the relation between identity and
agency or free will and morality?
We will read a couple of collections of essays treating the topic of identity and examine some of the
preceding issues in literary works and perhaps some films. Possible works might include Kundera’s Identity,
stories by Alice Munro, Coetzee’s Summertime, one or another Noh drama (such as Atsumori), Ellison’s
Invisible Man, Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Fellini’s 8½, or a selection from Proust. Requirements include
class presentations, one shorter (1800-word) paper, and one longer (2700-word) paper, both papers preceded
by drafts. The papers may be analytic or creative, but they must clearly and explicitly deal with the concerns
of the course and the second must involve significant, academic research.
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