English and Philosophy
Course Offerings
Fall 2017
Idaho State University
Table Of Contents
English Courses
Lower Division(1000-2000)…….……………………………....3
Upper Division (3000)………..…….……...............................….9
Upper Division/Graduate(4000-5000)..…………………..…..11
Graduate (6000)……………..…….………………………...…14
Philosophy Courses
All Divisions……………..………………………...….…..16
*Courses In Purple Satisfy General Education
Requirements
2
English Courses
Lower Division (1000)
ENGL 1101: English Composition
Multiple sections offered. See BengalWeb class schedule.
In this course students will read, analyze, and write
expository essays for a variety of purposes consistent with
expectations for college-level writing in standard edited
English.
ENGL 1110 (Objective 4): Introduction to Literature:
Dystopian Literature
01: MWF 10-10:50
Instructor: Tera Cole
A “dystopia” is a community
or society which is characterized as being undesirable or
ENGL 1101P: Variation of ENGL 1101
Multiple sections offered. See BengalWeb class schedule.
frightening. Dystopian
Students not placing into ENGL 1101 will receive intensive societies, written by authors
supplemental instruction in reading, analyzing, and writing from all regions of the world
expository essays.
and across many different
time periods, appear in
ENGL 1102 (Objective 1): Critical Reading and Writing
novels, short stories, poems and plays. If you are excited
Multiple sections offered. See BengalWeb class schedule.
Writing essays based on readings. Students will focus on
to read futuristic tales dealing with dehumanization, totalicritical reading, research methods, gathering ideas and
tarianism, and/or the prohibition of free thought, then
evidence, and documentation.
take Dystopian Literature. Course readings will include
dystopian short fiction & poetry, the novels Fahrenheit
ENGL 1107 (Objective 7): Nature of Language
451, 1984, Hunger Games, and the drama Rossum’s
TR 1-2:15
Universal Robots.
Instructor: Chris Loether
This course is an introduction to the field of linguistics. We
ENGL 1110 (Objective 4): Introduction to Literature:
will look at how the study of language is approached by
Revolution and Literature
linguists within the discipline of linguistics and by linguists
02: MWF 2-2:50
within the discipline of anthropology, as well as exploring
Instructor: Alan Johnson
how other fields utilize linguistics for their own interests
In this class, you’ll see how closely interwoven storytelling
while impacting the whole field of linguistics in the
and history are, and the important role literature has
process. Because this is a survey course, we only examine
played in the way we remember and share that history.
a portion of the many areas within linguistics without
You’ll also see that “revolution” is more than just war; it’s
going into great detail in any one area. These areas
a dramatic turning of social attitudes, from women’s rights
include: phonetics, morphology, phonology, first and
and civil rights to labor laws, religious freedoms, and the
second language acquisition, writing systems, historical
right to use your native language. We’ll read famous
and comparative linguistics, and the history of English.
stories about revolutions around the world, novels like
1984, V for Vendetta, and the bitter-sweet Funny Boy,
tragic plays like Macbeth and A Doll’s House, and short
stories like O’Connor’s “Guests of the Nation.” We’ll also
look at excerpts from some famous statements about revolution by Martin Luther,
Leon Trotsky, Malcolm X
and others. In the
process, you’ll see how
enjoyable and historically
significant literature is.
3
English Courses
Lower Division (1000)
ENGL 1110 (Objective 4): Introduction to Literature:
American Horror Stories: What Scares You?
03: TR 9:30-10:45
Instructor: Amanda Zink
In this course we will read and view a sampling of texts
and film/TV from the genres of horror and the Gothic. We
will explore the fears that Americans seem to have shared
since the 17th century and will postulate explanations for
the return in popularity of horror stories in 21st-century
pop culture. The readings for this course will include
poetry, drama, short stories, the novel, and film/TV; many
readings will be posted on Moodle to keep book costs
minimal.
ENGL 1110 (Objective 4): Introduction to Literature:
Understanding the Human Condition
05: ONLINE
Instructor: Dawn Lattin
Read, write, and talk about a variety of poems, short
stories, and plays, while considering their historical
and cultural contexts. The works we read will be our
primary focus this semester; however, our appreciation for literature will be deepened as we take the
time to understand their authors’ influences and
lives, such as important events, experiences, culture,
politics, places, social status, gender, and sexuality.
From Shakespeare’s poetry to Tennessee Williams’
play, A Streetcar Named Desire, the readings are
diverse enough that there will be something to
interest everyone.
ENGL 1110 (Objective 4): Introduction to Literature:
How Literature Still Matters
04: MW 11-12:15 IDAHO FALLS
Instructor: Cathy Peppers
Are books really “dead & boring”? Or, to paraphrase Mark
Twain, are “reports of the book’s death greatly
exaggerated”? How did Bob Dylan win the Nobel Prize in
2016? In this course, we’ll explore how literature still
matters in the digital age. We’ll focus on topics of
authenticity and empathy through a range of imaginative
literature, considering how plays and poetry and fiction
address these topics in uniquely powerful ways. Readings
will include The Year of Living Biblically (Jacobs), The
Poetics of American Song Lyrics (Pence), The Curious
Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Haddon), The
Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare), House of Sand and Fog
(Dubus) and others. Final projects will take students out of
our classroom to make literature matter in some real way
in the larger community.
ENGL 1122: Academic Writing for Non-Native
Speakers of English Part 1
MWF 10-10:50
Instructor: Mike Westwood
Focuses on basic writing tasks. These include
summary and response as well as vocabulary and
grammar development. Explores culture-based
academic expectations and conventions in
communication.
4
English Courses
Lower Division (1000-2000)
ENGL 1123: Academic Writing for Non-Native Speakers of
English Part 2
Multiple sections offered. See BengalWeb class schedule.
Introduction to the writing process (prewriting, drafting,
revising, editing) and concepts such as audience, purpose,
and thesis. Continued emphasis on development of
grammar and vocabulary.
audience of readers. In other words, in this class you are
writing for others beyond yourself. That means we will
practice being receptive to critical feedback and practice
engagement in the writing process, including revision.
Students will complete exercises in multiple genres—such
as poetry, fiction, and nonfiction —to emphasize the
importance of early, generative writing. In discussions and
written comments, students will learn to read critically and
respond to literary examples of contemporary poetry and
prose. Students will participate in workshops to improve in
giving and receiving criticism. Throughout the semester,
we will incorporate basic terminology and forms associated with prose and poetry to aid in critical discussion and
construction of creative texts.
ENGL 1126 (Objective 4): Art of Film
01: MW 11-12:15
Instructor: Carlen Donovan
02: TR 11-12:15
Instructor: Roger Schmidt
A history of film from its early years in Hollywood to the
most recent Oscar winners, with emphasis on aesthetic
principles and the creative process. Classic films in a
variety of genres and from each era will be screened.
Examples include Casablanca, Psycho, The Godfather, and
The Revenant.
ENGL 2210 (Objective 9): American Cultural Studies:
“That’s Entertainment” in American Culture
TR 9:30-10:45
Instructor: Will Donovan
Learn about American Culture through what entertains us:
ghost stories, Disney animated features, and attending
elite cultural events. Textbook available on Kindle for
under $12!
ENGL 2206: Creative Writing Workshop
01: MWF 10-10:50
Instructor: Susan Goslee
02: TR 11-12:15
Instructor: Bethany Schultz Hurst
This class will introduce you to the study of creative
writing craft. While self-expression is necessary to the
creative process, this class will focus on creating poems
and stories that are valuable to and rewarding for an
5
English Courses
Lower Division (2000)
ENGL 2211: Introduction to Literary Analysis
01: MWF 11-11:50
Instructor: Matt VanWinkle
Fiction, drama, and
poetry that live in our
memories often do so
because they’ve
caught something
particularly intricate
or enduring about
experience. This
course provides a
vocabulary for writing
about these representations of complexity,
these compelling
insights into what
abides, in more
detailed, discerning, and persuasive ways. It provides
methods in close reading, and in recognizing interpretive
possibilities. It also provides a vocabulary for describing
significant features of literary craft, and how these
features can help reform or refine decisive response to the
choices offered by challenging and evocative texts.
about what they read. Throughout the course, we will be
thinking about the “work” of literary analysis and the
things it may seek to accomplish. We will begin with a
review of the tools of close reading. We will then consider
professional literary criticism of several short stories,
poems, and a play.
ENGL 2211: Introduction to Literary Analysis
03: MW 1-2:15 IDAHO FALLS
Instructor: Jenn Fuller
You likely already have a sense of the type of stories which
capture your attention and stay in your memory long after
you finish them. Yet, as writers, how do we move from
simply liking literature to expressing our opinions
articulately as literary critics? This writing-intensive course
serves as an introduction to the practice of literary
interpretation and analysis, helping students transition
from passive readers into active scholars who address the
themes and concerns unique to the genre of literary
criticism. We will cover a wide variety of short fiction,
poetry, and drama while we learn to closely read and
critically view literary texts.
ENGL 2211: Introduction to Literary Analysis
02: TR 1-2:15
Instructor: Amanda Zink
This course is designed to be a gateway course to the
English major. Its objectives are to introduce you to the
techniques and language of literary analysis, to help you
develop your abilities as writer and critic, and to prepare
you for upper-level courses in English. It is also intended to
introduce you to a number
of important modern poets
and authors of short
fiction. The course can also
be taken for itself by
people who simply like to
read and talk (and write)
6
English Courses
Lower Division (2000)
ENGL 2212 (Objective 9): Introduction to Folklore
01: TR 11-12:15
Instructor: Amy Howard
Despite common misconceptions of the term, folklore is
not an outdated mode of thinking but rather an integral
and vibrant part of traditional cultural expression. In this
course, students will learn to recognize and analyze the
folklore found in their own culture through understanding
folklore from cultures around the U.S. and the world. We
will first look at various genres of folklore, ranging from
folktales and legends to internet folklore and material
culture (which includes everything from woodworking to
souvenir collections). We will then look at these genres
thematically, applying them to a number of folk groups,
with a focus on Native American and Southern Culture.
Students will have the opportunity to take an active part
of the learning and research process by collecting their
own examples of folk-lore that surround them in their
day-to-day lives.
ENGL 2212 (Objective 9): Introduction to Folklore
02: ONLINE
Instructor: Jennifer Attebery
Any time that people assemble in small groups to
exchange information informally, they are sharing folk
traditions. Folklore exists in numerous forms with ancient
roots: from proverbs to
folktales, children's games
to holiday customs, and
quilting bees to log buildings. Folklore is also an
important part of the
Digital Age, and much of what we encounter in informal
exchanges on the Internet is folklore in a new multimodal form. After an overview of folklore genres, we will
study old and new forms of folklore, focusing on Native
Ameri-can folklore from the Western region and folklore
in the Digital Age.
ENGL 2257 (Objective 4): Survey of World Literature I
MWF 1-1:50
Instructor: Roger Schmidt
Beginning with the Epic of Gilgamesh, we will explore early
texts from around the world, many of them from the great
religions. We will consider the same questions people
have been asking for several
thousand years: What place do
humans occupy in this vast universe?
What is the best way to live life,
given its absolute uncertainty? Why
do we exalt the experiences of love,
compassion, beauty, and yet have
such a propensity for violence? This
is a discussion course for those who
want to discuss, and a listening course for those who want
to listen. Written work will consist of in-class essays
written out to prompts handed out in advance.
ENGL 2267: Survey of British Literature I
01: TR 11-12:15
Instructor: Curt Whitaker
This first half of the British literature survey treats works
from the Middle Ages through the eighteenth century,
about one thousand years in total. We will pay particular
attention to the history of the English language, from its
Anglo-Saxon roots to its modern form, observing how the
major poets in English—Chaucer, Shakespeare, and
Milton—left their mark on the words we speak today. A
further concern of 2267 will be the history of ideas in
literature, as what was considered knowledge in the
medieval period changed rapidly in the wake of the
Protestant Reformation and the scientific revolution. The
course will end with the study of the Enlightenment, a
cultural high point that provided many of the ideals at the
core of the U.S. political system.
7
English Courses
Lower Division (2000)
ENGL 2267: Survey of British Literature I
02: MW 9:30-10:45 IDAHO FALLS
Instructor: Jenn Fuller
As Britain transformed from a feudal
state of knights and peasants into a
powerful nation with dreams of the
new world, authors commented on
and questioned their often changing
world. Who should be given positions of power? What role should
the church and the state play in the
lives of average citizens? What transforms an ordinary individual into an epic hero? What is the
difference between “popular” and “literary” writing? This
course focuses on reading and discussing important poetry, prose, and drama representing British literature from
the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth-Century. If you’ve ever
wanted to see the inspiration for Lord of the Rings, Game
of Thrones, or our modern sitcoms, this class is for you. You
will examine major works and authors in a historical
perspective, with emphasis placed upon literary and
cultural backgrounds.
attempt to offer a definitive overview of early American
literature, then, this course asks students to read a range
of early American texts as components of a much larger
and more diverse field of which we will only skim the
surface.
ENGL 2280: Grammar and Usage
MWF 12-12:50
Instructor: Sonja Launspach
This course is a basic introduction to the grammar of
standard English. Students will learn the vocabulary of
grammar as well as phrase and clause structure. Part of
our discussion may include the historical development and
use of grammatical forms. The last part of the course will
look at how different grammatical structures are used in
written texts. Assignments will include homework exercises, and exams.
ENGL 2277: Survey of American Literature I: To 1860
MWF 2-2:50
Instructor: David Lawrimore
The stated goal of this course is to survey nearly 500 years
of American literature, stretching from Contact to the Civil
War. This is, of course, an impossible task. As such, we will
do our best to mind the gaps in our reading in two main
ways. First, we will consider how each work enriches and/
or challenges traditional ideas about American history,
literature, and identity. Second, we will discuss how these
works reflect and contribute to larger social issues
(colonization, nation-building, westward expansion, slavery, etc.) and aesthetic trends (storytelling, life writing,
poetry, drama, short stories, novels, etc.). Rather than
ENGL 2281: Introduction to Language Studies
01-04: TR 1-2:15 IN POCATELLO AND DISTANCE LEARNING
MERIDIAN, TWIN FALLS, IDAHO FALLS
Instructor: Brent Wolter
This is an introductory survey course in linguistics, which is
the scientific study of language. A variety of topics will be
covered, including morphology, syntax, semantics,
phonetics, phonology, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and language change. The course is recommended for
anyone who intends to go into teaching, or anyone who is
interested in how language works.
8
English Courses
Upper Division (3000)
ENGL 3307: Professional and Technical Writing
01: W 5-7:30 IDAHO FALLS
Instructor: Cathy Peppers
Mastering the fundamentals of professional expectations
for written, visual and oral communication in technical
contexts and professions. This course places special
emphasis on practicing the critical and creative thinking
processes behind crafting effective communication. In the
first half of the semester, writing assignments of various
angles on the issue of “why people resist new technologies” are mostly produced in in-class workshop-tosubmission sessions to mimic and give students experience
in real professional practice. In the second half of the semester, assignments grow increasingly student-directed in
applying class concepts and approaches to real workplace
situations.
cultures; plan and research tasks using planning guides
and various research tools, including Google features
(sites, docs, calendars and others); draft and revise written
communication, striving for professional style; design
documents based on sound principles of layout and reader
reception; use current technologies that communicate
messages; and work in effective project teams. The real
world isn’t a sequence of events necessarily. Often tasks
are assigned that overlap, merge, and defeat timelines.
This course attempts to replicate a little bit of that. You
might be writing assignments at the same time. You might
have assignments that relate to each other but without a
class discussion that connects them. You might need to
write under pressure with a deadline.
ENGL 3307: Professional and Technical Writing
03: TR 9:30-10:45
05: ONLINE
Instructor: Tera Cole
ENGL 3307: Professional and Technical Writing
No matter what field you are going into, communication
02: MWF 12-12:50
both written and oral will be a major part of your daily life.
Instructor: Hal Hellwig
This course will teach you how to communicate profesThis course should provide a study of effective technical
sionally through various documents such as proposals,
writing so that you will improve your communication skills emails, reports, webpages, resumes and more. Course
for your professional career, whatever discipline or field
content will enable students to tailor documents for readyou have chosen. You will need to work in groups, honing ers and users within their particular majors and/or chosen
your collaborative writing and social skills. You will need to fields of study. Additionally, since most people will be
generate a number of documents to show your grasp of
working collaboratively in the professional world, group
common types of professional writing. Students will gain
work is also stressed. Students often comment that this is
the ability to read and critically analyze case studies;
the most valuable course they have taken because it
analyze audiences and, to some extent, organizational
prepares them for work beyond the university.
9
English Courses
Upper Division (3000)
ENGL 3307: Professional and Technical Writing
04: TR 1-2:15
Instructor: Rob Watkins
This technical communication section will be covering the
traditional genres and rhetorical moves of a technical
communication course (such as reports, professional
correspondence, instructions, informative reports) with
the bonus addition of being part of the iFixit program. You
will work with the online company iFixit creating instructional materials for popular technology provided by iFixit
that will subsequently be reviewed and published. Upon
completing this course not only will you have the benefits
of understanding technical communication but you will
have a demonstrable published article and actual experience working with a respected company.
ENGL 3308: Business Communication
Multiple sections offered. See BengalWeb class schedule.
Employers consistently list strong communication skills as
vital for their employees, and hiring decisions are based in
part on an applicant’s ability to communicate effectively.
The goal of ENGL 3308 is to provide students with the skills
you need to communicate successfully in the workplace.
To accomplish this goal, the course will teach you the
rhetorical skills necessary for effective professional
communication and the stylistic conventions of contemporary business writing. The course will also give you
experiences designing documents for a variety of
common communication tasks that you are likely to face
on the job, including preparing reports, proposals, and
résumés.
ENGL 3307: Professional and Technical Writing
06: ONLINE
Instructor: Deirdre Carney
Students will practice formal and informal communication
through weekly journals, forums (discussion board), and
major writing assignments; engage in disciplined research,
revision, and editing, individually and in collaboration;
participate in cooperative work with classmates on two
collaborative assignments; and produce genres relating to
technical and professional communication. Over the
course of the semester, students will continue to grow as
reflective, precise, ethical writers whose consideration of
audience/community needs shapes their writing. Students
will recognize the rhetorical aspects of the writing of their
fields and become insightful readers of the rhetorical
world in which they live. As their final project, students
will create an ePortfolio using Google Sites to exhibit their
knowledge of web design and presentation.
ENGL 3311: Literary Criticism and Theory
TR 9:30-10:45
Instructor: Matthew Levay
This course introduces students to some of the most
influential schools, methods, and questions of literary
theory, and asks why we might productively turn to theory
as a way of understanding literary works. From Structuralism to Deconstruction, psychoanalysis to Marxism, theory
offers diverse models of interpretation that allow us to
analyze any work of literature from multiple perspectives.
We’ll explore the variety and richness of these perspectives, considering how they have shaped the development
of literary criticism over the last few decades, and how
they might influence our own
interpretations
of a literary
work.
10
English Courses
Upper Division (3000)
ENGL 3323: Genre Studies in Fiction:
The Function of the Novel
TR 1-2:15
Instructor: Matthew Levay
This course centers on a
number of related
questions: What is a
novel, and what are the
formal elements required
to classify a work of fiction as a novel? How are
those elements uniquely
suited to representing social experience, individual psychology, and the cultural climate of a particular time and
place? How have authors experimented with the novel’s
conventions, and how have those efforts pushed the form
in new directions? Why has the novel remained so popular
among readers? Examining several novels by a diverse
range of authors – from Charles Dickens to Zadie Smith,
Agatha Christie to Karl Ove Knausgaard – we will consider
the formal elements of the novel as well as the specific
cultural work that novels perform.
ENGL 3327: ST: Young Adult Literature
MWF 10-10:50
Instructor: Brian Attebery
This course is required for elementary and secondary
teaching majors in English and addresses several of the
specific skills and knowledge areas identified by the
College of Education.
It is not universally agreed that
children's literature is a genre; the
term names an audience, rather than a
form. We don't usually think of
"middle-aged men's literature" as a
genre (though perhaps it is). Children's
literature is a fairly recent phenome-
non, but since John Newbery published the first book for
children in the mid-eighteenth century, it has grown into a
major industry and produced a body of memorable works.
Many children's books cross over to become favorites
among adult readers because of their narrative pleasures
and unique insights. Perhaps more importantly, the books
we read as kids stay with us and shape our sense of self
and the world. In this course we will read a variety of
powerful, funny, and subversive books published for
children and young adults, along with historical studies
and theoretical approaches.
ENGL 3328: Gender in Literature
TR 11-12:15
Instructor: Amanda Zink
Departing from the notion that studying gender in literature is synonymous with studying women in literature, this
course will look at the ways female and male genders are
constructed and queered in American literature. In this
context, “queer” is a verb: to queer gender is to look at the
foundations of gendered roles and identities and question
how they are always already unstable. In this course we
will read texts such as Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women,
Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, and Leslie Feinberg’s Stone
Butch Blues to
explore and to
reconsider the
limits, biases, and
boundaries of
gendered identities.
11
English Courses
Upper Division/Graduate (4000-5000)
ENGL 4405: Creative Writing in the Schools
TR 9:30-10:45
Instructor: Susan Goslee
ENGL 4405 is structured as a hybrid pedagogy seminar/
creative writing workshop. In the pedagogy portion of the
class, students will gain experience with creative writing
instruction at the elementary level, particularly for schools
with youth from a variety of backgrounds and levels of
school-preparedness. Our students will research, discuss,
and then craft brief lesson plans that fit within this rubric.
Under the course professor’s supervision, the students will
share their lessons and activities with children at a local
school. Because southeastern Idaho’s elementary schools
serve children from a range of economic and cultural backgrounds, in the creative writing portion of the course, we
will investigate issues of identity and marginalization in
published poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, including
such works as When My Brother Was an Aztec (Diaz), The
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Alexie), and
American Born Chinese (Yang). In their own works,
students will examine identity in regards to dominant
cultures. How do we conceive of ourselves as “inside” or
“outside” of any particular cultural group? How stable are
the constructions of those positions? In addition to
creative assignments, students will complete short critical
papers on the course readings and draw on these for class
discussion. At the end of the semester, students will write
a final critical paper based on their pedagogy reading and
classroom experience, and will compile a portfolio of their
creative works.
ENGL 4406/5506: Advanced Creative Writing Workshop:
Short Fiction
M 4-6:30
Instructor: Bethany Schultz Hurst
This class is an advanced study of short fiction writing. As
our framework, we'll follow Catherine Brady's Story Logic
and the Craft of Fiction which considers how the skill sets
we've learned in the past (characterization, setting, pointof-view) work dynamically as rhetorical devices to shape
what's at stake in a story. We'll use Brady as a guide in
craft-based analyses of works by contemporary authors
such as Kelly Link, Junot Diaz, Maile Meloy, and George
Saunders. Students will also focus on producing their own
short fiction works, first in generative exercises and then in
more polished drafts that will be workshopped by instructor and peers. At semester's end, students will submit a
portfolio of creative works along with a critical paper that
frames the work within the context of our critical readings.
ENGL 4407: Topics in Professional Writing
M 4-6:30
Instructor: Rob Watkins
Research suggests employers are looking for six critical
competencies: quality/quantity of writing, nature of
writing, genres of writing, rhetorical strategies, knowledge
of technology, and flexibility in communication. We
explore these topics through readings and portfolio-ready
assignments such as editing, copywriting, online writing
and criticism, music blogging, user studies, search engine
optimization (SMO), interviewing subject matter experts
(SMEs), and rhetorical analysis.
12
English Courses
Upper Division/Graduate (4000-5000)
ENGL 4433: Methods of Teaching English
01-04: W 4-6:30 IN POCATELLO AND DISTANCE LEARNING
MERIDIAN, TWIN FALLS, IDAHO FALLS
Instructor: David Lawrimore
This course studies the objectives and methods of teaching
literature in secondary schools (grades 6-12). We will
explore various strategies and techniques for teaching
reading as well as for listening and speaking. Students will
work to become more aware of, and think critically about,
current problems in secondary education. They will also
prepare to defend their pedagogical choices rationally,
articulately, and with an eye on the Common Core State
Standards. In addition, we will spend substantial time
preparing for the English Language Arts: Content
Knowledge exam.
ENGL 4468/5568: Early 20th Century Literature
MWF 2-2:50
Instructor: Hal Hellwig
The early part of the twentieth century challenged society
transnationally, with American writers nostalgically
remembering the nation’s rural, pre-industrial past, while
criticizing many of the economic, political and cultural
changes occurring in this new century, and with European
writers (British, mostly) confronting shifts in international
law and thought, shifts about political boundaries and
state sovereignty, shifts in economic liberalism, and shifts
in the attitudes about the place of war and violence in
maintaining peace on this fragile planet. Symbolism,
expressionism, futurism, cubism, imagism, primitivism,
dadaism, and surrealism also had an impact on writers.
Landmarks of musical innovation like Wagner’s Tristane
ENGL 4465/5565: 18th Century Literature:
und Isolde, Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, Stravinsky’s The
Transatlantic Origins Of The US Novel
Firebird, and jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Louis
R 4-6:30
Armstrong, and Bessie Smith also helped create a transnaInstructor: David Lawrimore
tional culture of the era. Even the emergence of the
This course approaches eighteenth-century literature by
Hollywood film industry had its mark on what constituted
investigating the transatlantic origins of the early US novel. a culture for the world. The aim of this course will be to
Specifically, we will use early US writers’ obsession with
find the highlights of these trends in literature, with some
established European generic conventions (the
useful digressions into a number of the movements in
sentimental novel’s fallen heroine, the gothic novel’s
music and art that find their place in the written expreshaunted castle, the picaresque novel’s episodic structure, sions of the times. Some digital images and other art
etc.) to more fully understand and appreciate American
forms will be presented as well as supplemental material.
and European literature of the eighteenth century.
Because the study of genre is a fundamentally historical
approach, this course is also invested in understanding the
novel’s complex relationship to such historical phenomena
as American independence, the shifting role of women,
slavery, westward expansion, and others. We will consider
a number of landmark (and lesser-known) texts of the
eighteenth century and put them in conversation with
various scholarly trends.
13
English Courses
Upper Division/Graduate (4000-5000)
ENGL 4476/5576: Shakespeare
T 4-6:30
Instructor: Jessica Winston
Ben Jonson famously said that Shakespeare was “not for
an age, but for all time.” Why? In this class we explore six
plays and important resources for making sense of the
plays – including digital tools, sources, historical contexts,
criticism, and performance, while developing our own
responses to major questions and issues in Shakespeare
studies.
ENGL 4491: Senior Seminar in Literature:
The Play of Literary Form
TR 1-2:15
Instructor: Margaret Johnson
What does it mean to be a novel, a poem, or a play? How
do individual works embrace and challenge our definitions
of genre? What formal and stylistic aspects of literature
challenge our notions of what literature is? How does
literary form play with readers and our approach to
ENGL 4486/5586: Old English
reading? These and other questions about the nature of
MWF 1-1:50
literary form will serve as the focus of our seminar.
Instructor: Tom Klein
Members of this class will read novels, plays, and poetry
Dating from between 700 and 1100, Old English is the
that span several historical periods, will give oral
earliest stage of the English language. It is the language of presentations, and will write several essays. We will read
Beowulf, The Wanderer, and the jewel-like Riddles, and
literary works by Henry James, Virginia Woolf, Ntozake
was one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s central interests. This course
Shange, Alejandro Zambra, and others.
offers an introduction to the language: Our chief goal is to
learn enough of its structure to read short passages with
ease. In doing so, we will inevitably be learning about our
own language. We will also be learning about the AngloSaxon people who spoke it, and the medieval contexts in
which it was shaped and recorded. Graduate students
may choose to use two semesters of Old English to meet
language study requirements.
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English Courses
Graduate (6000)
ENGL 6610: Careers in English
M 12-12:50 1 Credit Course
Instructor: Brian Attebery
This one-credit course is designed primarily to assist
English doctoral students in their final year of the program
in their search for academic jobs. Topics will include the
job search process, Carnegie classifications, research
statements, teaching philosophies, CVs, letters of
application, and interviewing techniques. The class will
combine theoretical and rhetorically-oriented discussions
of job search materials with workshop-style discussion of
documents written by students.
ENGL 6612: Introduction to Graduate Studies in English
W 7-9:30
Instructor: Alan Johnson
This course introduces students to a number of key ideas
and trends in literary criticism, both past and present,
along with basic graduate research methods in order to
prepare them to engage in the profession of English
studies. The course requires active participation, including
presentations and discussion, but keeps in mind that
students come to the class with a wide range of previous
exposure to literary criticism and research methods. I will
also spend part of each session introducing and clarifying
essential terms, ideas and social-historical contexts, and
invite members of our graduate faculty to visit the class to
describe their own research methods and experiences as
well as the specific literary critical approaches they’ve
found useful. With shared expertise and your own
research, we’ll touch on some newer topics you need to
be aware of, including digital humanities, the history of the
book, and global publishing trends in English, which
necessarily includes translation studies. Requirements
include reading and discussing several key essays in
literary theory; analysis, discussion and presentation of
literary works representing at least four different genres
by drawing on the literary approaches reviewed in class;
and a final project comprised of a short paper, prospectus,
sample conference proposal, annotated bibliography, and
class presentation. While texts haven’t yet been
confirmed, past examples include The Norton Anthology of
Literary Criticism and Theory (latest ed.), supplemented by
excerpts from recent books and essays that I will supply. I
will also assign literary texts representing different genres.
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English Courses
Graduate (6000)
ENGL 6625: Seminar in a Literary Period:
Eco-Critical Approaches to the Renaissance
R 7-9:30
Instructor: Curt Whitaker
Ecocriticism has expanded a great deal in the last decade
to the point that one should speak of it in the plural (a
collection of approaches) rather than the singular. This
course will provide a variety of ways of looking at
literature and the environment, with a focus on primary
materials taken from the seventeenth century, or late
Renaissance. Our readings will be organized around issues
such as food production, public health, pollution,
globalism, water policy, and property rights.
We will begin with several early pieces of ecocriticism,
considering how the field overlaps with and departs from
nature-themed discussions of literature that have existed
for centuries. We will then study how the field has evolved
to become more inclusive in addressing hybrid landscapes,
that is, places where the human presence cannot be separated from the natural environment. Recent monographs
by Bruce Boehrer (2015) and Ken Hiltner (2011) specifically
focused on the Renaissance will help us understand this
recent shift in the field. As we examine the drama, poetry,
and expository prose of the Renaissance, a recurrent
emphasis will be on historical context and scientific
literacy, essential prerequisites for understanding our
ongoing environmental crisis.
ENGL 6631: Seminar in Teaching Writing:
The Theory and Practice of First Year Writing Instruction
W 4-6:30
Instructor: Lydia Wilkes
In this course on first-year writing pedagogy, we will read
and discuss pedagogical approaches to teaching first-year
writing (ENGL 1101, 1101P, and 1102), paying special
attention to teaching for transfer. Students will practice
writing assignments that promote transfer and critically
evaluate textbooks to guide their selection of textbooks
for a first-year writing class. Students will also observe and
report on sections of first-year writing, create assignments
and lesson plans, create a syllabus, and become familiar
with the professional organizations, major journals, and
major scholars in writing and rhetoric studies. By the end
of the course, students will have a strong foundation in the
theory and practice of teaching first-year writing.
ENGL 6680: Introduction to Linguistics
M 7-9:30
Instructor: Sonja Launspach
This course is the first course in the TESOL certificate
program sequence. It will provide an introduction to the
fundamental concepts and methodologies of modern
linguistics necessary for work in ESL. Areas of study include
phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics,
sociolinguistics, and pragmatics, as well as language
acquisition issues. The course will provide opportunities to
explore the practical application of the topics covered in
the course.
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Philosophy Courses
Lower Division (1000-2000)
PHIL 1101 (Objective 4): Introduction to Philosophy
Multiple sections offered. See BengalWeb class schedule.
An introduction to the major thinkers and major problems
in Western philosophical and scientific traditions. Sections
may emphasize either an historical or problems approach.
PHIL 2230: Medical Ethics
01-04: MW 2:30-3:45 IN POCATELLO AND DISTANCE
LEARNING MERIDIAN, TWIN FALLS, IDAHO FALLS
Instructor: Jim Skidmore
05-06: ONLINE
Instructor: Nobel Ang
PHIL 1103 (Objective 4): Introduction to Ethics
This course will introduce you to one area of philosophy—
Multiple sections offered. See BengalWeb class schedule.
ethics—and its application to a number of issues in health
How should we live? This is the fundamental question of
care and medical practice. Moral questions are inescapaethics, and it is in this sense that ethics, as a branch of
ble in the practice of medicine. There are not only the faphilosophy, is practical rather than theoretical: it is
miliar controversies surrounding such practices as abortion
concerned not primarily with what to believe or with what and euthanasia, but also countless others. In this course
exists but with what to do, how to act. This course will in- we will focus on questions arising in a few broad areas: 1)
troduce you to some of the most important questions that patient autonomy, 2) death and dying, 3) professional conarise in ethics, along with the attempts that a number of
flicts, 4) abortion, and 5) resource allocation.
philosophers have made to answer them. As we will see,
the great, overarching question of ethics—How should we
live?—leads us to further questions, from the most
general questions of moral theory to the most specific
questions of daily moral life. While we will encounter
many of these during the course, our investigation will
PHIL 2299: Life and Death
focus on the following: What is the highest good? What is MWF 12-12:50
the foundation of morality? What is the content of
Instructor: Evan Rodriguez
morality? Why should I be moral? What is the relationship In this course we will discuss some of the most important
between morality and self-interest?
and difficult questions about life and death. How should
we live in light of the fact that each of us will die? Is death
PHIL 2201 (Objective 7): Introduction to Logic
really the end? Is there anything special about human
MWF 10-10:50
existence, and is there one best way to live as a result? If
Instructor: Russell Wahl
we could achieve immortality, would it be worth it? We
This course is a mix of traditional logic and modern
will investigate answers from ancient philosophers both
symbolic logic. The section on traditional logic includes
East and West as well as contemporary thinkers still
basic argument analysis and categorical syllogisms and the grappling with these issues today. We will also consider
section on symbolic logic includes a study of truth tables
perspectives informed by both religious
and formal proofs. The focus throughout will be on what
and non-religious traditions. Socrates
constitutes a good argument. Students will learn techsaid that the unexamined life is not
niques of analysis which will improve their ability to
worth living, so let's take this
discern what is and is not entailed by given claims.
opportunity to examine!
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Philosophy Courses
Upper Division/Graduate (4000-5000)
PHIL 4435/5535: Metaphysics: The Philosophical Study
of Reality
TR 1-2:15
Instructor: Jacob Berger
This course is an upper-level introduction to metaphysics.
Metaphysics, broadly speaking, is the philosophical study
of the nature of reality. Key questions include: What is the
nature of persons and personhood? Does God exist? Why
does anything exist, rather than nothing? How is the mind
related to the body? Do people have free will? What, if
anything, are we talking about when we talk about moral
truths? This course is organized by topic. When appropriate, we will discuss how the issues that arise in metaphysics relate to findings in experimental disciplines such as
physics. In addition to an affordable and accessible introductory text, we will read both classic and contemporary
works in philosophy (available for free online), including
selections from Armstrong, Bennett, Lewis, Nagel, Parfit,
Quine, and Thomasson.
PHIL 4450/5550: Ethical Theory
MW 1-2:15
Instructor: Jim Skidmore
This course will survey the central problems of
contemporary moral philosophy, along with their historical
roots. These problems include, on the one hand,
substantive questions about value. Scientists (physicists,
chemists, biologists, etc.) have made tremendous progress
in developing coherent and comprehensive theories of our
empirical world, but our world is not only one of masses
and valences but also of values. Some things in it we judge
to be good (or bad); some of our actions we judge to be
right (or wrong). But what is it that makes certain things
good, or certain actions right? In addition to these
substantive questions, we will also take up the more
philosophically fundamental issues of meta-ethics.
Substantive accounts of the good and the right are one
thing, but what exactly is the meaning of claims about
value and rightness? For example, when I say, "human
happiness is good," am I expressing a belief in a fact about
the world? (If so, what kind of fact?) Am I merely expressing an attitude I have toward human happiness? Also,
what is the relationship between morality and rationality?
Could it ever be rational to do what is morally wrong?
PHIL 4470/5570: Symbolic Logic and Foundations of
Mathematics
MW 2:30-3:45
Instructor: Russell Wahl
This is a second course in logic including further work in
predicate logic, and a study of formal deductive systems.
We will cover such topics as soundness and completeness
of a formal system, questions concerning the relations
between logic and mathematics, set theory and the
paradoxes, undecidability and Gödel’s incompleteness
theorem.
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