Course | Description |
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EN 101 Introduction to Composition | This is a writing-intensive course designed to develop college writing skills and provide and introduction to basic research techniques. Student will be introduced to MLA and APA systems of documentation, and the proper way to incorporate outside sources into a paper. The elements of effective argument will be explored, and the emphasis will be placed on critical thinking both in classroom discussion and in the writing of clear, concise, unified, coherent papers about interesting topics for specific audiences. |
EN 102 Unveiling Literary Treasures | A course designed to foster an informed appreciation of various types of literature: drama, poetry, and prose fiction. Various critical approaches to literature are introduced with the aim of developing the student’s analytical and interpretive skills. Another aim is to develop further the student’s writing abilities, with special emphasis on the formal critical essay. |
EN 103 Reading, Writing, and Thinking | This course focuses on critical reading skills, including reading comprehension, vocabulary, and active reading strategies. Writing instruction covers intermediate skills, emphasizing organization, idea development, and editorial improvements through multi-paragraph writing and research. Students will be introduced to MLA and APA documentation systems and how to incorporate outside sources into a paper. The elements of compelling argument will be explored, and the emphasis will be placed on critical thinking both in classroom discussion and in writing clear, concise, unified, coherent papers about interesting topics for specific audiences. This course is offered across two sections, A and B. Credits: 6 Prerequisite(s): None |
EN 104 Crafting Compelling Arguments | We will emphasize advanced academic writing in this course. Students will work with complex readings that will challenge their reasoning abilities and prompt them to respond with similarly sophisticated counterarguments. Students will make choices about the most effective ways to reach their audience. They will support their claims with both literary and research-based sources, and they will cite those sources appropriately with either MLA or APA format. The course emphasizes research techniques, including the use of the library and interlibrary loan, the conventions and principles of documentation, the art of synthesis, and the analysis of sources. |
EN 201 Crafting Knowledge: The Research Writer's Journey | This course is designed to empower students with the tools and techniques needed to excel in academic research and written expression. Building upon the fundamentals of research writing from EN 101 and EN 102, this course delves deeper into the art of scholarly writing, equipping students with the knowledge and abilities necessary to create compelling and well-researched academic essays. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 205 Voyages through Time: World Literary Classics | This course is an introduction to the varied forms and traditions of world literature. The course will explore recurrent literary themes, motifs, and patterns, looking for those with cultural specificity as well as those that travel across cultures and undergo transformation as they move from century to century. Survey of World Literature I will study some of the fundamental texts of the world literature, including drama, poetry, fiction, and philosophy in the following periods: Ancient and Classical Age, the Medieval period, and the Renaissance. Examples of African, Islamic, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese literature-as well as oral forms-will be important parts of the class discussion as well. This course fulfills one of the 200-level survey requirements in English. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 206 Literary Odyssey: Exploring Global Narratives | This course is an introduction to the varied forms and traditions of world literature. The course will explore recurrent literary themes, motifs, and patterns, looking for those with cultural specificity as well as those that travel across cultures and undergo transformation as they move from century to century. Survey of World Literature II will study some of the fundamental texts of world literature, including drama, poetry, fiction, and philosophy from the 1700's to the present. Examples of African, Islamic, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese Literature will be important parts of the class discussion as well. This course fulfills one of the 200-level survey requirements in English. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 210 Magic and Imagination: Exploring Children's Literature | This course will survey a wide variety of children and young adult literature. Students will explore the various genres of children’s literature including the characteristics of each. Students will develop an understanding of the ways in which children’s literature is used to develop literacy. Students will recognize notable authors and illustrators, and will develop the ability to critically analyze children’s literature from diverse perspectives. |
EN 215 British Literary Tapestry: A Journey through Time | In order to understand the complexity and diversity of British Literature, it is necessary to become familiar with the context within which the literature has been produced. This survey course is designed to give the student the necessary literary history to serve as a foundation for success in later more advanced courses in English. To this end, the course will cover the major figures of British Letters from at least two genres. Depending upon the semester, the course will cover the Middle Ages to Restoration Period or Romanticism to the present. Though the historical frame may change from semester to semester, the objectives will not change. This course fulfills one of the 200-level survey requirements in English. |
EN 216 Chronicles of America: Literature Reflecting History | This interdisciplinary course will examine the major social and political forces that characterized the United States and shaped its literature and ideologies from the Puritan Commonwealth of the 1640’s to the sociopolitical crisis of the Civil War. We will study literary texts both as embodiments of as well as critiques of the cultural values of their time. The readings will be counterbalanced by historiographical texts analyzing the same period. |
EN 217 Beyond the Text: The Bible in Context and Culture | An introduction to the major themes, structures, and theologies of the Hebrew and Apostolic Scriptures. This course analyzes the major stories found in the Bible indicating the influences and contributions of modern social sciences upon our understanding and appreciation of these religious works. Respecting religious sensibilities, this study stresses the literary significance of the Bible as the revelation of the Word of God. Significant samplings of the scriptures are considered to illustrate the various literary forms, styles, and religious motifs of this great religious writing. |
EN 218 Science Fiction Literature | Studying both literature and film this interdisciplinary CORE I course will trace some of the significant formulistic and sociological currents in science fiction. Emphasis will be placed on an understanding of science fiction as a historical phenomenon which responds to another historical phenomenon, the rise of technology. The course will consider such authors as H. G. Wells, Michael Crichton, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and such filmmakers as Fritz Lang and Ridley Scott. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 219 Literature and History: The American Experience | Focusing on the twentieth century, this interdisciplinary CORE I course involves a rigorous examination of literature as both commentary upon and the product of history, and a consideration of history as a matter of representation and interpretation. Though this is a chronological sequel to EN 216, that course is in no way prerequisite. Authors studied will include Hemingway, Hurston, Wright, Agee, and others both inside and outside the mainstream of American literature. Students will also read various historiographical texts and works of literary and cultural criticism. Fulfills a CORE I course requirement. |
EN 220 Inveting "British" Identity from Medieval to 18th Century Literature | In order to understand the complexity and diversity of British Literature, it is necessary to become familiar with the context within which the literature has been produced. This survey course is designed to give the student the necessary literary history to serve as a foundation for success in later more advanced courses in English. To this end, the course will cover the major figures of British Letters from at least two genres. Survey of British Literature I will cover the Middle Ages to the Restoration Period. This course fulfills one of the 200-level survey requirements in English. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 221 Spirits in Romantic through Contemporary British Fiction | In order to understand the complexity and diversity of British Literature, it is necessary to become familiar with the context within which the literature has been produced. This survey course is designed to give the student the necessary literary history to serve as a foundation for success in later more advanced courses in English. To this end, the course will cover the major figures of British Letters from at least two genres. Survey of British Literature II will cover Romanticism to the present. This course fulfills one of the 200-level survey requirements in English. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 222 Survey of American Literature I - Exploring the Roots: Literature and History of Early America | In order to understand the complexity and diversity of American Literature, it is necessary to become familiar with the context within which the literature has been produced. This survey course is designed to give the student the necessary literary history to serve as a foundation for success in later more advanced courses in English. To this end, the course will cover the major figures of American Letters from at least two genres. Survey of American Literature I will cover the 1500's to 1865. This course fulfills one of the 200-level survey requirements in English. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 223 Survey of American Literature II - Exploring the Blossoms: Literature and History of Modern America | In order to understand the complexity and diversity of American Literature, it is necessary to become familiar with the context within which the literature has been produced. This survey course is designed to give the student the necessary literary history to serve as a foundation for success in later more advanced courses in English. To this end, the course will cover the major figures of American Letters from at least two genres. Survey of American Literature II will cover 1865-to the present. This course fulfills one of the 200-level survey requirements in English. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 240 Hints, Insinuations & Arguments: Introduction to Persuasive Methods | This course is an introduction to the art of persuasive communication based on the study and application of rhetorical theory and on mass media techniques. This course will examine rhetoric from an historical perspective and explore the uses of rhetoric in mass media and contemporary culture. This course is designed to enhance the student's ability to apply rhetorical principles to various forms of writing and speaking. This course is designed to help students improve their writing skills and would be beneficial to students in all majors. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 250 Creative Writing I - The Writer's Forge: Igniting Creativity through Workshop | The major purpose of this course is to help you improve your creative writing skills. A secondary objective will be to provide you with greater technical control over your work and also help you develop your critical reading skills. By the end of the semester, I hope that you will have developed a keen, critical eye. Furthermore, I hope that you will begin to gain a sense of your own personal ?voice and a greater awareness of the subjects and styles that interest you the most. Finally, I hope you have fun and develop a supportive circle of creative writers with whom you feel comfortable sharing your work. This course fulfills the Arts General Education requirement. |
EN 257 Art, Lit, and the Examined Life | This course is designed to introduce students to a wide variety of literary and artistic genres and engaging introspective practices in order to help students develop richer, inner lives and become more thoughtful, lifelong learners and productive citizens. Throughout the course, students will receive a balanced exposure to works of art-literature, painting, and film, among others-as well as a variety of critical approaches to the interpretation of art which they can then utilize to develop their personal growth and self-definition. Among other requirements, this writing and reading intensive course will include a series of self-reflective journaling assignments and a major Service Learning project through which students will demonstrate their ability to integrate art, literature, modes of critical interpretation and inquiry, and lifelong learning. |
EN 265 Video Games and Interactive Fiction | This course will analyze the art, style, structure and content of interactive narratives. |
EN 270 Irish Literature, Culture, and Language | This course introduces students to the remarkably rich culture of Ireland through a fourfold examination of its history, its language, its music, and its literature. The historical examination will extend from archeological evidence of Celtic culture to such contemporary issues as the republican-unionist conflict and Ireland’s economic surge as the "Celtic Tiger." Students will learn the fundamentals of the Irish language, learning to speak some of its basic words and phrases. Students will learn what is meant by "traditional" Irish music and its impact on contemporary world music. The examination of Ireland’s rich literary tradition will extend from pre-English Irish poetry through the works of Yeats, Joyce, and Beckett to modern Irish writers such as Patrick McCabe. |
EN 301 The Theatrical Revolution: Perspectives | The last 150 years has been an era of stunning theatrical developments, both in the dramatic text and in the ways in which those texts were performed. These developments were reactions to a period steeped in both wide-reaching intellectual achievements and in horrific human atrocities. How does artistic expression in general, and theatrical performance specifically, react and evolve in the wake of that (and our own) tumultuous era? Students who successfully complete this course will be able to trace the development of modern and postmodern drama, with a strong emphasis on the American and European artistic traditions. Through the reading of primary dramatic texts and the screening of specific productions of those texts (both from live performance and the cinema), the class will be asked to critically engage with the themes, techniques and socio-historical contexts of each work. The class will also engage with the material through class discussions and their own academic writings on specific figures and topics. |
EN 302 Renaissance Literature | This course critically examines English Renaissance literary texts (poetry, prose, drama), including Continental selections. Writers such as Shakespeare, Sidney, Spenser, Marlowe, Donne, Jonson, and Milton will be considered. Textual discussion is set against the sociohistoric background of the period: the invention of the printing press; the rise of humanistic learning; the religion and politics of the dominant culture; courtly patronage and literary self-fashioning; the movement from a Ptolemaic to a Copernican world view; and the impact of the New World’s discovery. |
EN 303 Shakespeare I: The Historical Plays and Comedies | The course is designed to introduce the student to the psychological insight, wit, and linguistic richness of Shakespeare’s history plays and comedies. The student will examine the history plays in relation to the Tudor conception of history, to the Elizabethan conception of monarchical rights and obligations, and to Shakespeare’s subordination of factuality to thematic clarity. The student will also study the comedies, examining Shakespeare’s adaptations of Greco-Roman comedies and seasonal myths, and exploring the ways that the comedies mark out a path to happiness and joyously reaffirm life. |
EN 304 Shakespeare II: Tragedies and Romances | This course focuses on Shakespeare’s tragedies (mainly from 1600 onward) and romances. The plays will be studied in the context of their classical and native inheritance; the rise of theaters; stage conditions and theatrical companies; the London life of Elizabethan and Jacobean theater-poets; and the social, political, and religious constraints encountered by 16th-and 17th century English dramatists. The dramas will be examined as literary and enacted texts, with consideration of provenance, publication, and performance; generic categories of tragedy and romance; dramatic design and thematic patterns; character role analysis; and Shakespeare’s power of development in the plays of his mature years. |
EN 305 Restoration and 18th-Century Literature | This course studies English literature (poetry, prose, drama) from the Restoration (1660-1700) to the later eighteenth century, including such writers as Dryden, Swift, Pope, Johnson, Addison, and Steele. Critical topics include the return to monarchy; the resurgence of the theater tradition; the Battle of the Books; the rise of journalism and the satiric temper; the literary patronage of London and Grub Street; the development of political parties (Tories, Whigs) in relation to class interests; the country-house and garden as rural retreat; the ascendancy of natural theology and its Deistic expression; the refinement of prose style and poetic meter/diction; the influence of classical and foreign literary genres and traditions; and the developing interest in Gothic entertainments and the aesthetic of the primitive and picturesque as incipient Romanticism. |
EN 309 Self and Society in Literature | This course is designed to analyze major literary works within the context of their cultural parameters. The course will establish the cultural values operant in each work and then examine the dialogue each work carries on with its culture’s social institutions, conventions, and major cultural symbols. The intent of the course is a rigorous examination of how literature often provides a meaningful bridge between the imagination and the world of factuality and is often an outgrowth of and response to the historical and social context in which the work was created. |
EN 311 The American Novel After World War II | The course is designed to familiarize students with the recurrent themes and stylistic strategies of American novelists from WWII to the present. The course also provides the student with an overview of the structural possibilities and epistemological parameters of the novel as a literary genre. Novels selected for the course are representative of significant developments in the American novel’s evolution or novels which through their innovations have broadened the range of novelistic techniques available to American writers. |
EN 313 The Novel | The novel is one of the most important genres in literature today. Its rise linked to the growth of the middle class and the shift from agrarian to industrial societies, and therefore, the development of the novel parallels major theoretical, atheistic and social changes in Europe and the United States. Understanding the novel and its place in literary history is extremely important for students of literature. This course will trace the development of the novel from the 18th to the 20th century. In order to gain a synoptic view of the growth of the novel as an art form, students will read a selection of novels from the following list of authors: Defoe, Richardson, Austen, Hardy, Stendhal, Dickens, Balzac, Wharton, Bronte, Melville, Hawthorne, James, Twain, Hemingway, Joyce, Woolf, Faulkner, etc.. In addition, students will read critical work on literary history and theory. |
EN 315 Mythic Journeys: Exploring World Mythology in Literature | This course will survey the broad category of World Mythology, covering the basic thematic categories (creation, fertility, other world, hero, etc.) in order to examine the ways myths of the world reveal cultural similarities and differences. We will also examine how myths reveal certain ontological and epistemological problems and solutions. Finally, we will trace the ways in which these ancient stories are transcribed and retold within current literature, philosophy, and psychology. Readings will be selected from the following cultures: Roman, Greek, Sumerian, Norse, Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Middle Eastern, Indian, Egyptian, and other African sources. |
EN 325 Autobiography | This course is a study of the literary form of autobiography. Autobiography is both a very personal form of expression and a very public one, done with an audience in mind. Questions of identity, subjectivity, and history intersect with issues of style and format. In addition, the genre of autobiography is subject to interpretation as well—does it include simply written texts, or are there a variety of ways in which people tell us about themselves? How does technology influence how people tell the story of their lives? How does the blurring of the lines between fiction and nonfiction influence our understanding of autobiography? Is there such a thing as a “true” story? These are some of the issues that will be explored in the class. |
EN 327 Multi-Ethnic Literature of the Americas | In the past fifty years or so, there has been an explosion of literature written by members of ethnic groups in the United States. In this literature there is quite often an emphasis on storytelling. From spirituals sung by slaves to cuentos told by Hispanic-Americans to ceremonies performed by Native Americans, the tradition of storytelling has played an important role in ethnic literature and continues to do so to this day, even though the form has changed from the oral to the written. In this course, students will read a variety of multi-ethnic literatures in an attempt to define the relationship between the process of telling a story and ethnic identity. The ultimate goal of this course is for students to gain an understanding of the great diversity of American Literature and the social and political forces that have helped to create that diversity. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 328 Defining America through Literature/Art | Since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, America has been both an ideal to strive for as well as an actuality replete with virtues and flaws. Each generation has had to negotiate between these two extremes of idealism and pragmatism in its effort to redefine America in terms meaningful to that generation. The focus of the course will be on a spectrum of major literary and pictorial artists representing four generations of Americans. Through lectures on the philosophic and social background of each work, the student will develop a more sophisticated understanding of the dialogue between artists and society. These collective studies will explore the convergence and divergence of various American artists’ visions of America. This course fulfills a CORE II course requirement |
EN 329 Muckrakers and Moneymakers: American Literature Between 1870 and 1917 | This course will focus on American Realism and Naturalism in literature and art, as well as examine the interaction between artistic production and social/ cultural influences. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century was a time of great upheaval in America: the effects of the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, increasing immigration, and continued westward expansion forced Americans to reconsider what exactly was meant by "America." Whereas earlier Americans were influenced by the optimism and prosperity of Revolutionary War America, the Civil War and its aftermath forced Americans to reconsider their position in the world and question the amount of control an individual had over his/her destiny. This reconsideration was reflected in the art and literature of the time, which was characterized by a rejection of romanticism, an interest in scientific method, and increasing attention paid to race, class, and gender in works by authors such as Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, Upton Sinclair, and Theodore Dreiser, among others. In addition, the photography of Matthew Brady and painting of Thomas Eakins and the Ashcan School were also representative of the shift from romanticism to realism. The course will also discuss the differences between realism and naturalism, which, while related, offer differing views of the individual and society and make use of different literary techniques. |
EN 330 The Lyric: From the Performance of Self throughout Literary History | This course will trace the development of the lyric from its early emergence with epic and drama to its transformation in the twentieth century. The course will survey the major developments of the genre, focusing on the changing relationship between self, expression, and lyric form in different literary-historical periods, including the ancient world, the world of the Provencal Troubadours, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Romantic, Victorian, Modern, and Contemporary periods. In addition, we will pay attention to innovations and debates in poetic theory that accompany and elaborate the changes in poetic production. Lastly, tracing the evolution of the lyric impulse, we will also examine the changing nature of the impulse as it relates to the specific musical traditions of each historical period. |
EN 332 Tough Guys & Riddle Stories: Detective Fiction | Edgar Allan Poe’s story ?The Murders in the Rue Morgue marked the genesis of formal detective fiction. What influenced Poe? How did the field move from Poe’s consulting detective to CSI: Miami? That’s what this course is about. The course focuses on the evolution of the detective fiction genre from its pre-cursors through the current fascination with police procedurals. Topics include: the British tradition versus the American tradition; the amateur detective, the private investigator, and the police detective/force; the hardboiled detective story versus the cozy detective story; the courtroom drama, the locked room mystery, the inverted mystery; and the vocabulary and conventions of the genre. The texts sampled in the course will be looked at in their historical, social, and cultural contexts. A small selection of films and television episodes are likely to complement the readings. |
EN 333 Screams and Nightmares: Horror Fiction | This course will explore the themes of horror and the grotesque inherent in the horror genre by examining some of the seminal texts of horror fiction (Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and short stories and criticism by such writers as Poe and Dinesen). The course will trace both the history of the field and the ways in which symbolic and thematic elements have been re-inscribed in later works of fiction and film. The course will explore the manner in which these texts reveal cultural themes, values and ideologies. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 334 Images and Icons of the American West | From Billy the Kid to Wyatt Earp, ?cowboys to ?Indians, John Wayne to Clint Eastwood, virtually everyone is familiar with some of the almost mythological images associated with the West and the ?American story of the pioneer, the cowboy, the lawman, and the wild, wild, west. Many of these stories, as presented in literature and film, however, reduce a very complex set of circumstances and characters to a simple allegory of good versus bad. This course will attempt to restore some of that complexity by examining not only the iconic and mythic stories of the west, but also those stories that have frequently been left out: the stories of women, Native Americans, Chinese immigrants, African Americans, and environmentalists. We will begin by looking at the genre of the Western and discussing what makes this a uniquely American genre and then move on to examining other texts and films that complicate, support, or re-define the images of the West presented in the Western. |
EN 335 Modern American Poetry: Four Movements of Looking at the World | Modern American Poetry: Four Movements will focus on a wide spectrum of major American poets of the 20th century and their corresponding philosophical and aesthete movements that are uniquely American. We shall examine four major poetic movements and devote approximately three weeks of in-class time to each movement. These movements will include-but may not be limited to: poets of the Confessional period, the Harlem Renaissance, the Beat period, and the New York School. |
EN 340 Professional and Technical Writing | English 340 offers instruction in the uses and techniques of writing as a career tool in the professions, thus emphasizing the skillful writing of expository and persuasive job-related communications within a variety of professional contexts. The course enables students to attain mastery of writing skills responsive to a broad range of professional and technical demands in the workplace, from researched technical reports to written business communications. The course provides report-related research skills and greater mastery of the rhetorical principles and mechanics needed to develop an organized, concise, lucid writing style. |
EN 341 Advanced Writing | Advanced writing will instruct students in advanced compositional elements. The course is designed to prepare the student for the expectations of the professional world with regard to writing styles, language, tone and voice. Not specifically application driven, course content will focus on the following areas: basic and more advanced rules of grammar and punctuation, advanced argumentative and persuasive structures. The course seeks to be holistic in scope, by focusing on transferable skills and material, rather than on a series of formal outlines for reports. Students will complete assignments that focus upon building competence in the production of writing within a professional standard. Some assignments will cover the following areas: writing effective personal statements, writing effective proposals, essay polishing, dictions, tone and voice as persuasive tools. |
EN 345 The City in Literature | Cities have existed as sites of human culture for the thousands of years they have been in existence. They mark fundamental changes in human life (nomadic to static, agrarian to industrial, etc.). As a result, they have become symbolic of both decadence and decline and modernity and education. Seen as centers of commerce, politics and products of all types, they have been described, transcribed, and inscribed into many artistic, philosophic, and literary works. This course will examine the image of the city in the literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Though primarily concerned with literature, the course will also look at the city in film, philosophy, and criticism. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 350 Creative Writing Workshop II - The Next Chapter: Advanced Creative Writing Workshop | An advanced workshop seminar that explores the writing of poetry and fiction. Original poems and fiction by members of the class are discussed by the instructor and the class as a whole. The course aims at the continuing development of students' critical instincts along with the concomitant development of writing strategies. This course fulfills the Arts General Education requirement. |
EN 360 Film and Literature | A study of the relationship between literature and film, the course carefully studies the progress of film adaptation and the attendant concerns of metaphor, symbol, and characterization as they apply to prose fiction and film. The student is encouraged to critically assess film adaptations of the fictional works of such authors as Joseph Conrad, John Updike, James M. Cain, Vladimir Nabokov, Judith Guest, Franz Kafka and others. The course also deals with the status of the director and screenwriter as the film medium’s expositors and interpreters of the literary canon. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 367 Contemporary Theater | From the glamour of Broadway and West End productions of The Producers and Rent, to gritty protest dramas and the avant-garde contemporary theatre is a vibrant and amazingly diverse art form. This class will examine an overview of the dramatic literature of the last 30 years, with an emphasis on the 21st Century. In so doing, students will be discussing a wide range of related issues, including the varying production styles and techniques involved with each script and the broader cultural and social framework that makes these works possible. As with any class that deals with the dramatic arts, our discussions of these plays will be framed by the viewing and analysis of many performances, both live and on video. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 375 The Importance of Place in British and Irish Literature | In many works by authors from Great Britain and Ireland, place plays an extremely important role, becoming almost another character in the texts. Whether it is Dickens’ London, Hardy’s ?Wessex, Joyce’s Dublin, or Wordsworth’s Lake District, the evocation of setting plays a pivotal role in helping to define and determine the characters and circumstances in the literature. This course will focus on the significance of place in works by several British and Irish authors, examining both rural and urban settings as well as social factors that contribute to the ?sense of place created in the texts. This class, which will be taught in the summer mini-mester, will consist of two components. The first will be a typical classroom environment, in which the students will read selected literature and engage in discussion about it. Because the emphasis of the course is place, the readings will be arranged in a geographical rather than chronological order, beginning with literature from Great Britain and then moving to literature from Ireland. The second component of the class will be a trip of approximately 14 days to Great Britain and Ireland. During the trip, students will be working on assignments that allow them to make connections between the literature read in class and the places they are visiting. The trip is a required component of the course. Students who cannot participate in the trip should not register for the course. Students are responsible for the expense of the trip. Please note that although the class will be taught in the summer, it will be listed as a fall course. This is to allow students to register for this class in addition to their regular fall class load. As long as they do not exceed 18 credit hours, they will not incur additional tuition costs for this class. In this way, full-time students will pay for the trip but not additional tuition for the class. |
EN 376 Representations of The Holocaust | This course will examine various representations of the Holocaust and the artistic, ethical, and historical issues raised by those representations: How does one write about an event that has been described as beyond language? What role does/should aesthetics play in looking at these representations? Who has the "right" to speak for the victims? How are issues of truth and creativity reconciled? Who has the "right" to speak for the victims? How are issues of truth and creativity reconciled? Literature, art, and film will be used to explore the even from a variety of points of view, including that of victims, survivors, perpetrators, second generation artists, and those with no direct connection to the Holocaust. In addition, the "commercialization" of the Holocaust and the ethical implications of that commercialization will also be examined. Because this course is an interdisciplinary course, we will look at the topic from a variety of different disciplines, including history, psychology, literature, and art, but also drawing from students’ expertise in various areas. The subject matter of the course means that we will be exposed to sometimes very graphic images and ideas. My purpose in doing this is not to shock you but rather to have you think about what those images and ideas mean, their impact, value, limitations, etc. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
EN 388 Women and Literature | This course is designed to introduce students to literature written by women. The course will focus on the generic forms of the novel and the short story during the periods of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The syllabus will include texts written within the English and American traditions but will also incorporate texts written by African-American, Latin American, and Native American women writers. The course will also serve as an introduction to some of the major thrusts within Feminist literary criticism and theory. |
EN 400 Chaucer and Medieval Literature | Beginning with several examples of Old English literature, this course examines medieval English literature (e.g., lyric, allegory, drama) from the 12th to 15th centuries, with a primary emphasis on Chaucer’s texts, reinforced by several Continental selections by writers like Petrarch and Dante. Critical viewpoints include the transition from the heroic age to the period of the emerging nation-state; the image of the monolithic Church vs. the carnivalesque in the holidays and trappings of everyday life; the contested patterns in literature and life of chivalry and courtly love conventions; the rise of towns in the economic movement from feudalism to early capitalism; the development of European universities from a tradition of monastic learning; the nature of sign, symbol, and book in medieval scriptoria; and the emergence of vernacular literatures. |
EN 418 Romanticism | This interdisciplinary course will focus on the Romantic period. Between 1770 and 1848, Europe and the United States of America witnessed major upheavals in politics, literature, philosophy, and the arts. Since all of these changes were interconnected, in order to understand the scope and meaning of these changes in literature, it is necessary to look at the other disciplines as well. In addition, the thrust of the Romantic period, return to the self, to nature, and to the imagination, most clearly framed in relation to the Enlightenment against which it rebelled. With these two perspectives in mind, then, this course though first and foremost a literature course will have an interdisciplinary flavor. It is designed in three parts: Philosophy and Politics, Literature, and Art and Music. |
EN 419 Victorian Literature | This course explores the literature of the Victorian and Early Modern Period with special emphasis of the relationship of literature to the social, political, intellectual, and cultural background of the age. The course examines the period as one of great transformation in which the inheritance of the Romantic period collides with a nascent modernity, releasing both progressive and reactionary forces. Our emphasis will be on how this collision reconfigures the Victorian imagination and finds expression in its literary and artistic productions. Students willl read widely in the period touching on its major movements and trends as well as its major figures. |
EN 435 Seeing Yourself and the World through Twentieth Century Poetry | While this course will include historical analysis of representative texts, its primary concern will be to examine the interrelationship between the artistic influence that poets exert upon one another and the poetic revolutions that mark the twentieth century. We will begin by studying three key poets from the late nineteenth century and track the profound influence they had on modern poetic thought and technique. As we do this, we will consider many of the major movements of modern poetry including: Symbolist, Imagist, Confessional, Beat, New York, and Language poetry. Along with examining these movements, we will consider a variety of critical approaches as well as the philosophical and perceptual issues that characterize modern poetry. This course will cover European and American poetry. |
EN 440 Major Literary Figure | Rather than focusing upon a synoptic view of a period, genre, or theme, this course is designed to introduce the student to the oeuvre of one major literary figure. A comprehensive study that examines a majority of the major works of one author allows for a deeper understanding of that author within complex developmental, aesthetic, and artistic perspectives. Fundamental to these perspectives will be the introduction of extensive relevant historical, biographical, and/or critical material. In order to present a diversity of genres, periods, and national literatures, the subject of this course will be rotated. |
EN 445 Senior Seminar: Special Topics in Literature | The Senior Seminar is the capstone experience required of all senior-level majors in English. It serves as a transitional course for students in that it will prepare students for the rigors of a graduate program or professional employment. To this end, it is designed to mirror a graduate seminar. It is a highly interactive, advanced seminar on a special topic—which will be varied from semester to semester —in the discipline, in which the focus will be on advanced writing and research skills. The course will be structured to maximize student participation: students will be required to present their own work and to lead seminar discussions. |
EN 450 Introduction to Critical Theory | This course is designed for the upper level English major who intends to continue on to graduate school in English, Creative Writing or Humanities. In order to prepare students for the types of discussions pertinent within the discipline of English, this course will introduce them to some of the seminal figures within literary theory: Freud Saussure, Levi-Strauss, Marx, Foucault, Lacan, Derrida, Barthes, Irigaray, Kristeva, and others. The trajectory of this course will be to present this material with particular attention to the dialogues that have occurred over the course of the last fifty years related to the issues of meaning, value and subjectivity. This course is intensive in nature and is designed for a student in the last stages of the undergraduate career. |
EN 463 Literature, Art and Revolution | The 20th Century may have come to a close but the art, politics, economics, and philosophy of this period continue to provoke questions and debates. Many profound changes occurred in the world during these years, and these changes provoked questions: Questions about the role of art in society; Questions about literature, language, and identity; Questions about the role of art and politics; even questions about the lines of distinction between the areas of politics, art, literature and philosophy came to be tested and questioned. This course will look at some of the major movements of 20th Century in art, literature, politics and philosophy in order to trace the way in which they emerged, their impacts, and their legacies. |
EN 489 Internship | This course provides the English major with an experiential situation in a professional setting related to the student’s area of specialization. A variety of experiences are available and will be guided by the professional agency in concert with the internship director. All students interested in an internship must obtain the approval of the Department Chair during the semester prior to the internship. |
EN 490 Honors Senior Thesis | The Honors Thesis is designed for English majors with no less than a 3.7 grade point average in their English courses only who are planning to attend graduate school. Further, this project will allow a student to show a prospective advanced degree program a capacity to plan and implement sustained independent scholarship. Given the purpose of this program and the Honors title, the deadline and guidelines will be strictly enforced. Three ranges of grades will be available: Honors, High Honors and Highest Honors; these terms will correspond to the grades of B+, A-, and A respectively. Failure to meet deadlines, or poor quality of work (lower than a B+), will result in a default of honors status to a simple Independent Study. In this way there will be no credit loss to the student who completes the project. |
EN 495 English Capstone | This course is designed to provide students with a culminating capstone experience that will require them to display their understanding of literature, their writing skills, and their awareness of their own scholarly growth while at Hilbert College. Students will be asked to show that they have mastered the departmental objectives and possess the skills needed to graduate as an English major from Hilbert College. |
EN 496 Teaching Assistantship | This course is designed to give those students considering a career in teaching at the high school or college level an opportunity to gain practical experience in teaching, lesson planning, and classroom management, while also becoming familiar with pedagogical issues and approaches. The student will serve as a teaching assistant for an English department faculty member who is teaching a lower level English class. |