English 8, Journalism: Literature and Practice, at the 11 hour with Professor Jetter
This course will explore the role of print journalism in shaping the modern American literary, cultural and political landscape--from Nellie Bly’s late 19th century undercover exposure to Seymour Hersh’s coverage of the Iraq War. Students will also participate in an intensive weekly workshop on reporting and writing, with a short unit on radio commentary. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. This course does not carry English major credit.
English 16, Old and New Media, at the 10A hour with Professor Halasz
A survey of the historical, formal, and theoretical issues that arise from the materiality and technology of communication, representation, and textuality. The course will address topics in and between different media, which may include oral, scribal, print, and digital media. Readings and materials will be drawn from appropriate theorists, historians, and practitioners, and students may be asked not only to analyze old and new media, but also create with them. Dist: LIT. Course Group IV. CA tags Cultural Studies and Popular Culture, Literary Theory and Criticism.
English 22, Medieval English Literature, at the 10A hour with Professor Edmondson
An introduction to the literature of the “Middle English” period (ca. 1100- ca. 1500), concentrating on the emergence of English as a literary language in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries and on some of the great masterworks of the late fourteenth century. Readings will include early texts on King Arthur, the lais of Marie de France, the satirical poem The Owl and the Nightingale, the romance Sir Orfeo, Pearl, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Book of Margery Kempe, and The York Cycle. Most readings in modern English translation, with some explorations into the original language. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Course Group I. CA tags National Traditions and Countertraditions, Cultural Studies and Popular Culture.
English 45, Native American Literatures, at the 11 hour with Professor Benson
Published Native American writing has always incorporated a cross-cultural perspective that mediates among traditions. The novels, short stories, and essays that constitute the Native American contribution to the American literary tradition reveal the literary potential of diverse aesthetic traditions. This course will study representative authors with particular emphasis on contemporary writers. Open to all classes. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Course Group III. CA tags National Traditions and Countertraditions, Multicultural and Colonial/Postcolonial Studies.
English 47, American Drama, at the 10 hour with Professors Pease and Colbert
A study of major American playwrights of the 19th and 20th centuries including S. Glaspell, O’Neill, Hellman, Wilder, Hansberry, Guare, Williams, Wilson, Mamet, Miller, Albee, Shepard, Wasserstein.
Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Course Group III. CA tags Genre-drama, National Traditons and Countertradtions.
English 59, Critical Issues in Postcolonial Studies, at the 2A hour with Professor Giri
Intended for students who have some familiarity with postcolonial literary texts, this course will combine the reading of postcolonial literature with the study and discussion of the major questions confronting the developing field of postcolonial studies. Issues may include: questions of language and definition; the culture and politics of nationalism and transnationalism, race and representation, ethnicity and identity; the local and the global; tradition and modernity; hybridity and authenticity; colonial history, decolonization and neocolonialism; the role and status of postcolonial studies in the academy. Authors may include: Achebe, Appiah, Bhabha, Chatterjee, Coetzee, Fanon, Gilroy, Gordimer, James, JanMohamed, Minh-ha, Mohanty, Ngugi, Radhakrishnan, Rushdie, Said, Spivak, Sunder Rajan. Prerequisite: English 58, Trinidad FSP, or permission of the instructor. Dist: LIT or INT; WCult: NW. Course Group IV. CA tags Multicultural/Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, National Traditions and Countertraditions, Literary Theory and Criticism.
English 60.5, Writers at Work, at the 10A hour with Professor Crumbine
What exactly do writers do? Simply put, they stop and record what the rest of us run past. To give meaning to their memory, they weave the data into form, writing stories about characters, history, biology, the psyche, mathematical properties, etc. They connect what most of us experience as disparate. Whether poets or physicists, screenwriters or biologists, writers are listeners and storytellers. They are born, however, neither from nor into a vacuum. Varying cultural histories and complicated identities lie behind every text that writers construct.
This course will explore how cultural stories shape the identities of writers and inform their work. We will read writers on their writing process, how they develop their craft, how their contexts inform and shape their stories. A critical reading of Toni Morrison's Beloved, and other shorter texts, will focus on questions of cultural identities. Issues of gender, sexuality, religion, race and class swirl within the texts and throughout the context in which they were written. We will read and discuss the writing process and techniques of other writers including but not limited to: J.D. Salinger, T. Olsen, W. Faulkner, S. Hawking, O. Sacks, C. Sagan, and T.T. Williams. The overarching goal of the course will be to help students to develop a concrete writing process, gaining voice and self-consciousness within their own cultural stories. Students will be encouraged to write not only about other writers' writing process but about their own. Dist: ART, pending faculty approval. CA tag, Creative Writing. No course group designation.
English 63.1, Colonial and Postcolonial Masculinities, at the 2A hour with Professor Coly (crosslisted with AAAS 67/COLT 67/WGST 52.1)
In this course, we will develop an understanding of masculinity as a construct which varies in time and space, and is constantly (re)shaped by such factors as race, class, and sexuality. The contexts of the colonial encounter and its postcolonial aftermath will set the stage for our examination of the ways in which social, political, economic, and cultural factors foster the production of specific masculinities. Texts include Achebe's Things Fall Apart, Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Lafferiere's How to Make Love to a Negro, and additional writings by Irish, Indian, and Australian authors. Our study will be organized around the questions of the production of hegemonic and subaltern masculinities, the representation of the colonial and postcolonial male body, the militarization of masculinity, and the relation between masculinity and nationalism. Theoretical material on masculinities will frame our readings. Dist: LIT. CA tages Genders and Sexualities, National Traditions and Countertraditions, Multicultural and Colonial/Postcolonial Studies.
English 67.5, The Graphic Novel, at the 2A hour with Professor Chaney
Although once associated with juvenile literature, narratives of sequential art—or graphic novels—have recently been hailed as a compelling new form of literature, one that offers fresh possibilities of reading which combine visual and literary experiences. With an emphasis on the careful analysis of a wide range of contemporary texts, this course examines the types of “stories” and “readings” that are made possible when normally separate symbol systems like pictures and words converge. Discussion will center on the narrative mechanics as well as the cultural work of graphic novels, as we consider the genre’s theoretical and formal preoccupations with autobiography, counterculture, parody, science-fiction, and fantasy. Secondary readings will introduce students to the critical responses that graphic novels have provoked. Some of the authors we’ll look at include Will Eisner, Art Spiegelman, Alan Moore, Chris Ware, Roberta Gregory, Marjane Satrapi, and Debbie Drechsler. In addition to giving a presentation, students will be required to write two formal essays and several short responses. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Course Group III. CA tags Cultural Studies and Popular Culture, Genre-narrative, Creative Writing.
English 67.6, Jewish American Literature: From its Inception to the Present, at the 2A hour with Professor Milich (crosslisted with JSWT 15)
The history of Jewish American literature is a history of many literatures. It reflects the broad variety of historical, political, social and cultural experiences that Jews from very different places and backgrounds brought to the United States. The course introduces students to the central topics, motives and literary strategies from the beginnings of a tangible Jewish American literature in the late nineteenth century to the present. The course is divided into four parts: 1. The Great Tide (1880-1920) discerns the literary repercussions of Jewish immigration such as language (Yiddish, Hebrew, English), religion (Judaism, secularism), and politics (Zionism, democracy) in the writings of authors such as Antin, Cahan, Kallen, Lazarus, Leeser, Mayer Wise, and Yezierska. 2. From Margin to Mainstream (1920-1945), covers the cataclysmic interwar years, which evoked an intensive production of the literary and literal children of immigrants coming of age and becoming an aesthetic and political force in debates about American modernism, among them Gertrude Stein and Henry Roth. 3. In the Years of Achievement and Ambivalence (1945-1970), the defining line of Jewish American writing altered dramatically. Jewish American literature’s “ethnic stamp” marks and complicates the characters and perspectives created by Bellow, Ginsberg, Mailer, Malamud, Olsen, Paley, Singer and others with respect to debates about the Holocaust, the counterculture, or the civil rights, women’s, and student movement. 4. Wandering and Return (1970 to the Present) will focus on the broad variety of modern and postmodern Jewish American writing. Questions of contemporary ethnic identity in a multicultural society as well as attempts to reconfigure historical perspectives on the Holocaust, the Rosenberg Case, or McCarthyism inform the writings of Doctorow, Lelchuk, Ozick, Philip Roth and others. Dist: LIT. WCult: W. Course Group III. CA tags National Traditions and Countertraditions, Multicultural and Colonial/Postcolonial Studies.
English 67.7, Bob Dylan, at the 10A hour with Professor Renza
In this course, we will do close, critical readings of certain Dylan lyrics spanning his entire career, also taking into consideration their social, historical, and biographical circumstances. Oral reports as well as a long final paper will be required. Note: some attention will be given to the performance aspect of Dylan's songs, but we will not listen to them in class. All of the songs assigned and discussed will be available for your listening in the Paddock Music Library beforehand. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Concentration area tags: Genre-poetry, Cultural Studies and Popular Culture
English 67.11, African Literatures: Masterpieces of Literature From Africa, at the 10A hour with Professor Coly (crosslisted with AAAS 51/COLT 51)
This course is designed to provide students with a specific and global view of the diversity of literatures from the African continent. We will read texts written in English or translated from French, Portuguese, Arabic and African languages. Through novels, short stories, poetry, and drama, we will explore such topics as the colonial encounter, the conflict between tradition and modernity, the negotiation of African identities, post-independence disillusion, gender issues, apartheid and post-apartheid. In discussing this variety of literatures from a comparative context, we will assess the similarities and the differences apparent in the cultures and historical contexts from which they emerge. Readings include Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, Naguib Mahfouz's Midaq Alley, Calixthe Beyala's The Sun Hath Looked Upon Me, Camara Laye's The African Child, and Luandino Vieira's Luanda. Dist: LIT or INT; WCult: NW. CA tags Cultural Studies and Popular Culture, National Traditions and Countertraditions, Multicultural and Colonial/Postcolonial Studies.
English 70.3, Gender and Power in Shakespeare: From Page to Stage, at the 2A hour with Professor Boose
The course will begin by defining the varieties of power inscribed in Shakespeare’s plays, and proceed to explore the following questions. Is language gender-inflicted? Do men and women speak "different" languages? How do power and gender affect each other? How do women negotiate power among themselves? How do men? How is power exerted and controlled in sexual relationships? How do unspoken social definitions exert their power over the politics of gender? Possible works studied will be drawn from The Rape of Lucrece, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, All’s Well That Ends Well, Othello, Macbeth, Troilus and Cressida, Coriolanus, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Winter’s Tale. Prerequisite: English 24 or permission of the instructor. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Course Group I. CA tags Genre-drama, Genders and Sexualities.
English 70.2, Early English Theater, at the 3B hour with Professor Edmondson
The so-called mystery plays of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries embody a complex response to an extended period of political turmoil and institutional reorientation. Approaching these plays as sites of social contestation, rather than as instruments of social control, this class will explore some of the ways in which early English theater staged the struggle over jurisdiction being fought out, in other venues, by secular and religious authorities. Extending the jurisdiction of early English theater itself, the class will also trace the afterlife of the Corpus Christi plays in such early modern works as Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy and Shakespeare's 1 Henry IV. Dist: LIT; WCult: W, pending faculty approval. Course Group I. CA tags Genre-drama, National Traditions and Countertraditions.
English 71.2, Frederick Douglass: Text and Contexts, at the 10A hour with Professor Chaney (crosslisted with AAAS 90)
In this advanced seminar we will closely examine substantial selections of Douglass’s writings: all three autobiographies, his novella, and significant speeches and essays. Additional readings in literature, history and literary theory will help students to contextualize the aesthetic, philosophical, and socio-political significance of Douglass’s contribution to nineteenth-century transnational abolitionism and evolving notions of black identity and American citizenship. Although we will strive for a nuanced understanding of Douglass’s iconic stature in the nineteenth century, we will end by considering Douglass’s legacy in the age of Obama. Dist: LIT, pending faculty approval. Course Group II. CA tags National Traditions and Countertraditions, Genre-narrative, Multicultural and Colonial/Postcolonial Studies.
English 80.1, Creative Writing, with Professor Hebert, hour TBA
This course offers a workshop in fiction and poetry. Seminar-sized classes meet twice a week and include individual conferences. Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and to first-year students who have completed Writing 5 (or have exemption status). To gain admission to English 80, you must fill out an application, available on-line or in the English Department office, and submit it to the English office no later than the last day of classes of the term preceding the one in which you wish to enroll. Please answer all questions and make sure your name is legible. Be sure to indicate clearly on your application which sections(s) of 80 you are applying for. If you do not indicate which sections work with your schedule, we will place you in whatever section is available. Changing sections after enrollment is highly discouraged and will not be possible except in extenuating circumstances. 80 is the prerequisite to all other Creative Writing courses. Dist: ART.
English 80.2, Creative Writing, with Professor O'Malley, hour TBA
This course offers a workshop in fiction and poetry. Seminar-sized classes meet twice a week and include individual conferences. Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and to first-year students who have completed Writing 5 (or have exemption status). To gain admission to English 80, you must fill out an application, available on-line or in the English Department office, and submit it to the English office no later than the last day of classes of the term preceding the one in which you wish to enroll. Please answer all questions and make sure your name is legible. Be sure to indicate clearly on your application which sections(s) of 80 you are applying for. If you do not indicate which sections work with your schedule, we will place you in whatever section is available. Changing sections after enrollment is highly discouraged and will not be possible except in extenuating circumstances. 80 is the prerequisite to all other Creative Writing courses. Dist: ART.
English 80.3, Creative Writing, with Professor Tudish, hour TBA
This course offers a workshop in fiction and poetry. Seminar-sized classes meet twice a week and include individual conferences. Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and to first-year students who have completed Writing 5 (or have exemption status). To gain admission to English 80, you must fill out an application, available on-line or in the English Department office, and submit it to the English office no later than the last day of classes of the term preceding the one in which you wish to enroll. Please answer all questions and make sure your name is legible. Be sure to indicate clearly on your application which sections(s) of 80 you are applying for. If you do not indicate which sections work with your schedule, we will place you in whatever section is available. Changing sections after enrollment is highly discouraged and will not be possible except in extenuating circumstances. 80 is the prerequisite to all other Creative Writing courses. Dist: ART.
English 82.1, Intermediate Creative Writing-Fiction, with Professor O'Malley, hour TBA
Continued work in the writing of fiction, focusing on short stories, although students may experiment with the novel. The class proceeds by means of group workshops on student writing, individual conferences with the instructor, and analysis of short stories by contemporary writers. Constant revision is required.
Prerequisite: English 80 and permission of the instructor. Please pick up the "How To Apply to English 81, 82 or 83" form from the English Department and answer all of the questions asked in a cover letter. Students should submit a five-eight page writing sample of their fiction to the administrative assistant of the English Department by the last day of classes of the term preceding the term in which they wish to enroll. Dist: ART.
English 83.1, Intermediate Creative Writing-Literary Nonfiction, with Professor Kreiger, at the 10A hour
This course offers students an overview of the conventions, genres and techniques of narrative-nonfiction writing. The class proceeds by means of group workshops on student writing, individual conferences with the instructor, and analysis of classic works of literary nonfiction. Prerequisite: English 80 and permission of the instructor. Please pick up the form titled "How To Apply to English 81, 82 or 83" from the English Department and answer all of the questions asked in a cover letter. Students should submit a five-to-eight-page writing sample to the administrative assistant of the English Department by the last day of the term preceding the term in which they wish to enroll. Dist: ART. CA tag Creative Writing. No Course Group designation.
