Courses Offered
English
A list of regularly offered courses follows. The indication of when a course will be offered is based on the best projection of the department and can be subject to change.
Please note the key for the following abbreviations: (A) Arts; (H) Humanities; (S) Social Sciences; (N) Natural Sciences with Laboratory; (LS) Language Studies requirement; (NSP) Natural Science in Perspective; (NW) Non-Western Cultures requirement.
REQUIRED MAJORS COURSES IN BRITISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
ENG201, ENG202, ENG203, ENG206, ENG256. Studies in Pre-1800 Literature. (H) Every Semester
These courses examine selected issues and ideas in the traditions of British and American literature in the historical periods before 1800. ENG 201 covers British Literature from the Medieval Period; ENG 202 examines British Literature from the Renaissance; ENG 203 treats British Literature from the Restoration and the 18th Century; ENG 206 treats American Literature from its beginnings through the 1830s; ENG 256 examines African-American Literature from the colonial period through the 19th century. Staff
ENG204, ENG207, ENG208, ENG210, ENG257. Studies in Post-1800 Literature. (H) Every Semester
These courses examine selected issues and ideas in the traditions of British and American literature in the historical periods after 1800. ENG 204 covers British literature in the 19th century; ENG 207 covers American Literature from the founding of the Republic to the Civil War; ENG 208 extends from the Civil War through World War II. ENG 210 treats 20th century literature written in English; ENG 257 examines African-American Literature of the 20th century. Staff
ELECTIVES
ENG107. American Dreams. (H) (W) Spring 2010
A first-year seminar that investigates the varied cultural meanings of the American Dream. Examines the classic definition of success as expressed in the writings of Benjamin Franklin, Horatio Alger, Jr. and Booker T. Washington. Explores competing definitions, as well as critiques, of America's cultural mythologies of success. Syllabus has included literary and popular fiction and non-fiction by E. L. Doctorow, Barbara Ehrenreich, Richard Nixon, Norman Vincent Peale and films by Robert Altman and Michael Moore. Same as AMS 107. Frick
ENG110. America in the Age of Nixon. (H) (W) Fall 2009
To understand why Richard Nixon haunts U.S. culture, this seminar explores the variety of conflicting stories told about the man in non-fiction, fiction, drama and film. His contentious public life spanned from Cold War crusades against communism, the political and social upheaval of the 1960s, the Vietnam war, Watergate and the conservative resurgence of the 1980s. Consequently, the debate over Nixon mirrors a struggle to define national identity-what the U.S. was, what it is and what it should become. Same as AMS110. Frick
ENG212. Shakespearean Literature. (H) Offered in 2009—2010
Emphasis on literary analysis of Shakespeare's poetry and drama and on their place in literary history. Bossert
ENG216. Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance. (H) Offered in 2009—2011
An introductory examination of the major writers of the Harlem Renaissance. We will read some of the representative texts and analyze how they engaged imaginatively the cultural, political and aesthetic concerns of the movement. Same as AFS/AMS 216. Bernard
ENG227. Reading and Writing about Place. (H) Offered in 2009—2011
The places where we live and visit shape our personal, cultural and national identities. Effective writing about place enables us to see with new and deeper insights both ourselves and the places we inhabit. Readings include contemporary writings that use descriptions of place to express values including travel narrative, memoir, social and political commentary, nature writing and journalistic reportage. Students will write both response papers and creative nonfiction essays about place. O'Hara
ENG231. Women Writers I. (H) Every Spring
A study of the experiences of women as presented in selected British and American literature from the Middle Ages through the 19th century, as presented from a variety of cultural perspectives. We will consider various readings of the texts, including those that emphasize feminist theory and historical context. Among others, we will be reading Jane Austen, Aphra Behn, Anne Bradstreet, the Brontës, George Eliot and Mary Wollstonecraft. Same as WGS 231. Hartman
ENG233. Women Writers II. (H) Every Fall
A study of the changing world of American and British women in the 20th century as portrayed by women writers. The critical emphasis will be on feminist theory and the political, social and cultural background of the times. Among others, we will read works by Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Sylvia Plath, Adrienne Rich, Anne Sexton, Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolf. Same as WGS 233. Hartman
ENG242. Men in Literature. (H) Offered in 2009—2010
This course uses literature and gender theory in a study of male oral and written narrative. We will look at texts and "body language" in four areas of male self-identification: body image, war narrative, contact sport and sexual identity. Students are required to write papers, keep a journal and take exams. There is a requirement that all students undertake a monitored program of weight training and physical challenge to achieve a specific goal. Ugolnik
ENG245. Baseball in American Literature and Culture (H) Offered in 2009—2011
How do the history of baseball, writings about baseball and the playing of the"national pastime" reflect and shape American values, social conflicts and identity? An exploration through readings in baseball literature and history. Topics include: American idealism and the American Dream; democracy and free enterprise; race and class conflicts; hero worship; patriotism; ethics (including corruption and disillusionment); and masculine identity. Same as AMS 245. O'Hara
ENG250. Contemporary American Short Story. Offered in 2009—2011
An examination of the current state of American short fiction. We will read, write about and discuss arguably important short story collections, most published within the past decade, in an attempt to explore and perhaps name, some of the predominant concerns and formal innovations of today's short story writers. Montemarano
ENG251. Modern American Drama. (A) Spring 2010
A literary and theatrical examination of representative American drama from the Revolution to the present, emphasizing developments since 1920. The focus of this study is on how and why Americans have been depicted onstage as they have and the powerful effect this range of depictions has had on American identity and the American imagination. Same as AMS/TDF 251. Silberman
ENG256. African-American Literature I. (H) Every Fall
Significant writers from the colonial period through the 19th century are studied to establish the Black literary tradition in the developing nation. Same as AFS/AMS 256. Bernard
ENG257. African-American Literature II. (H) Every Spring
Selected writers from the Harlem Renaissance through the Black Aesthetics movement comprise the modern Black literary tradition in America. Same as AFS/AMS 257. Bernard
ENG260. Nature and Literature. (H) Fall 2010
Readings from a variety of traditions, periods, disciplines and genres to discover diverse assumptions about nature and humanity's relation to it. Readings from both Western and non-Western cultures, though with emphasis on the British and Euro-American traditions. Such broad exploration across vast divides of time and culture should not only teach us about varied understandings of nature but also encourage self-consciousness as we form our own conceptions of what nature is and how we ought best to interact with and in it. Same as ENV 260. Mueller
ENG315. Introduction to Literary Theory. (H) Every Spring
As Jonathan Culler states, "Theory offers not a set of solutions but the prospect of further thought. It calls for commitment to the work of reading, of challenging presuppositions, of questioning the assumptions on which you proceed." Students in this course will be introduced to theoretical schools and concepts that shape the study of literature and the practice of literary analysis. Students enrolling in this course should have taken at least one college-level literature course. Recommended for students considering graduate studies in English. Bossert, Mueller
WRITING COURSES
Writing courses, to which admission is only by permission of the instructor, are limited to enrollments of no more than 15 students.
ENG105. College Rhetoric: Selected Topics. (H) (W) Every Semester
Readings in selected topics. Writing assignments closely linked to the readings will explore rhetorical strategies and the writing process: planning, drafting, revising and editing essays. Use and documentation of outside sources. Recent topics include: Food and Identity, American Idol and Making It in America. Staff
CREATIVE WRITING COURSES
ENG225. Introduction to Creative Writing. (A) Every Semester
A general introduction to the modes and means of writing poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction with an emphasis on writing exercises and revision. Students will be introduced to the workshop method of critiquing student writing. Ford, Hall, Montemarano, Nelligan
ENG381. Writing Fiction. (A) Fall 2009
A workshop for students who have found fiction writing a satisfying means of self-expression and who now are ready to raise their work to a higher level. Students will write and significantly revise two or more short stories. What we read in this class-student work as well as contemporary published fiction-we will read as writers, meaning: with extreme attention to craft. We shall concern ourselves with the many choices writers make and the effects of these choices. We will practice writing dazzling sentences. Permission of the instructor required. Montemarano
ENG382. Writing Poetry. (A) Fall 2009
A workshop focused on generating and criticizing student poetry. Weekly poetry assignments will be according to subject matter (the elegy, the political poem, the love poem, etc.), lyricism and experiments in form. A rich selection of weekly readings of American and world poetry will be our guide as we work towards further mastery of poetic craft. The semester will culminate in a portfolio of student work. Students of all majors are encouraged to take the course. Permission of the instructor required. Ford
ENG383. Advanced Dramatic Writing. (A) Offered in 2009—2010
The writing of short plays under close supervision. Permission of the instructor required. Same as TDF 383. Silberman
ENG384. Writing Nonfiction. (A) Offered in 2009—2010
For confident writers ready to find their voices in a genre that claims to tell the truth without making it up. Assignments center on pieces suited for today's magazines, newspapers and online publications: opinion pieces, memoir, restaurant and movie reviews, editorials, travel sketches, investigative reports. Readings from contemporary nonfiction writers, some chosen by the class. Emphasis on reading and responding to each other's work. Good writers, including non-majors, welcome. Permission of instructor required. O'Hara, Steinbrink
ENG480. Advanced Creative Writing Workshop. (A) Every Spring
This is an advanced workshop for writers of fiction, poetry, nonfiction or drama. Each student will use the semester to finish writing, revising and organizing a creative writing thesis-a body of the student's best work. Participants will read and discuss their own and each other's theses-in-progress. Students will be expected to revise and tighten individual poems or stories, to shape their theses and to understand the aesthetic choices they are making. Each student must write an introduction to his or her thesis. Permission of the instructor required. Ford, Montemarano
SEMINARS Every Semester
Seminars, to which students are admitted only by permission of the instructor, are limited to enrollments of no more than 15 students. Seminars examine various topics, issues and authors.
Kerouac and the Beats. (H) Fall 2009
Tapping into the renewed interest and re-evaluation of Jack Kerouac and his work, we will read Kerouac in the context of the "Beat Generation" with whom he identified and whom he helped define. Through the primary lens of Kerouac, his canon and some modern and popular biographies of the author, we will also read William Burroughs and Alan Ginsberg. Students will pursue individual projects in at least one other Beat author: Robert Creeley, Charles Olson, Paul Bowles, Ken Kesey, Gary Snyder, Barney Rosset or Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Permission required. Ugolnik
Love, Lust and Loss in Early American Lancaster. (H) Spring 2010
Desired and envied, Peggy Shippen and Ann Coleman were young women blamed for highly irregular behavior by famous men, Benedict Arnold and James Buchanan. The possibly banal or even complex realities of their lives are typically reduced to the melodramatic conventions of sentimental fiction. We will work in a number of registers: the historical (What happened?), the collision of historiography and genre (How are sentiment and sympathy used to imagine the lives of young women?) and the narratological (How do various narrative strategies tell truth, inspire action or otherwise support particular ideological positions?). Same as AMS/WGS 466. Permission required. Battistini
Swift, Blake and Satire. (H) Fall 2009
A seminar on the work of Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) and William Blake (1757-1827), satirists who stand at opposite ends of the 18th century. Blake-radical revolutionary and visionary-addresses many of the same questions that so concern the far more conservative Swift. Among our chief objectives in our study of Swift will be to understand and enjoy the radical play of irony that characterizes his satire. We will examine both Blake's visual art and his poetry, though with emphasis on the latter. Mueller
Textual Studies: Renaissance Texts in Conflict. (H) Fall 2009
Why do English teachers require you to buy a particular edition of book? It isn't just about the footnotes. In between any reader and author is an editor: someone who decides what version of a text to publish and how to present that text on the page. This seminar considers the role of the modern editor of Renaissance literature and the problems of publishing a Renaissance text. In particular, we will look at how editors deal with the often widely variant texts of individual works, especially the sonnet form. The course raises awareness of the editorial apparatus so that students can understand not just the "words on the page" but how an editor who looks at conflicting versions of the same work determines which words will be printed on the page. Students will be required to propose their own edition of Renaissance poems based on primary research and the conflicting editorial theories we will study. Permission required. R. Bossert
Victorian Nightmares. (H) Spring 2010
In this seminar we explore the bad dreams that scared the Victorians even as they enjoyed vastly improved daytime lives made possible by unprecedented developments in technology and industry. What gave rise to those political, domestic and sexual anxieties that haunt Victorian literature? Readings for nightmares are drawn from 19th-century British literature, science, anthropology and economics. We begin with a portrait growing old in the attic and close with a vampire flying in the bedroom at night. In between we encounter all manner of things what went bump in the night. Permission of the instructor required. O'Hara
ENG490. Independent Study.
Independent study directed by the English staff. See chairperson for guidelines and permission.
TOPICS COURSES EXPECTED TO BE OFFERED IN 2009—2010
African Literature.
Myth and Fairytale.
Contemporary Memoir.
Epic and Romance.
Caribbean Literature.
