COURSE DESCRIPTION
BOOKLET
DEPARTMENT
OF
ENGLISH
SPRING
2012
1
Notes:
All ENGL pedagogy courses have been retitled with ENED as
their prefix.
The new ENED courses count the same as the prior ENGL
courses for English Adolescence Education majors.
EDU419 has been retitled and renumbered to ENED 451.
EDU430 has been retitled and renumbered to ENED 453.
•
•
•
PRE-REQUISITE OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR:
STUDENTS: You must have the appropriate pre-requisites
for Spring 2012 registration. Check the online listings to see
what the current pre-requisites are -- note that these may be
different from what is listed in the current catalogue.
2
TO THE STUDENT:
Before selecting a course, consider the following: You might
find it useful to decide what your purpose is in selecting a
course in English: curiosity? knowledge? involvement with
issues? background for major or career? Have you consulted
your advisor? Have you thought of asking for a conference
with the instructor of the course?
Also consider:
It is strongly advised that you take a 200-level introductory
course in literature before taking a 300-level course.
300-level courses are studies that usually require some
research, perhaps an oral report, probably a major paper.
These courses are intended for the serious student, but not
exclusively for English majors.
400-and 500-level courses are for advanced students who are
ready for specialized study and research.
FOR THE MAJOR OR MINORS IN ENGLISH:
See the catalog and/or handouts for requirements.
3
ENED 101 01
INTRO TO ENGLISH ADOLESCENCE
EDUCATION
1.5 credit course
Description:
In this course, English-Adolescence Education majors will be
introduced to both their major and their future profession. Between the
Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 semesters, students must complete 25 hours
of observation, divided between a high school and a middle-school
English classroom. Through journals, a paper, readings, and class
presentations, students will explore topics including classroom
management, teaching literature, teaching writing, and meeting
different learners’ needs.
Readings:
Atwell, Nancie. In the Middle: New Understandings about Writing,
Reading, and Learning. 2nd ed.
Exams, Papers:
A journal kept during the field observations
Signed forms documenting the observations
A reflection paper
A group presentation
The portfolio for English-Adolescence Ed. Majors (begun)
Time Class Meets:
TR
8-9:20
Instructor:
T. Mosher
1/24-3/08/12
**PLEASE NOTE: There is a required and very important
organizational meeting for this course on TUESDAY,
NOVEMBER 8 AT 5:00 pm in Fenton 127.
Everyone enrolled in the course must attend.
4
ENED 103 01
READINGS/OBSERVATIONS IN ENGLISH
English Adolescence Majors Only
1.5 credit course
Description:
The spring section of ENGL 103 is open only to students who are
in their professional year.
A second field-experience course for students who have
successfully completed ENGL 101. At the end of the Fall 2011
semester, students will arrange to observe a minimum of 25 hours in
both a middle school and high school classroom. Class time in the
spring will then draw on students’ observation experiences, course
readings, and other English pedagogy courses as together we explore
advanced issues in pedagogy. Students will continue to develop their
own sense of the kind of teacher they will be.
Readings:
Keizer, Garret. No Place but Here: A Teacher’s Vocation in a
Rural Community
Exams, Papers:
Documentation of field observations (including a short teaching
experience)
Reflection paper based on field experience
A microteaching session based on No Place but Here
Large and small group discussion
Time Class Meets:
TR 8-9:20
Instructor:
T. Mosher
3/20-5/03/12
**PLEASE NOTE: There is a required and very important
organizational meeting for this course on TUESDAY,
NOVEMBER 8 AT 5:45 pm in Fenton 127.
Everyone enrolled in the course must attend.
5
ENGL 106 01
THE ENGLISH MAJOR: AN INTRODUCTION
Description:
ENGL 106 will provide students with a full semester overview of
the major areas within and current approaches to literary students. It
is required for all students entering the English major (323) and is
designed to open the many different fields of English studies to new
majors and to help students develop a context for the courses they may
have already have taken and will be taking throughout their career as
English majors at Fredonia. Students will gain insight into literary
history, the process of and critical debates concerning canon formation,
and the multiple functions and genres of literature and writing. This
course will also require a significant literary research paper designed to
introduce students to effective modes of library research, strategies for
integrating secondary sources, and important terms and concepts that
are fundamental to literary analysis.
Readings:
A variety of poetry, short fiction, introductory critical theory, and
literary scholarship.
Exams, Papers:
One short analytical essay; one in-class analysis of a poem; a final
exam; and a research portfolio containing a topic statement and
description, a sample source summary, an annotated bibliography, and
a final research essay of 12-15 pages.
Time Class Meets:
MWF
Instructor:
D. Kaplin
1-1:50
6
ENGL 160 01, 02
VISITING WRITERS PROGRAM
Writing Minors Only
ENGL 160 01 Co-Req:
ENGL 361-01
ENGL 160 02 Co-Req:
ENGL 460-01
Description:
Attendance and participation in the activities surrounding the
visiting writers during the semester. These classes are attached to the
intermediate and advanced creative writing courses and are part of the
writing minor requirements for the semester. Students must be enrolled
in the co-req 362 or 461 in conjunction with 160.
Readings:
Books by visiting authors TBA
Exams, Papers:
Two examinations of the visiting writers and their work
Time Class Meets:
R
4 - 5:00 and 7 - 8:30
Instructor:
01
02
D. Parsons
A. Nezhukumatathil
7
ENGL 200-01
AMST 202-01
INTRO TO AMERICAN STUDIES
Description:
The aim of this course is to introduce you to various
interdisciplinary approaches and perspectives appropriate for
American Studies. This is a course about perspectives and perceptions:
about the continuing process of intercultural encounter, about how
individual, ethnic and national identities come to be constructed and
reconstructed as a result of that process, about how various disciplinary
and critical approaches can inform each other and expand awareness
and finally, how you as a student learn to refine your own perceptions
as a result of expanding your perspective. Historically, we begin before
European settlement, move to the establishment of the colonies; discuss
such issues as slavery and abolition; Indians, including relocation
policies, contact accounts from both sides, and captivity narratives; the
Civil War and its aftermath; industrialization and reconstruction;
modernism, and finally the present. Methodologically, our approaches
will include sources from history, literature, anthropology, and
probably various art and media.
Texts and assignments are still to be determined, but your work will
most likely consist of various short projects and a final exam.
Time Class Meets:
TR
12:30-1:50
Instructor:
S. McRae
8
ENGL 205 01, 02
EPIC & ROMANCE
Description:
The course will examine epics and romances from ancient Greece
to modern times. Our concern will be to see how these works function
as independent pieces of literature, what they have in common, and
what they tell us about how different cultures and different people
approach the difficult task of being human.
Readings:
Homer: Iliad and Odyssey
Beowulf
Death of King Arthur
Austen: Northanger Abbey
Tolstoy: War and Peace
Exams, Papers:
weekly response papers
three major papers
CCC Fulfilled:
CCC 5
Core course in English major.
Time Class Meets:
MWF
11-11:50
Instructor:
T. Steinberg
9
ENGL 205 03, 04
EPIC AND ROMANCE
Description:
Look forward to reading works from a variety of geographical
locations and historical periods. We will consider the works as
individual pieces and also the manner in which they may relate with
regard to theme, characters, values, and structure.
Readings: (subject to change)
Epic of Gilgamesh
The Odyssey
Beowulf
Grendle
Divine Comedy (selections)
The Lais of Marie de France
Romance of Tristan and Iseult
Exams, Papers:
Quizzes, response papers, critical papers, reading journal, etc.,
CCC Fulfilled:
CCC 5
Time Class Meets:
TR
Instructor:
J. Glovack
Core course in English major.
11-12:20
10
ENGL 205 05, 06
EPIC AND ROMANCE
Description:
In this course, we’ll read a number of texts from the ancient
civilizations of Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome, together with modern
literary works from England, France, and the United States. Emphasis
will be placed on the contextualization of these works within their
respective time periods and places; understanding the literary genres to
which they belong; and drawing connections across time between the
stories they tell. A continuing theme throughout the course will be the
“quarrel” between the Ancients and the Moderns, i.e. how do modern
writers relate to their predecessors of the distant past?
Readings: (subject to change)
David Damrosch (ed.) The Longman Anthology of World Literature
Volume A: The
Ancient World (Pearson Longman)
Voltaire. Candide (Penguin)
Mary Shelley. Frankenstein (Signet)
Thomas Pynchon. The Crying of Lot 49 (Harper Perennial)
Exams, Papers:
Students will be evaluated via active participation; weekly
participation on the Angel discussion forum; a research paper, and
possibly a midterm exam.
CCC Fulfilled:
CCC 5
Core course in English major.
Time Class Meets:
TR
Instructor:
B. Vanwesenbeeck
3:30-4:50
11
ENGL 206 01
SURVEY OF AMERICAN LIT
Description:
This class looks at the diverse traditions of “American literature”
from the beginnings (including Native American orature & narratives
of European exploration) through the emergence of literary realism just
after the Civil War. We will read and discuss literature from a variety
of perspectives – across lines of race, gender, class, and sexuality – in
order to come to terms with the complex set of agendas, issues, styles,
and dialogues that comprise American literary history from periods
preceding colonization to the present day. In the interests of truly
surveying such a vast and diverse period, we will be moving rapidly
back and forth between different worldviews, agendas, historical
moments, genres, and literary styles.
An overarching theme we will consider in this class is the question
of canon formation. In other words, we’ll frequently ask the question,
What is American literature? Inevitably, some texts get left out of (or
underrepresented in) so-called comprehensive American literary
studies, because of the limits of time (e.g., a semester) and space (an
anthology), and even politics. Throughout the semester, we’ll
interrogate the traditions of canon making and come to an
understanding of the roles we each play in shaping our own memories of
American literature.
Readings: TBA
(we will use the The Norton Anthology of American Literature,
8th edition)
Exams, Papers:
There will be several short papers, and at least 2 thesis-driven,
analytical essay assignments, as well as student presentations.
Time Class Meets:
MWF
11-11:50
Instructor:
E. VanDette
12
ENGL 207 01, 02, 03, 04
DRAMA AND FILM
Description:
Through the medium of plays and films, we will critically examine
the topic of empowerment by exploring the ramifications of such themes
as race, gender, sexuality, and class, among others. We will discuss
identity formation and social structures, as well as explore the theatrical
history of plays and film and the various techniques employed by
authors and directors.
Readings:
Aristophanes. Lysistrata
Brecht, Bertolt. Mother Courage
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House
Kushner, Tony. Angels in America
Parks, Suzan-Lori. In the Blood
Pirandello, Luigi. Six Characters in Search of an Author
Shakespeare, William. King Lear
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex
Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire
Exams, Papers:
Midterm, Final, Discussion Questions, Group Presentation
CCC Fulfilled:
CCC 5
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:
01, 02
03, 04
MWF
MWF
W
4:30-7
SCREENING:
Instructor:
9-9:50
10-10:50
A. Fearman
13
ENGL 207 05, 06
DRAMA AND FILM
Description:
We will explore drama from many different cultures and time
periods, from the ancient Greeks to works of a more contemporary
nature. The films we view will also offer the work of a variety of
filmmakers from a diversified selection of countries and time periods.
Readings:
The Bedford Introduction to Drama 5th Edition
Edited by: Lee A. Jacobus
Exams, Papers:
- Participation in Class Discussions
- Response papers
- A Midterm Exam
- One longer paper of analysis/synthesis
- Student led class discussion
- Reading quizzes
CCC Fulfilled:
CCC 5
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:
MWF
2-2:50
W
4:30-7:00
SCREENING:
Instructor:
C. Thomas Craig
14
ENGL 207 07, 08, 09, 10
DRAMA AND FILM
Description:
This course is dedicated to the study of classical and modern plays
and their film adaptations. Among others we will read Aristophanes’
Lysistrata, Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk
Circle, Shaffer’s Amadeus, Ibsen’s The Enemy of The People,
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Chekov’s Cherry Orchard.
Readings:
Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Brecht’s The
Caucasian Chalk Circle, Shaffer’s Amadeus, Ibsen’s The Enemy of The
People, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Chekov’s Cherry Orchard and a few
others.
Exams, Papers:
Weekly ANGEL postings, two reviews, five-page paper.
CCC Fulfilled:
CCC 5
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:
07, 08
09, 10
TR
TR
12:30-1:50
3:30-4:50
T
5-7:30
SCREENING:
Instructor:
I. Vanwesenbeeck
15
ENGL 209 01, 02
NOVELS AND TALES
Description:
Readings:
Exams, Papers:
CCC Fulfilled:
CCC 5
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:
MWF
9-9:50
Instructor:
K. Hamilton-Kraft
16
ENGL 209-03, 04, 05, 06
NOVELS AND TALES
Description:
Readings in world literature from ancient to contemporary. The
course teaches analysis of varying narrative styles and approaches and
the relationship of narrative to culture. This section will examine
literary interpretations of the idea of “home,” from the literal structure
of a house, to broader examples such as nation, country, or region.
Readings:
Readings will include Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto,
John Okada’s No No Boy and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and
various short stories.
Exams, Papers:
Reading quizzes, response papers, and essays will be a part of this
class.
CCC Fulfilled:
CCC 5
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:
03, 04
05, 06
MWF
MWF
Instructor:
S. Liggins
1-1:50
2-2:50
17
ENGL 209 07, 08
NOVELS AND TALES
Description:
The course of Novels and Tales offers a study of long and short
fiction of several kinds, including myth, fable, and realistic narrative,
from a variety of places and times, and their relation to their different
cultures. This course will familiarize students with basic approaches to
reading, interpretation, and literary analysis. Another goal of this
course is to improve students’ skill at expressing their observations in
writing.
Readings:
Short Novels of the Masters, Edited with an Introduction by Charles
Neider; Cooper Square Press, 2001.
Exams, Papers:
Critical/analytical essays, one final exam research paper,
additional exercises and papers as assigned.
CCC Fulfilled:
CCC 5
Core course in English major
Time Class Meets:
TR
Instructor:
J. Mineeva-Braun
5-6:20
18
ENGL 211 01, 02
WORLD POETRY
Description:
This course will set sail on a journey through ages, cultures, and
themes, from Babylon to Native America. We will examine how poetry
is a human connective of past and future theory, discussions of the old,
the new, and the then and now.
Readings: TBA.
Guest speakers and presentations.
Exams, Papers:
Papers: 3 Short; 1 long;
Exam TBA
CCC Fulfilled:
CCC 5
Time Class Meets:
MW 3-4:20
Instructor:
S. Lord
19
ENGL 211 03, 04
WORLD POETRY
Description:
We will study poetry that loosely falls into the theme of “All’s fair
in love and war,” that is, love and war poetry from various cultures
with an emphasis on what poetry does and can do rather than trying to
parse what a poem “means.” What needs and desires does poetry
accomplish in its writers and readers? How does culture affect the way
one defines and values poetry? We will examine conceptions of the role
of the poet, poetic forms and styles, and individual authors. Our
readings will range far and wide, from transcriptions of ancient oral
traditions to the kinetic performance poetry of the present day; printed
texts will be supplemented whenever possible with audio and videorecordings. We will also compose our own original poems and read a
number of non-English works in translation, all with the goal of having
you ultimately see language and poetry in a revitalized and personally
meaningful way.
Readings:
Brian Turner’s Here, Bullet
John Murrillo’s Up Jump the Boogie
ed. Clifton Fadiman, World Poetry (WW. Norton)
(and other poetry handouts)
Exams, Papers: weekly reading responses/quizzes, 3 papers, midterm,
one longer final project
CCC Fulfilled:
CCC 5
Time Class Meets:
TR
Instructor:
A. Nezhukumatathil
11-12:20
20
ENGL 216 01
SCIENCE FICTION
Description:
Historical and generic survey of science fiction through
representative works and major authors; examination of its
relationships with other types of literature. This section will focus on
near-future science fiction from a variety of places and times.
Readings: To be chosen from among:
 Isaac Asimov, Nine Tomorrows: Tales of the Near Future (1959)
 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale (1986)
 Paolo Bacigalupi, The Wind-Up Girl (2009)
 J.G. Ballard, Myths of the Near Future (1991)
 Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward: From 2000 to 1887 (1888)
 Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
 David Brin, Earth (1990)
 Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968)
 Cory Doctorow, For the Win (2010)
 William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984)
 Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (1946)
 Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go (2005)
 Maureen McHugh, China Mountain Zhang (1997)
 Ken MacLeod, The Execution Channel (2007)
 Alan Moore, V for Vendetta (1980s)
 Richard Morgan, Market Forces (2004)
 George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
 Marge Piercy, He, She, and It (1993)
 Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell (1989)
 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash (1993)
 Sheri Tepper, Beauty (1991)
Exams, Papers: To be determined, but most likely a mix of
attendance/participation/preparation, online participation, critical
essay, and final research project.
CCC Fulfilled:
Time Class Meets:
Instructor:
Part 5
TR
12:30-1:50
B. Simon
21
ENED 250 01
LITERACY & TECHNOLOGY
Deescription:
According to the Undergraduate Catalogue, this course “explores
the theoretical and practical implications of technology for the nature of
literacy” and “presents approaches to helping secondary students
improve their literacy through the use of technology.” This means that
we will be experimenting with technology in order to better teach our
students how to enter into any variety of personal and professional
discourse communities. Teacher candidates are expected by the School
of Education at Fredonia and by the International Society for
Technology in Education (ISTE) to use technology-assisted
instruction. ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards
(NETS) for Teachers define the fundamental concepts, knowledge,
skills, and attitudes for applying technology in educational
settings. This class will work to meet those NETS for Teachers, and
otherwise enmesh ourselves in acronyms without undue entanglement.
Activities to this end will probably include both study and active use of
various online writing research and writing tools as individuals and in
groups; teaching mini-lessons; researching and writing about a
pedagogical or social issue related to technology use; creation and
compilation of an electronic portfolio, and various other exercises.
Exams, Papers:
Specific texts and assignments to be determined.
Time Class Meets:
TR
11-12:20
Instructor:
S. McRae
22
ENGL 260 01, 02
INTRO TO CREATIVE WRITING
Description:
This is an introductory course to the craft of fiction and poetry.
We will do in-class exercises to begin the process of writing, workshop
student work in the class, and read from an array of different writers,
both past and present.
More than just writing, we will explore what writing is
about, how one lives the writing life, and other complex
problems that should be addressed for the beginning writer.
The class is designed for those serious about creative
writing, not only in this course, but beyond this course.
Readings:
The Poet's Companion, Addonizio and Laux; Writing Fiction, Burroway,
Stuckey-French; and texts from visiting writers.
Exams, Papers:
At least 5 poems based upon class assignments, a few
stories (under 1500 words), and a meditation on the work at
the end of the course.
CCC Requirements:
Arts (4)
Time Class Meets:
MWF
Instructor:
D. Parsons
1-1:50
23
ENGL 260 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08
INTRO TO CREATIVE WRITING
Description:
This introductory creative writing course will focus on
poetry and fiction (and the fine line that often seems to exist between the
two). Writing can sometimes be an uncomfortable and discouraging
process, even for those who claim to love it and make a living from it.
The goal of this course is to help students get words onto the page and to
introduce them to some of the various stages and processes involved in
writing poetry and short fiction (which will help students learn how to
inspire themselves outside of the classroom setting).
Readings:
The aim of this course is to help students become not only better
writers, but better readers, as well. The more we read and respond to
what we read, the more invested we become in our own writing.
Students will read and respond to poems and stories written by
established authors as well as their fellow classmates. (Specific course
texts TBA.)
Exams, Papers:
Students will complete several writing assignments (about 5
poems and about 5 pieces of short fiction), as well as in-class exercises, a
Reader Response Journal, and written critiques during workshop
periods. At the end of the semester, students will turn in a portfolio of
polished, revised written work from the course.
CCC Fulfilled:
Arts (4)
Time Class Meets:
03, 04
05, 06
07, 08
Instructor:
S. Gerkensmeyer
MWF
MWF
MWF
1-1:50
2-2:50
3-3:50
24
ENGL 260 09, 10
INTRO TO CREATIVE WRITING
Description:
This course is intended to be an introduction to the basic forms,
techniques, theories and problems of poetry and short fiction. That
introduction is made by way of the student’s own work and through
discussion of the problems encountered in the process of writing. The
class will focus, to a limited extent, on professional writers as
“teachers,” but primarily it examines student work. The class is
designed to help develop an understanding of fiction and poems as a
craft, as well as an art and to encourage development of individual
styles and techniques.
Exams, Papers:
A minimum of ten poems and two short stories should be
completed by the end of the semester. No exams will be given. An allinclusive portfolio will be required. The final exam period will be used
for an evaluation of the course and self-evaluation of individual
students. Class attendance is required, since much of the course will
take the form of workshops and there is no way to make up lost class
time.
CCC Fulfilled:
Arts (4)
Time Class Meets:
MW 4:30-5:50
Instructor:
S. Lord
25
ENGL 261 01
LITERARY PUBLISHING
PRE-REQ: ENGL 260
Description:
Introduction to Literary Publishing is a workshop course where
much of class time is dedicated to working on the projects that will
ultimately be presented to the campus and community. There will, of
course, also be lessons in proofreading and design, avenues for
creativity, and time to work as a group to produce the best possible
product. During the semester, the class will produce The Trident in print
form and the production of independent individual work. There will
also be papers that will ask students to reflect critically on the choices
each student made.
Readings:
Boys and Girls Like You and Me. Kyle, Aryn.
Up Jump the Boogie. John Murillo
Exams, Papers:
Mid-term and Final portfolio.
Time Class Meets:
MWF
Instructor:
D. Parsons
10-10:50
26
ENGL 296 01
AMST 296
AMERICAN IDENTITIES
Description:
An exploration of the historical construction of American gender,
ethnicity/race, and class; their present status; and their literary and cultural
representations. Focusing on intersections between these categories of identity, the
course will utilize an interdisciplinary approach, integrating materials from fields
such as literary studies, history, women's studies, ethnic studies, geography,
sociology, music, and art.
These sections of AMST/ENGL 296 aim to put recent trends and events that
influence and reveal aspects of changing American identities--from globalization to
immigration, from the Obama presidency to the rise of the Tea Party, from
American interventions to foreign revolutions--in a broad historical, political, legal,
social, cultural, and economic context. We will examine how novelists, memoirists,
scholars, journalists, and cultural critics represent and reflect on American
identities in major works from the past two decades.
Readings:










Amy Chua, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (Penguin, 2011)
James Der Derian, Virtuous War: Mapping the Military-IndustrialEntertainment Network (2nd ed., Routledge, 2009)
Cory Doctorow, Little Brother (Tor, 2010)
Matthew Frye Jacobson, Whiteness of a Different Color: European
Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race (Harvard, 1999)
Jill Lepore, The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party's Revolution and the
Battle over American History (Princeton, 2010)
Barack Obama, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
(Three Rivers Press, 2004)
Eric Rauchway, Blessed Among Nations: How the World Made America (Hill
and Wang, 2007)
Margaret Regan, The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the
Arizona Borderlands (Beacon, 2010)
Peter Spiro, Beyond Citizenship: American Identity After Globalization
(Oxford, 2008)
Karen Tei Yamashita, Tropic of Orange (Coffee House, 1997)
Exams, Papers: attendance/participation/preparation (10%), online participation
(10%), team work (25%), identification project (25%), final research project (30%)
CCC Fulfilled:
American History (8B), 11
Time Class Meets:
TR
Instructor:
B. Simon
5-6:20
27
ENGL 302-01
LITERARY LANDMARKS -- BRITISH
Description:
The six highly influential works of British literature in this course
all feature notorious “bad boys.” Each work engages questions of ethics
and morality and ties those questions to definitions of manliness and
masculinity. So, while we will closely examine each work and its
relationship to the culture that produced it, we will look specifically at
the construction of the male characters in these texts and what makes
them bad guys. Some of the topics we will examine through these texts
are the changing norms for men’s (and gentlemen’s) behavior, the
differences between masculinity and manliness, the relationships among
manliness, morality, sexual desire, and violence.
Readings: We will concentrate on the following six primary readings:
William Shakespeare, Richard III
William Wycherley, The Country Wife
Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
Anthony Trollope, The Way We Live Now
Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Ernest
In addition, students will read and present oral summaries of critical
scholarship related to these primary texts.
Exams, Papers: Two 5-7 page papers; one or two 10-minute
presentations; a take-home final exam; student-submitted discussion
questions for each work.
Time Class Meets:
MWF
Instructor:
D. Kaplin
9-9:50
28
ENGL 303 01
GLOBAL LITERACY LANDMARKS
Description:
This course focuses on how and why texts achieve “landmark”
status within a specific cultural tradition, and asks students to consider
the implications of such status for writers, readers, and societies.
Texts:
Our specific focus in spring will be to explore some of the classic
texts of the Arab world (in translation) in order to think about the
rapidly changing events taking place there, putting these in dialogue
with texts from the European tradition. We’ll also look at some recent
texts that may be good candidates for achieving “landmark” status.
Readings will include The Arabian Nights; anthologies of short fiction by
Arab writers; Naguib Mahfouz, Midaq Alley; Marjane Satrapi,
Persepolis; short work by Franz Kafka and Albert Camus, and a special
introductory focus on understanding Islam, the Koran, and the history
of the Arab people (Hourani). Students will also be asked to pay regular
attention to media representations, such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya
in addition to western media. While this course has been designed as a
course for general education, it would have special relevance for
concentrators in English and adolescence education majors who would
like to gain more familiarity with the tradition of Arabic literature;
international studies majors might also find the course especially useful
as an elective.
Assignments: two short critical response papers, an essay midterm, a
research presentation, a collaborative presentation and a final research
paper or substantial teaching unit.
NOTE re: CCC: This course is being considered for Part 10,
World/Non-Western Civilizations, in the College Core Curriculum
Time Class Meets:
TR
11-12:20
Instructor:
J. McVicker
29
ENGL 312 01
RENAISSANCE LITERATURE
Period Course
Description:
This course will offer a survey of Renaissance literature from a
global perspective. We will read several classical Renaissance texts such
as Montaigne’s Essays, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Marlowe’s
Tamburlaine, Rabelais’s Gargantua and Pantagruel (selections), Thomas
More’s Utopia, Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis, Erasmus’s A Handbook on
Good Manners for Children, Lazarillo de Tormes, and some other shorter
excerpts from the era.
Readings:
Montaigne’s Essays, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Marlowe’s
Tamburlaine, Rabelais’s Gargantua and Pantagruel (selections), Thomas
More’s Utopia, Erasmus’s A Handbook on Good Manners for Children,
Lazarillo de Tormes and others.
Exams, Papers:
Weekly ANGEL postings, midterm (objective exam), research paper.
CCC Fulfilled:
Humanities
Time Class Meets:
TR
Instructor:
I. Vanwesenbeeck
9:30-10:50
30
ENGL 314 01
WOST 314
WOMEN WRITERS
Description:
This is an introductory literature course that aims to allow
students to gain a body of knowledge on canonical women writers and
their various modes of writing. The class will explore how social,
political, and physical particularities of women's lives shape their
writing. We will analyze and interpret common themes and issues that
arise in women’s writing. Some of the central questions guiding our
readings will include: Why teach or read women’s writing as a distinct
literary tradition? What calls women to write and are there recurrent
purposes and goals? Is there something definably ‘female’ about
women’s writing?
Readings:
Selections from: Deshazer, Mary K. The Longman Anthology of
Women's Literature.
Also a variety of contemporary readings from current female musicians,
novelists and poets, essayists, public speakers, and journalists
Exams, Papers:
Blog posts, 3 critical response papers, group presentation and
discussion leading, Final research project
CCC Fulfilled:
09 Western Civilization
Time Class Meets:
MWF
Instructor:
S. McGee
9-9:50
31
ENGL 321-01
CONTEMPORARY DRAMA
Period Course
Brief Description:
This course will involve a study of contemporary dramatic
literature from the mid-20th century to the present focusing on
understanding the dramatic form and its relation to society. In what
ways does drama facilitate a dialogue about contemporary issues?
Critical analysis of the plays will include exploration of historical and
cultural contexts. Our study of the plays must also consider the
implications of staging the text. How do staging decisions inform the
reading of a play? Our work with contemporary drama will consider
both the page and the stage.
Tentative Readings:
Some of the selected texts may include: How I Learned to Drive—Vogel,
Doubt—Shanley, Fat Pig—LaBute, Crimes of the Heart—Henley, August
Osage County--Letts, The Laramie Project—Kaufman, Other Desert
Cities—Jon Robin Baitz, Love Letters—Gurney, Wit--Edson
Exams, Papers:
Response papers, oral presentations, final project, active participation
CCC Fulfilled:
Speaking Intensive
Time Class Meets:
TR
Instructor:
A. Siegle Drege
12:30-1:50
32
ENGL 322 01
ROMANTIC AGE
Period Course
Description:
In this course, we will investigate critical questions surrounding
Romantic periodization by reading a diverse collection of Romantic
Period prose and verse in the order of first publication. Looking at the
poetry and prose of lesser-known contemporaries alongside the work of
the traditional big six, we will explore different writers’ articulations of
the term “romanticism.” In so doing, we will call into question and
complicate conventional representations of what The Romantic Age
meant to readers of the period as well as what it has to offer readers
today.
Readings:
The New Oxford Book of Romantic Period Verse, Ed. Jerome J. McGann
Select prose writing by Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Paine, Samuel
Coleridge, and others
Exams, Papers:
Participation (10%)
Response papers (20%)
Midterm Paper (3-5 pages) (20%)
Group Presentation (20%)
Final Paper (5-7 pages) (30%)
Time Class Meets:
MWF
Instructor:
K. Hanley
1-1:50
33
ENGL 324 01
MYTH AND SYMBOL
Description:
This course will engage students in the study of myth, one of the
oldest forms of literary expression, which continues to develop and
capture our collective imagination. We’ll explore classical myths from a
variety of cultural traditions, utilize critical insights by a range of
theorists, and consider contemporary rewritings of myth.
Texts:
Ovid’s Metamorphoses, H.D. Helen in Egypt, Christa Wolf,
Cassandra, Erdoes & Ortiz, eds., American Indian Myths & Legends,
Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony, The Quest of the Holy Grail and more.
We’ll start with ancient Greek and medieval myth (Helen of Troy and
the Grail myth) and consider other cultural traditions (American
Indian myth). We’ll spend the last quarter of the course on
contemporary revisions of myth including film, comics and other
cultural forms that students will help present and discuss. We’ll look
also at the work of many theorists of myth, including Propp, Freud and
Jung, the Cambridge school of myth critics, and more contemporary
theorists (Kerenyi, Eliade, Barthes), with a section on contemporary
feminist revisionist mythmaking.
Assignments: likely to include short response papers, an essay
midterm; short research paper; final project presentation.
Time Class Meets:
TR
2-3:20
Instructor:
J. McVicker
34
ENGL 331 01
AMERICAN LITERARY ROOTS
Period Course
Description:
Where, when, and how did American literature begin? What are
the consequences of those beginnings, not just on literary traditions, but
also on myriad American identities -- artistic, cultural, ethnic, political,
philosophical, racial, religious, and sexual? In this course, we will
develop a deeper awareness of the American experience, American
psyche, and American identity through the earliest periods of American
literature. We’ll achieve that goal by reading, analyzing, and discussing
a diverse group of texts, beginning with examples of Native American
oral literatures and Puritan voices, moving onto the polemical
literatures of the Revolutionary era, and culminating in the emerging
voices of American poets, dramatists, and fiction writers.
Our investigation into the roots of American literary traditions
will focus on the diversity of perspectives, agendas, and styles involved
with the making of American literary history and of American
identities. Among our many lines of inquiry, we’ll ask, what does it
mean to be American? What are the roots of that identity? Where do I
place myself in this context? How does literature help us to explore
these questions? And what are the far-reaching consequences of the socalled “roots” of American literature?
Readings:
TBA (we will use The Norton Anthology of American Literature,
Eighth Edition, Vol. A, Beginnings to 1820)
Exams, Papers:
There will be several short papers, and at least 2 thesis-driven,
analytical essay assignments, student presentations, and a substantial
research project.
CCC Requirements:
American History (B)
Time Class Meet:
MWF
Instructor:
E. VanDette
2-2:50
35
ENGL 332 01
ROMANTICISM IN AMERICAN LIT
Period Course
Description:
Study of Romanticism in terms of influence, development, and
characteristics within the context of American culture, including textual
examples ranging from indigenous native sources to those of Europe
and the East.
This section is ENGL 332 is designed to introduce students to the
analysis of major literary works, genres, and movements in the United
States between the War of 1812 and the Civil War. We will focus on the
ways in which literature represents, responds to, and shapes intellectual
and political transformations in American society during the period,
including developments in ideologies of nationalism and "manifest
destiny," intensifying sectional conflicts over slavery and
industrialization, and the mobilization of abolition, women's rights,
labor, and reform movements. In the course of doing this, we will pay
careful attention to multiple traditions of writing within the antebellum
U.S., ethical and political ramifications of literary form, and intertextual
relations among literary works of the period and, to a lesser extent,
between works from 1812-1865 and those from other periods and
traditions.
Readings: To be determined, but will most likely include:
 The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Vol. B (5th ed.)
 Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
 Toni Morrison, Beloved
Exams, Papers: To be determined, but most likely a mix of
attendance/participation/preparation, online participation, group
presentation project, and final research project.
CCC Fulfilled:
Part 12
Time Class Meets:
TR
Instructor:
B. Simon
3:30-4:50
36
ENGL 333 01
ENVIRONMENTAL LITERATURE
Description:
This course combines a survey of American nature writing since
1850 with direct study of the natural world. Discussions of a few
landmark works in this genre are interspersed with nature walks on
campus and field trips to the Fredonia College Camp and other local
places of natural interest. We practice the art of seeing the natural
world through “lenses” the nature writers provide.
Readings:
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden.
Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac.
Abbey, Edward. Desert Solitaire.
Dillard, Annie. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Ray, Janisse. Ecology of a Cracker Childhood.
Exams, Papers:
Short quizzes on the reading
Short response papers
One longer essay profiling a place in nature, as our
course texts illuminate it
CCC Fulfilled:
American History (8B)
Time Class Meets:
TR
Instructor:
T. Mosher
9:30-10:50
37
ENGL 339 01
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POETRY
Period Course
Description:
Study of American poetry being written now and during the past
20 years in relationship to the American and lyric traditions. Focuses on
the place of poets in our society, the cultural and historical context of
American poetics, and the development of a uniquely American voice in
contemporary poetry and we’ll also investigate how race, gender, and
politics inflect the choices poets make.
Readings: TBA
Exams, Papers:
2 papers, an in-depth poet study, 1 research paper, various reading
responses throughout the semester
Time Class Meets:
TR
2-3:20
Instructor:
A. Nezhukumatathil
38
ENGL 345-01
CRITICAL READING
Description:
The main purpose of this course is to introduce you to twentiethcentury theories that have influenced the ways in which we read literary
texts. Among others, we will explore the following questions: What is it
that makes a text “literary?” Is historical context relevant to the study
of literature? How are class, gender, and race represented in literary
texts? In order to answer these questions, we will examine various
schools of criticism from Russian Formalism and New Criticism to
psychoanalysis and genetic criticism. Several shorter literary texts will
serve as examples and reference points for the explanation of theoretical
issues.
Readings:
David Richter. The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts
and Contemporary Trends
Exams, Papers:
Midterm exam, final exam, and final paper.
Time Class Meets:
TR
9:30-10:50
Instructor:
B. Vanwesenbeeck
39
ENGL 349 01
WOST 301
PHIL 244
FEMINIST THEORY
Description:
This course will introduce students to the broad range of theories
that make up the body of contemporary feminist thought. Although the
course will primarily focus on current transnational feminist debates
and practices, throughout the course we will touch upon the legacy of
feminist writing that preceded these diverse strands of feminist
discourse. The class will have a multidisciplinary approach and engage
the intersections between gender, race, class, sexuality, nationality and
disability as categories of analysis and sources of oppression and
empowerment. Students will employ the theories to analyze and
evaluate the various “texts” they are engaged with everyday including
classroom and discipline specific content and practices, literary texts,
popular media representations, and campus and community events.
Readings
McCann, Carole R. and Seung-kyung Kim.
Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives
As well as various readings posted on ANGEL
Exams, Papers:
Blog posts, 3 critical response papers, group presentation and
discussion leading, final research project
Time Class Meets:
MWF
Instructor:
S. McGee
10-10:50
40
ENED 354-01, 02
LIT FOR THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES
*Childhood Concentrators & Middle School Ext. only
Description:
This course focuses on literature for students in the intermediate
grades. Future elementary school teachers will learn strategies for
helping these young readers become confident, capable, lifelong readers.
In the process, they will become more active, responsive, critical readers
themselves.
**Tentative** Readings:
Serafini, The Reading Workshop
MacLachlan, Journey
Park, A Single Shard
Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963
Creech, Heartbeat
Codell, Sahara Special
Ryan, Esperanza Rising
Choldenko, Al Capone Does My Shirts
Giff, Pictures of Hollis Woods
Ryan, Becoming Naomi Leon
Sachar, Holes
Lin, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Park, Mick Harte Was Here
**Tentative** Exams, Papers:
Informal In- and Out-of-Class Reading/Writing Activities
Reading Journal
Book Group Leader Plans/Self-Evaluation
Book Group Evaluations
Follow Up/Author Study Project
Serafini paper
CCC Fulfilled:
IB
Time Class Meets:
01
02
Instructor:
M. Wendell
MWF
MWF
8-8:50
9-9:50
41
ENED 355 01
ADOLESCENT LITERATURE
Description:
This course requires reading, discussing and examining adolescent
literature, exploring methods for relating the literature to young adult
readers and addressing the need for cultural diversity in texts read
within and beyond the junior-senior high classroom. The course will
focus on how to guide adolescent experiences of self-narrative identities
through texts that transcend historical, racial and social differences.
Specific methods for integrating young adult literature will be
practiced.
Readings:
Young Adult Literature and Adolescent Identity Across Cultures and
Classrooms: Context for the Literary Lives of Teens - Edited by Janet
Alsup
Freedom Writer’s Diary with Erin Gruwell
Scorpians by Walter Dean Meyers
Crash by Jerry Spinelli
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Butterfly’s Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Crispin and the Cross of Lead by Avi
Feed by MT Anderson
Troll Bridge: A Rock and Roll Fairy Tale by Jane Yolan
The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolan
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Exams, Papers: Notebook Assessments, Annotations, Projects, Class
Participation, Final Project
Time Class Meets:
TR
5-6:20
Instructor:
K. Moore
42
ENED 356 01
TEACHING WRITING IN THE
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Description:
This course rests on the assumption that a writing teacher is first
a teaching writer. Therefore, working in the Humanities Computer Lab
(2162 Fenton), we first will write in a variety of forms, examine and
refine our own writing processes, practice peer-response activities, and
learn to correct mechanical errors in context. During the rest of the
course, we will design and discuss ways to help high-school English
students do these same things. Close attention will be paid to the NYS
Learning Standards for Language Arts, and to different approaches to
evaluating writing.
Readings:
Atwell, Nancie. In the Middle: Writing, Reading, and Learning with
Adolescents. 2d. ed.
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference
Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl
Exams, Papers:
Three revised and polished essays
Assignments and rubrics for high-school students.
Responses to writing by adolescents.
A 20-minute mini-lesson, taught in class.
Time Class Meets:
TR
3:30-4:50
Instructor:
T. Mosher
Lab - 2162 Fenton
43
ENED 357 01, 02, 03, 04
LITERACY, LANGUAGE,
LEARNING THEORY
Description:
Students will examine human language acquisition
(psycholinguistics) and cognitive learning theory; how these theoretical
bases help us to understand how it is people learn to read and write.
Students will explore what is involved in the initial stages of learning to
read and write and move toward an exploration of mature (critical?)
literacy, approaches to teaching reading and writing grades K-12,
cultural literacy, and Whole Language approaches to teaching and
understanding literacy.
Readings:
Courts. Multicultural Literacy: Dialect, Discourse, and Diversity.
Moustafa. Beyond Traditional Phonics
Either
or
1) Goodman. On Reading
2) Routman. Literacy at the Crossroads
A broad range of periodical articles and handouts.
Exams, Papers:
At least one personal essay, 10 annotated bibliographies, reader
response log, class presentation, 3 essay examinations, final research
paper.
Time Class Meets:
01, 02
03, 04
Instructor:
S. Johnston
TR
TR
2-3:20
5-6:20
44
ENED 359 01, 02
TEACHING POETRY IN ELEMEMTARY
AND MIDDLE SCHOOL
*CH/EC English Concentrators & Middle School Ext. only
Description:
In this course future educators will develop competence and
confidence as readers, writers, and teachers of poetry. They will use the
knowledge they gain from class discussions, readings, activities and
projects to develop their own philosophies and strategies for
approaching poetry with elementary and middle school students.
Tentative Readings:
Creech, Love That Dog
Fletcher, Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out
Heard, For the Good of the Earth and Sun: Teaching Poetry
Heard, Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle
School
Creech, Hate That Cat
Exams, Papers:
Informal In- and Out-of-Class Reading/Writing Activities
Poet’s Journal
Original Poetry
Choral Readings
Poetry Readings/Recitations
Heart Maps
Poetry Notebook (collected poems)
Poetry Anthology
Poet Study
Presentation of Poetry Anthology or Poet Study
CCC Fulfilled:
Speaking intensive (11)
Time Class Meets:
01
02
Instructor:
M. Wendell
MWF
MWF
10-10:50
11-11:50
45
ENGL 361 01
INTERMEDIATE FICTION WRITING
*Portfolios Due: October 21st
CO REQ: 160 01
Description:
The class focuses on the creation and evaluation of original
fiction. This is a workshop class, so students will be showcasing their
own work created during this semester. The class will also build on the
knowledge of introductory creative writing and focus in more depth on
form, techniques and problems evident in contemporary creative
writing. Students will do exercises in class and outside of class for
discussion as well as a great deal of reading.
Readings:
Behind the Short Story Ed. Van Cleave and Pierce
Best American Short Stories: 2009—Edited by Alice Sebold.
Flash Fiction Forward. Thomas, James and Robert Shapard (eds).
Boys and Girls Like You and Me. Kyle, Aryn.
Exams, Papers:
Regular reflections on revision of 2 stories over the course of the
semester
Written project on contemporary fiction writer
CCC Fulfilled:
CO4
Time Class Meets:
MWF
Instructor:
D. Parsons
ENGL 366 01
OPINION IN JOURNALISM
2-2:50
46
Description:
This course is designed for students in the Writing minor as well
as other students from other majors, including journalism. We’ll look at
how opinion journalism differs from “news” and “features” and explore
the changes in journalism taking place today with the proliferation of
digital journalism. Students will gain practice in producing opinion
journalism in a variety of formats, including reviews, analyses and
columns, while also considering magazine journalism, blogs and other
forms. We’ll learn the process of critique and students will be engaged
in writing several critiques of professional opinion in addition to
workshopping their own opinion pieces.
Texts: required student subscription to the New York Times online and
weekly reading of one additional professional source of the student’s
choice; weekly reading of The Leader. Also: Mark Briggs, Journalism
Next and John McManus, Detecting Bull.
Assignments: lots of critiques of professional journalism; several short
writing assignments and editing practice; two research projects (one
analytical, one literary)
Time Class Meets:
TR
3:30-4:50
Instructor:
J. McVicker
ENGL 373 01
GRAMMAR FOR EVERYONE
47
Description:
Students will gain a broad and basic understanding of the aims
and means of different types of grammatical description, specifically
pertaining to English. Students acquire a basic competence in
grammatical description, including a very basic understanding of
English morphology, and an understanding of English phrase and
sentence syntax. Most importantly, students will acquire the ability to
evaluate and critique claims about grammatical “correctness.” In this
course, we will see grammar as a set of descriptive tools and terms, and
style as a set of optional, variable, and conventional preferences closely
linked with specific genres and uses.
Readings:
Selected articles
Student-selected handbook/grammar book
Exams, Papers:
Grammar Blog
Digital Rules Project
Professional Project
Short Paper
Time Class Meets:
TR
11-12:20
Instructor:
S. Spangler
ENGL 375 01, 02
WRITING FOR THE PROFESSIONS
48
Description:
This course will introduce students to the expectations for and
conventions of workplace writing. Attention will be given to changing
approaches to professional writing in the context of new technologies
and media. Students in this course should anticipate writing intensively
and engaging in the process of revision throughout the semester. As part
of the final grade, students will be asked to participate in a servicelearning project that will require them to generate professional
documents for an audience in real-world setting/context.
Possible Readings:
Service Learning in Technical and Professional Communication
(Allyn and Bacon, Melody Bowdon and Blake Scott, eds.)
Exams, Papers:
Correspondence Portfolio (15%)
Report (15%)
Proposal (20%)
Career Portfolio (20%)
Service Learning Project (20%)
Participation (10%)
Time Class Meets:
01
02
MWF
MWF
Instructor:
K. Hanley
11-11:50
2-2:50
49
ENGL 381 01
NARRATIVE FILM AFTER 1940
* 4 cr. hr. course
Description:
A study of films made from WWII to the present. As intersections
of art, technology and commerce, films express the preoccupations of
the time and place in which they are made. We'll therefore be looking at
several film genres from various countries from technical, artistic and
historic and cultural points of view. Certainly canonical Hollywood
classics will be included, but also b-movies, experimental works,
documentaries and films from other countries. Students will learn to
recognize and analyze film language, and acquire a vocabulary with
which to do so.
Readings:
Discussions of cultural representation, especially of gender and
race, mainstream and the Other, will also be foregrounded
Exams, Papers:
Assignments include an online viewing journal in the form of a
blog, participation in online as well as in-class discussion, and a final
project.
Time Class Meets:
SCREENING:
Instructor:
T
3:30-4:30
T
3:30-5:50
S. McRae
50
ENGL 389 01
GREEK & ROMAN LITERATURE
* Honors Course
Description:
We will be reading some of the Greek and Roman classics and
examining them both in their historical context and as they affect us
today. No knowledge of mythology is required, but you’ll learn plenty
by the end of the semester.
Readings:
Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides;
Roman poetry, Virgil’s Aeneid.
Exams, Papers:
Weekly response papers, 3 major papers with rewrites.
CCC Requirements :
CO9 Western Civilization
Time Class Meets:
MWF
Instructor:
T. Steinberg
1-1:50
51
ENGL 399-01
HIST 399
INED 399
SPECIAL TOPICS:
Niagara’s Underground Railroad
Description:
This class is intended to introduce students to the local history
surrounding the Underground Railroad in the Niagara region. We will
encourage students to consider the border between Canada and the
United States from the perspective of slaves who journeyed along the
Underground Railroad, the abolitionists who helped them, and the
masters who sought to regain their human “property”. Students will
engage with the meaning of that border from a political perspective —
as a national boundary — but also from the perspective of the enslaved,
who often saw it as the border separating slavery and freedom. As this
is an interdisciplinary, team-taught class, we also hope students will
consider the somewhat constructed border that separates the disciplines
of history and English as they seek a fuller understanding of the history
of enslaved persons of African descent.
Readings:
 David Blight, The Underground Railroad in History and Memory
 Sarah Bradford, Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People.
 Margaret Goff Clark, Freedom Crossing.
 Christopher Paul Curtis, Elijah of Buxton.
 George and Willene Hendrick, eds., Fleeing for Freedom: Stories
of the Underground Railroad as Told by Levi Coffin and William
Still.
 Deborah Hopkinson, Under the Quilt of Night.
 Eber Pettit, Sketches in the History of the Underground Railroad.
 Faith Ringgold, Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky.
 Thomas Smallwood, A Narrative of Thomas Smallwood (Coloured).
Exams, Papers:
There will be two exams and two essay assignments.
Time Class Meets:
MWF
10-10:50
Instructors:
S. Liggins – English
J. Hildebrand - History
52
ENGL 399-02
SPECIAL TOPICS:
Modern European Literature
PERIOD COURSE
Description:
This course will focus on the literature of modernism within
the context of continental Europe. We will read novels, short stories,
poetry, and drama from a range of writers from France, Italy, Russia,
Austria, and Portugal with particular attention to the relationship
between provinciality and literary experiment. In addition, we will also
read a selection of texts by the period’s most influential theorist-Sigmund Freud—as both a reaction to and inspiration for the literature
of modernism; and we will work with the archival materials in SUNY
Fredonia’s own modernist treasure trove, the Stefan Zweig Collection in
Reed library.
Readings:
Subject to change but probably including some of the following:
Marcel Proust. Swann’s Way (Lydia Davis translation); Stefan Zweig.
Novellas; Rainer Maria Rilke. Duino Elegies; Franz Kafka. Collected
Stories; Italo Svevo. Zeno’s Conscience; Joseph Roth. The Radetzky
March; Fernando Pessoa. Selected Poems; Anna Akhmatova. Selecte
Poems
Exams, Papers:
paper
response papers; in-class presentation; final research
Time Class Meets:
TR
12:30-1:50
Instructor:
B. Vanwesenbeeck
53
ENGL 399-03
SPECIAL TOPICS:
Myths and Heroes in Adolescent Lit
ONLINE COURSE
Description:
Adolescence is a time of transformation, of unique challenges in
the path to adulthood. Mythology is an entry point for exploration and
discussion that is uniquely able to address the psychological needs of the
adolescent. The central characters in myth, particularly heroes, must
travel pathways of initiation and growth that are intimately relate-able
for teenagers. Additionally, the process of reading literature and
learning to interpret it in relation to mythological and cultural allusions
is a key skill that can be transferred to more advanced literature of the
canon, and that will augment the reading experience at any level.
This course is designed to explore the teaching of mythology
through popular, young adult fiction.
Readings:
TBA
Exam, Papers:
TBA
Time Class Meets:
TBA
Instructor:
K. Benson
54
ENGL 400 01
SENIOR SEMINAR
“Harriet Beecher Stowe & Mark Twain:
Case Studies in Reception”
CO REQ: 401-01
Description:
Don’t let the course topic fool you: this is not a Major Writers
course! Rather, this is a course that engages in reception study, an
approach that has broad relevance to all fields of English studies.
Mostly (in)famous for writing race, gender, and nation into the
narrative of American identity, the legacies of these major authors are
anything but static and coherent, as an examination of their reception
histories reveals. Instead of focusing on the corpus of literary works
written by Stowe and Twain, we will read a wide range of examples
from the critical debates about these major authors. In addition to
reading critical treatment by academic experts, we will examine “realworld” responses to and engagement with Stowe and Twain. How have
readers within and outside of academic settings regarded the major
literary works of these authors? What are the main areas of debate and
controversy surrounding their legacies? What voices and perspectives
have dominated the conversation, and which have been relegated to the
margins? What is at stake in defining the legacies of these authors,
historically and today? What can reception history tell us about the
ways in which institutional and social power is contained, controlled,
and, sometimes, subverted, and what special role does literary
interpretation play in that history?
While Stowe and Twain will serve as our main comparative
subjects for practicing reception study approaches, students will have
the opportunity to explore the reception of history of a literary work,
author, or genre of their own choosing for their final research paper.
An important note on pre-semester reading requirements:
Students enrolled in this course should plan to read two key novels prior
to the start of Spring 2012: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher
Stowe and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. While
critical editions of these novels will be available from the campus
55
bookstore at the start of the semester (and required for the course), over
the semester break students may use any authoritative editions of the
novels in order to complete the reading expectation before the course
begins.
Exams, papers:
There will be several brief, informal writing assignments, professional
writing assignments, and a 20-page formal research paper and a public
presentation.
Time Class Meets:
MW 3-4:20
Instructor:
E. VanDette
56
ENGL 400-02
SENIOR SEMINAR
CO-REQ: 401-02
Description:
This course synthesizes learning from the world-lit, genre-based
core. It is a class that looks backward at what your major has been, and
explores the role of literature in the world today. For most of the
semester, we will look at playwrights, novelists, and poets who explore
what it means to write the political. Questions we will explore include
what is the role of the writer in U.S. and transnational contexts? How is
the creative writer situated in relation to politics, activism, and cultural
critique in general? How are transnational identities being written and
explored in today’s literature? We will also look at your experiences as
English majors, your personal reading journeys, your roles as writers,
and present on some works of literature that you’ve never had the
chance to read but have always wanted to.
Readings:
Arundhati Roy. The God of Small Things and excerpts from The
Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire.
DeLillo, Don. Mao II and/or Falling Man.
Kushner, Tony. Homebody/Kabul. Revised Edition
Churchill, Caryl. Far Away.
Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis.
Riverbend, Baghdad Burning blog.
Brian Turner, Here, Bullet and/or Phantom Noise.
Ahdaf Soueif, The Map of Love and/or Cairo: My City, Our
Revolution.
Exams, Papers:
Short paper, discussion leading, research project (proposal,
presentation, paper).
CCC Fulfilled:
Speaking Intensive
Time Class Meets:
TR
Instructor:
A. McCormick
12:30-1:50
57
ENGL 410 01
CHAUCER
Author Course
Description:
We will read and examine extensive selections from The Canterbury
Tales as well as several of Chaucer's other poems. Students will learn
how to read Middle English so that they can show off to their friends
and families.
Readings:
The Canterbury Tales (Norton Critical Edition)
Dream Visions (Norton Critical Edition)
Exams, Papers:
weekly response papers , three major papers
Time Class Meets:
MW 3-4:30
Instructor:
T. Steinberg
58
ENGL 427 01
MAJOR WRITER: Kurt Vonnegut
Author Course
Description:
This seminar will explore Kurt Vonnegut’s roles as popular
satirist, artist, and literary figure/public intellectual of the mid- to latetwentieth century. In addition to analyzing key works that span the
length of Vonnegut’s career and assessing the Vonnegut canon, we will
consider a range of questions. What does it mean to study a major
author? In what ways was Vonnegut specifically a major American
writer? Why and how should we study (and teach) the works of
Vonnegut?
Tentative Reading List:
Player Piano
Cat’s Cradle
Slaughterhouse-Five
Breakfast of Champions
Deadeye Dick OR Jailbird
Galápagos
Hocus Pocus OR Blue Beard
Timequake
A Man Without a Country
Selected short stories, essays and other writings/speeches by Vonnegut
as well as biographical materials and critical essays by Vonnegut
scholars
Exams, Papers: Short essays and discussion questions, group
cultural/critical presentation on a selected text, final research project,
and spirited participation.
Time Class Meets:
MWF
Instructor:
C. Jarvis
1-1:50
59
ENED 452 01, 02
INQUIRIES IN STUDENT TEACHING
Brief Description:
This course serves as a complement to student teaching
experiences in English Adolescence Education and examines
professional issues that arise in classrooms with emphasis on learnerinitiated and shaped professional development.
Readings:
Student-determined readings from current professional journals
Exams, Papers:
 Teaching journal entries posted throughout the semester
 Presentation of a teaching inquiry along with supporting
artifact(s)
 A reflection on your presentation and action plan/research
proposal
 An appropriate “report” of your teaching inquiry. Some
possibilities include a conference paper, professional development
seminar materials, a newsletter or a film.
 Novice teacher portfolio
Time Class Meets:
01
02
T
R
Instructor:
S. Spangler
5-7:30
5-7:30
60
ENGL 455 01
WRITING TUTORS
CO-REQ: ENGL 456
ENGL 456 01
ESL TUTORING
CO-REQ: ENGL 455
*Enrollment requires permission of the instructor,
Professor Scott Johnston
Description:
In this course, we will examine both the theory and practice of
tutoring native English speaking students and ESL students who desire
assistance with writing assigned in their courses from across the college.
In addition, you will participate in all aspects of the tutoring process: as
an observer, a co-tutor, a tutee, and a tutor.
Readings:
1) Articles to be distributed during the semester
2) CTS Tutoring Handbook
Exams, Papers:
Reader’s notes, annotated bibliographies, three formal essays,
reflective essay.
Time Class Meets:
MW 4:30-5:50
Instructor:
S. Johnston
61
ENGL 460 01
ADVANCED POETRY WRITING
CO-REQ
ENGL 160 02
Description:
In this class, we hope to welcome each other into an advanced
writing community and to give credence to the belief that finding
community with other writers is as necessary and as important as
cultivating writerly solitude in a room of one's own. As Robert Wallace
notes in his introduction to Writing Poems, “Poets keep in mind the
discoveries other poems have brought to light.” With this in mind, we
will investigate ways to build community through poetry and, of course,
sharpen our critical eye by reading contemporary poets and
writing/risking in a class that features the traditional half-lecture, halfworkshop format. Additionally, students are expected to participate in a
public reading of their work at semester's end.
Readings: (TBA, but for now, include the following):
John Murrillo’s Up Jump the Boogie **visiting writer!
Ideal Cities, by Erika Meitner
Tell Me, by Kim Addonizio
In the Palm of Your Hand: The Poet's Portable Workshop,
by Steve Kowit;
Sailing Alone Around the Room, by Billy Collins
and other poetics essays, as needed
Exams, Papers:
A poetics essay, a mid-term research project, regular and intense
workshopping of poems, weekly writing exercises, a poster-sized visual
reproduction of a poem including the creation of your own writing
'tool,' culminating in a class presentation at the campus OSCAR expo,
and the production of a chapbook of poems by semester's end.
Time Class Meets:
TR
5-7:30
Instructor:
A. Nezhukumatathil
62
ENGL 514 01
COMPARATIVE APPROACHES TO
LITERATURE
Description:
This graduate seminar explores what it means to tell a story. Whether we
realize it or not, we use stories to understand our daily lives, figure relationships
within our families, position ourselves as members of a community, and define
ourselves as a nation. The purpose of this course is to provide an understanding of
narrative – how it is constructed, how we act upon it, how it acts upon us, how it is
transmitted, and how it changes when the medium or cultural context changes. We
will start by examining the elements of traditional narrative – narrative persona and
position, character development, plot chronology, and more. Then we’ll quickly
move to innovations in storytelling, exploring how writers from different cultural
and literary traditions have challenged conventional modes of storytelling. We’ll
use works of narrative theory to help us analyze not only how writers stretch and
break narratological conventions but also what is at stake in these innovations, for
the audience, for the genre, and for our continued reliance on storytelling in our
own lives.
Readings: Our texts for the class include the following, although some may change
before book orders are due:
I. Theoretical texts by Foucault, Chatman, Poulet, Iser, Todorov, Freud, Genette,
Riffaterre, Lukács, and others.
II. Novels:
Italo Calvino, The Castle of Crossed Destinies
Mario Vargas Llosa, The Storyteller
Caryl Phillips, The Color of Blood
Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient
Virginia Woolf, The Waves
III. Films:
Citizen Kane. Dir. Orson Wells. USA, 1941.
Rashōmon. Dir. Akira Kurosawa. Japan, 1950.
Run Lola Run. Dir. Tom Tykwer. Germany, 1998.
Momento. Dir. Christopher Nolan. USA, 2000.
Exams, Papers:
Weekly mini-thesis papers, one 10-15 minute presentation, one 30-minute period as
discussion leader (with partner), one 15-20 page seminar paper or project.
Time Class Meets:
R
5-7:30
Instructor:
D. Kaplin
63
ENGL 520 01
GRADUATE SEMINAR IN LIT & CULTURE:
20th Century AmericanWar Lit
Description:
This “text stream” seminar will offer students the opportunity to
study key texts within 20th-Century American War Literature. We will
explore multiple genres (drama, fiction, non-fiction and poetry) as we
move chronologically through the 20th-century, analyzing canonical and
non-canonical “war texts” from World War I, World War II, Vietnam,
and the Gulf War. What should count as a “war text”? Should the
experiences, narratives, and texts of veterans and other first-hand
observers be privileged over others? How are ideas about war and peace
expressed within a rhetoric of gender? What do representations of war
reveal about cultural discourses of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and
class? Over the course of the semester, we’ll explore these and many
other questions.
Possible Reading List (subject to change and deletions):
Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
Selections from the writings of Dos Passos and Cummings
Miller, All My Sons
Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
Fuller, A Soldier’s Play
Yamada, Camp Notes
Ozick, The Shawl
Possible selections from Catch-22 and No-No Boy
Heinemann, Paco’s Story
O’Brien, Going After Cacciato
Selections from Dispatches and several Vietnam-era poems
Swofford, Jarhead
Exams, Papers: Cultural/critical presentation, several short papers
with related discussion questions (including some with a pedagogical
component), paper proposal with annotated bibliography, and articlelength essay (15-20 pages) or final project.
Time Class Meets:
Instructor:
M
5-7:30
C. Jarvis
64
ENED 665 01
ENGL ED: DRAMA AS PEDAGOGY
Teaching with Drama in the English Classroom
Description:
Drama in education is not limited to elementary skits or
junior/senior class plays. It can be used in the English classroom to
engage students in active learning. Drama in the classroom is a
pedagogical method, which focuses on the learning process of the
students rather than a polished performance for an audience. In this
course we will explore drama as pedagogy—the ways drama strategies
can be used in the study of dramatic literature, fiction, poetry, and
writing. The course, as you would imagine, is highly interactive. We
will be up on our feet, collaboratively finding ways into various texts.
No drama or theatre background is necessary for the course. We will
focus on developing skills at facilitating classroom drama and creating
concrete drama activities that can be used in the classroom.
Readings: (tentative)
Wilhelm, Action Strategies for Deepening Comprehension
Neelands and Goode, Structuring rama Work
Shakespeare, The Cambridge School Series—Romeo and Juliet
Exams, Papers:
Response papers, teaching presentations, lesson plans, unit project
Time Class Meets:
W
5-7:30
Instructor:
A. Siegle Drege
65
ENGL 695 01
GRADUATE SEMINAR
IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Description:
The department adopted this course as a formal capstone to our
graduate programs, bringing students together from all major tracks to
participate in assignments and discussions that will help them transition
to the professional world as they look back to review their
accomplishments in the program. The course is structured to meet the
final obligations for candidates for professional certification, while
providing multiple opportunities for all degree candidates to evaluate
their own learning in the program, gain additional practice with
technology, and contemplate the current state of the profession as it
continues to evolve and change.
Required Text:
Dodd, Elizabeth. In the Mind's Eye: Essays Across the Animate World
1 more text, TBA (depends on the Red Book Dialogue dates, not
available at this time.
Time Class Meets:
T
5-7:30
Instructor:
K. Cole
66