Spring 2016 Course Descriptions
ENGL 200 (Macri). The Paranormal and Supernatural in Literature: If ghosts don’t exist, why are we so
enamored of them? What within us pulls us toward stories about supernatural experiences and
paranormal encounters? In this course, we will read 19th through 21st century novels and short stories
that center on the supernatural and paranormal as part of earthly life. We will look at the historical and
cultural context in which they originate and attempt to answer questions such as “What is
supernatural?--Is it the opposite of the natural?”; “How do authors foster a sense of belief?”; “What
psychological purposes do these texts serve?”; and “Why do these texts endure?” This course considers
that which we believe to be impossible and thus frightens or intrigues us when we encounter it.
ENGL 200 (Bird). Tolkien . We will read, discuss, and study J.R.R.
Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as well as a
biography of Tolkien. We will examine topics such as myth, the
hero journey, Tolkien’s literary models, his life, his times, and
the lasting impact of the trilogy on world culture. We will also
compare the books to the Peter Jackson film versions. Not all
who wander are lost, and may a star shine on the hour of our
meeting.
ENGL 203 (Naufftus). Major British Authors. A study of major
British writers: the Beowulf Poet, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, and representative figures from the
Neoclassical, Romantic, Victorian, Modern, and Postmodern eras. We will attempt to represent the
major literary genres and to get a sense of both the historical development of British culture and some
major critical approaches to the works under study. Students will take two tests and a cumulative final
exam and will write two critical essays.
ENGL 203 (Fike). Major British Authors. English 203 surveys major authors from the main periods of
British literature (beginnings through postmodernism). Our emphasis will be on "periodicity," which
means the ways in which a literary work reflects and reinforces the historical period in which it appears.
Although counting toward the English major, English 203 is appropriate for non-English majors who
want a course that partially fulfills the Humanities requirement. Course requirements include
participation, quizzes, midterm and final examinations, and three short linked papers.
ENGL 208 (Winar). Foundations of World Literature. This course is designed to familiarize students with
great works of Western literature representing Greece, Rome, Medieval Europe, and the Renaissance
and also significant, chronologically comparable works from the Non-Western traditions. Students will
engage in discussion, critical thinking, and analytical writing about diverse literary traditions and
individual works. In addition to in-class writing, essay tests, and a final exam, students will be required to
write at least one formal, researched critical essay.
ENGL 211 (Richardson). Major American Authors. In his 1782 Letters from an
American Farmer, J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur asks the question, “What is an
American?” By extension, we will be seeking to explore the question of “What is
American Literature?” Organized by historical time periods, the course features
major canonical authors from within those periods. We will analyze the authors’
individual works not only for their literary features but also for their connections to
various aesthetic movements such as Romanticism and Realism. Students will
Spring 2016 Course Offerings |2
participate in class discussion as well as complete two tests, a final exam, and a series of writing
assignments.
ENGL 211 (Jordan). Major American Authors. Study of the major periods, literary forms, and issues that
characterize American literature, with a consideration of representative major works and authors over
the course of American literary history.
ENGL 300 (Bickford). Approaches to Literature. This writing intensive course required of all English
majors and minors introduces students to the evolving study of literary criticism. The course covers
critical approaches from the past and present as well as looks toward possible future developments in
criticism. We begin with a study of formalism and then move to detailed examinations of the dominant
critical schools of the twentieth century, including reader response, psychoanalysis, structuralism,
feminism, New Historicism, deconstruction, gender studies, and postcolonialism. Students choose a
primary text on which to base their major written assignments – an annotated bibliography, a review of
literature, a casebook, and a critical essay. Other requirements include short essays and a cumulative
final. Textbooks support all aspects of the course and are a casebook made up of a primary work and
five essays displaying varying critical approaches, an introduction to critical theory, the most current
MLA handbook, and a handbook to literature. Note: Writing Intensive Course. Restricted to English
majors and minors. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.
ENGL 305 (Fike). Shakespeare. English 305 surveys eight plays representing the four “modes” of
Shakespeare's work (comedy, history, tragedy, and romance). Supplementary readings on Shakespeare's
life and times will be assigned in The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare. The requirements include
midterm and final examinations, a term project written in multiple stages, and class participation. Many
theoretical approaches will be sampled, and you should feel free to construct an interdisciplinary
research project, especially if you are not majoring in English. Prerequisite: ENGL 203.
ENGL 312 (Bickford). African American Literature. English 312 is a survey in
African American literature. Students will explore a representative sample of
the body of African American literature, beginning with a cursory review of the
Middle Passage, moving to the foundations in music and oral culture, and
progressing through the major cultural and literary periods of African American
literary production. Students will be asked to explore, among other ideas, the
connection between the history and the literature that results, the role of the
African American artist, and whether or not there is such a thing as a Black
Aesthetic. Prerequisite(s): ENGL 211 or AAMS 300 or permission of instructor.
Winthrop Department of English
Spring 2016 Course Offerings |3
ENGL 320 (Jordan). Paris in the Jazz Age. This course will focus on expatriate
writers for whom Paris during the Jazz Age provided great inspiration.
Consideration will be given to the intersection of cultures and to the influence of
place on composition. A visit to Paris and Venice will function as an integral part of
the experience, and students who register for the trip will be guaranteed a seat in
class. Only students participating in the travel experience may register for the
course. See Professor Jordan for details.
ENGL 325 (Koster). Dramatic Literature: European Drama before Shakespeare.
Too often histories of drama go from the classical period straight to the early
Renaissance with little consideration of the dramas that came in between. In this
course we will read, watch, act out, and possibly perform plays that represent the development of
European drama from the late antique period to the Tudor interlude. We’ll discuss the shift of authority
for plays and players from establishment groups such as the church to civic and guild control to the rise
of professional writers, actors, and producers. We’ll explore how scriptwriting, costuming, and staging
are incorporated into the rhetoric of these texts,
as well as crucial
issues of gender and class. And above all, we will
read mysteries,
moralities, saints’ plays, interludes; plays that
contain the essentials
of the Christian faith; those that celebrate
adultery and incest;
and even those where a sheep is passed off as a
human being.
Texts will be (largely) in English translations
ones will be in early Tudor English, but if you can
Bible they won’t be too hard for you).
couple of short papers, a midterm and a final,
project (which may take several forms, including
researched papers, or other proposals). This
Humanities course in the General Education
nominated for the Global requirement; it will
Medieval Studies minor. Cross listed as MDST 350 and THRT 397.
(some of the later
read The King James
Assignments include a
and a research
performances,
class fulfills an Arts &
program and will be
also count toward the
ENGL 328 (Martin). Healing Arts in Medicine. This class introduces students of any background during
the first half of the semester to various expressive arts modalities through research and in-class
workshops with guest practitioners of expressive arts. The second half of the semester emphasizes the
service learning part of the class: students will engage weekly with adult patients, their families, and
staff in expressive arts experiences at local medical institutions. These experiences range from reading
to patients and helping them journal to inviting patients to participate in crafts as well as drawing and
painting.
ENGL 330 (Gerald). Women in Literature. The main aims of the class are to increase students’
awareness of women’s contributions to literature; to make students aware of the relevant historical,
political, and cultural issues that affect women’s writing; and to further students’ understanding of the
relationships among the works read and the relevance of these works to the students themselves. Note:
Crosslisted as WMST 330.
ENGL 491 (Brownson). Departmental Seminar. This course assesses student mastery of English
coursework. Students complete several assessment measures--including content knowledge tests, an
essay test, and the Senior Opinionaire. Although the tests are individually graded, students receive an S
Winthrop Department of English
Spring 2016 Course Offerings |4
or U for the course. The results are then summarized anonymously and used to improve instruction in
the English Department. Prerequisite: Should be taken in the first semester of the senior year (after the
student has completed 90 hours).
ENGL 503 (Naufftus). Major Victorian Writers. Study of 19th-century British literature (poetry, nonfiction prose, and fiction) with emphasis on main currents of thought. Notes: Offered even years in the
spring. Prerequisites: ENGL 203 or graduate status. WRIT 101 is a prerequisite for all ENGL courses.
HMXP 102 and a previous ENGL course are prerequisites to any 500-level ENGL course.
ENGL 504 (Richardson). Modern American Poetry. A survey of
American poetry of the 20th century with emphasis on major poets
such as Pound, Frost, Stevens, Williams, Bishop, Brooks, Rich, and
Levertov. Not only will we analyze the poems themselves, but we
will also examine their intersections with changing historical events,
critical attitudes, and aesthetic standards and expectations. A
tentative list of assignments includes the following: Undergraduate
students will complete a midterm and a final, reading
responses/quizzes, and a 8-10 pp. major paper. Graduate students
will complete a midterm and a final, reading responses/quizzes, a
12-15 pp. major paper, lead class discussion, and prepare a
presentation on a poet or work not included in the syllabus. Notes:
Prerequisites: ENGL 211 or graduate status. WRIT 101 is a
prerequisite for all ENGL courses. HMXP 102 and a previous ENGL
course are prerequisites to any 500-level ENGL course.
ENGL 511 (Koster). Chaucer. This course provides a broad acquaintance with the works of "The Father
of English Poetry," beginning with his early dream narratives, moving through his Boethian tragedy
Troilus and Criseyde, and concluding with his unfinished masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales. Along the
way we will discuss the Middle English language and the emergence of English prosody, cultural and
historical events such as the Black Death and the Hundred Years' War, the rise of a vernacular reading
audience, the roles played by women, the instability of texts transmitted in a manuscript culture, and
the rhetorical impacts of farting, interior decoration, and talking chickens. A variety of critical and
theoretical approaches will be presented. Requirements: a sense of humor, several tests, an oral
presentation (graduate students), a substantive research paper, and engaged class participation.
Multiple opportunities to participate in undergraduate or graduate research will be offered.
Prerequisite: ENGL 201 or 203 and WRIT 102 or CRTW 201 with a grade of C or better, or graduate
status. This course will count toward the Medieval Studies minor.
ENGL 520 (Hiner): 17th Century English Literature Seventeenth-Century British Literature, offered for
graduate and undergraduate credit, surveys the most important religious and secular poetry and prose
of 17th-century England. Donne, Jonson, Herbert, and Behn will receive special emphasis, as will three
important historical events: the Civil War, colonialism, and the Great Fire of London. The course
requirements include a midterm examination to be written in class, response papers, a longer
researched essay, a final examination, and daily participation. The course will operate almost
exclusively on the basis of small- and large-group discussion and reports by small groups.
ENGL 530 (Jones): Grammar in Theory and Practice. This course reviews traditional grammar with an
emphasis on descriptive methodology (how our language functions) and introduces transformational
Winthrop Department of English
Spring 2016 Course Offerings |5
and structuralist grammars. Students will be required to write a "problem" paper or prepare a lesson
plan and take three exams. Primarily intended for students planning to teach.
ENGL 602 (Bird): Critical Theory. This course will be an intensive seminar in critical theory, beginning
with an historical survey (from Plato and Aristotle to Freud and Sartre) and culminating in study of 20th
and 21st century critical movements (formalist, reader-response, deconstructive, psychoanalytic,
feminist, Marxist, New Historicist, postcolonial, gender studies, and so on). The readings will be essential
primary texts in the fields of philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, political theory, psychology,
economics, history, gender studies, and literary criticism that are foundational to the development of
contemporary literary theory. In our discussions, we will rely not only on our careful reading of these
important texts but on our knowledge of fiction, poetry, and drama to ground theoretical abstractions in
practical application to the study of literature. Students will read, discuss, write short and long papers,
and make presentations. This course is intensive and challenging, but covers material essential to
advanced literary studies and scholarship and will be an excellent learning experience.
ENGL 623 (Brownson): Seminar in British Literature after 1784.
The Contemporary British Novel. What is a contemporary British
novel? How, if at all, is it different from novels of other cultures and
periods? In 2006, James F. English in Contemporary British Fiction,
responded to such queries with the following: “British fiction exists
today in a dynamic relation with an increasingly global field of fiction in
English.” In this seminar, we will have the opportunity to study the
British novel and its development in technique and content over the last
twenty-five years and come to our own conclusions. We will pay close
attention to how novelists respond to historical cataclysms as well as to
social ruptures and changes in the economy, gender politics, and racial
and ethnic relations. We will also examine how novelists might have
retained and/or reshaped preceding fictional form and content in
response to these events. Requirements include short critical essays; an
oral presentation; leading class discussion; a 12-15 page critical essay project; and midterm and
cumulative final exams. Lively class discussion is guaranteed!
ENGE 519 (Prickett): Adolescent Literature. Adolescent Literature focuses on the selection and
evaluation of suitable reading material from all literary genres for the young adult, with specific
attention to the development and needs of adolescents. Students will complete a number of hands-on
individual or group-based projects, which may consist of lesson plans, performances, and responses to
issues related to young adult literature. Special attention will be given to gender dynamics in the
classroom, working with non-print media, special needs issues, multiculturalism and the canon,
censorship, and student-centered curriculum in the teaching of literature. Although Adolescent
Literature is designed primarily for students in the English Education track, the course is also suitable for
other majors who may be interested in exploring how literature is used in social work, psychology, and
other areas that involve working with young adults. Prerequisites: WRIT 101 and HMXP 102; minimum
of sophomore status.
HONR 208H (Jones & Wilcox): Seminar on All the King’s Men. This is a half-semester course ending on
March 1. This course focuses on the text of a classic American novel, one of the most political novels in
American literature. In addition to a close reading, discussion will encourage students to explore some
Winthrop Department of English
Spring 2016 Course Offerings |6
broader perspectives offered by the themes of a book written by an esteemed literary critic, poet, and
fiction writer. The politics of power and personal obligations juxtaposed against the historical value of
individual good deeds gives the study important overtones relating uniquely to the American political
scene—especially the American South. The blending of literary and historical themes, along with
philosophical questions about the nature of right and wrong, good and evil, and the consequences of
actions, may have special significance in a year of an American presidential election. 1 credit hour;
honors program students only.
HONR 232H (Friedman): Seminar on the Films of Margarethe von
Trotta. Margarethe von Trotta, whose career spans from 1968 to the
present, has won international acclaim as a foremost woman director
and screenwriter of Germany and the New Europe. She defines her
cinema: “I am always attracted to a woman who has to fight for her own
life and her own reality, who has to get out of a certain situation of
imprisonment, to free herself. This is perhaps the main theme in all of
my films.”
Her films are intensive and riveting investigations of women’s experience
in private and political spheres. She is known as a consummate
psychologist and seismographer of psychic energies in biopics on women
as diverse as the revolutionary, Rosa Luxemburg; the medieval mystic,
Hildegarde of Bingen; and the philosopher of the holocaust, Hannah Arendt. We will study von Trotta’s
films on the intensely symbiotic relationships of sisters, mothers and daughters, as well as those focused
on women’s private experience at times of political unrest and terrorism. We will consider Margarethe
von Trotta’s work as a film actress, her collaborations with her former husband, and her impressive body
of continuous work. The course will be taught in English with films shown with subtitles. Basic texts,
Antigone, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, the Visions of Hildegarde will enhance discussion.
WRIT 307 (Hoffman): Fiction Writing. This class is a workshop. Students will submit their work to the
workshop and participate in workshop discussions. Students will write two stories and make extensive
revisions. Students will learn to read like writers. Also students will read at least two books: a short story
collection and one of the following: a biography, a collection of letters, or a book on the creative
process, all with the aim in mind of examining their own creative process.
WRIT 311X (Stiles): Writing Narratives for Tabletop Role-Playing Games.
Tabletop game writing combines technical writing with creative non-fiction.
In this intro course, students will learn to read, play, and understand one or
more open-licensed game systems in order to write publication-quality
content: new rules, adventures, and setting material. The skill set will include
editing one's own work for publication and learning to playtest submissions.
Students will also learn submission etiquette and will be strongly encouraged
to submit work to tabletop companies. The course is designed for students
who seek opportunities as professional writers. Readings will include Of Dice
and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It,
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Core Rulebook, and Savage Worlds Deluxe:
Explorer's Edition. No tabletop gaming experience is necessary.
Winthrop Department of English
Spring 2016 Course Offerings |7
WRIT 316 (Weeks): Poetry Writing. The focus of this course is on student poetry, which will be
discussed and critiqued in a workshop format. In addition to working on class poems, students will read
the work of contemporary published poets and will do oral reports on recent collections of poems. A
public reading of poems written in the class will be given at the end of the semester. Grades will be
based on a portfolio of poems (with revisions) as well as on workshop participation and oral reports.
WRIT 350 (Smith): Introduction to Composition Theory and Pedagogy. Students in this class will gain
knowledge about their own writing process, about theories of composition and rhetoric, and about the
teaching of composition in the schools. This is an intensive writing class, so students should be prepared
to write on an almost daily basis as well as discuss the readings and participate in small group activities.
Students will write in several formats for a variety of purposes; there will be an oral presentation, a
midterm, and a final exam. The class is primarily discussion; there are also assignments specifically
geared toward teaching writing (for example, teaching a grammar lesson, grading student papers).
Notes: This class is designed primarily for students who are considering teaching careers. This course
includes a field component with secondary English Language Learners (ELL).
WRIT 366 (Walter): Technical Communication. Online course. As an introduction to technical
communication, we will learn about technical communication as a field and a profession, and we will
examine and engage the written, oral, and visual communication methods and genres commonly
practiced by technical communicators. As a writing intensive course designed for students seeking
opportunities as technical communicators, this course will address advanced research strategies and
documentation; organizing and presenting information; the use of graphics and data visualization;
document design; technical editing; the use of social media in technical communication; and writing for
specialized forms such as professional correspondence, proposals, documentation, and technical and
professional reports.
A central tenet of this course is that effective technical communication, as all communication, is social,
situational, and contextual. To this end this course will emphasize a rhetorical genre studies approach;
that is, we will examine the kinds of documents and publications technical writers often produce as
having developed out of reoccurring needs of an organization, profession, or community and have
become formal genres in order to create familiar and stable methods of sharing and exchanging
information. The course is designed for students who seek opportunities as professional writers, not as
scientific professionals. Notes: Intensive Writing course. Prerequisite(s): WRIT 101 with a grade of C- or
better.
WRIT 507 (Hoffman): Short Story Writing. Students will
write at least two complete stories. These stories will
be shared in full-class workshops. Students will study
advanced-level fiction craft, and they will apply this
craft to the drafting and revising of their fiction.
Revision will be studied and practiced, and students will
learn to transform their drafts into fully realized fiction
for a professional audience. Students will also read and
study a variety of published fiction. Graduate students
will provide additional editorial feedback, and will read
and write a craft essay on fiction technique.
Prerequisite: HMXP 102 with a grade of C- or better and ENGL 307, or graduate status.
Winthrop Department of English
Spring 2016 Course Offerings |8
WRIT 516 (Weeks): Poetry Writing II. The focus of this course, as in WRIT 316, is on student poetry,
which will be discussed and critiqued in a workshop format. In addition, students will read and discuss
published poems from a variety of sources as well as essays on contemporary poetry and craft. Each
student will write a review of a recent collection of poems, which will be presented orally as well as
turned in with the portfolio of poems and revisions at the end of the semester.
WRIT 566 (Walter): Writing for Science and Technology. Online course. Whether one is applying for a
job, seeking research funding, proposing better production methods, teaching, advising policy makers,
or proving the Grand Unified Theory, scientists and engineers rely upon their ability to communicate
effectively with others. A central tenet of this course is that effective scientific and technical
communication, as all communication, is social, situational, and contextual. That is, it is rooted in the
specific discourse practices of its intended audience, and is shaped by the goals of the speaker or writer
and the expectations and interests of the intended audience. In other words, scientific and technical
communication is rhetorical.
In this course we will study and practice composing in a number of genres scientists and engineers
routinely encounter in their professional lives, we will study the rhetoric of science so that we may
better understand how scientists and engineers practice effective per- and dis-suasive making of
knowledge, and we will study how to analyze rhetorical situations so that we may effectively shape our
discourse so that it meets the needs of both ourselves and our audience. Note: This course is not
recommended to sophomores or to those students who are not yet familiar with professional journals in
their intended fields; those students should consider WRIT 366 instead. Prerequisites: WRIT 102 or
CRTW 201 with a C or better; and either ENGL 380 or successful completion of a 200-level or higher
course in BIOL, CHEM, CSCI, ENVS, GEOG, GEOL, GRNT, NUTR, MATH, PHYS, PSYC, SCIE, or WELL; or
permission of the instructor; or graduate status.
WRIT 610 (Smith): Seminar in Composition,
Theory, and Pedagogy. The course is intended to
help prepare students to teach first-year writing
effectively in community colleges and at the
university level; the teaching of business and/or
professional writing at the community college level
will be included. This course involves intensive
analysis of contemporary theories of composition
and composition pedagogy. We will take
advantage of the seminar format to engage in lively discussion and complete practical assignments such
as evaluating first-year student writing and designing lesson plans; students will also engage in
individualized research and write a major research paper and a final exam. Note: This course does not
duplicate WRIT 350!
Winthrop Department of English