Graduate English Course Descriptions
Spring 2016
ENG 5301 Literary Scholarship
W 6:30-9:20pm; FH 376
#31142
Instructor: Dr. Susan S. Morrison
Description: This course explores current issues in literary study and includes
examinations of major critical approaches, literary terms and documentation, various
genres, and resources for literary research in varied media. How do various contexts
(historical, environmental, cultural, feminist/gender, etc.) affect how we read? How
should we read a particular text given the many ways that it might be read? This last
question is at the heart of the course, and we will spend the majority of our time
practicing various ways of reading through theoretical application—ways that emphasize
the text, the author who wrote it, the reader who reads it, or the context (historical, social,
cultural) in which it was written. How and why do we read literature? It seems a simple,
to some perhaps even an irrelevant question. But to those of us who study literature, the
question is of paramount importance.
By the end of the course, you’ll be more aware of assumptions that underlie
different responses to a text. You will be able to demonstrate in class discussion and in
written assignments the ability to make an arguable claim about one or more literary texts
that is situated within a critical conversation. And you will be able to demonstrate an
awareness of critical terminology in developing arguments about one or more literary
texts. The goal in the course is to develop your own theoretical approach that you can
apply to whatever literature or film you go on to study.
Be sure to have the required Frankenstein edition on the first day of class. We’ll
be discussing it the second week we meet and you will be handing in a 2-page about it.
So I would read it over winter break and be prepared to discuss.
Professors and students are colleagues in learning and discussion. I hope for a
lively and stimulating journey to knowledge!
Books: Michael Ryan, An Introduction to Criticism: Literature - Film - Culture
ISBN: ISBN-10: 1405182822; ISBN-13: 978-1405182829. Wiley-Blackwell.
2012.
Jonathan Gil Harris. Shakespeare & Literary Theory. Oxford: OUP, 2010.
ISBN 978-0-19-957338-7.
Gwynn, R. S. Literature: A Pocket Anthology (Penguin Academics Series) (5th Edition)
Prentice Hall, 5th edition.
ISBN:
ISBN-10: 0205032192; ISBN-13: 978-0205032198.
Mary Shelley. Frankenstein. Norton Critical Edition. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. 2nd Edition.
2011. IT MUST BE THIS EDITION.
ISBN 978-0-393-92793-1.
William Shakespeare. The Winter’s Tale. Folger Shakespeare Library. Simon & Schuster,
ISBN-10: 0743484894 ISBN-13: 978-0743484893.
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism: available through Alkek’s
Databases. - http://litguide.press.jhu.edu/index.html
Recommended—MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd ed. (MLA,
2008).
Format: Discussion, close reading, presentations, analysis.
TRACS
The TRACS resource site has a number of required readings as well. Those names in
caps such as CULLER are required and available on the TRACS site.
This link provides information about literary terms:
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms.html
Evaluation:
-Participation (10%)
-2 page paper and oral presentation on Frankenstein (15%): Due the 2nd week of class
-2 page paper and oral presentation on The Winter’s Tale (20%): Due the Wed. after
spring break, March 23rd
-Canon-Making exercise (5%)
-Reflection on self-reading due last class meeting (5%)
-One 1-2 page handout on a theory/theorist with 4 page paper and oral presentation (20%)
-Use MLA Documentation. Include bibliography. Presentation of handout to class. You
must include application of the theory to a text we’ve read in the Pocket Anthology.
-Conference paper and presentation 25% - Handout must be given to all students. You
will sum up your approach for the term paper, with documentation. Research paper in
conference format (12 pages, MLA format): due the last day of class
Office Phone: 245-7669 or 245-2163
Office Hours: FH M12, M 6-6:30; T/H 11:00-11:30 by apt.
Email: morrison@txstate.edu
ENG 5302.251: Media Studies
Topic: Cold War Film
F 12:30-3:20; FH G06B
#34979
Instructor: Kate McClancy
Description: Covering the distance from spies to atom bombs, Truman to Reagan, and
Vietnam to Nicaragua, the Cold War looms like a mushroom cloud over American
culture. This first half-century of the United States’ global power after World War II is
defined through the struggle to maintain that power and the impact that struggle had on
America itself. Naturally, given the importance of the Cold War, the films of the time are
predominantly concerned with Cold War themes—conformity, apocalypse,
disillusionment—even when they are not overtly about the fight against Communism.
But are these films war stories? Can you have a war story about a war without a
battlefield? In this course, we will try to answer that question as we examine films
engaging the longest war the United States didn’t ever fight. We will look at movies
made both during and after the Cold War to determine not only what they have to say
about life during the Cold War, but about the development of American culture itself. We
will also investigate the ways in which the Cold War is still being fought in the American
psyche today.
Goals: To familiarize students with critical and theoretical approaches to the analysis of
film; to examine the representation of Cold War politics and policies in American film
Texts: Various critical readings. Optional: Monaco, How to Read a Film, 4th ed. Films
may or may not include: The Third Man (1949); I Married a Communist (1949); Red
Menace (1949); Invasion U.S.A. (1952); Red Planet Mars (1952); Pickup on South Street
(1953); My Son John (1953); North by Northwest (1959); One, Two, Three (1961); The
Manchurian Candidate (1962); The Ugly American (1963); From Russia With Love
(1963); Dr. Strangelove (1964); The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965); Torn
Curtain (1966); MASH (1970); The Parallax View (1974); War Games (1983); Red Dawn
(1984); Spies Like Us (1985); Top Gun (1986); No Way Out (1987); Blast from the Past
(1999); The Good Shepherd (2006); X-Men: First Class (2011).
Format: Discussion
Evaluation: Participation, weekly responses, an article-length paper project that will
develop over the semester.
Office Hours: FH M24, MW 11:30am-12:30pm
Email: krm141@txstate.edu
English 5310.01: English Language and Literature
Topic: Syntax
W 6:30-9:20pm, FH G04
#37411
Instructor: Jaime Armin Mejía, Ph.D.
Description: This course is intended to have students learn skills which hopefully will
enhance their understanding of English as a language and as a rhetorical and a stylistic
tool which can be used for persuasion. One of the primary skills covered is a method of
parsing words, phrases, clauses, and sentences within paragraphs of an academic essay.
This method originates from Dick Heaberlin who lays out his approach to parsing in this
book, English Syntax. Students will learn these parsing skills by going through the
lessons and exercises in this book. As students learn these skills, they will write an essay
responding to an essay prompt and serving as a writing sample of each student’s best
writing. The students will then parse each sentence so as to conduct a stylistic analysis of
their own writing sample. Students will also then present a report (orally and in writing)
of this stylistic analysis before the end of the semester, a report which will in part be
based on ideas from the readings from other sources of stylistic studies. Students will
read and discuss a series of essays concerning rhetoric and its relationship to style from
different sources. They will also submit journal responses to each of the assigned
readings. Students will not be allowed to present their final oral reports if they have not
evidenced a command of Heaberlin’s parsing method. Command will be demonstrated by
passing two parsing exams.
Evaluation: Classes will mainly be spent going over exercises from Heaberlin’s book.
As time permits, we’ll discuss assigned readings. In addition, to the two parsing exams
(each worth 20%) the stylistic analysis report of each student’s essay will be worth 40%,
with the final 20% for attendance and participation.
Office Hours: FH 135, T/Th 11am-12pm, W 5:30-6:30 & by appointment
Email: jm31@txstate.edu
English 5312.251 Editing the Professional Publication
Southwestern Journals
TTh 3:30-4:50pm, Brazos 218
#34981
Instructor: William Jensen
Description: This course provides students the opportunity to write, select, and edit
material for publication. Students will work as part of an editorial team on all stages of
the publication process. They will learn how to write and revise book reviews of
publishable quality. They will correspond with authors, evaluate submissions, and learn
the daily operations of two print journals: Texas Books in Review, which monitors the
literary production of books from or about Texas, and Southwestern American Literature,
which showcases contemporary writing and scholarship concerning the Greater
Southwest. This course also offers practical experience working with desktop publishing
software (Adobe InDesign/Photoshop).
Goals: Students will read and vote on submissions to Southwestern American Literature,
line edit selected works, and write two book reviews. With hands on experience, the
students will gain a deeper understanding of what is required to work for a publication.
Books: No books are required, but it is advised that each student owns a copy of The
Chicago Manual of Style. Other reading assignments will be handed out in class or posted
on TRACS.
Format: Primarily discussion, with brief various projects
Evaluation: This is a pass/fail course
Office Hours: Brazos 220 TH 2:00pm-3:30pm, and by appointment
Email: wj13@txstate.edu
ENG 5312.252 Editing the Professional Publication
A Technical Communication internship course
M 6:30-9:20pm, FH 114
Meets January 25th, April 25th, and May 2 in San Marcos
All other meetings are held online in the TRACS Meeting Room.
#34982
Instructor: Dr. Miriam F. Williams
Description: This course is an internship in which students will practice writing, editing,
designing, and proofreading a professional publication.
Goals: The goals of the course are to give students the opportunity to:
 participate in an applied learning experience,



provide a useful service to others while gaining professional technical
communication experience,
create documents in a professional workplace setting, and
create print and/or online documents for personal and MATC exam portfolios.
Required Books: Students will be assigned weekly readings from scholarly journal
articles. Also, students will be assigned readings from E-reserved book chapters.
Format: Hybrid course: Meets January 25th, April 25th, and May 2 in Flowers 114. All
other meetings are held in the TRACS meeting room. Webcams and microphones are
required.
Evaluation:
-Class Participation (Individual Assessment) = 20%
-Midterm Progress Report (Individual Assessment) = 20%
-Content Editing Project (Group Assessment) = 30%
-Recommendation Report (Group Assessment) = 20%
-Final Presentation to Client (Group Assessment) =10%
Office Hours: FH 132, MW 10-11am
Email: mfw@txstate.edu
English 5312.251 Editing the Professional Publication
Th 8:00-10:50 am, FH 376
Front Porch journal
#34983
Instructor: Roger Jones
Office hours: FH M22, M 2:00-5:00, TTh 2:00-3:00 and by appointment
English 5313.251 Ethics in Technical Communication
T 6:30-9:20 pm; Flowers Hall G04
Face-to-face class, San Marcos
#38604
Instructor: Libby Allison, Ph.D.
Description: This course focuses on ethical issues in the burgeoning and complex field
of technical communication. We will study ethical philosophies, historical ethical cases,
current ethical matters, and the scope of ethical dilemmas in the field.
Goals: Students will learn the following:
 the history of ethical cases
 the complexity of ethical issues with emerging technologies
 the possible solutions to ethnical matters
 to create persuasive arguments for ethical decisions
Required Texts:
Ethics in Technical Communication by Paul Dombrowski. The Allyn and Bacon Series in
Technical Communication. Needham, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2000.
Beautiful Evidence by Edward R. Tufte. Graphics Press. Copyright by Edward R. Tufte.
2006. Available at www.edwardtufte.com
Envisioning Information by Edward R. Tufte. Graphics Press. Copyright by Edward R.
Tufte. 1990. Available at www.edwardtufte.com
The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint by Edward R. Tufte. Graphics Press. Copyright by
Edward R. Tufte. September 2003. Available at www.edwardtufte.com
Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative by Edward R.
Tufte. Graphics Press. Copyright by Edward R. Tufte. 1997. Available at
www.edwardtufte.com
Supplemental readings will be assigned during the semester.
Format: Graduate seminar
Evaluation:
-Attendance and participation: 20%
-Homework: 30%
-Research paper: 30%
-Class Facilitations and Presentations: 20%
Office Hours: FH 136, TW 5-6pm and by appointment
Email: lallison@txstate.edu
ENG 5313.252 Studies in Technical Communication
Topic: Usability Testing
Th 6:00-8:50 pm; FH G14
Face-to-face class, San Marcos
#33320
Instructor: Aimee Roundtree, Ph.D.
Description: In this course, you will learn a variety of research methods commonly used
in technical communication, particularly applied methods that aid in information design
and communication decisions. You will survey the contexts, theories and practices that
inform research methods. You will learn to interpret, criticize and design research
projects; gain exposure to quantitative and qualitative methods; and practice using
software integral to the research process.
Goals: To identify research, theories, sites, issues and questions pertinent to technical
communication, construct a research problem from relevant literature, design a research
study, select and apply appropriate data analysis methods, write a research report or
proposal and write with clarity and collaborate with others.
Books: Creswell, J. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed
methods approaches. Fourth Edition. SAGE Publications, Incorporated: Chicago.
Format: Reading responses, research proposal and a research article
Office Hours: FH M10, MTWR 10-11am & by appointment
Email: akr@txstate.edu
ENG 5314.251: Specialization in Technical Communication
Topic: Discourse Analysis
W 6:30-9:20pm
Online/Hybrid: Meets 1/20, 3/9 and 4/27 at RRHEC; other times online
#31143
Instructor: Dr. Pinfan Zhu
Description: Discourse analysis is a qualitative research method; it has come to have
different interpretations for scholars working in different disciplines. For a sociolinguist,
it is concerned mainly with the structure of social interaction manifested in conversation,
a way to understand power relationship, identities and institutions; for a psycholinguist, it
is primarily concerned with the nature of comprehension of short written texts; for the
computational linguist, it is concerned with producing operational models of textunderstanding within highly limited contexts. Our course mainly approaches discourse
analysis from linguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives. The purpose is to understand
how forms of language are used in communication. The principal concern is to examine
how any language produced by man, whether spoken or written, is used to communicate
for a purpose in a context. In addition, we will understand how text reveals identities,
feelings, and different social relationships. We will learn the specific ways to do social
analysis, discourse analysis, text analysis, and conversational analysis. The course is a
hybrid course. We have three face-to-face class meets in Round Rock: possibly 1/20, 3/9
and 4/27. I reserve the right to update any course information in case there is such need.
Books: Norman Fairclough, Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language
2nd Edition
Format: Primarily discussion and exercises, with some background lectures and
presentations
Evaluation:
10% - Mid-term Exam
10% - Class participation
20% - Written exercises
25% - Text Analysis Projects
25% - Conversational analysis
10% - Presentation
Email: pz10@txstate.edu, Phone: 245-7665
Office Hours: FH 142, W 4-6pm, and by appointment
ENG 5314.252 Technical Marketing Communication
Th 6:30-9:20pm
Online/Hybrid: Meets 1/21, 3/10, and 4/28 at RRHEC; other times online
#37101
Instructor: Dr. Scott Mogull
Description: This course includes the study of technical marketing genres in the
commercialization of technically and scientifically advanced products. Students will learn
to analyze the features and benefits of a technology, address the needs and wants of
potential customers, communicate complex information to potential customers at the
right time (when they are searching for products or services and are ready to make a
purchase decision), and apply a corporate brand and style. Furthermore, we will examine
the latest technologies available in order to effectively reach potential customers.
Goals: The overall objective of the class is to prepare technical writers to work
effectively in high-tech and medical industries. In this course, students will: (1) identify
and analyze audiences and genres of technical marketing, (2) examine the use of
technology in technical marketing, and (3) explore issues that have historically created
tensions between technical writers and marketing/advertising professionals in order to
facilitate more effective relationships.
Required Texts/Readings: TBA
Format: This course will employ an active learning format in which students will
research and analyze genres, technologies, and issues. Students will select specific topics
and share their findings and analysis with the class.
Evaluation: The anticipated projects approximate weight are as follows:
 Seminar presentation and report of technical communication genres, technology,
and/or issue (30%)
 Portfolio of multiple technical marketing communication genres (30%)
 Midterm and final exams (handwritten notes permitted) (20%)
 Active discussion, participation, and analysis during seminar presentations; peer
review of portfolios (20%)
Office Hours: FH 131, T 9:30-11am
Email: mogull@txstate.edu
ENG 5315.251 Graduate Writing Workshop: Fiction
T 6:30-9:20, FH 376
#31147
Instructor: Doug Dorst
Fall Office Hours: FH M08, M 12:00-4:00 and by appointment
ENG 5315.251 Graduate Writing Workshop: Fiction
T 6:30-9:20, FH 253
#31150
Instructor: Tom Grimes
Fall Office Hours: On leave
ENG 5315.251 Graduate Writing Workshop: Poetry
T 6:30-9:20, FH 376
#31152
Instructor: Cecily Parks
Fall Office Hours: FH 222, MW 1:00-2:00 and by appointment
ENG 5316.251: Foundations of Rhetoric and Composition
Topic: Composition Pedagogy
TH 6:30-9:20pm, FH 253
#31318
Instructor: Dr. Eric Leake
Description: This course focuses upon the theory and practice of teaching writing. Areas
to be covered include the development of pedagogical theories, the design of writing
assignments and assignment sequencing, evaluating and responding to student writing,
and the roles of teachers and texts in the composition classroom. We will examine the
connections between how writing is taught and underlying beliefs about writing in key
composition pedagogies such as critical pedagogy, expressivism, translingual approaches,
service learning, and writing about writing. We also will consider the place of pedagogy
within rhetoric and composition and how pedagogy might address questions about social
context and authority. This course is based upon the understanding that a purposeful and
reflective pedagogical awareness is key for the effective teaching of writing.
Goals: Students will be able to demonstrate awareness of different pedagogical
approaches and how those might be applied in the writing classroom. They will be able to
develop writing courses—including course goals, assignments, assignment sequences,
and classroom activities—grounded pedagogical theories, as evident in a researched
course syllabus.
Texts (tentative): Bartholomae, David and Andrew Petrosky. Facts, Artifacts, and
Counterfacts
Coxwell-Teague, Deborah and Ronald Lunsford, eds. First-Year Composition: From
Theory to Practice
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Glenn, Cheryl, and Melissa Goldthwaite. The St. Martin’s Guide to Teaching Writing
Yancey, Kathleen. Reflection in the Writing Classroom
Format: Class discussions, activities, and workshops
Evaluation: Weekly reading responses, teaching narrative, class observation, and
researched course syllabus
Office Hours: FH M13, MW 3:30-5pm
Email: eleake@txstate.edu, Phone: 512-245-3785
ENG 5317: Writing Center Theory, Practice, and Administration
W 3:30-6:20pm, FH 253
#37102
Instructor: Dr. Rebecca Jackson
Description: Writing center work is understood primarily as a set of practices—that is, as
the actual work we do when we sit down with writers (or engage with them online) in the
writing center setting. Equally important, however, is the understanding that writing
center practices arise from and are shaped by theories and research in a number of
disciplines, including writing center studies, composition, rhetoric, and psychology. This
relationship is reciprocal. Theory and research refine and shape writing center practices;
writing center practices refine and shape theory. In fact, much recent work in writing
center studies challenges firmly-entrenched ideas about writing centers and challenges us
to think and move and research beyond the boundaries we have established for ourselves.
We will begin the course with theory, research, and practice that has defined
writing centers to date. We will spend most of our time, however, examining work in the
field that challenges our field’s dominant narratives and maps a reinvigorated approach to
theory, theorizing, research, and practice (scholarship on writing center work as
“emotional labor,” for example, and critical readings of the writing center community’s
focus on one-to-one tutoring).
Required Texts: MAY include the following:
 Michele Eodice, Frankie Condon, Meg Carroll, and Elizabeth Boquet. The Everyday
Writing Center: A Community of Practice. Logan Utah State UP, 2007. Print.
 Greenfield, Laura and Karen. Rowan. Writing Centers and the New Racism. Logan:
Utah State UP, 2011. Print
 Grimm, Nancy Maloney. Good Intentions: Writing Center Work for Postmodern
Times. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 1999. Print.
 Mackiewicz Jo and Isabelle Kramer Thompson. Talk about Writing: Tutoring
Strategies of Experienced Writing Center Tutors. Routledge, 2014. Print.
 McKinney, Jackie Grutsch. Peripheral Visions for Writing Centers. Logan: Utah
State UP, 2013.
 McKinney, Jackie Grutsch. Strategies for Writing Center Research. Forthcoming
from Parlor Press. Print.
 Rafoth, Ben. Multilingual Writers and Writing Centers. Logan: Utah State UP, 2015.
Print.
Course Goals: By semester’s end, students should be able to
 Map key conversations in writing center theory, practice, and research as these have
played out over the last 30 years
 Discuss issues and practices central to writing center administration
 Understand and advance approaches to administrative issues and challenges that
recognize the local contexts within which particular writing centers exist
 Contribute to writing center conversations of particular interest to you
Format: Small and large group discussion
Evaluation: Student-led discussion leading, reading responses, interview, observations,
seminar paper
Office Hours: FH 134, T/Th 2-3:30pm and by appointment
Email: rj10@txstae.edu, Phone: 512.245.8975
English 5321.251 Studies in Contemporary Fiction
Topic: The Family in Saul Bellow’s Fiction
F 12:30-3:20, FH 253
#37103
Instructor: Allan Chavkin
Description: We will use an interdisciplinary approach to explore some of the best
novels and shorter works of Saul Bellow. Although we will discuss the major topics and
techniques in Bellow’s fiction, one key focus of the seminar will be on the portrayal of
the family; such an exploration should result not only in appreciating the literary art of
one of the most exciting writers of the modern age but also in enhancing our
understanding of our own lives and how the family functions and shapes lives in complex
ways. Bellow’s stories provide a superb laboratory for exploring family dynamics.
Goals: To explore the major themes and styles of Bellow’s important novels, to introduce
students to manuscript study (“genetic criticism”) by examining an early draft of the
childhood episode of Bellow’s Herzog, and to learn about current ways of thinking about
the family and using that knowledge to explore how the family is portrayed in Bellow’s
fiction.
We will avoid using theories from family psychology and other sources in such a
way that literary works are reduced to neat predictable models. Our intention will be to
use literary works in such a way that they aid us in explaining and developing the theory
while at the same time applying the theory so that it illuminates the novel that we are
investigating. In short, as Herman Rapaport succinctly phrases the matter in his book The
Literary Theory Toolkit: A Compendium of Concepts and Methods: “The theory should
illuminate a work, and a work should illuminate a theory” (9).
Texts: Bellow, Saul. Collected Stories (Penguin Books)
Bellow, Saul. Novels 1956-1964: Seize the Day, Henderson the Rain King; Herzog
(Library of America)
Bellow, Saul. Novels 1970-1982: Mr. Sammler's Planet, Humboldt's Gift, The Dean's
December (Library of America)
Other assigned readings
Format: primarily discussion, with oral presentations
Evaluation: Midterm, Exam 1, a take-home exam—(Counts one fourth of your grade);
Exam 2—(Counts one fourth of your grade); Oral Presentation (accompanied by written
summary and seven discussion questions)—(Counts one fourth of your grade);
Participation: Counts one fourth of your grade. Because this is a seminar, not a lecture
course, and because your participation in class discussion is essential for its success,
participation will count as part of your grade. Your participation grade will be based on
your informal comments in class.
Attendance: Required (If you are absent, make sure to contact a classmate to see if I
announced any changes in the syllabus.)
Office Hours: FH 239, MW 11am-12pm and by appointment
Email: chavkin@txstate.edu
English 5321.252: Studies in Contemporary Fiction
Topic: Anglophone Indian Literature
M 6:30-9:20pm, FH 253
#39446
Instructor: Suparno Banerjee
Course Description: This course will introduce students to post-independence (1947)
Indian literature written in English, and will discern the various patterns and themes
running through the Indian postcolonial discourse. Some of the major issues we will
discuss are the partition of the country, the Indian diasporas, alternate historiography and
epistemology, gender roles, the rural and the urban and the futuristic visions of India. In
addition to fiction, we will also read some theoretical texts to get a better understanding
of the important issues of the postcolonial discourse—in India and elsewhere. We will
also watch some movies.
Books: Readings may include Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger, Anita Desai’s Fasting,
Feasting, Amitav Ghosh’s The Calcutta Chromosome, Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake,
Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, and Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan among
others.
Format: Open discussion and lecture
Evaluation: One article-length paper, one short paper, class presentations, and
participation in discussion
Office Hours: FH 241, MWF 9-10 am and by appointment
E-Mail: sb67@txstate.edu
ENG 5322.251: Form and Theory of Poetry
W 6:30-9:15, FH 257
#37107
Instructor: Professor Kathleen Peirce
Description: Rather than an encyclopedic stroll through the “isms,” this course offers an
opportunity for close reading and discussion of material made by a selection of
philosophers, visual artists, composers, and poets who are invested in coming to terms
with what it means to consider form while making art. So, a typical three-hour seminar
might include discussion of Willem DeKooning’s “What Abstract Art Means to Me,”
Fanny Howe’s essay “On Bewilderment,” Wallace Stevens’ poem “The Man With the
Blue Guitar” and a shared listening of music by composer Steve Reich.
We’ll use Babette Deutsch’s text on prosody, a compilation of essays on poetry written
by poets, e-reserve, and handouts.
Format: Primarily discussion, with some background lectures and presentations by
students and instructor
Evaluation: 10% in-class presentation
25% discussion
25% weekly response papers
40% two ten page papers, or one paper and a creative project
Office Hours: FH 246, T/Th 3:30-5
Email: KP03@txstate.edu, Phone: 245-3711
ENG 5323.001 Biography and Autobiography
T 2-4:50 pm, FH 257
#33714
Instructor: Debra Monroe
Description: This class is a literature class, a theory class, and a workshop. We will read
and discuss published essays and two memoirs. We will also read 1-2 craft articles. Then
we will read and discuss essays students in the class produce. Once we’ve done some
introductory reading (books and published essays) and discussed craft—the creation of a
persona, formal traditions and innovations, the rationale for writing nonfiction—we’ll
“workshop” essays. Everyone will first do some writing exercises based on prompts, and
we’ll first workshop scenes/segments, not essays. Later we’ll workshop essays that result
from the segments. Expect to read and discuss the assigned readings analytically—to
learn from their structure—and not in a casual way. It’s wonderful if you “like” the
readings, and you’ll like some, I’m sure. I’ve provided a variety. But even if you don’t
like all of them, if you read analytically you’ll learn something about your own writing.
Workshop means that, as a group, we first describe the individual student’s work:
its strengths, its appeals, its emerging shape. Then we will discuss which craft decisions
are helping and hindering that ideal shape. Showing your work to others can make you
feel vulnerable, but I run a generative, constructive workshop where students leave with
practical advice for revision.
Books: The Bill From My Father, by Bernard Cooper
The Boys of My Youth, by Jo Ann Beard
To Show and to Tell, Phillip Lopate
A zip file containing essays, and essays about nonfiction
Evaluation:
-Writing Exercises/Scenes 10%
-15-20 minute oral presentation about one of the essays in the e-reserves, 10%
-Class participation, not just talking but fostering inclusive group discussion, 20%
-5-page paper on structure in memoir 20%
-Essay 20%
-Final Portfolio 20%
Office Hours: FH 348, T/Th 2-3pm
Email: dm24@txstate.edu
ENGL 5324.252: Studies in Literary Genre
Topic: The Poetic Sequence
W 6:30-9:20pm, FH 253
#38610
Instructor: Roger D. Jones
Description: A study of selected modern poetic sequences. The focus will be
on work from mid-20th century on, in various styles. The course will be divided
in half, with the first portion of the course devoted to shorter works (like
Roethke’s “North American Sequence”) and the second portion of the course
devoted to book-length sequences, like Berryman’s 77 Dream Songs. The inspiration of
this course is taken from M. L. Rosenthal and Sally Gall’s 1986 text The Modern Poetic
Sequence: The Genius of Modern Poetry.
Goals: The goal of the course is to come to understand, through selected works studied:
a) why poets choose to write poems as sequence; b) how those sequences are
organized; c) what the advantage is in a writer’s use of the sequence form; d) the
relationship between the sequence form and time; e) elements that provide
continuity in a poetic sequence.
Textbooks: Books will include John Berryman, 77 Dream Songs; A. R. Ammons,
Tape for the Turn of the Year; Littlefoot by Charles Wright; The Book of
Nightmares by Galway Kinnell; and other book-length and shorter sequences.
Format: Lecture, Discussion, Student Presentation
Evaluation: One 12-15-page research essay (40%); semi-weekly writing assignments
(20%); oral presentation (10%); final essay exam (30%).
Office Hours: FH M22, M 2-5, T/Th 2-3 and by appointment
Email: rj03@txstate.edu
ENG 5326: Composition Theory
M 3:30-6:20pm, FH 253
#31326
Instructor: Dr. Octavio Pimentel
Description: This class introduces students to the field of Composition Studies and a
number of conversations about composition within the profession. The texts for the class
are not meant to be a "canon" but rather a sampling of the composition field, including
rhetoric/composition, basic writing, language/culture, and literacy education. Issues of
race, class, gender, and sexuality preference will often be juxtaposed within these
contemporary issues of composition.
Books: Kirklighter, Cristina; Cardenas, Diana; and Susan Wolff Susan, eds. Teaching
Writing with Latino/a Students: Lessons Learned at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
New York: State University of New York Press, 2007. Print. ISBN-10: 0791471942
Villanueva, Victor and Kristin L Arola, eds. Cross-Talk in Comp Theory: A Reader 3rd
edition, Illinois: NCTE, 2011. Print. ISBN-10: 0814109772
Format: Primarily discussion, with some background lectures and presentations by
students and instructor. Because of the seminar format, well-informed and thoughtful
discussion is expected of all participants.
Evaluation:
10% - Weekly Blog
25% - Annotated Bibliography
75% - Response Papers (3)
Office Hours: FH M23, 11am-1pm T-TH, and by appointment
Email: Octavio.Pimentel@txstate.edu, Phone: 512.245.3724
ENG 5332.251: Studies in American Prose
Topic: Women of the Beat Generation
Th 6:30-9:20pm, FH 376
#37109
Instructor: Dr. Steve Wilson
Description: Traditionally relegated to roles as supporters, muses, mothers or “botherers”
of male Beat writers such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs,
women Beat writers in recent decades have come into their as an important focus of
investigation for readers and Beat scholars. This course will explore the many social
issues (gender, sexuality, justice, creativity, etc.) and writerly approaches explored by
women who were undergoing the same changes and experiencing the same drive for
resistance and rebellion as the male Beat writers of the 1950s. However, as this course
will illustrate, their work also examines the particular barriers faced by rebellious and
creative women – some of those barriers constructed by the very men they thought would
support them in their projects and goals.
Goals: To understand the contributions of women writers to the Beat Generation as a
social and literary movement.
Texts (note that some of these texts are out-of-print, but can be purchased used at a
number of online booksellers sites): Diane di Prima, Memoirs of a Beatnik; Bonnie
Bremser, Troia; Joyce Johnson, Come and Join the Dance; Tim Hernandez, Manana
Means Heaven; Jack Kerouac, The Subterraneans; Hettie Jones, How I Became Hettie
Jones; Nancy Grace, Breaking the Rule of Cool; Alene Lee, “Sisters” (pdf on TRACS);
Jack Kerouac, “The Mexican Girl” (pdf on TRACS); Diane di Prima, Dinners and
Nightmares; Joyce Johnson, Minor Characters; Jan Kerouac, Baby Driver.
Format: Discussions, discussions, discussions, and some oral presentations.
Evaluation: A few short response essays to supplement our class discussions, a longer
research essay, and an annotated bibliography.
Office Hours: FH 349, MW 8:30-9:30, T/TH 11-12, and by appointment
E-mail: sw13@txstate.edu
ENG 5332.252: Studies in American Prose
Topic: The African American Short Story
T 6:30-9:20pm, FH 257
#37111
Instructor: Elvin Holt
Description: A survey of the African American short story from the 19th century to the
present. We will examine texts in terms of their cultural, social, historical, and critical
context.
Goals: To introduce students to African American masters of the short story and to
explore the substantial body of criticism and scholarship focusing on the African
American short story.
Books: The Conjure Woman by Charles W. Chesnutt, Spunk: Selected Stories by Zora
Neale Hurston, Eight Men by Richard Wright, Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin;
In Love and Trouble by Alice Walker, Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler,
Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones, Damned If I Do by Percival Everett.
Format: Discussion and lectures
Evaluation: Short reader-response essays, discussion leader for assigned text, 15-20 page
research paper, oral report on research paper, and take-home final exam.
Office Hours: FH 212, 9:00-9:50 MWF and by appointment
E-mail: eh07@txstate.edu
ENG 5346: Southwestern Studies
TTh 12:30-1:50pm, FH 130
#31327
Instructor: William Jensen
Description: This course examines the richness and diversity of the Southwestern United
States and northern Mexico and focuses on multicultural studies by exploring the region’s
people, institutions, history, art, and physical and cultural ecology. An interdisciplinary
approach increases awareness of and sensitivity to the diversity of ethnic and cultural
traditions in the area. Students will discover what distinguishes the Southwest from other
regions of the United States, as well as its similarities, physically and culturally. The
images, myths, and perceptions of the region will be examined in light of historic records
and literary texts.
Format: Lectures and discussions
Evaluation: Two regular exams and a final exam, as well as two major papers
For more information: See William Jensen in Brazos 220
Email: wj13@txstate.edu, Phone: 245-0351
Fall Office Hours: T/TH 1:30-3:30 pm and by appointment
ENG 5353: Studies in Medieval Literature
Topic: Chaucer
T 6:00-8:50pm, FH 252
#31328
Instructor: Leah Schwebel
Description: A class devoted to the study of Chaucer's major works (the Canterbury
Tales, Troilus and Criseyde, the House of Fame, etc.), and to the scholarship on these
poems.
Books: The Riverside Chaucer
Format: Discussion, close reading
Evaluation: 15-page research paper, presentation, blogs, participation
Office Hours: FH 126, M 1-2, 5-6pm, W 1-2pm
E-mail: las235@txtstate.edu
ENG 5354.251 Studies in Renaissance Literature
Topic: Early Modern Romance
Th 6:30-9:20pm; FH 376
#38614
Instructor: Dan Lochman
Description: A study of canonical and non-canonical prose and verse romances
published in England from the 1570s through the 1620s. Drawing on ancient Greek and
chivalric traditions, early modern romances were popular. They flourished alongside,
influenced, and were influenced by drama and varied poetic genres, and they helped
shape early modern ideas and representations of embodied subjectivity, theories of affect
and cognition, and strands of late-Elizabethan and early Stuart poetics and aesthetics.
Goals: To read closely and to learn, think, and write about romances in order to
appreciate their craftsmanship and artistry, their promotion of the idea of authorship, and
their representation of a range of cultural assumptions and values in early modern
England.
Books: Christopher Marlowe, Complete Poems and Translations (Penguin, 2007);
P. Salzman, ed., Anthology of Elizabethan Prose Fiction (Oxford, 2009);
Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Books Three and Four (Hackett, 2006); Philip
Sidney, The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia, ed. Maurice Evans (Penguin, 1977); Mary
Wroth The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania (abridged), ed. Mary Lamb (MRTS, 2011).
Also, William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis (Renascence Editions, online); P.
Sidney, Defence of Poesie (Renaissance Editions, online).
Format: Discussion, brief lecture
Evaluation: One-page summary and presentation of scholarly article (10%), close
reading paper (25%, 1750 words), annotated bibliography (15%), documented paper
(30%, 2500-3000 words), final examination (20%)
Office Hours: FH 354, T/Th 2-3 pm
E-mail: dl02@txstate.edu
ENG 5368: Studies in Victorian Literature
Topic: Reading Victorian Dickens
W 6:30-9:20pm, FH G06B
#39259
Instructor: Dr. Kathryn Ledbetter
Description: In this course we will attempt a technology-enhanced time shift to the
Victorian period through a chronological and condensed reading of selected works by
Charles Dickens in their original publication format and within their historical contexts.
In other words, we’ll attempt to read like a Victorian. Our goal will not be to replicate the
experience, but to observe and better understand the influence and cultural relationships
of Dickens.
First we will read Oliver Twist (published in 24 monthly installments from 18371839 in Bentley’s Miscellany). We will experience reading the monthly issues of
Bentley’s along with the novel (thanks to digitized copies available through Alkek
Library). You will be asked to print, share, and interpret articles or other textual items
from the periodical as you read. Then we will explore the author’s Transatlantic works
published immediately after his first visit to the United States: American Notes (1842)
and Martin Chuzzlewit (issued in monthly parts 1843-44), featuring a character’s
experience in the U.S. The last half of the course will be devoted to a (relatively) slow
reading in condensed monthly parts of Dickens’s last complete novel, Our Mutual Friend
(1864-65).
Note: this course may require extra research time until you become acquainted with
conducting digital primary research.
Books: (Please purchase Penguin editions only)
-American Notes, Martin Chuzzlewit, and Our Mutual Friend
-You will not need Oliver Twist, because we will be reading it online. However, you will
need a good wireless connection and a dependable printer at home.
Evaluation:
-Two critical essays engaging issues of the course (70%)
-Weekly explorations of contexts found in Victorian periodicals (30%)
Office Hours: FH 242, T/Th 8-9:30am and by appointment
Email: KLedbetter@txstate.edu
ENG 5383: Rhetorical Theory
Topic: Female Voices in the Rhetorical Landscape
Th 3:30-6:20pm; FH 253
#34231
Instructor: Dr. Nancy Wilson
Description: Because women themselves were devalued and their work was not
perceived of as rhetorical (i.e. did not align with masculinist traditions of classical
rhetoric), many female voices in the rhetorical landscape were absent. In this class we
will discuss the results of the “rescue, recovery, and (re)inscription” work that has been
done and try our hands at these scholarly efforts ourselves. We will also explore how
contemporary feminist rhetorical theory can inform our own writing and our approaches
to teaching writing to others.
Books: Cheryl Glenn’s Rhetoric Retold: Regendering the Tradition from Antiquity to the
Renaissance, 1997; Lindal Buchanan and Kathleen J. Ryan. Walking and Talking
Feminist Rhetorics: Landmark Essays and Controversies, 2010; Flynn, Sotirin, and
Brady’s Feminist Rhetorical Resilience, 2012; Royster and Kirsch’s Studies in Rhetorics
and Feminisms: New Horizons for Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies, 2012
Format: Discussion, close reading, interruptible lectures.
Evaluation: Weekly written responses—30%; a major research project—40% (this
percentage includes the final paper, a prospectus, a conference proposal, and a
presentation); facilitation of one class discussion—10%; a final exam (take-home)—20%.
Office Hours: FH 360, M-Th 10-11
E-mail: nw05@txstate.edu
ENG 5388: Studies in Literature for Children or Adolescents
Topic: Theories of Popular (Youth) Culture, With the Beatles
F 12:30-3:20; FH 257
#39037
Instructor: Katie Kapurch
Description: A study of foundational theories of popular culture and youth culture using
the Beatles as a touchstone for literary and rhetorical analysis. Specific areas of inquiry
will include the influence of Romantic and Victorian art and literature; the cinematic
rhetoric of films; the rhetoric of style; feminist readings of girl-group discourse; queer
readings of fan-authored texts.
Goals: To acquire in-depth knowledge of critical/cultural studies approaches to popular
culture and youth culture and in-depth knowledge about the Beatles as youth culture
phenomenon.
Books: (TBD) Reading list will include a theory reader and supplementary articles. May
also include Womack and Davis, Reading the Beatles; Wald, How the Beatles Destroyed
Rock and Roll; Warwick, Girl Groups, Girl Culture; Schneider, The Long and Winding
Road from Blake to the Beatles.
Format: Lecture, student-led discussion, some close reading
Evaluation: Two written reports with student-led discussion, Term Paper, Final Exam
Office Hours: FH 247, MW 9-11; T/Th 11:30-12:30—by appointment
E-mail: kk19@txstate.edu
English 5395.251: Problems in Language and Literature
Topic: Virginia Woolf and Theory
M 6:30-9:20pm, FH 257
#31402
Instructor: Dr. Victoria Smith
Description: This course examines Virginia Woolf’s writings, life, and times and situates
them in context of contemporary critical theory, particularly psychoanalytic theory, queer
theory, trauma studies, and gender theory. Theoretical/cultural readings will be the focal
point of some class meetings, while other meetings will center primarily on her fictional
works, where we will also pay attention to the exciting changes in literary style as
modernism develops, her biography, and the cultural and historical contexts in which she
wrote. In particular, we will contextualize her writings by understanding the impact of
war, gender, sexuality, and class in her works.
Goals: Students will gain a thorough knowledge of Virginia Woolf’s work, as well as a
working understanding of major critical methods and their usefulness in offering
markedly different insights into Woolf’s (and others’) texts. Students will learn to read
and to question various contemporary critical methods and to write thoughtfully about
Woolf and critical theory.
Texts: The following texts by Virginia Woolf: To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway,
Orlando, Moments of Being, A Room of One’s Own, and Three Guineas. There will also
be a substantial set of critical readings on E-reserve.
Format: Engaged discussion, student presentations, mini-lectures
Evaluation: Reading responses, oral presentation, midterm paper and final paper
Office Hours: FH M11, M/W 3:30-4:30pm, and by appointment
Email: vs13@txstate.edu
ENG 5395.252: Problems in Language and Literature
Topic: The Art of the Confessional — Seminar on Confessional Poetry
M 6:30-9:20, FH G06B
#31404
Instructor: Cyrus Cassells
Description: Through examination and discussion of three of the seminal works of
American confessional poetry, Robert Lowell’s Life Studies, Sylvia Plath’s Ariel, and
Anne Sexton’s early books, we will go on to explore how this controversial genre has
developed since the pioneering literary candor of Lowell, Plath, and Sexton. This course
provides greater exposure to the confessional genre through energetic discussion of the
work of over a dozen acclaimed poets. We will focus on issues such as truth-telling, selfexposure, shock tactics, wound-sharing, personal liberation, voyeurism, and
exhibitionism, as well as examining the traditional aesthetic elements of the confessional
texts. Among the many questions to be considered: how much has confessional poetry
mirrored the rise of American social phenomena such as talk shows, blogs, reality TV,
and shock radio?
Books: Ararat by Louise Gluck, Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath, The Collected Poems
of Ai, The Colors of Desire by David Mura, Crush by Richard Siken, Eva-Mary by Linda
McCarriston, In The Western Night by Frank Bidart, Life Studies by Robert Lowell,
Poems Seven: New & Complete Poems by Alan Dugan, Selected Poems by Anne Sexton,
Strike Sparks: Selected Poems by Sharon Olds, Stupid Hope by Jason Shinder, Vox
Angelica by Timothy Liu
Evaluation:
-Participation (joint presentation, discussion and contribution) – 15%
-Mid-Term Essays – 35%
-Research Paper – 50%
Office Hours: FH M14, M 2-3:30pm, T 2-3:30pm, 5-6:30pm and by appointment
Email: cc37@txstate.edu
ENG 5395.253: Problems in Language and Literature
Topic: Writing Politics and Ethics in Fiction
Th 6:30-9:20 pm, FH 257
#33725
Instructor: Jennifer duBois
Description: An examination of the particular challenges and opportunities of exploring
political and ethical issues in fiction. How do writers engage with moral ideas without
moralizing, and political ideas without propagandizing? How do we authentically portray
ideas we may disagree with, and characters whose actions we may abhor? And why, after
all, should we bother?
Goals: Through craft prompts and weekly discussion, students will consider how the
above questions relate to their own work, and how other authors have approached them.
Format: Discussion; some craft lecture.
Evaluation: Meaningful class participation; each student will lead at least one
discussion.
Office hours: FH M21, T 3:30-6:30pm
E-mail: jjd64@txstate.edu