Fall 2006
ENG 5000 Practical Literary Criticism -- Stover
(T 6-8.30 -- CRN 11012)
We all use some kind of interpretive strategy whenever we read, view, or listen to texts. One purpose of this course is to make you more aware of the variety of assumptions people make about literary texts and the implications these have for critical reading and writing. This course should help you develop awareness of reading as a creative act with social and political implications as you learn the theory of and practice major critical approaches. In addition, you should feel by the end of the course that you have a better grasp on the controversies and tensions (productive and otherwise) that drive the teaching of English as a profession. Finally, after completing the course, you should better understand the kind of thorough familiarity with critical conversations and the research methods required to write a thesis.
ENG 5040 History of the English Language -- Monteverde
(W 6-8.30 -- CRN 11013)
Recognizing that any description of this course is destined to be off-putting, let me begin by stating that ideally this course should make your own language come alive for you as a living entity whose current form is the result of all its childhood experiences and whose future shape, though predictable to some extent, is also yet to be determined. We will study the growth of our language from its origin as a descendant of the Indo-European language family in distant prehistory to its current position as the 2nd most widely spoken language in the modern world. Though required for all students seeking teacher certification in English, this course also is of value to students interested in the study of literature and the development of a personal voice in writing, because it will make the primary tool of writing, the language itself, more visible to you. Tests will be augmented with a variety of assignments, such as a personal language history, designed to help you appreciate the on-going and individual process of change that can be experienced in the study of English, an annotated bibliography, and either a teaching unit or researched essay.
ENG 5840 Readings in 20th-Century Literature - Paine
(W 6-8.30 – CRN 44854)
This course will survey periods, genres, trends, and currents in twentieth-century literature, including British, North-, South-, and Native-American, European, Asian, and African domains. We will prominently consider the "periods" known as Modern, Postmodern, and Postcolonial. We will also consider some of the many loci of intersection among literature, the other arts, philosophy, science, and technology in the twentieth century. Reading assignments will be of considerable length and variety. A reading journal will be required, as well as class reports on reading. There will be a comprehensive written exam, which will constitute the greatest element in evaluation. The course is intended to provide comprehensive background as preparation for more specialized study in the literatures of the twentieth century.
ENG 6250 19th Century American Lit --Dale
(M 6-8.30 -- CRN 44855)
Explore the competing definitions of American Realism as this important genre was developing around the turn of the 20th century. Reading Howells, James, Twain, London, Crane, Chopin, and other influential writers, we will consider the debate about the content, readers, and techniques of American Realism and its subgenre Naturalism.
ENG 6460 Writing and Identity -- Alexander
(R 6-8.30 -- 44856)
The existence of a singular self has been questioned by theorists in a range of disciplines over the last twenty years, but there is no doubt that, in our culture, we deeply feel ourselves to be unique, to be individuals, and that this uniqueness can be captured, enhanced, explored, and, often, changed through language. This course will examine how text instantiates identity through the practice of writing. Students will develop a body of written work using a variety of narrative techniques and modes to interrogate how the self is constituted, shaped, extended, and deconstructed via textual means. Both imaginative and mimetic (or realistic) modes will be used in assignments, and the relationship between craft and writing theory emphasized. Students will be expected to question and perhaps to transgress boundaries of genre and to develop a sophisticated understanding of how modal constraints are related to our notions of what constitutes a personality, whether fictional or real. A final writing project will be the centerpiece of the course. Texts will include a hypertext novel, blogs, and studies of the construction of the self in fiction and nonfiction.
