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21:350:205
Fiction into Film (3)
What happens to a narrative when it is translated from prose to film? The course will look inquisitively at theories and practices of adaptation. The literary techniques of writers will be analyzed in relation to the strategies of directors and the language of film. No prior knowledge of film studies is necessary.
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21:350:206
Shakespeare for the 21st Century (3)
Students will read Shakespeare with attentiveness to the issues and challenges of the 21st century, including ethnic clashes, the environment, disparities of wealth, gender, and race. The course examines the ways in which Shakespeare speaks to the concerns and complexities of global citizenship.
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21:350:210
Literature and Medicine (3)
Combining cultural variety and thematic unity, the course explores some of the ways of approaching illness through literature. Readings include texts from a variety of periods and genres, paying attention to language, irony, and point of view. Students write close, text-based responses to the readings, but they are also are asked to compose their own medical memoir as a major project. In addition to analyzing illness narratives as literary texts, students will sharpen their abilities to understand and explain clinical procedures and medical information.
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21:350:211
Children's Literature (3)
Not a survey, this course attempts to cover some of the high points of literature for children in the West over the past two centuries, moving from the Grimms's fairy tales to the present, and generically from folk and fairy tales through more literary fairy tales (Andersen) to the golden age of Victorian and Edwardian children's literature and finally to 20th-century fables, poetry, and fantasy. This interdisciplinary course draws upon the fields of education, psychology, anthropology, social work, and others.
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21:350:212
Myth and Literature (3)
All
literary genres are saturated with the influence of mythology. Focusing
chiefly though not exclusively on Greek mythology, this course follows a few
crucial mythic themes and characters as they play out from Homer to the
21st-century novel.
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21:350:215
Literary Masterpieces (3)
An interdisciplinary course that studies classic ancient literature in its historical and cultural contexts. Readings, in translation, are of Greek drama and mythology, biblical narrative, and some of the world's oldest poetry, including Homeric and Roman epics. The ancient texts are brought into dialogue with modern experiences of gender, race, religion, class politics, "the Orient," and empire.
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21:350:223
Introduction to Global Literature (3)
Introduces students to literatures from different regions of the globe at important historical moments, while critically examining the challenges and possibilities of such terms as "world literature," "global literature," and "comparative literature." How do diverse texts speak to common issues and to one another? How do issues of translation, accessibility, and scholarship shape our understanding of literary texts? The course examines three major themes that correspond to three different eras: mythology in ancient civilizations, the rise of nationalism in the 18th and 19th centuries, and issues of globalization in recent times. The course will sharpen students' analytical skills and the abilities to formulate and evaluate critical arguments.
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21:350:225
Love Stories Old and New (3)
A consideration of love in literature from the 14th-century courtly romance to the 20th-century American best-selling novel. Readings will include a memoir by a 14th-century mystic, plays by Shakespeare, novels by Jane Austen and D.H. Lawrence, as well as short stories by James Joyce.
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21:350:229
Comics and Graphic Novels Lab (1)
Lab section to accompany 21:350:230.
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21:350:230
Comics and Graphic Novels (3)
In
this course students read and discuss recent criticism and
major contributions of works that have pushed the limits of this genre
and medium. Students will develop a working knowledge of the history of
comics and a critical framework and vocabulary for defining, describing,
and discussing this popular and amorphous
medium. Guest speakers, all practicing cartoonists, will introduce
students to both the artistic and the practical aspects of creating
comics. The workshop will include instruction on basic drawing and
storyboarding techniques using iPads, Adobe Illustrator,
Photoshop, and InDesign and on ebook layout and formatting using OMEKA
and Calibre software, as well as discussions about creators' rights and
intellectual property issues. The final project for the workshop will be
a digital exhibit featuring each student's
best digital comic and an ebook anthology of student-created comics.
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21:350:231
The Art of Satire (3)
Introduces students to the theory and practice of satire in verse and prose from Horace and Juvenal through Doonesbury and The Daily Show, with stops along the way at Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Mark Twain. Much of the course focuses on the greatest age of English satire, the Restoration and 18th century, although contemporary material from popular culture will also help to illustrate the way satire works. By semester's end, students should understand something of the long history of literary satire and be prepared to analyze and discuss contemporary satire with increased sophistication.
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21:350:232
The Gothic (3)
A survey of the Gothic literature of horror and terror from its 18th-century origins to the present. Readings will include Shelley's Frankenstein, and works by Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Flannery O'Connor. Topics of discussion will include the feminist Gothic, queer Gothic, Southern Gothic, the sublime, and modern Goth culture.
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21:350:233
Whose English? (3)
This course surveys the language in its many varieties from Old English to World English. The focus is on the struggles for authority among diverse populations that have shaped the language for 1,500 years. The first part of the course offers a whirlwind tour of the history of the language, starting in the fifth century, when English was spoken by a few thousand Germanic migrants on a single island, to the 21st century, when more than a billion people use it for global commerce and science. The second part focuses upon "good" and "proper" English--what it means, where it comes from, who gets to say what's good, and what's at stake in those arguments.
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21:350:248
Literature and Controversy (3)
Looks at controversial works of art and literature, weighing the arguments that surround these texts and examining the motivations of the various participants. The course will focus on several case studies--for example, the controversies sparked by The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Native Son, and Lolita--and will consider the ways in which texts both participate in and transform social dialogue. How have race, class, gender, sexuality, and nationality historically factored in critical receptions? Why is art a continual site of cultural disputes? The primary goals will be to learn how to evaluate arguments; how to better analyze texts for tone, diction, and style; and how to become comfortable discussing the interaction of social and aesthetic issues in controversial works.
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21:350:253
Green Lit: Reading and Writing the Earth (3)
In this interdisciplinary course, we will read and write about the Earth to get reacquainted with our common home. We'll sample America's best nature and environmentalist writers, including Native Americans; see eye-opening films; study the diverse environmental movement here and abroad; analyze websites, ads, food labeling, and marketing; weigh news stories and diverse opinion about controversial issues, including environmental racism, agribusiness, and climate change; and debate philosophical and ethical questions, including the relationship of humans to the rest of nature, and the kind of society we really want. Students will also experience nature firsthand through an outdoors tour of our campus, an observation project, and field trips nearby. Classes will emphasize discussion. Although green lit draws in many topics, students do not need to arrive with any special expertise.
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21:350:254
Postcolonial Literature (3)
National liberation movements and their aftermaths as represented in the postcolonial literature and film from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
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21:350:256
Caribbean Literature (3)
This course familiarizes students with the basic themes and issues of Caribbean literature. Readings include poetry, fiction, music, and film, while stressing colonial and postcolonial politics. The selections reflect the linguistic and ethnic diversity of the Caribbean.
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21:350:308
Foundations of Literary Study (3)
Introduces students to a range of interpretive issues in the study of literature. Students read a relatively few works while sampling a range of critical perspectives for engaging with those works. The course emphasizes close reading while also stressing varied contexts in which close reading may operate. It also introduces literary research methods and the conventions of citation.
Required of all majors.
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21:350:311
Seventeenth-Century Literature (3)
A study of nondramatic prose and poetry from 1600 to 1660, exclusive of Milton; attention will be given to historical background.
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21:350:315,316
English Renaissance Literature (3,3)
A study of nondramatic prose and poetry from the 16th and 17th centuries. Readings may include works by Thomas More, Thomas Wyatt, Surrey, Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, Sir Walter Raleigh, Isabella Whitney, Elizabeth Cary, John Donne, and George Herbert.
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21:350:317
Readings in the English Pre-Romantics (3)
The later 18th century, sometimes called the "pre-Romantic" era, was a great age of literary experimentation. This course will survey the prehistory of the English Romantic movement, including works by James Thomson, Thomas Gray, Mary Wollstonecraft, William Blake, and William Godwin, ending with Wordsworth and Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads.
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21:350:318
English Biography and Autobiography in the 18th Century (3)
A look at the varieties of life-writing in the 18th century, beginning with its classical and medieval backgrounds and running through Romantic autobiography. Genres will include saints' lives, spiritual autobiography, criminals' lives, and slave narratives. Authors may include John Bunyan, Benjamin Franklin, James Boswell, and Olaudah Equiano.
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21:350:319,320
Shakespeare (3,3)
A sampling of history, tragedy, comedy, and romance in plays representing the span of Shakespeare's creative life.
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21:350:321
Survey of English Literature to 1700 (3)
Literature of the British Isles, from its beginnings to the end of the Seventeenth Century. The course begins with the Old English epic Beowulf, moves into the Middle English of Chaucer and medieval plays, and finishes with a variety of readings from the English Renaissance. This course is required of English majors.
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21:350:322
Survey of English Literature After 1700 (3)
Surveys the literature of England, beginning with the 18th century, proceeding through the Victorian era, and stressing the literature of the 20th century before, during, and after the World Wars.
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21:350:323,324
English Drama to 1642, Aside from Shakespeare (3,3)
From the beginnings of English drama--miracle and morality plays, interludes--to the work of Shakespeare's contemporaries and successors.
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21:350:325,326
The 18th Century (3,3)
A survey of the literature and culture of the "long" 18th century. First semester: the Restoration of 1660 to about 1745, focusing on Dryden, Behn, Swift, Pope, Defoe, and Richardson. Second semester: 1745 to 1800, focusing on Johnson, Gray, Sheridan, Burney, Wollstonecraft, and Equiano.
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21:350:329,330
The Romantic Period (3,3)
First semester: works of Blake, Wordsworth, and Coleridge; second semester: works of Byron, Shelley, Keats, and their contemporaries.
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21:350:331
The Art of the Film (3)
The viewing, analysis, and discussion of selected motion pictures by such directors as Griffith, Eisenstein, Ford, Huston, Welles, Bergman, Fellini, Buńuel, and Kurosawa; some films studied in relation to their literary sources.
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21:350:332
American Film (3)
The dominant tendencies in the rise of American film from the silent era to the present, with emphasis on comedy, the western, and the gangster-thriller.
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21:350:333,334
The Victorian Period (3,3)
Poetry and prose of the years 1832 to 1900; social, political, and artistic background of the period.
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21:350:335
Literature and Law (3)
Explores such themes as revenge, vengeance, guilt, confession, retribution, gender equality, and justice in American, English, and European works, ranging through several historical periods and ending with a detective novel.
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21:350:337,338
Topics in Literature (3,3)
Topics change from year to year. For the specific topic in a given semester, see the Schedule of Classes.
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21:350:339,340
Major Writers of the 20th Century (3,3)
Backgrounds of modern British and American literature; major prose writers and poets of our century. First semester: works produced between 1900 and 1939; second semester: works from World War II to the present.
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21:350:342
Modern English Poetry (3)
Poetry from the 1920s to the present: Eliot, Auden, Spenser, Thomas, Hughes, Larkin, and others.
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21:350:343
The Bible as Literature I (3)
A study of the Bible, its literary variety, and historical and religious development in the Old Testament.
|
21:350:344
The Bible as Literature II (3)
A study of the Bible, its literary variety, and historical and religious development in the New Testament.
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21:350:345,346
Modern Drama (3,3)
Dramatic literature beginning with the advent of realism in the 1860s; European, English, Irish, and American plays studied, with attention to major movements and the philosophical and artistic forces which produced them. First semester: plays by Ibsen, Chekhov, Strindberg, Wilde, Shaw, and O'Neill; second semester: works by Brecht, Pirandello, Beckett, Hellman, Miller, Williams, and Genet.
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21:350:348
Early Caribbean Literature (3)
Surveys literature of the Caribbean, from the early 19th to the early 20th century. Most of the literature will be Anglo-Caribbean, with key texts from the Spanish- and French-speaking countries included. Discussed is the influence of European and American genres and movements, including the American antislavery novel, the romance, and European realism. Two key themes investigated are the emergence of both nationalist discourse and cultural hybridity as defining features of Caribbean literature. Particular attention is paid to the emergent literature of nonwhite populations of the Caribbean, linking these with the development of a distinctively literary Caribbean tradition.
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21:350:349
The English Novel to 1800 (3)
Beginnings and early development of the English novel. Authors include Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Godwin, and Lewis.
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21:350:350
The English Novel After 1800 (3)
Development of the novel in the 19th century. Authors include Austen, Dickens, Thackeray, the Brontes, George Eliot, and Hardy.
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21:350:351,352
Survey of World Literature (3,3)
A survey, through translations, of significant works in world literature and their influence on Western thought.
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21:350:353,354
Modern and Contemporary English Novel (3,3)
English fiction from 1900 to the present. Selected works of Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence, Doris Lessing, A.S. Byatt, and Pat Barker illustrate formal shifts linked to social and economic changes. Questions are posed about narratives and how to read and write novels.
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21:350:355
The Technique of Poetry (3)
An introduction to the technical aspects of English-language poetry, including prosody, poetic form, and other formal features. Intense close-readings will focus on the relation between form and meaning.
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21:350:356
Caribbean Literature (3)
This course familiarizes the student with the basic themes and issues of Caribbean literature. Readings will include novels, poetry, music, and film. Course materials will reflect the linguistic and ethnic diversity of Caribbean societies.
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21:350:360
Topics in Literature and Gender (3)
The images and writing styles of women's poetry, drama, fiction, and
nonfiction prose in different cultures; common themes and variations
connected with class, ethnic, racial, and other differences; use and
revision of conventions and stereotypes by both male and female
writers.
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21:350:361
Writing Women I (3)
Selected literature by women that focuses specifically on women; works by Kate Chopin, Charlotte Brontë, Mary Wollstonecraft, Paule Marshall, Pat Barker, and Dorothy Allison. Emphasis on changing and continuous notions of womanhood and their formal representation in fiction; particular paradigms employed are female identity and the novel of female development.
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21:350:362
Writing Women II (3)
Selected literature by women that focuses specifically on women;
works by Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Marge Piercy, Margaret Atwood,
and Bharati Mukherjee. Emphasis on changing and continuous notions of
womanhood and their formal representation in fiction. Particular
paradigms employed are marriage and the community of women.
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21:350:363,364
Special Topics in Film (3,3)
Topics change from year to year; topics include themes (e.g., women in film, the war film); studies in a major director (e.g., Bergman, Ford, Fellini, Hitchcock); national cinemas other than the American film; and film theory and criticism.
Prerequisite: At least 3 credits in a college-level film course.
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21:350:368
Restoration and 18th-Century Drama (3)
The drama of Britain from 1660 to 1800, including works by John
Dryden, William Congreve, John Gay, Oliver Goldsmith, and Richard
Brinsley Sheridan.
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21:350:371
Milton (3)
Literary and social backgrounds; the life of Milton, and his English and Latin works (the latter in translation).
|
21:350:373
Chaucer (3)
Literary and social backgrounds; the life of Chaucer, Chaucer's language, and extensive reading of his works.
|
21:350:377
Science Fiction, Technology, and Society (3)
Science fiction as a principal cultural expression of the impact of science and technology on society from the Industrial Revolution to the present and future.
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21:350:378
Middle English Literature, Aside from Chaucer (3)
Survey of medieval English literature from 1200 to 1500, with emphasis on the romances, popular ballads, lyrics, dramas, and religious and political allegories; selections read in modernized versions.
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21:350:380
The European Renaissance and English Literature (3)
Historical background and significant works of European literature during the rise of humanism and the Reformation; emphasis on their relation to contemporary English literature.
|
21:350:381
The Short Story (3)
Reading and critical study of classical, medieval, and modern short stories; discussion of predominant techniques and theories.
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21:350:390
Women in Medieval Literature (3)
Writing by medieval women, e.g., Marie de France, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, Christine de Pizan, Heloise (and Abelard), as well as representations of women in Chaucer, in the Pearl poet, and in metrical romances with female heroes.
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21:350:391
Honors Topics in Literature (3)
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21:350:392
Honors Topics in Literature (3)
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21:350:393,394
Studies in Literary Relations (3,3)
Critical relations between works of different periods or genres; the variety of literary responses to a given historical moment; the relation of English and American literature to its intellectual and social origins; the effects of literary works on society. Various special topics film courses (e.g., studies in film genre or the works of a director) also are offered.
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21:350:398
Literature of Protest (3)
Literary works of several nations and eras; themes include economic, political, or social injustice and oppression; authors include Blake, Dos Passos, Gaskell, Mill, Shaw, Silone, Sinclair, Solzhenitsyn, Swift, and Thoreau.
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21:350:405
Seminar in Earlier Victorian Literature (3)
Intensive study of two or more English writers in relation to the intellectual and historical background of the first half of the 19th century.
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21:350:406
Seminar in Later Victorian Literature (3)
Intensive study of two or more English writers in relation to the intellectual and historical background of the second half of the 19th century.
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21:350:407,408
Independent Study in English (3,3)
Designed for students who wish to pursue literary studies (and who do not qualify for the Honors Program 21:350:495,496) outside the scope of existing courses. The student must interest a faculty member in supervising the project, convince him or her that the student has the ability to do the work, and then submit a written request to the department chair naming the consenting faculty supervisor. All other arrangements are determined by the student and supervisor.
Prerequisite: Permission of program adviser. See also 21:350:495,496.
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21:350:411
Development of the English Language (3)
Historical study of Old, Middle, and Modern English, with a survey of lexicography.
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21:350:415
Seminar in Renaissance Literature (3)
Intensive study of two or more writers of the English Renaissance in relation to the culture of their times.
Prerequisite: 21:350:308.
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21:350:416
Seminar in Modern British Literature (3)
Intensive study of two or more modern British writers in relation to the culture of their times. See Schedule of Classes for specific topic.
Prerequisite: 21:350:308.
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21:350:417,418
Literary Criticism (3,3)
Important concepts of literary value; first semester: the beginnings and development through the early 19th century; second semester: more recent trends.
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing, or permission of instructor.
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21:350:429
Studies in the European novel to 1900 (3)
Close study of selected works by a few of the important writers of the European tradition.
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21:350:430
Studies in the European Novel After 1900 (3)
Close study of selected fiction in the European Modernist tradition.
|
21:350:431
The World Novel to 1900 (3)
Major novels selected from the world's literatures, such as the
Russian, French, Spanish, Japanese, and German, read in translation.
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21:350:432
The World Novel in the 20th and 21st Centuries (3)
Major novels from the literatures of Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the East, read in translation.
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21:350:449,450
Popular Culture (3,3)
A history of the popular book, newspapers, magazines, photography, film, radio, television, and other media as they have influenced and been influenced by literature, commencing with the 18th and 19th centuries in the first semester and continuing to the present in the second semester.
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21:350:458,459
Internship (3,3)
Placement in an appropriate publishing, public relations, or media firm for 8 to 10 hours per week; a journal reflecting each working day's activities plus a paper to be agreed upon by the academic supervisor and the intern.
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21:350:469,470
Literary Genres (3,3)
Readings in the development of a single literary form or type each semester (e.g., tragedy, comedy, fantasy, romance, epic, or detective fiction).
Prerequisite: 21:350:308.
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21:350:479
Seminar in Major British Authors I (3)
Selected British authors from Beowulf to the 18th century.
Individual authors selected are announced in the Schedule of Classes.
Prerequisite: 21:350:308.
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21:350:480
Seminar in Major British Authors II (3)
Major British authors from Blake to the 21st century. Individual
authors selected are announced in Schedule of Classes
Prerequisite: 21:350:308.
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21:350:481
Readings in a Major Author (3)
An intensive study of the works of a single British author whose name
is announced in the semester preceding the course offerings. Authors might
include Austen, Johnson, Keats, the Brontës, George Eliot, Joyce, or
Doris Lessing.
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21:350:482
Readings in a Major Author (3)
Supplements 21:350:481 and uses a similar approach.
May be taken independent of 21:350:481.
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21:350:495,496
Honors Program-Studies in Literature (3,3)
The pursuit of special projects outside the scope of any of the existing courses under the guidance of a member of the department. The student must interest a faculty member in supervising the project and then submit a written request to the department chair naming the consenting faculty supervisor. All other arrangements are determined by student and supervisor.
Open only to honors students. Prerequisite: Permission of program adviser. See also 21:350:407,408.
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21:350:497,498
Honors Project-English (3,3)
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and permission of department chair.
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21:350:301
Introduction to Creative Writing (3)
A multigenre course divided among poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Students will be reading works in each of these genres, followed by at least one creative writing assignment for each genre. Experience in this course will ground students in techniques useful for communication in many fields, including law, medicine, business, science, technology, and criminal justice. The range of writing will also enable students to judge whether they want to proceed with a minor in creative writing. Course requirements include class discussion, in-class writing, group work, reading aloud, and submission of a portfolio of the semester's work.
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21:350:304
Modernists, Beats, and Beyond: Creative Writing Poetry (3)
This workshop is a reading- and writing-intensive course, studying the work of American modernists, Beats, confessionals, and formalists from 1910 to 1970. The Penguin Anthology will be the primary text for the readings and the inspiration for the writing assignments. The close study of great poems will enable students not to imitate but to utilize techniques applicable to their own writing. Students will write one poem per week toward a final portfolio of 14 poems, the completion of which will constitute the final exam. Course requirements include discussion of the readings, group work, in-class writing, and take-home writing assignments.
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21:350:305
Poetry of the People: Creative Writing Poetry (3)
This workshop is a reading- and writing-intensive course, studying the work of contemporary American poets. In the post-Vietnam War era, reflecting the cultural shifts brought on by the civil rights movement, feminism and the gay/lesbian rights movement, new generations of poets appeared with new styles, new politics, and new perspectives. Postmodern poetry, L*A*N*G*U*A*G*E poetry, and neoformalism share the literary stage with contemporary issues of gender and sexual freedoms, globalization, and technology. The Penguin Anthology will be the primary text for the close reading of contemporary poems and the inspiration for writing assignments. Students will write one poem per week toward a final portfolio of 14 poems, the completion of which will count as the final exam. Course requirements include discussion of the readings, group-work, in-class writing, and take-home writing assignments.
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21:350:307
World Forms: Haiku, Ghazal, Sonnet, and Beyond (3)
This workshop is a reading- and writing-intensive course, studying poetic forms from around the globe. Students will study the Japanese forms haiku and tanka, including the translated work of Issa and Basho, as well as contemporary haiku practitioners. The ghrazal, a celebrated Persian form, will be studied through the translated poems of Hafiz and Agha Shahid Ali's work in English. Other forms, such as the pantoum (originally Malayan) and terza rima (originally Italian), have been absorbed by 19th- and 20th-century poets within the English language tradition. Students will write one poem per week toward a final portfolio of 14 poems, the completion of which will count as the final exam. Course requirements include discussion of the readings, group work, in-class writing, and take-home writing assignments.
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21:350:309
Hybrid Forms: Creative Writing Poetry (3)
This workshop is a reading- and writing-intensive course, studying the hybrid art forms in poetry and prose that blur genres. The prose poem and flash fiction are so closely aligned that there is a debate about the technical differences defining one against the other. The lyric essay has been described as a literary form on the border between poetry and creative nonfiction. Readings from the anthologies Great American Prose Poems and The Next American Essay will provide starting points for students' own experiments with hybrid forms. Students will write one piece per week toward a final portfolio of 14 pieces, the completion of which will count as the final exam. Course requirements include discussion of the readings, group work, in-class writing, and take-home writing assignments.
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21:350:375
Writing Nonfiction (3)
This workshop explores a range of nonfictional forms, including autobiography, oral history, case study, and factual narrative. The course offers close readings of such forms as starting points for students' own nonfiction writing projects. Students will compile a portfolio of course writings, the completion of which will constitute the final exam. Course requirements include discussion of the readings, group work, in-class writing, and take-home assignments.
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21:350:383
Basics of Craft: A Writer's Toolbox (3)
This is a reading- and writing-intensive course covering the major elements in crafting narrative fiction: structure, plot, character, description, setting, point of view, theme, voice, and more. Students will be asked to read about these elements while also reading stories that exemplify them. Students will practice giving each other feedback, developing a common language and mutual understanding for critiquing each other's fiction. Requirements include class discussion, a writer's notebook, and stories worked through multiple drafts.
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21:350:384
Who Says? Point of View in Fiction (3)
This is a reading- and writing-intensive course that looks at fiction writers' use of point of view along a spectrum ranging from the most interior and subjective to the most exterior and objective. As the varying points of view are encountered in the course readings, students will employ them in attempting stories of their own. Course requirements include participation in workshops, reading aloud, critiquing with partners in small groups, and the completion of a portfolio of fiction.
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21:350:386
Sentence By Sentence: Style in Fiction (3)
This course will examine fiction by major writers at a sentence-by-sentence level. We will look at when writers choose to follow certain rules and when they choose to break them, examining their specific techniques. The first half of the course examines the uses of short sentences, and the second the uses of long ones. In the short sentence section, we will look at effects achieved by Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Carver, Franz Kafka, and Nathaniel West. In the second, we will look at Henry James and William Faulkner, interested primarily in the use of the long sentence to mimic interiority or to create exterior scenes from which the reader cannot escape. We will also examine sentences of Virginia Woolf to see how she balances interiority and exteriority and creates sentences that seem to gallop. Students will maintain a writer's notebook and produce a portfolio of their writing.
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21:350:387
Beginnings, Middles, Ends, Scenes in Fiction (3)
Writers are taught that stories require a beginning, a middle, and an end, and are written in dramatic scenes. What does this mean, though? What belongs in the beginning or the middle or the end? Where does a story start? When should it finish? What is a scene as a dramatic unit, and what are the types of scenes? This course will approach these questions through readings and exercises. Students will study different narrative styles for opening, closing, and sustaining stories, and they will practice working on these as separate entities, each requiring its own techniques. In addition to in-class writing, discussion, and group work, students will produce of a portfolio of their writing.
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21:352:207
Writers at Newark I: Contemporary American Literature (3)
Reading of at least four books from the Writers at Newark Reading Series, one book per event; attend four scheduled events in the reading series; and write four responses to the readings each semester. After checking in with the master of fine arts (M.F.A.) program coordinator before each reading at the Paul Robeson Gallery, students will attend the reading and email a short response to a teaching assistant in the M.F.A. program. Readings include fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by a diverse group of nationally known writers.
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21:352:208
Writers at Newark II: Contemporary American Literature (3)
Reading of at least four books from the Writers at Newark Reading Series, one book per event; attend four scheduled events in the reading series; and write four responses to the readings each semester. After checking in with the master of fine arts (M.F.A.) program coordinator before each reading at the Paul Robeson Gallery, students will attend the reading and email a response to a teaching assistant in the M.F.A. program. Readings include fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by a diverse group of nationally known writers.
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