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Please note: Any 200 or 300 – level literature course can be counted for general-education credit, but you may not enroll in a majors/minors’ course without specific consent to do so. See the Department Chair, Dr. Nancy Workman, or the course's professor. Fall 2006 Courses06-125-1 Archeological evidence abounds that shows that all cultures play games and have done so for centuries. In excavations, scholars have found relics of dice, tokens, even simple cards that date back from hundreds of years ago, suggesting that games have been a staple of human activity. Some critics speculate that games function for humans to explore chance and uncertainty in a controlled way, while other critics see imaginative play as related to creativity. Still others argue that games function to reduce aggression and competition that might otherwise reveal itself in real conduct. Whatever the point of view, however, all agree that gaming is a very complex human activity, one that has interested thinkers from the time of Plato onwards. Today, even more sophisticated advocates of "game theory" see it as directing political decision making and patterns of both physical and cultural transformation. This writing workshop will allow students to write about this very popular form of activity. Each student will select one game with which they are familiar and compose of series of writings related to that game. Games may range from board games, such as Scrabble, Monopoly or Clue to more electronic adventure versions. They may include childhood favorites like Hide-N-Seek or Tag. They may even include the growing industry of mortar and internet Texas Hold-em. Papers may explore the rules of the game, the strategies used in playing the game, or the personalities associated with the game. The purpose will be for the writer to examine the genre of this writing and to produce some new and original contributions to it. Along the way, they will also have fun as they try to share their own expertise with others engaged in this cultural exploration.
06-125-2 Many writers use their dreams as a source of inspiration or launching pad to their literary work. This course will discuss how authors such as Stephen King, Maya Angelou, and William Styron drew from their waking world sparks of imagination and creativity. Students will be asked to keep a log of their childhood, adolescent, and adult dreams. Descriptive stories will be generated from these sleep experiences as a portrait of the mind at work and play.
06-125-3 Are you fascinated by language and foreign languages? Do you have a favorite author who doesn't write in English? Would you like to explore her or his original words and share them with English-only readers? Or do you wonder how (and how successfully) a poem or story can ever be transferred from one language to another? Despite Frost's quip that "poetry is what is lost in translation," all writing is some kind of translation, and much more is lost without it - Basho, Marquez, Sappho, Tolstoy …. This workshop will give students the opportunity to try their hands at translating literary texts. We'll look at some of the theory and history of translation; then we'll devote most of our time to practicing the craft of it. Students will be expected to complete translations of 3-5 poems or 3-5 pages of fiction or drama in any non-English language of their choice. Students are required to have moderate proficiency, especially reading proficiency, in that language. 06-220-1 First and foremost, though this class is an examination of filmic images of women, it is not designed for women only. I strongly encourage men to sign up for this course. In this class we will explore representations of women in film, as well as images of violence against women and by women in a variety of film genres: from the femme fatales of film noir to the martyred mothers of melodrama to the "final girls" of horror. We will also spend some time looking at representations of women in an international context by viewing the Hong Kong action flick So Close, and a current French crime comedy Chaos. This class will examine the psychological, social, and political issues that inform the cinematic representation of women. Our discussions will explore the following lines of inquiry: how and whom are we made to identify with, and why? How do acts of violence relate to the film's narrative structure? What are the consequences of the depiction of violence against women? How are female audience members sometimes positioned to identify with the perpetrator of violence; and concurrently, how are male audience members positioned in relation to central female characters? What are the ultimate messages (social and political) we receive from these films and their reception? Finally, how do cinematic representations of women continue to influence our cultural definitions of what it means to be female? We will examine films by both male and female directors, ranging from early cinema to contemporary films. We will look at some of the first female directors and view such films as It Happened One Night, Gold Diggers of 1933, Vertigo, Double Indemnity, Coffy, and the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre as well as its remake. We will read a variety of essays, including selections from Carol Clover's Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film and Reel Knockouts: Violent Women in the Movies, edited by Martha McCaughey and Neal King. Assignments are designed to sharpen your analytic and critical skills as well as to develop your proficiency in written and oral communication.
06-220-2 The Chicagoland area is rich in a cultural heritage related to Poland. The first wave of immigrants from Poland came here at the turn of the twentieth century to flee religious and political oppression. And they continue to come, often for economic advancement. They initially settled in the city and now have moved to the suburbs, bringing with them their language, traditions, and memories. According to the census figures of 2004, 900,000 people in the Chicagoland area are heritage Poles, with 75,000 residing in Will County. Although immigrants often attempted to quickly assimilate into American culture, those arriving also struggled to maintain cultural ties with the mother country through food, art, literature and other forms of expression. The establishment of Polonia was the result, with many ethnic organizations springing up to retain links to Polish culture. This course will address the immigrant experience as revealed in the literature produced by Polish heritage writers. To provide a context, however, it will first address selected works in translation by selected Polish nationals including Henryk Sienkiewicz and the Nobel Prize winning writers Czeslaw Milosz (1980) and Wis?awa Szymborska (1996). It will then explore more contemporary works by Polish-American writers such as Stuart Dybek, Anthony Bukowski, Susan Strempek-Shea, and others who have now become identified as major figures in contemporary American letters. The focus of the course will be on exploring how literature explores ethnicity and how literature can both erase and solidify a person's heritage. All works studied will be read in English, although students who speak Polish will be given an opportunity to read and write about works written in that language. The course will include homework, short papers, two exams, and a major cultural project based on using Polonia's rich treasury of archival materials. 06-220-3 Popular literature and film offers many wonderful
stories worthy of serious study; these stories raise questions about the
nature of evil and how we respond to it. In addition, the films and life of
Alfred Hitchcock present us with materials that will serve as an important
focus in this class. We will study some of his early English films as well
as his classic suspense films from the 1950s (Psycho, Vertigo, and Rear
Window). We will also examine classic British and American
06-220-4 This course is designed for the general student and will take a surveyed look at the literature of what has been called "The American Century," 1900-1999. We will incorporate an interactive instruction model, in which students act and react with each other and the professor, often doing activities that enhance any short lectures. We will read a range of authors working in prose fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry from around the time of World War I until recent times. Also, we will explore American literature of the twentieth century from cultural, historical, artistic and other perspectives while gaining a strong knowledge of the important texts, figures, and cultural occurrences of the last ninety years. Generally, we will divide the course into three periods: Modernism 1912-1940, Postwar (Postmodern Beginnings) 1940-1975, and Contemporary (Postmodern Maturity) 1975 to Present. In the classroom, we will share our diverse perspectives in order to discover how texts that have been written over the span of ninety years might still be relevant to us today, and how the ideas these texts embody might assist us in our life-long learning process. 06-220-5 With all of the literary art produced over the millennia, why in the world are people still reading the poets, playwrights, historians, scientists, and philosophers of ancient Greece and Rome? Easy. Their work is brilliant and it gives pleasure. Then, as now, people are interested in how others try to make sense of a seemingly chaotic universe, how an epic love can turn into an epic hatred, how a person can be so ambitious for fame, wealth, or power that he takes a chance on catastrophic failure. Who was the first toga wearer to postulate an atomic theory, to count 212 soldiers instead of conveying significance by picturing an army of thousands? We write passionately about gleaming, powerful wheels, drop-dead estates in exclusive gated communities, blinged-out clothes and jewelry, and state-of-the-art toys that make us envied and maybe even hated. So did they. We can relate. Experience the classics. Get in touch with your humanity. 06-220-6 This course allows students the opportunity to explore the literature (culture and history) of our neighbors to the South, the so-called "Other" America: South and Central America, and the Caribbean. We will engage some colonial texts, from Bernal Díaz to Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, but our primary focus will be on contemporary works that exhibit the unique "magical realism" that this literature has contributed to the world and its expression of cultural, historical, and inter-national dynamics. Familiarity with this literature and its background will enable students to develop a greater sense of wisdom, justice, and association as they prepare to enter a more global world. In addition to chronicles, short stories, poems, and protest or revolutionary tracts, we will read novels (or excerpts from novels) including Mexican Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate, Colombian Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude or No One Write to the Colonel, Argentine Julio Cortazar's Hopscotch, and Uruguayan Cristina Peri-Rossi's Ship of Fools. Other writers include Argentine Jorge Luis Borges, Brazil's Andrade's, Chilean Pablo Neruda, Dominican Julia Alvarez, Guatemalan Rigoberta Menchu, and Nicaraguan Ruben Dario, among others. We will also watch four movies: Like Water for Chocolate, Il Postino, Motorcycle Diaries, and The Official Story. Students will write three short hybrid papers (blending personal response with literary analysis) and be expected to participate in class and electronic discussions, a midterm review, and a final, creative project. NOTE: the course will be conducted in English and we will read texts in translation; however, students will have the opportunity to read, write, and discuss in Spanish, should they choose. 06-222-1 This course surveys major works in science fiction and fantasy produced by British and American writers within the last two centuries. We will read the short stories and novels of authors ranging from Jules Verne to Frank Herbert, from H. G. Wells to Ursula Le Guin. As we consider these texts within their social and cultural contexts, we will define and redefine the somewhat slippery categories of “science fiction” and “fantasy.” “Science fiction” is not only an oxymoron but also comprises numerous subgenres: “hard” and “soft” science fiction, alternate history, cyberpunk, steampunk, dystopia, utopia, fantastic voyage, and space opera. “Fantasy” is hardly easier to pin down, as it includes “dark” and “high” fantasy and brings together authors as different as J. R. R. Tolkien and Clive Barker. While attempting to establish boundaries within these two categories, we will also seek to distinguish them from each other, and from the closely related field of horror. As we grapple with genre, we will also consider form. We will concentrate on appreciating and working with the key elements of fiction: characterization, plot, point of view, setting, figurative language, and theme. Graded assignments include a midterm and a final examination, an analytical exercise, and an essay that develops in stages. Journal entries will be completed for credit. The course emphasizes small- and large-group discussions, and a cooperative approach to assignments.
06-221-2 This is the perfect general education course for students whose academic gifts are other than literary. We will read short stories that reveal real people, slamming good poetry that is understandable and enriching, and excellent plays that speak to the heart and mind. While it fulfills a graduation requirement, this course should give pleasure and remove or reduce any horror or anxiety that students have about literature. Students will build confidence by learning how to "get the good stuff" out of what they read. The writing component of two papers is designed to share ideas and insights rather than to show off. The reading and writing skills learned in this course could turn a hesitant student reader into a mature and fearless life-long reader. Careful! 06-234-1 “It
is difficult/ to get the news from poems/ yet men die miserably every day/
for lack/ of what is found there,” says William Carlos Williams. Among
what is found there, Octavio Paz contends, is the very essence of our
humanity: “anyone who wishes to live fully, needs and seeks poetry
[for] if human beings forget poetry, they will forget themselves.”
To find what it is that poetry does for us and to us, we will examine poems
from the diverse voices and cultures within the English (British,
“colonial”) and American (US) traditions, from Beowulf
to our contemporaries. We will read widely and look deeply
into how poems are made, how they mean, and how we make meaning of and from
them. Students will be introduced not only to a range of poets and literary
periods, but also to a variety of poetic forms and techniques, from the
lyric to the long poem, from meter to metaphorical language. In
considering the purposes of poetry, as well as how and why poets employ and
revise the elements of their craft, students will be able to develop both
written and oral, both analytical and affective skills. Major topics include
love, death, and the sacred. 06-250-1 Students are introduced to the history of rhetorical and literary theories, primary sources and critical vocabulary of literature and composition studies. This course serves as preparation to more advanced English courses, as well as an orientation to the major. Open to English majors and minors or those considering English Studies.
06-300-1 This course provides study of communication as a professional skill, with extensive practice in the forms of business communication. This course will involve both web delivery and classroom attendance. Text: Porter, James E., Sullivan, Patricia, and Johnson-Eilola. Professional Writing Online. Version 2.0. Pearson/Longman. 2004.
06-309-1 Fieldwork, by definition, is the process of living and studying among other people in their own context. We use the skills of field-working in our everyday lives: watching, listening, interpreting, questioning and writing, even if we are not always conscious of it. More specifically, fieldworkers investigate cultural landscapes, the larger picture of how a culture functions: its rituals, its traditions, and its behaviors. And they poke around the edges at the stories people tell, the items people collect and value, and the materials people use to go about their daily living. By learning from people in a culture what it is like to be a part of their world, fieldworkers discover a culture's way of being, knowing, and understanding and then produce written accounts of how people in a culture generate and interpret social behavior and how they use language to make and share meaning. In this class, we will read example fieldworking studies in order to understand how fieldworking accounts are created and shaped by the researcher, explore the ethical dimensions of conducting firsthand research, as well as conducting some fieldwork for the basis of written projects. Studying and conducting fieldwork offers a valuable genre for writers wishing to hone their experience and expertise in description, dialogue, and grounded representations of social realities. Class activities will include: fieldworking readings, responses to the readings, conducting some firsthand research of a culture or site of your choice, and a final project which incorporates your research. 06-311-1 06-312-1 Similar in scope to Intro to Creative Writing, but with more focus on the workshop process, the main objective of this class will be to engage your imaginative faculties, as well as to give you a fundamental grasp of the elements of creative writing. This course is intended for both beginning and intermediate writers. Because it is a workshop, the focus will be on practice, beginning with exercises and published models. The class is designed to give you time to write; to help improve your writing; to learn to meaningfully respond to others' poetry as well as to the "greater conversation" of the world; and to introduce you to contemporary writers such as Marilyn Chin, Yusef Komunyaaka, Sandra Cisneros, Sherman Alexie, Wanda Coleman, and Charles Wright. Students will be expected to keep a reading journal, participate in class discussion, critique peer writing, and attend a reading. We will be reading selections from Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux's The Poet's Companion, and Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paolo's Tell It Slant, as well as various other texts.
06-314-1 What is language all about? What is the difference between language and dialect? Jargon and argot? Morpheme and phoneme? Synchronic and diachronic? What does language do to us and for us? What is the difference between and linguist and a polyglot? A prescriptivist and a descriptivist? Who are Saussure, Chomsky, and Austin? Who were the Angles and why do we speak their language? Linguistics will address these questions and many others during the semester. This course is an introduction into the study of language. Topics include language description, language acquisition and learning, language processing, dialects, language families, the historical development of the English language, and written versus oral forms of language. Required Texts: 06-334-1 This course is devoted to an examination of 20th century world writers who are not American or European by birth. The course has multiple goals including but not limited to the following: to learn about cultures other than those with which we are familiar, to discover the particular cultural forces that produce the literature and to see how the literature, in turn, defines our sense of the culture, and to examine the reciprocal relationships and influences between Western literature and the literatures around the world. The special focus of Non-Western Literature in Fall 2006 will be on the literature of India. The reading list will be composed of a variety of diverse works, a few written by English writers during the period of British colonization, some translations of indigenous Indian writers, and the works of writers who form the Indian diaspora (that is, writers writing about Indian situations and Indian migration from the vantage point of London, Toronto, and Southern California). Some works currently under consideration: Rudyard Kipling's Kim, E.M. Forster's A Passage to India, Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things, Kiran Desai's 2006 The Inheritance of Loss, Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia, and Jhumpa Lahiri's The Interpreter of Maladies. The course will use film - like the Academy Award winner Gandhi, more recent works like Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding, and even a Hollywood musical to provide a fuller sense of the varied Indian culture. The class is essentially a discussion class with periodic short lectures mixed in. Emphasis is placed on written work (in the form of three or four short analytical papers and in the form of frequent Blackboard Discussion Board submissions) and on class participation. 06-353-1 This course surveys significant works in English literature written during the Augustan, Romantic, Victorian, and Edwardian periods. Students will be introduced not only to major works of poetry, drama, fiction, and social criticism, but also to the historical and cultural contexts in which these works were produced. Together with shorter texts, students will read three novels: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Graded assignments include a midterm and a final examination, an analytical exercise, and an essay that develops in stages. Journal entries will be completed for credit. The course emphasizes small- and large-group discussions, and a cooperative approach to assignments. 06-413-1 Though similar to Workshop in Creative Writing (06-312), this class is for students who have had a previous introduction to Creative Writing, whether brief or extensive. (If you are interested, but in doubt, come visit me). The class is in a workshop format with prominence placed on both peer critique and student writing. Particular attention will be given to individual student development. You will be expected to create a final portfolio of your own writing, keep a writing/reading journal, give a presentation, as well as attend a reading. Though the first section of this class will be devoted primarily to poetry, the latter half of the class, in part, will be guided by students' input which allows for a segue into creative non-fiction or fiction. The main aims of this course are to develop your own writing and-perhaps just as importantly-your capabilities as intelligent and critical readers. We will also devote a portion of this class to discussing the practicalities and possibilities of publishing.
06-420-1
06-425-1 What is it that we do when we write? What does it mean to be a writer? Theories of Composing explores the theories and research that work to understand and interrogate the nature of writing. What is the purpose of writing? How do we define "good" writing? What are the implications or politics of contemporary theories of writing? How can actual writers (and teachers of writing) benefit from understanding writing theory? Is writing a solitary or collaborative act? Essentially, we will consider how making meaning through writing has been theorized, contested, and applied from the composition studies perspective. This course is not a methods course, instead it is a theory and research course which explores issues that are vital to understanding how writers write and become writers. It will be conducted as a discussion seminar and will include extensive reading, written responses to the readings, class discussion, oral presentations, and a final research project exploring a concept or theory in which you are interested. Our texts will include Victor Villanueva's Crosstalk and Stephen King's On Writing. |
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