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College of St. Benedict and

St. John’s University

English Department Course Descriptions

Spring 2013

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Table of Contents

Requirements for the Major and Minor.........................4-5

Note to Communication Arts/Literature 5-12 Minors......5

Courses that meet Common Curriculum requirements....6

Courses required for the Major ………………...…….…...7

Where Courses Fit in the Curriculum.………...............8-9

100-level Courses………………..…………….............10-12

Gateway Courses………………………………………..13-14

Writing Courses:

Lower Division………………………...................15-17

Upper Division…………...……………................18-22

Literature and Literary History Courses

Upper Division………………………..................23-26

Theory and Culture Courses:

Lower Division…………………………...............27-28

Upper Division…………………………...............29-30

Capstone Requirement and Courses…………............31-32

Internship........................................................................34

Major/Minor Course Checklists……………………….35-40

NOTE: Checklists for the English major and minor as well as

internship guidelines are available on the English department website. The

URL is:

http://www.csbsju.edu/english/

All the illustrations in this booklet were found at:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images

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NOTE: These major & minor requirements apply to those students who

began their careers at CSB/SJU prior to Fall 2011. Those who enrolled fall

2011 need to follow the check list found on page 40.

Requirements for the Major (40 credits):

4 credits from courses numbered 130-134

4 credits of English 243: Literary Theory and Criticism

4 credits of English 311: Writing Essays– Requires Junior standing to

enroll

4 credits of course work in each of the following clusters: -Literature and Literary History

-Theory and Culture

-Capstone

At least 16 credits must be in upper-division courses

At least 16 credits must be in literature courses

At least 4 credits must be in a course in which a major subject of

study is poetry

At least 4 credits in the major must be in literature before 1800

*Students may apply only one course from 130-134 toward the major

*Students must have sophomore standing to enroll in 300-level courses.

Requirements for the Minors (24 Credits):

Writing Minor:

*Note: 100-level courses do not count towards the writing minor.

English 311– Requires Junior standing to enroll

12 credits of additional writing courses which may include COMM

245: Introduction to Media Writing and/or COMM 345: Advanced Media Writing

8 elective credits in English above the 100-level, 4 of which must be in literature.

Literary Studies Minor:

4 credits from courses numbered 130-134

English 311– Requires Junior standing to enroll

4 credits from each of the following clusters (8 credits total):

-Literature and Literary History

-Theory and Culture

8 elective credits in English, 4 of which must be in a 300-level course

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The English Major with Communication Arts/Literature 5-

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Licensure (44 credits): (for students who matriculated prior to F ‗11)

4 credits ENGL 122: Fiction and Poetry

4 credits ENGL 243: Literary Theory and Criticism

4 credits of ENGL 311: Writing Essays

4 credits of coursework under each of the following clusters:

-Literature and Literary History– ENGL 352: Shakespeare

-Theory and Culture– ENGL 387: Introduction to Linguistics

-Capstone– EDUC 362: Student Teaching 5-12

Additional courses needed for licensure:

4 credits ENGL 341:Studies in British Literature to 1700

Or 4 credits ENGL 342: Studies in British Literature after 1700

4 credits ENGL 346: American Literature to 1865

4 credits ENGL 383: Postcolonial Literature

Or ENGL 382: Race and Ethnicity in U.S. Literatures

4 credits COMM 103: Mass Communication and Society

2 credits COMM 200: Public Speaking

2 credits COMM 252: Listening Basics

Also see the Education Department for a listing of education courses required

for 5-12 Licensure.

The Communication Arts/Literature 5-12 licensure minor is under

revision. Students should check with the English department for the current

requirements.

A Note to Communication Arts/Literature

5-12 Minors

Please make an appointment with your Communication Arts/

Literature advisor prior to registration to learn which courses in the curriculum satisfy State requirements for licensure. Also, be sure to pick up a copy of the

new Secondary Education Advising Sheet. If your advisor is out of the sheets,

stop in either English office for a copy. In addition, it may be necessary for you

to review your four-year plan with your advisor. You may also want to make

an appointment with Jeanne Cofell, Education Department Advisor.

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Courses that meet Common Curriculum

Requirements *Students who matriculated in Fall 2007 or later follow the

requirements of the Common Curriculum.

Humanities (HM):

Engl: 120B, 120D, 122B, 222A, 346, 383, 385J, 386

Engl Abroad: 325, 385E, 386A

Gender (GE):

Engl: 120D, 222A, 123, 365, 385J

Intercultural (IC):

Engl: 120D, 383*

*pending

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Courses Required for the Major

100-Level Courses* See pages 10-14

Gateway Courses**

See pages 15-17

English 243: Literary Theory and Criticism***

See page 29

English 311: Writing Essays*** See pages 21-22

English 365: Current Issues in

Literary Studies*** See page 37

*Required for students who matriculated prior to Fall 2011.

**Required for students who matriculated Fall 2011 or later.

***Required for all majors.

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Where courses fit in the curriculum:

100-Level courses:

Engl 120: Fiction

Engl 121: Fiction and Film Engl 122: Fiction and Poetry

Engl 123: Poetry

Engl 124: Cultural Studies Engl 185: Special Topics

Gateway Courses: Engl 221:World Literatures

Engl 222:Literatures in English

Engl 223:Literature of the Americas

Writing Courses:

Engl 211: Writing Well

Engl 213: Seminar in Creative Writing Engl 220: Investigative Writing

Engl 311: Writing Essays

Engl 313: Advanced Seminar in Creative Writing

Engl 315: Writing: Special Topics

Literature and Literary History:

Engl 325: Studies in Drama Engl 341: Studies in British Literature to 1700

Engl 342: Studies in British Literature after 1700

Engl 346: United States Literature to 1865 Engl 347: United States Literature after 1865

Engl 352: Shakespeare

Engl 355: Studies in Individual Authors

Engl 361: British Novel to 1900 Engl 362: American Novel to 1920

Engl 366: Studies in Modern Literature

Engl 367: Studies in Contemporary Literature Engl 381: Literature by Women

Engl 382: Race and Ethnicity in U.S. Literatures

Engl 383: Post-Colonial Literature Engl 385: Studies in Literature

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Theory and Culture:

Engl 243: Literary Theory and Criticism

Engl 286: Introduction to Film Studies Engl 369: Studies in Critical Theory

Engl 386: Studies in Film

Engl 387: Introduction to Linguistics Engl 388: Studies in Popular Culture

Capstone:

Engl 365: Current Issues in Literary Studies Honr 398: Honors Senior Essay, Research, or Creative

Project

Educ 362: Student Teaching 5-12

Special Courses:

Engl 271: Individual Learning Project Engl 371: Individual Learning Project

Engl 397: Internship

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100-Level Courses

English 120A: Science Fiction: Of Aliens and Outer

Space (HM) Days: 2-4-6 Professor: Jane Opitz

Time: 2:40-3:50 p.m. Office: Quad 266/HAB 103B

Room: HAB 119

LAB: Time: 2:40-5:00 p.m.

Day: 2-4-6 Thursdays Room: Q346

Who are we? Are we alone in the universe? What does it mean to be

human? How do we determine ethical standards when dealing with

―others‖? Are the laws of nature forever the same in all places and

times? These are some of the fundamental questions that Science Fiction

asks and this course explores. After briefly examining and defining the

genre and its fit into the literary cannon, we read short stories, excerpts

from longer works of science fiction and from applicable critical theories,

as well as two or more novels that exemplify three specific

themes: Encounter with Aliens, Questions of Time, and Artificial Life.

Students (working in small groups) select and present extra materials,

including movies and television episodes, which further develop the target

themes. This course includes a video lab on even Thursdays from 2:40 to

5:00 PM at SJU. No prerequisites.

This course carries an HM designation.

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English 120E: Reading Fiction: Growing Up

in Literature (HM) (GE) Days: 2-4-6 Professor: Dr. Ozzie Mayers

Time: 9:40-10:50 a.m. Office: Richarda P31

Room: HAB 128A

The ―Bildungsroman,‖ the novel of human development, traditionally

traces the growth of a young person usually from adolescence to maturity.

In this course, you will examine the evolution of this genre from its

German origins through its manifestations in contemporary times, keeping

in mind the essential influences on human growth: ethnicity, race, gender,

sexualities, and class. By analyzing examples of the ―Bildungsroman‖ by

both women and men from various centuries, countries, and classes, we will expand and modify the traditional definition of this genre so that the

very patterns of what constitutes growth will be understood

contextually. This will provide you with the means whereby to know the

drama of human development for others but ultimately for what these

dramas tell you about your own development. Thus, you will not just read,

discuss, and analyze these novels, but you will also explore your own

patterns of growth. ―Growing Up in Literature‖ will provide you with

ample opportunities to discuss these novels as fictions and as realities of

human development.

The novels for this course are: The Samurai‘s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The Year of Ice by Brian Malloy

Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa

The Dark Child Camara Laye

Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

This course is cross-listed with Gender Studies; carries HM and GE

designations.

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English 122D: Men, Women, and Aliens (HM)

Days: 2-4-6 Professor: Betsy Johnson-Miller

Time: 8:00-9:10 a.m. Office: Quad 355C

Room: Quad 339

Find me near the flower‘s eye

that takes in provocation

and begins to grow.

--Rumi

One definition of the word provoke is ―to stir up intentionally.‖ In this

class, we will examine literature that provokes readers. The literature we

will encounter will provoke us in a variety of ways: from asking us to

examine race and gender roles to asking us to question some firmly and

commonly held beliefs, from asking us to enter into a poem that we might

not understand to demanding that we jump into a narrative that will not let us go. The purpose of this class is to get stirred up by literature, to find

ourselves breathless, angry, thrilled, confused, all within the confines of a

page, so that we may, as Rumi suggests, begin to grow.

This course fulfills the HM designation.

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Gateway Courses

English 221B: Medieval Literature: Homer to Dante

(HM) (GE)

Days: 1-3-5 Professor: Dr. Jessica Harkins

Time: 9:40-10:50 a.m. Office: Quad 350B

Room: Quad 343

These authors are everywhere. In political discourses and in

psychology, in film, in painting and in literature, we continue to speak in

terms of their masterpieces. This course will take us into the heart of their

great works. The personalities of these authors leap off of the page; their

characters are audacious, unlikable, heart-rending, hilarious, and

conflicted. These poets—Ovid, Homer, Sophocles, and Virgil—write about

gods and men, exploring themes of love, of violence and change, and of causes and consequences. By the medieval period, these classical writers

have become ―pagans,‖ and writers that value them greatly, such as Dante

and Chaucer, struggle (at personal risk) to protect and to newly translate

their books. Our conversation will include a careful reading of how these

authors construct gender and sexual norms—and we will look to how

female writers, such as Sappho and Christine de Pizan, depict their sex in

their own words while carving out a place for women within a masculine

tradition. Students in this course may expect to encounter some of the

brilliant minds who have shaped the course of western thought and struck

deeply into the human imagination.

This course fulfills the HM and GE designations.

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English 223B: Literature of the Americas:

"Hooray for Hollywood!": A Cultural History of

the First 100 Years of Hollywood Cinema (HM)

Days: 1-3-5 Professor: Dr. Luke Mancuso, OSB

Time: 11:20-12:30 p.m. Office: Quad 355B

Room: Quad 344

Lab: Time: 4:00-6:15 p.m.

Day: Monday Room: AV 1

This gateway course will give engaged students a lot of windows

through which to look in on cinematic literature, cultural histories, thick

slices of American mass culture from the 1890s to the present. We will

look at such genres as silent films, melodramas, musicals, crime films,

the war/combat film, horror films, and science fiction films. We will investigate the way in which movies both shape and are shaped by

political events such as the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War,

the revolts of the 1960s, the film school generation of the 70s, and

globalization.

Vigorous active discussion and one film presentation.

Focused research will be entertaining and fun.

Weekly film labs will include classic films from representative historical

periods.

This course fulfills the HM designation.

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Writing Courses: Lower Division

English 211: Writing Well:

Creative Writers in the Schools (EL)

Days: 1-3-5 Instructor: Chris Bolin

Time: 8:00-9:10 a.m. Office: QUAD 352B

Room: QUAD 365

In this creative-writing course, students will gain the skills

necessary to teach poetry-writing and fiction-writing in local schools, while developing a deeper engagement to their own poetry and fiction

writing. This course will focus on helping students tie writing poetry and

fiction to teaching creative writing. Students will participate in writing

workshops of peer work, closely examine published stories and poems,

and co-teach 6-8 creative-writing sessions at a local, elementary school.

Ultimately, this course will help you develop and refine an understanding

of how "service" and "art" complement one another. This course will help

you write stronger poems, and stories, by illuminating concerns of craft,

technique, and process. Additionally, this course will connect you with a

community of peers to foster extra-curricular, creative growth.

This course fulfills the Experiential Learning (EL) designation.

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English 213-01A: Seminar in Creative Writing

Days: 1-3-5 Professor: Dr. Mara Faulkner, OSB

Time: 2:40-3:50 p.m. Office: Richarda P30

Room: BAC A108

Ars Poetica

The goose that laid the golden egg

Died looking up its crotch

To find out how its sphincter worked Would you lay well? Don’t watch.

X.J. Kennedy, poet, critic, teacher

On the other hand…

Surely the great and structured works of writing are done with the

intelligence playing over against the intuition, each bracing the other, the

mind giving form and sense, the intuition giving immediacy of impression,

the stored-up memory, the deeply instinctive phrase.

Paul Engle, poet, critic, teacher

In this poetry and fiction seminar, we will alternate between these two

pieces of writerly advice, trusting instinct, inspiration, and intuition, but

also trusting craft, intelligent critique, and the exhilarating work of

revision. We will spend part of each class period in serious play,

practicing techniques and forms. We‘ll spend the rest of our time talking

about poems and stories, those provided by our texts and, more important,

those you write. Outside of class, you will read, research, write, revise,

and discover the gifts solitude offers to a writer. We‘ll spend half the

semester on poetry, half on fiction. At the end of the first half, I‘ll ask you

to compile a portfolio of poetry and participate in a reading; by the end of the semester, you will have written and revised two short stories, one of

them based on historical research, and will participate in a fiction reading.

Because I think poems and stories are for communication as well as for

self-expression, I‘ll ask you to submit your work for a class anthology and

for publication on or off campus.

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English 213-02A: Seminar in Creative Writing

Days: 2-4-6 Professor: Dr. Mike Opitz

Time: 11:20-12:30 p.m. Office: Richarda N27

Room: Murray 002

Seminar in Creative Writing 213 had been designed to give students

practice writing short fiction and poetry. Because the song has been such

an important genre in the last fifty years, this section will include song

writing as an option for interested students. Thus, each person in the seminar will be able to focus on two of these three genres. Each genre will

provide the subject matter for approximately one third of the course, and

will serve as the basis for discussion about the principles and techniques of

writing. A short collection of poetry (fifteen polished poems) and a piece

of polished prose fiction (fifteen-twenty pages) or a collection of songs

(length to be determined) will be the major work for the term. Each major

work will follow a process that involves writing drafts, using these drafts

for in-class workshops, participating in group conferences and revising

drafts in light of feedback. At the end of the course, we will produce an

anthology of our writing for the semester.

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Writing Courses: Upper Division

English 311-01A: Writing Essays Days: 2-4-6 Professor: Dr. Ozzie Mayers

Time: 2:40-3:50 p.m. Office: Richarda P31

Room: HAB 118

This course is an English major requirement.

Registration preference given to English majors.

Prerequisite: Completion of First-Year Seminar or the equivalent and Junior standing.

―For [Conrad] the very act of composition was a way of knowing, a way

of exploration.‖

From Robert Penn Warren's Introduction to Nostromo (1951)

As with Conrad‘s approach to writing, you will use your prose in this

course as a means of exploration. With previous writing courses (e.g.,

Symposium or Writing Well) for a foundation, you are ready in Writing

Essays to decide more consciously than before what personality you wish

your prose to have. As a result of getting to know yourselves better as

writers, you will come to understand the connection between a writer‘s

values and style. You will strengthen and reshape your prose to create a

style that is not only clear, informative, and accurate, but is also as

colorful as your own personality.

The procedure for this prose exploration is relatively simple: you write, critique, and rewrite. An advantage of this course is that it provides

you as a writer with a community of your peers and me as a responsible

and supportive audience to assist you in improving your writing. Class

sessions will be kept to a minimum since this course proceeds primarily

through group and individual critiques. To establish a common vocabulary

by which to talk about style, we will read and discuss a collection of

essays by some of America‘s best writers, each of whom has 4-6 essays in

the collection.

We will also spend some time examining the distinctions between the

academic article and the essay. In so doing, you should come to a better

understanding about how as essayists you are becoming part of a literary tradition currently enjoying a revival.

Continued on Pg 19...

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I expect you to write approximately five original essays over the

semester and a final project consisting of a portfolio of your essays written

for this course as well as previous samples of your writing with an

introduction tracing your development as a writer. The grade for this

course comes from your written essays (50%), course participation (25%), and brief writing assignments (25%). The texts for this course are: Modern

American Prose (3rd. ed.) and Common Ground: Personal Writing and

Public Discourse (2nd ed.). In addition, you will receive xeroxed materials

for which you will be charged.

Additional Requirements:

Since so much depends upon drafts being available for critiquing, you

will not be allowed to turn in drafts after their due dates; please plan

accordingly. All final drafts should be typed (double spaced and one inch

margins all around).

The due date requirement holds true for brief writing

assignments since most class sessions depend upon these assignments.

Though your original essays constitute the most important part of this

course, do not minimalize these brief assignments since they are the essential raw materials for creating and improving your style. Finally, I

want to stress the importance of participation by which I mean responsible

writing and critiquing. I do not expect you to agree with all that you read

or that is discussed during class sessions, but I do expect thoughtful

consideration and preparation for your points of view.

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English 311-02A: Writing Essays

Days: 2-4-6 Professor: Matt Callahan

Time: 9:40-10:50 a.m. Office: Quad 355D Room: Quad 349

Simply stated, the goal in Writing Essays is to write well, to place one

word after another in a unique and careful way so that not only will the

reader understand the message conveyed in a given essay, but they might

understand something of the messenger as well. How is this done? It is

not an easy task or one that is undertaken lightly. There are many aspects a

writer must consider and some of these will be explored during the

semester. Word choice will be discussed and examined since, like

fingerprints, each word leaves an individual imprint along an essay‘s path.

Style, the unmistakable scent of a writer, will be developed since it is often the case that how an essayist writes is every bit as important as what an

essayist writes. Focus, consistency, authority and self-discovery all must

be factored into the equation, too. Indeed, it is the process of self-

discovery or self-exploration that can be at once the most maddening and

most rewarding aspect of the essay writing experience.

The class format will be a blend of reading and discussion of our

texts, brief writing exercises, peer workshops, in class readings and

conferences with the instructor. Our readings will provide examples of

some of the finer essayists of our time and will serve as guides for what a

truly great essay can do. But the primary concern of the class will be on

the creation and refinement of our own work so that, by the semester‘s

end, each student will be able to trace back, word by word, their own unique and carefully crafted path across the literary landscape.

Texts:

Modern American Prose, John Clifford and Robert DiYanni

Additional texts TBA

Registration preference given to English Majors.

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English 313: Advanced Poetry Workshop Days: 2-4-6 Professor: Dr. Jessica Harkins

Time: 11:20-12:30 p.m. Office: Quad 350B

Room: Quad 446

Are you secretly a poet? Do you love to write? This course offers a

careful study the art of poetry and the writing life. Together, we read a

wide variety of styles and forms of poetry as we write original poetry

throughout the semester. Students may expect readings to supplement

their study of craft, and many writing exercises to engage them with for-

mal and experimental modes of poetry. Frequent writing workshops give

lots of feedback on student writing—as well as create opportunities for

everyone to exercise reading and editing skills. As part of the course

students meet with visiting writers, participate in a poetry reading, and

ultimately design a portfolio of their own poems. The course primarily

aims to develop creative writing skills and to help students grow as

writers; additionally though, the course enhances students‘ ability to read and discuss poetry, expands students‘ knowledge of poets writing in

English, and exposes students to contemporary poetry journals, reading

audiences, and new forms of literary publication.

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English 315B: Editing and Publishing

Days: 1-3-5 Professor: Dr. Cindy Malone

Time: 1:00-2:10 p.m. Office: Richarda P29

Room: BAC 130

“Every generation rewrites the book’s epitaph; all that changes is

the whodunit.”

-Leah Price, “Dead Again,” New York Times Book Review, August

10, 2012

As e-book sales rise, book publishers knit their brows and try to

forecast demand for print books and e-books. ―[L]ast year,‖ Leah Price

notes, ―Amazon announced it was selling more e-books than print books

— hardcover and paperback combined.‖ That announcement has

prompted a new round of hand-wringing about the future of the book.

The shift from print to electronic format has had—and continues to

have—enormous consequences. Claims that this shift spells the death of

books, however, need careful examination. In English 315, we‘ll explore

the rapidly changing book-publishing industry, looking closely at the ways

in which industry developments and new technologies affect writers and readers. We‘ll begin by studying the traditional book-publishing model,

and then we‘ll study the effects of digital technologies on the transmission

of writers‘ works to audiences of readers.

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Literature Courses: Upper Division

English 342: Studies in British Literature (HM) Days: 2-4-6 Professor: Dr. Cindy Malone

Time: 9:40-10:50 a.m. Office: Richarda P29

Room: HAB 102B

and this prayer I make,

Knowing that Nature never did betray The heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege,

Through all the years of this our life, to lead From joy to joy: for she can so inform

The mind that is within us, so impress With quietness and beauty, and so feed

With lofty thoughts.

-William Wordsworth, "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey‖

As the Industrial Revolution gained speed, many British writers

explored the dynamic relationship between Nature and the Imagination.

These writers represent Nature as a powerful force capable of provoking

hope, solace, and terror.

Observing the movement of population from rural areas to cities, the

shift from handcraft to factory labor, and the transition from horses to

railways, British writers reflected on the changing relationship between people and the natural world. Industrialization and urbanization inform the

works we‘ll read; the natural rhythms of days and seasons were giving

way to the steady, ticking rhythm of the clock, and the environment of

daily work was shifting from the agricultural outdoors to the urban

workplace. We‘ll study 19th-century nature writing in the context of these

momentous changes.

Drawing on Raymond Williams‘ critically important essay, ―Ideas of

Nature,‖ we‘ll build a course wiki that explores the changing meanings of

―nature‖ and the changing interactions of ―nature,‖ human beings, and the

built environment in 18th- and 19th-century British poetry, essays, and

fiction. We‘ll also create a handmade book whose form embodies our

discoveries.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. This course will carry HM

designation.

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English 381: Literature by Women (HM) (GE) Days: 1-3-5 Professor: Dr. Mara Faulkner, OSB

Period: 9:40-10:50 a.m. Office: Richarda P30

Room: BAC A106

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

In spite of the many ways in which women writers have been silenced

throughout history, they have produced a diverse and challenging body of

poetry, fiction, drama, essays, and memoirs. In this course we will barely

sample that rich array, limiting ourselves to women who wrote or are

writing in English. But I hope that our reading of literature by women from

all traditions will continue long past the end of the semester. We will begin with a historical overview of women‘s writing in the

United States and Great Britain and the social, religious, political, and

aesthetic environments out of which it came. We will then move on to an

intensive study of several novels, clusters of poems by single authors, and

nonfiction texts. Along the way, we will examine several feminist

approaches to literature, reading essays by leading feminist critics. While

all of these critical texts are encompassed by the general term feminist

criticism, they are as diverse and as challenging as the literature itself.

This course aims to help you develop your ability to read intelligently

and sympathetically, to question underlying assumptions shaped by gender,

race, and class, and to speak and write clearly about what you‘ve read. Class sessions will include discussions, short lectures, student

presentations, media presentations, and speakers. You will keep a

commonplace book and write a long researched/creative project. There will

be a mid-term test and perhaps an oral final exam.

This course carries an HM designation and meets the Gender

Requirement. It is cross-listed with GWST.

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English 382: Race and Ethnicity in U.S. Literature

(HM) (GE) (IC)

Days: 1-3-5 Professor: Dr. Christina Shouse Tourino

Time: 8:00-9:10 a.m. Office: Quad 354B

Room: Quad 353

This course is an introductory survey of race and ethnicity in the

literatures of the United States. Ethnic literatures are generally produced

out of cultural, political, and/or economic crises by members of a

marginalized group. We will think about how texts respond to such crises,

paying special attention to recurring themes such as assimilation,

inter-generational conflict, slavery, borders, translation, memory, and

witnessing. In addition to race, color, class and ethnicity, gender and sexuality are important categories of analysis for this course. Our

discussions will be grounded in the historical, cultural, and theoretical

contexts of each text.

The very topic of ―ethnic literature,‖ however, defeats any effort at a

survey. While these texts stem from several ethnic communities—Jewish

American, Italian American, Black, Mexican American, Japanese

Canadian, Dominican—they do not ―represent‖ such communities. Such

―representation‖ is impossible. The arbitrary nature of their selection is,

itself, a problem for the field (and the course), and any concept of

―coverage‖ is impossible. Part of our work together will be to learn how to

challenge the framework of this course, as well as current ideas such as

―multiculturalism‖ and ―diversity.‖ What are the institutional and political consequences of a course in Race and Ethnicity in United States literatures

as opposed to diasporic literature, or simply, American literature? Does it

make sense to think about literatures springing from global migrations

(often caused by United States foreign policy and/or global capitalism)

instead of immigrant literature? What impact does the fact that women and

children often constitute the largest percentage of all refugees globally

have on our consideration of what constitutes ―ethnic‖ literature?

Continued on Pg. 26...

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Texts may include: Israel Zangwill ―The Melting Pot,‖ Alan Crosland

―The Jazz Singer,‖ Gordon Parks ―Shaft,‖ Anzia Yezierska Bread Givers,

Charles Chesnutt ―The Wife of His Youth,‖ Pietro Di Donato ―Christ in

Concrete‖ (selection), Ralph Ellison The Invisible Man, Spike Lee ―Bamboozled,‖ Melvin Van Peebles ―Classified X,‖ Tomás Rivera And

the Earth Did Not Devour Him, Gloria Anzaldúa Borderlands/La

Frontera: The New Mestiza, Guillermo Gomez-Peña ―Border Brujo‖

Richard Rodriguez Hunger of Memory, Joy Kogawa Obasan, Junot Diaz

Drown, and Joshua Marston, Maria Full of Grace. Theoretical writers

include Rosaura Sánchez,Tomás Rivera, Cornel West, Henry Gates,

Anthony Appiah, Lisa Lowe and Toni Morrison.

Evaluation is based upon participation, a lecture/discussion-leading

project, and formal papers. Assignments and texts are subject to change.

This course carries HM, GE, and IC designations. It is also cross-

listed with GWST.

27

Theory and Culture:

Lower Division

English 243: Literary Theory and Criticism (GE) Days: 1-3-5 Professor: Dr. Christina Shouse Tourino

Time: 1:00-2:10 Office: Quad 352C

Room: Quad 365

In this course, instead of reading literature, we will read about literature. In a well-developed philosophical tradition stretching back at

least to Plato, scholars have asked, ―What is literature and what does it

do?‖ This semester, we will join them.

The working definition of ―theory‖ in this course is ―a set of

generalizations or questions, usually rather abstract, about the nature or

value of a particular practice or set of practices.‖ Literary theory, then,

refers to the process of understanding the nature of literature, the function

of literature in society, and the relation between the text and the author, the

reader, language, culture, and history. Some questions we will explore in

this course:

- What is literature and what does it do?

- How do we read and interpret literary texts? - Is it possible to arrive at a ―correct" interpretation of a text?

- Does the ―meaning‖ of a literary text reside in the text itself, in

the author, or in the reader?

- How are texts related to other texts?

- How are texts shaped by extra-textual matters?

Literary theory is inseparable from social theory, which attempts to

understand something about ―why things are as they are.‖ We will study

some major statements of literary and social theory spanning many

schools of thought, such as Hermeneutics, Marxism, Psychoanalysis,

Structuralism, Post-structuralism, Post-modernism, Post-colonialism,

Feminism, Queer theory, and Cultural Studies.

This course carries a GE designation.

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English 286: Intro to Film Studies

Days: 1-3-5 Professor: Luke Mancuso

Period: 2:40-3:50 p.m. Office: Quad 355B

Room: Quad 360

Lab: Time: 4:15-6:15 p.m.

Day: Tuesday Room: Quad 346

Welcome to Film Heaven: An Introduction to Active Spectatorship

In film heaven, we will go beyond the level of ―two thumbs up‖ and

will work toward a more theoretical and historical understanding of

Hollywood film and film history. Students will gain an understanding of

the history of film in the U.S. and abroad, and we will look at aesthetic

and technical aspects of filmmaking. Students will also become familiar

with film terminology. 2G2BT.

We will watch many cinema masterworks in the course of the

semester, and there will be a lab scheduled for this purpose. We will also

read film theory, reviews, and other texts to broaden our understanding of

the medium and its genres. Attendance at film lab is mandatory.

Students will do presentations, writing, and will be expected to

participate actively in our discussions. They will also be expected to keep

up with readings and screenings. There may be a nominal cost for

photocopied materials.

Attention: This course requires vigorous and active participation.

This course is cross-listed with COMM 286.

29

Theory and Culture: Upper Division

English 369: Studies in Critical Theory

Days: 2-4-6 Professor: Dr. Mike Opitz

Time: 11:20-12:30 p.m. Office: Richarda N27

Room: BAC A108

The catalog description of this course states that the course will

involve a ―study of selected critical theories and application, using such

approaches.‖ The language of this description could be expanded to

include the study of the stories a culture tells about itself in both literary

and non-literary form. This version of the course will center on the

substance and symbolism of reggae music which began in Jamaica and has

evolved into an important facet of pan-African thinking. Reggae music, a

particular Jamaican version of the African music we call rock and roll, has

been a major form of post-colonial discourse. The course will necessarily

investigate reggae music--its roots, its development and its evolution into a

major global force. We will investigate reggae's use of Rastafarian

religious symbolism, and compare and contrast this symbolism with our

culture's religious symbolism.

The course will bring to bear the insights provided by one or more

interpretive theories. We will study the methodology of semiotics (the

reading of symbols and signs) and apply understandings of semiotics to

reggae and Rastafarianism. We will include some contemporary Marxist

theory—especially the writing of Antonio Gramsci, post-colonial theory,

works by Marcus Garvey, Roland Barthes, Edward Said, Gayle Rubin,

Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer as well as some examples of

underdevelopment theory. We will also screen the film The Harder They

Come and a documentary, A Great and Mighty Walk, which profiles

historian John Henrik Clarke. Works of Bob Marley and other reggae

artists will provide further textual material for the course.

The class periods will be discussion-based with time devoted to

lecture and listening to music.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

30

English 386: Studies in Film (HM)

Days: 2-4-6 Professor: Luke Mancuso Time: 2:40-3:50 p.m. Office: Quad 355B

Room: Quad 360

Lab: Time: 4:00-6:15 p.m.

Days: Monday Room: AV 1

It’s Film Heaven: Analyzing Genre Films in an Interpretive Community =====================================================

Required Texts:

Corrigan, Timothy. A Short Guide to Writing about Film. 6th edition, Pearson Longman, 2006. Grant, Barry. Film Genre Reader III. Austin: U of TX Press, 2003. Leitch, Thomas. Crime Films. Cambridge UP, 2002. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LEARNING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

Purpose and Format of English/Comm 386:

The English/Comm 386 course is an advanced course in the English/Communication Department sequence of upper-division courses at CSB/SJU. It is also a liberal arts course. As an advanced course, it seeks to build on foundational skills you have encountered (such as effective critical thinking, reading, writing, and oral communication skills in Core and Humanities) so that you can pursue upper-division academic work (in this case, a specific exploration of one facet of film studies) competently, efficiently, and even in leadership roles. As a liberal arts course, English/Comm 386 deals with contemporary social values in culture (personal identity, film viewing habits, gender positions, class positions, narrative

representations), and how those social values shape, determine, regulate our individual responses to everyday life. In other words, this liberal arts story is your story. There are several components of a liberal arts learning environment:

critical thinking

perceptive analysis

adapt better to change (seeing things from other perspectives)

development as a whole person (in a social context)

===================================================== You will leave this course with a wider set of questions about your identity as film viewers than the ones you came with, by recognizing your interconnectedness to others. We read 30 essays, and analyze 100 scenes together, selected by students, in the learning community across the semester.

This course fulfills the HM designation.

31

Capstone Requirement

ENGL 365: Current Issues in Literary Studies See page 37

ENGL/HONR 398: Honors Senior Essay,

Research or Creative Project. See Honors Department Website

EDUC 362: Student Teaching 5-12 See Education Department Website

32

English 365: Current Issues in

Literary Studies

Days: 1-3-5 Professor: Dr. Ozzie Mayers

Period: 11:20-12:30 p.m. Office: Richarda P31

Room: BAC A108

This course offers a culminating opportunity for English majors to

synthesize their college work, especially much of what they have learned in their English courses. The English Department has established this

course to bring English majors into regular contact with each other over

a semester to read, reflect, and write about a common reading list.

Students will gain a heightened awareness of the history, content and

theoretical approaches to the discipline of English, will develop a

substantial understanding of their major within the larger context of its

discipline, and will come to know well their immediate community of

majors.

Literature has the capacity to ameliorate our society's ills, claims

Toni Morrison, the 1993 winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. She

sees literature as a refuge from the fractured experience of our world promoted by the profit-driven, entertainment-based news media. She

believes that literature can provide "the mechanism of repair" because it

―refuses and disrupts passive consumption of the self.‖ Literature, she

asserts, ―demands the experience of ourselves as multidimensional. It

rejects lazy responses to other cultures and races and instead mines

language for its power to disrupt [stereotypical thinking and

complacency].‖ Does literature really have the power to disrupt our

complacency, reform our attitudes, and, indeed, to create a better world?

What unique contributions can literature and literary studies make in

public life? Does literature always have an adversarial relationship with

institutions of power? Or is literature itself complicitous in reproducing

institutions of social and political control?

Continued on Pg 33...

33

These are some of the questions we will grapple with as we take

stock of to what extent does Reading Matter? As this ambiguous subtitle

suggests, we will be reading the ―matters‖ of novelists, philosophers, and

theorists who took the risk to disrupt our complacency in order to address

the questions above. After reading and discussing how critics address to

what extent ―reading matters,‖ we will read and discuss a selection of

novels, poems, essays, and film in relationship to these critical

perspectives and discern if these works ―matter.‖ Subsequently, each

student will argue for why a novel, poem (or a selection of poems), an

essay (or collection), or film must be read not just by English majors but

by others as well. It will be up to the student to explain the work under

consideration and to argue for its effectiveness to ―ameliorate our

society‘s ills.‖

34

English 397: Internship

Days: TBD Professor: Dr. Madhu Mitra

Period: TBD Office: Richarda P28 Room: TBD

Completed Application for Internship form REQUIRED.

S/U grading only.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, pre-internship seminar, and appli-

cation to the English department two semesters prior to the anticipated

internship.

NOTE: (See Internships bulletins on the Internship website at

http://www.csbsju.edu/internship/links.htm)

Contact the Experiential Learning and Community Engagement office

for additional information.

35

Advising Check List: English Major

(40 Credits) (for students who matriculated prior to Fall 2011)

___ 100-level course – 13__

____ 243

____ 311

____ Literature and Literary History course- _____

____ Theory and Culture course- _____

____ Capstone- _____

____ Electives- _____

_____

_____ _____

Additional Requirements: for the requirements listed below,

courses can double count i.e., 352 can count as Literature and Lit-erary History above and as a major subject of study in poetry, liter-

ature before 1800, literature, and upper division below.

____ 4 credits in which a major subject of study is poetry-_____

____ 4 credits in literature before 1800- _____

____ 16 credits in literature classes- _____

_____ _____

_____

____ 16 credits in upper division- _____

_____

_____

_____

36

Advising Checklist: Revised English Major

(40 Credits) for students who matriculated Fall 2011 or later

NOTE: Students must have sophomore standing to enroll in 300-level

courses. Students may apply one 100 level course towards the major as an

elective.

Required Coursework:

____ 8 credits of Engl 221-223

_____ Engl 221:World Literatures

_____ Engl 222:Literature in English

_____ Engl 223: Literature of the Americas

____ 4 credits English 243: Literary Theory & Criticism

____ 4 credits English 311: Writing Essays

____ 4 credits capstone seminar (Engl 365)

Electives:

____ 20 Credits

Engl ______:

Engl ______:

Engl ______:

Engl ______:

Engl ______:

37

Advising Checklist: Revised English Minor

(20 credits) For students who matriculated Fall 2011 or later

I. Required coursework:

____ 20 credits of English courses, including 12 at the upper-division level.

The English Department strongly recommends that students take

English 311.

Students may apply only one course from 120-124 toward the

minor.

Engl __________:

Engl __________:

Engl __________:

Engl __________:

Engl __________:

38

Advising Checklist: English Writing Minor

(20 credits) *

NOTE: Students must have sophomore standing to enroll in 300-level

courses.

*For students who matriculated Fall 2011 or later.

I. Required Coursework:

12 credits of writing courses within the English major.

Engl. 211: Writing Well

Engl. 213: Seminar in Creative Writing*

Engl. 220: Topics in Research

Engl. 311: Advanced Seminar in Creative Writing*

Engl. 315: Writing Special Topics

Students may substitute COMM 245: Introduction to Media Writing and

COMM 345: Advanced Media Writing

*may be repeated for credit when genres differ

II. Electives: 8 additional elective English credits (above the 100 level):

Engl:______

Engl:______

The English department strongly recommends that students take English

311.

Elective options include: 221, 222, 223, 243, 286, 341, 342, 346, 347, 352,

355, 361, 362, 366, 367, 369, 381, 382, 383, 385, 386,

387, 388.

39

Advising Checklist: Communication Arts/Lit

for 5-12 Education

(44 Credits) *For students who matriculated prior to Fall 2011.

Required Courses:

_____Engl 122:Fiction and Poetry (4 credits)

_____Engl 243: Literary Theory and Criticism (4 credits)

_____Engl 311: Writing Essays (4 credits)

4 credits of coursework under each of the following clusters:

_____Literature and Literary History– Engl 352:

Shakespeare

_____Theory and Culture-Engl 387:English Language

(Linguistics)

_____Capstone– EDUC 362: Student Teaching

To meet state requirements and fulfill the additional requirements listed

under the Concentration in Literature, education minors must also take the

following courses:

_____Engl 342: British Lit after 1700 (4 credits)

_____Engl 346: American Lit to 1865 (4 credits)

_____Engl 383: Post-Colonial Lit or Engl 382:Race and

Ethnicity in US Lit (4 credits)

Those students who complete the minor may also count 2 credits of

COMM 200: Public Speaking, 2 credits of COMM 252: Listening, and 4

credits of COMM 103: Mass Communication and Society towards their

major.

See also the education department‘s listing of courses required for a 5-12

licensure.

The Communication Arts/Literature 5-12 licensure minor is under

revision. Students should check with the English department for the

current requirements.

40

Advising Checklist: Communication Arts/Lit

for 5-12 Education

(44 Credits) *For students who matriculated Fall 2011 or later.

Required Courses:

8 credits from Engl 221-223

_____Engl 221: World Literatures (4 credits)

_____Engl 222: Literatures in English (4 credits)

_____Engl 223: Literature of the Americas (4 credits)

4 credits of each of the following courses:

_____Engl 243: Literary Theory and Criticism (4 credits)

_____Engl 311: Writing Essays (4 credits)

_____Educ 362: Student Teaching (4 credits)

_____Comm 103: Mass Communication and Society (4 credits)

2 credits of each of the following courses:

_____Comm 200: Public Speaking (2 credits)

_____Comm 252: Listening (2 credits)

16 credits of English electives:

_____Engl 383: Post-Colonial Lit or Engl 382:Race and Ethnicity in US Lit (4 credits)

_____Engl 387: Intro to Linguistics (4 credits)

_____Engl (4 credits)

_____Engl (4 credits)

*The English Department highly recommends Engl 352: Shakespeare as a

4–credit elective.

See also the education department‘s listing of courses required for a 5-12

licensure.

The Communication Arts/Literature 5-12 licensure minor is under

revision. Students should check with the English department for the

current requirements.