Department of EnglishCourse Descriptions

Fall 2010

Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”

Baylor University

Special Matters

English majors should take the required 3000-level surveys before taking 4000-level classes.

Students majoring in the natural sciences may take English 3300 instead of English 1304.

Please Note

It is sometimes necessary to change course offerings, class schedules, and teacher assignments. The Department of English retains the right to add, change, or cancel any courses, class schedules, or teacher assignments listed herein at any time without prior notice.

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0300 Developmental English

This course is for students who need additional preparation to do college-level work. English 0300 introduces students to the fundamentals of writing by emphasizing grammar, mechanics, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraph structure, and essay structure. Ample exercises—from identifying subjects and verbs to proof-reading paragraphs—are a hallmark of this course. Paragraph and essay assignments reinforce the need for coherence and detail in student writing. Satisfactory completion of English 0300 is based on the student’s performance on the departmental final essay, which is pass or fail. Although this course gives load credit, it satisfies no degree requirement.

Wilhite, Sec. 01, TR 9:30

1301 English as a Second Language: Composition Skills

A course for non-native speakers of English providing review and instruction in English grammar, usage, and vocabulary development in the context of writing paragraphs, essays, and a short research project. This course does not satisfy the English requirements for any degree program. Registration in this course may be determined by language and writing tests given when the student enrolls in the University.

Klingman, Sec. 01, TR 9:30

1302 Thinking and WritingPrerequisite(s): ENG 0300 for students whose diagnostic test

indicates inability to do satisfactory work in ENG 1302.

A course designed to help students better understand English grammar, rhetoric, and usage for correct and effective writing. The course focuses on the several steps in organizing and writing

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the expository essay for a variety of purposes. Essay assignments develop students’ capacity for logical thought and expression.

Staff

1304 Thinking, Writing, and ResearchPrerequisite(s): ENG 1302 or FAS 1302 or advanced

placement.

A course designed to teach students to gather and evaluate information from a variety of sources and to incorporate ideas from these sources into the writing of a research paper. In addition, the course explores the techniques of persuasive and critical writing.

Staff

1304 Think ing, Wr i t ing, and Research HonorsPrerequisite(s): English 1302 or advanced placement.

The course is designed to teach students to gather and evaluate information from a variety of sources and to incorporate ideas from these sources into the writing of six shorter essays and a research paper. In addition, the course explores the techniques of expository, critical and argumentative writing.

Foster, Sec. H1, TR 9:30

2301 British LiteraturePrerequisite(s): ENG 1302 and 1304 (or equivalent).

A study of the literature of Great Britain, emphasizing the works of major writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, the Romantic poets, the Victorian poets, and the major novelists.

Staff

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2301 Br i t ish L i tera ture (ENG Majors Only)Prerequisite(s): English 1302 and 1304 (or equivalent).

In this course you will read a selection of the literary masterpieces of Great Britain written between the late sixteenth century and the late twentieth century. These works pose questions about what it means to be human (to desire, to suffer, to grow); they also explore many of the ways in which the natural, political and social landscape of the British Isles has influenced the development of the national character. We will address these thematic issues in our discussions and engage in close readings of the texts in order to expand our skills in textual analysis.

Gardner, Sec. 24, MWF 1:25

2304 American LiteraturePrerequisite(s): English 1302 and 1304 (or equivalent).

A study of the literature of the United States, emphasizing the works of major writers such as Frost, Ellison, Hawthorne, Melville, Poe, Dickinson, Whitman, Twain, Hemingway, Faulkner, and Morrison.

Staff

2306 World Literature Prerequisite(s): ENG 1302 and 1304 (or equivalent)

A study of the literature of countries other than Britain and the United States, emphasizing the work of major writers such as Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, Dante, Boccaccio, Cervantes, Goethe, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy, and giving attention to selected classical works of non-Western literature.

Foster, Sec. 01, MWF 9:05; Sec. 04, MWF 11:15McDonald, Sec. 02, TR 9:30; Sec. 03, TR 11:00

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3300 Technical and Professional Writing

English 3300 is an advanced writing course designed to meet the needs of students who are preparing for careers in engineering, science, technical, business and writing professions. The course emphasizes rhetorical concepts such as purpose, audience, style, and situation as well as strategies for planning, organizing, designing, and editing technical and professional communication. In addition, students will learn strategies for communicating technical information to a variety of audiences, including managers and users, both technical and non-technical.

Shaver, Sec. E1, MWF 10:10Craven, Sec. E2, TR 11:00; Sec. E4, TR 12:30Krasienko, Sec. E3, MWF 11:15; Sec. E5, MWF 1:25Medhurst, Sec. E6, TR 2:00; Sec. E7, MW 2:30-3:45

3302 Modern Engl ish Grammar

English 3302 is a course in modern English grammar designed for anyone who is interested in understanding the grammar and syntax of the English language. This course focuses on studying the structure of the English language through grammatical analysis using the Structural and Transformational approaches, which are synthesized throughout the course. Students will learn to use diagrams representing sentence structure to demonstrate their understanding of the grammar. Note that this course is not a traditional grammar tutorial and is not designed to improve students’ written or spoken English directly, but rather it is intended to give students tools to understand and discuss modern English grammar.

Grebenyova, Sec. 01, TR 2:00

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3303 Advanced Expository Writing Prerequisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor.

This course offers junior and senior students the opportunity to study and work with advanced concepts and techniques of expository writing. Students will read exemplary essays by prominent writers, analyze rhetorical techniques, and apply what they learn about writing to their own work during the semester. Reading and writing assignments will focus on organizational patterns, principles of logic, and stylistic devices. Classes will be structured around a pattern of reading, writing, and revising and will require class participation in each step of the writing process. The course is designed to benefit all students who wish to strengthen their writing skills and is particularly helpful to students interested in advanced studies or professions requiring writing skills.

Pittman, Sec. 01, MWF 10:10Callan, Sec. 02, MWF 1:25

3304 Creative Writing: Poetry Prerequisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor.

This course introduces students to the craft of writing poetry. By studying the craft in terms of the traditions and techniques used by poets throughout history, and by examining and evaluating a wide variety of published poems, students will learn to recognize various poetic techniques and practices. Most importantly, students will have the opportunity to write their own poems, and to have them analyzed. Thus, the course will primarily be a workshop course and the major “texts” for the course will be the poems written by the students in the class. Each student will be expected to write and revise a number of poems during the semester and these poems will be the major base for the grade in the course.

Davis, W.V., Sec. 01, MWF 11:15

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3306 Creative Writing: ProsePrerequisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor.

This course is an introduction to the art of writing fiction, concentrating on the short story. This class will be a workshop in short fiction writing focusing on the writing of the members of the class.

Garrett, Sec. 01, TR 2:00

3309 Writing for the Popular Market Prerequisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor. A workshop in writing non-fiction writing emphasizing the rhetorical modes and techniques appropriate for popular media. Topics include factual reporting and writing; autobiographical and biographical writing; and interviewing and researching techniques.

Asher, Sec. 01, TR 11:00

3310 Introduction to Language and Linguistics Prerequisite: Upper-level standing or consent of instructor

This course is an introduction to the integrated systems of human language. Our focus will be on the evidence that linguists use to find out what we know when we “know” a language. We will study how speech sounds are produced and categorized into abstract entities of sound, how words are formed from smaller meaningful parts, and how they combine into sentence structures. We will also consider how humans derive meaning from language and how language systems change and vary across genders, geographical regions, and time. By thinking about language analytically, we will begin to see the patterns which underlie all languages and which render them capable of being learned and processed in the human brain.

Butler, Sec. 01, MWF 9:05; Sec. 02, MWF 10:10

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3311 English Literature through the 16th Century Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper-level standing. This is a survey course of selected works of Medieval and Early Modern (Renaissance) English literature from the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Centuries, designed to give students an understanding not simply of the literature itself but especially of the cultural and social contexts out of which it developed. Representative works include translations of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (selections) and his Troilus and Cressida, the Medieval miracle play The Second Shepherds’ Pageant, the Medieval morality play Everyman, Wyatt’s and Surrey’s sonnets, Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella (selections), Book 1 of Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, and Shakespeare’s sonnets (selections) and his comedy Twelfth Night. Two in-class exams and a final exam and one relatively short critical essay form the basis for the grade.

Hunt, Sec. 01, TR 9:30

3331 Engl ish L i tera ture of the 17th and 18th Century

Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper-level standing

English poetry, prose, and drama from 1600 to 1800. In drama, Shakespeare’s King Lear and Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi. In prose, Donne, Bacon, Jonson, and Browne. In fictional prose, Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Sterne’s novel Tristram Shandy. In poetry, major Metaphysical Poets (Donne and others), major Classical Poets (Jonson and others), and Milton. Also sampled are Dryden, Pope, and Gray.

The course grade will be based primarily on four factors: three major tests (the last one being the final exam) and a brief analytical/critical paper. Each test and the

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paper will be valued at one-fourth in the course grade. Allowance also is made for improvement and other factors to be announced on the first day of class.

Ray, Sec. 01, MWF 10:10

3351 Br i t ish L i tera ture f rom the 19th Century to the Present

Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper-level standing

In this course designed primarily for English literature majors, we will study authors and literary movements of the 19th and 20th centuries and the beginning of the 21st, and read selected Romantic, Victorian, Modern, and contemporary works. The course will emphasize close reading of the texts, class discussion, and a variety of writing tasks. The purpose of the course is to help students become familiar with the various literary genres produced during these periods, to enhance students’ ability to read and critique these works, and to lead students to a deeper understanding of the issues and themes these works present within the context of the literary, aesthetic, scientific, political, religious, and social movements of the time.

Vitanza, Sec. 01, MWF 10:10

3370 Religion and Literature Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and

upper-level standing Our goal in this class is to dispel a myth about 19th C. Britain--that religion and poetry crept into a corner as science, doubt, and the novel won the field. In this class, we will uncover a truer and more exciting story, learning how consistently 19th C. British poets and critics of every persuasion used poetry to criticize,

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embrace, and re-imagine religion, religious texts (mainly the Bible), and religious experiences. Since 19th C. Britain was predominantly Christian, by “religion” we will mainly mean Christianity, but some writers will defy any available religious category, and several will set themselves directly against Christianity and mainstream Victorian Christian culture. We will read works by familiar names, such as Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, the Brownings, Christina Rossetti, and Gerard Manley Hopkins. Yet we will also read less familiar authors, such as Robert Lowth, John Keble, Algernon Charles Swinburne, and George Meredith. Participants will write two papers (6-8 pages), an essay-based midterm and final, and a number of short reading responses.

King, Sec. 01, MWF 9:05

3374 Short Fiction: A Reading Course

Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper-level standing.

This survey deals with the theoretical and practical study of the short story as a genre, stressing fictional elements and modes. The course emphasizes the development of critical reading skills and the application of varied critical approaches to the genre, applied to a distinctive selection of classic, modern, and contemporary stories. Analytical papers, mid-term, and final examinations―all are considered in the grading process.

McDonald, Sec. 01, MWF 9:05

3376 African American LiteraturePrerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper-

level standing.

This course is a survey of African American literature from colonial times to the present. Using poetry, slave narratives, novels, and music, we will examine the development of African American literature in relation to historical events and cultural

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contexts. Writers to be discussed include Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and Ernest Gaines. Course work will be made up of short papers and two exams.

Ford, Sec. 01, MWF 11:15

3380 American L iterature through Whitman Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper-level standing

English 3380 is a survey of the literature of the United States through Whitman, emphasizing the work of major writers such as Bradstreet, Taylor, Edwards, Franklin, Wheatley, Cooper, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, Poe, Douglass, Whitman, and others. The objectives of the course are to develop an understanding of the ethical and aesthetic motivations for the greatest works of American literature from the beginnings through Whitman, to understand the ebb and flow of artistic movements in American history, and to hone the critical skills necessary for analyzing this great literature.

Fulton, Sec. 01, MWF 9:05

3390 American Literature from WhitmanPrerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and

upper-level standing.

In this course, we will study some of the major works of American literature from the late nineteenth century to the present day. We will divide the course up into three chronological sections, 1865-1900, 1900-1945, and 1945 to the present. We will read works of several genres, including novels, short stories, poetry, essays, films and songs. We will study works by women and men, and by writers from a range of American ethnic communities. Authors will include Emily Dickinson, Kate Chopin, John Muir, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Wallace Stevens, the Harlem Renaissance

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writers, Raymond Chandler, Flannery O’Connor, the Beat poets, Sylvia Plath, Kurt Vonnegut, Sherman Alexie and Jonathan Safran Foer. By the end of the course, students will have a clear sense of the realist, naturalist, modernist and postmodern movements in American literary history, will be familiar with some of the major works of each movement, and will have developed the critical skills for understanding these works. Students will be graded on the basis of two essays, a final exam, a class presentation, and participation in class discussion.

Ferretter, Sec. 01, TR 11:00

4302/5301 Old English Language Seminar Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to the Old English language and literature through intensive study of Old English grammar and reading of Old English texts. Selections may include biblical translations, entries from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, writings of Bede and Alfred, and The Battle of Brunanburh.

Denton, Sec. 01, TR 2:00

4303 Contemporary SyntaxPrerequisite(s): ENG 3302 or 3310 or 4304.

This class is an exploration of one of the main areas of contemporary linguistics: syntax. Syntax is the study of how words in human languages are combined to form larger units (phrases) up to yet larger ones (sentences). Although the course focuses on English and no knowledge of any other language is required for this course, examples from other languages will be introduced and discussed as well. This is due to the fact that the findings and the formal tools of contemporary syntax are aimed to apply to all human languages. Principles of contemporary linguistics and concepts of transformational syntax will be used to analyze the nature of the syntactic system of

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human language.

Grebenyova, Sec. 01, TR 11:00

4306 Cross-Cultural LinguisticsPrerequisite(s): ENG 3310 or consent of instructor.

This course explores the dynamic process of intercultural communication and the social, historical, and linguistic factors that influence it. The readings and class discussions will cover how different cultures express through language their worldview, concepts of time, gender roles, politeness, religious faith, educational values, and many more. Students in fields ranging from education to business management should find this course interesting and valuable.

Butler, Sec. 01, MWF 12:20

4310 Old and Early Middle English Literature Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306; and upper-level standing

This course will offer an opportunity to study the inventive stories and poems enjoyed by medieval British readers from about 700 A.D. to 1350. We will consider major texts and representative genres of the early medieval period in their cultural context. The course begins with fine examples of Anglo-Saxon prose and poetry, then considers types of Anglo-Norman literature that flourished in England as literacy increased among the laity during the twelfth century. Readings in Early Middle English demonstrate a rich tradition of sacred and secular writing before the age of Chaucer. Students will read most texts in translation.

4311 Advanced Writing for the Popular Market Prerequisite(s): ENG 3309 or 4375 or consent of instructor

This is an advanced workshop in writing nonfiction prose. In this course, students will practice the type of

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writing used in publications—magazines, feature sections of newspapers, and organizational newsletters and websites. Students will create a publication for an existing organization (a nonprofit agency, student organization, etc.) or a local interest (hiking in Central Texas, Technology Trends for College Students, etc.). Students will then pitch, plan, research, and write stories to fill this publication. In this seminar-styled workshop, students will get hands-on practice writing query letters, conducting interviews, writing, revising, editing, and constructively critiquing each other’s work. Students will also get experience planning and managing a large project.

Shaver, Sec. 01, MW 2:30-3:45

4314 Chaucer Prerequisite: ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper-level standing

This course introduces part of the culture(s) of England’s High Middle Ages through Chaucer’s poetry. We will read “The Parlement of Foules” and most of The Canterbury Tales in Chaucer’s Middle English, paying special attention to how Chaucer reflects and expresses the ideas and values of his time, station, and place. We will also examine such standard concerns as Chaucer’s use of plot, characterization, theme, imagery, and prosody. Our chief objective will be to delight in Chaucer’s insight, wit, and humanity. Everyone will memorize a short passage of The Canterbury Tales in Middle English; everyone will take three exams during the term and a cumulative final. Moreover, everyone will write one or two short papers and one long paper.

Hanks, Sec. 01, MWF 9:05

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4317 “The History and Development of American English Dialects”

Prerequisite(s): Upper-level standing and consent of instructor.

This course will focus on the basic concepts and tools of dialectology and how they are used to investigate differences in pronunciation, inflection, and lexicon in North America. We will examine the British and non-British origins of the dialects spoken in Colonial America and trace features of the modern American dialects from these early beginnings. Throughout the course, we will consider how linguistic variation is tied to class, ethnicity, geography, age, gender and self-identification with a particular community. These topics will culminate in a group investigation of the dialect of Central Texas.

Denton, Sec. 01, TR 12:30

4318 Writing for the WorkplacePrerequisite(s): Upper-level standing and consent of instructor.

English 4318 gives students practice managing projects, analyzing client needs, applying principles of visual rhetoric and design, producing a variety of workplace documents, and managing their own schedules. As part of this course, students will work in teams to identify an outside client with whom they would like to work and then work closely with this outside client to meet their communication needs. Students will also assemble a professional career portfolio that includes a resume, cover letter, and other professional documents that represent themselves as professional writers.

Alexander, Sec. 01, TR 9:30

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4324 Shakespeare: Selected Plays Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper-level standing

A representative survey of Shakespeare’s drama—comedies, tragedies, and histories—as well as his sonnets. In addition to a selection of his poetry, students will read Love’s Labor’s Lost, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Othello, Measure for Measure, King Lear, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest. Three essay examinations and a short critical paper will form the basis for evaluation.

Hunt, Sec. 01, TR 11:00

4330 Early Seventeenth-Century Poetry and ProsePrerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and

upper level standing.

Poetry, politics, religion and erotics are nowhere more consistently implicated in one another than in the English writing of the early seventeenth century. In delineating just some of the conflicting passions and ideals that shaped the bloody English civil war, we shall consider narrative modes ranging from the mythological to the historical. The lyric poetry will include the work of John Donne, George Herbert, Amelia Lanyer, Margaret Cavendish, Andrew Marvell, and Ben Jonson. We shall also study the epic poetry of Abraham Cowley (Davideis) and Lucy Hutchinson (Order and Disorder), as well as the prose works of Thomas Browne, Thomas Hobbes, and others.

Assignments include reflection writing, an annotated bibliography, an oral presentation, a research essay, and exams.

Donnelly, Sec. 01, TR 9:30

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4340 English Poetry and Prose from 1660 to 1745

Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper level standing.

This multi-generic course traces the various literary modes and styles that define the Restoration and Neoclassical period (1660-1745) in British literary history. We will read poetry, satires, drama, romances, and literary essays produced by the “official” literary establishment—writers including John Dryden, Aphra Behn, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, and John Gay—as well as fictional narratives from the “unofficial” literary establishment by writers such as John Bunyan and Daniel Defoe. Many of the literary works from this age can be characterized as blending a nostalgia for classical models and cultures with an urgent sense of topical reality. Therefore, our study of the literature will be supplemented by close attention to the history, politics, and culture of the time. Assignments will include four short response papers, two longer essays, a midterm, and a final examination.

Foster, Sec. 01, TR 12:30

4354 Romantic Poetry: Revolutionaries, Revivialists, and Reactionaries

Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper level standing.

One of the great flowerings of English literature occurred between 1798 and 1832 when radicals and revolutionaries in politics and literature sought to change society and reinvent literature. Concerned with injustices, social change, and hope for a better and a more just society, Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats sought to break the traditions and reconstruct literary taste. Employing close readings of poetry and prose, students will interact with the poetry of the major writers as

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well as a few of the prose writers including Dorothy Wordsworth and Mary Shelley. Requirements include weekly one-page position papers, a midterm, and a final.

Barcus, Sec. 01, TR 2:00

4370 Women Writers Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper-level standing.

This course introduces students to a broad spectrum of Victorian women writers (including novelists, poets, journalists, travel writers, autobiographers, social critics, and theologians) and explores questions regarding the contemporary and modern response to these writers and their texts.

Henry, Sec. 01, MWF 12:20

4371 Modern Br i t ish Poetry Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper-level standing.

This course will be an in-depth introduction to British poetry in the twentieth century. Assuming a basic background in nineteenth-century British poetry of the Romantic and Victorian periods, the course will focus on the individual voices of the major twentieth-century poets. The poets to be considered are: William Butler Yeats, Edwin Muir, Wilfred Owen, W. H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, Philip Larkin, Denise Levertov, Paul Muldoon, Eavan Boland, Geoffrey Hill, Seamus Heaney and R. S. Thomas. Each student will make several class presentations; write several short papers, and one longer one.

Davis, W.V., Sec. 01, MWF 1:25

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4374 The English Country HousePrerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and

upper-level standing.

This course examines the country house as a product of the English literary imagination, with particular emphasis on the novels of the twentieth century. The country house is more than a prominent architectural feature of the island; it is an organic setting rooted in the landscape and woven into the fabric of English identity. As a bastion of aristocratic cultural authority, the country house ethos reached its pinnacle in the Edwardian era. The inevitable decline of the country house following the First World War, and the attenuation of the aristocratic ethos it embodied, produced an impressive array of fictional treatments ranging from elegiac to gothic, from satiric to tragic. The English country house novel in all its variety poignantly portrays a society in the twilight of its significance. In addition to poetry and social history, our readings will likely include novels by Evelyn Waugh, Aldous Huxley, H. G. Wells, Henry James, Christopher Isherwood, Julian Fane, Ian McEwan, L. P. Hartley, Vita Sackville-West, and Sarah Waters. Assignments will include three papers and a final exam.

Gardner, Sec. 01, MWF 10:10

4377 Internship in Professional Writing Prerequisite(s): ENG 4318 or concurrent enrollment, and consent of instructor.

English 4377 is an internship course that serves as a capstone experience for Professional Writing majors. This course provides students with a continuous period of on-the-job experience as a writer in a professional setting and gives them multiple opportunities to apply the skills and knowledge they have acquired through their coursework to a professional context. Over the course of the semester, students will work under the supervision of the Internship

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course instructor and an Employee Supervisor to complete at least 154 documented hours of work as an intern. In addition, students will attend meetings with the Faculty Supervisor and other student interns at least once a month. These meetings give students a regular opportunity to share accomplishments and discuss observations and problems that arise on the job. Finally, students will reflect on their learning and experiences by assembling a professional portfolio that represents their talents and skills. As students proceed with the internship, they will gain practical experience functioning as a writer within a professional organization. Students will develop skills in “reading”—or recognizing and analyzing—the culture of a particular organization, and apply this knowledge in order to adapt to the workplace environment, contribute to the organization’s work, and eventually identify possibilities for innovation. As the semester proceeds, students will become more adept at thinking of themselves as professional writers and will be better prepared to develop and apply their knowledge and analytic abilities to future workplace experiences.

Shaver, Sec. 01, TBA

4380 American Renaissance Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and

upper-level standing.

Variously termed the “American Renaissance,” the “Flowering of New England,” or simply “The Rise of Transcendentalism,” the period in American literary history from the 1820s to the Civil War was marked by an increasing literary and intellectual vitality. Students in this course will read some of the sermons, essays, and tracts by lesser-known transcendentalists as well as works by the more influential figures of the era: Emerson, Thoreau, Douglass, Hawthorne, Melville, Davis, and Margaret Fuller.

Fulton, Sec. 01, MWF 10:10

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4387 Modern American Novel/1900–1945

Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306 and upper-level standing.

The period between the two world wars was one of the richest and most productive periods of American literature. In this course, we will study a range of American novels from the first half of the twentieth century. We will cover a range of the different voices making themselves heard in fiction during this period. We will begin with the great modernist writers Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Faulkner, and we will read one of Steinbeck’s major social novels. We will read two African American novels, and we will focus on some of the fiction written by women during this period. We will cover the work of Jewish, Southern and proletarian novelists, watch a World War II movie, and finish with a glimpse at what begins to happen in American fiction after 1945. The aim of this course is for students to get to know and to think for themselves about a representative sample of the wide range of American voices expressing themselves in the form of the novel during the first half of the twentieth century. We will study these works in the context of the historical background that produced them, and we will also look at some of the theories of the novel articulated during this period.

Ferretter, Sec. 01, TR 9:30

5304 Bibliography and Research Methods: SeminarPrerequisite(s): Graduate standing or permission of instructor

This course introduces graduate students to diverse tasks that are essential for the successful professional scholar/teacher. The seminar sessions are structured around specific tasks designed to familiarize students with methodologies and to assist students with the beginning stages of their preferred fields of study. Students will learn to retrieve information in both traditional and electronic formats; they will read and review recently-published scholarly books; they will write and submit a conference paper; they will prepare a manuscript for publication; and they will prepare a scholarly edition

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of a manuscript or text. Finally, students will complete a variety of mundane but significant tasks like writing a recommendation and prepare the dossier expected by most employers. A field trip to the Ransom Humanities Research Library at UT-Austin is required.

Johnston, Sec. 01, T 3:30-6:30

5330 Seventeenth-Century English Literature: Metaphysical Poetry and Prose

We will examine the origins and meanings of “metaphysical” and then study primarily the poetry of John Donne, George Herbert, and Andrew Marvell and the prose of Donne, Herbert, and Sir Thomas Browne. Understanding their works from an analytical perspective and from major critical views will be important in our approaches and goals. Student presentations, discussions, one short paper, and one long paper will be considered in assessment of grades.

Ray, Sec. 01, R 3:30-6:30

5350 Early Romantic Poets: Romanticism and Religion

Manifestly and covertly, one subject runs through the poems and prose works of Wordsworth and Coleridge: religion. These first-generation Romantics persistently raise questions such as the following: How does the authority of poetry relate to that of the Bible, especially as the authority of the latter is coming into question? Can biblical apocalypse be exchanged for or identified with visions of political revolution? Is the poetic imagination a spiritual and religious power? If the book of nature no longer easily corroborates the revelations of scripture, can poets still read nature’s pages for spiritual meanings? Is the rapid emergence of print culture a materialistic and divisive force that threatens spiritual community? We will concentrate on Wordsworth’s and Coleridge’s responses to such questions, but we will also make excursions into writings by figures such as William Blake, Anna Barbauld, and

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Charlotte Smith. Our secondary reading will draw from the long critical debate about romanticism and religion, a topic currently of high interest among scholars of romanticism. Classes will include short lectures by the instructor, but will be devoted primarily to discussion, brief reports on critical pieces, and formal presentations related to the seminar paper.

King, Sec. 01, M 3:30-6:30

5362 Victorian Prose: Seminar

Beginning with Jane Eyre (1847) and ending with Dracula (1897), this course will provide you with an overview of the dazzling Victorian era. The focus is on England, and you will observe the emergence of the world’s first superpower through the eyes of its novelists, including Charlotte Bronte, Thackeray, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, James, Wilde, and Stoker. These novelists chronicle the human vanity and misery that accompanied England’s meteoric rise to greatness—and unfailingly scourge the politicians, ecclesiastics, and petty bureaucrats who perpetuated the have and have-not mentality. A general goal is to expose you to a wide variety of novelists, novels, and narrative techniques. Active participation, oral presentation, brief essay, and seminar paper all count towards the final grade.Losey, Sec. 01, W 3:30-6:30

5376 Religion and Literature Seminar: Contemporary Narratives of Religion, War, and Peace

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing in the doctoral Religion and Literature concentration or consent of the instructor.

In this seminar, we will study contemporary works of literature and popular culture in light of religious and ethical teachings on war, peace, violence, and nonviolence. A particular focus will be post 9-11 religion and culture. Our methodologies will include theological and cultural criticism, genre criticism, and close reading. Each participant in the seminar will make a short

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presentation on the work of a theologian or ethicist and lead discussion on a primary text; the major writing product of the course will be a conference-length paper. Authors and works to be considered may include Margaret Atwood, Cormac McCarthy, Marilynne Robinson, Barbara Kingsolver, Pat Barker, The Dark Knight, Munich, 24, and Battlestar Galactica.

Garrett, Sec. 01, T 3:30-6:30

5391 Colonial American Literature: Captive Subjects

The special topic for this semester’s seminar will be captivity. We will read the narratives of European explorers and Puritan colonists captured by Native Americans, Africans captured by slave traders, and American sailors captured by Barbary pirates. Since the captivity narrative was an important New World genre, we will examine how issues of captivity inform ideas about cultural identity in the undefined space of the New World as well as ideas about freedom in the new republic. Our readings will include early Gothic and sentimental novels influenced by the popularity of the captivity narrative. We will situate the novels in their historical context where fears about the potential dangers of the novel often depicted novel reading as a kind of captivity. Supplementing our readings of the primary texts will be readings on theories of captivity, circum-Atlantic studies, and the early novel in America. Requirements will include an oral report and a seminar paper.

Ford, Sec. 01, R 3:30-6:30

Notes

Notes

Quotable:

“Ay, now I am in Ardenne; the more fool I. When I was at home, I was in a better place; but travellers must be content.”

The Jester, Touchstone. Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Act. 2, Scene 4