Us vs. Them

ENGL 204A:  Us vs. Them: Monsters and Society in Film

Instructor: C. Brichford

TR 12:30-1:45

8/19/10-9/21/10

Prerequisite: Completion of ENGL 102 with C or better.

We will examine the relationships between monsters and mainstream society in a series of films, of various levels of artistry, ranging from the silent era to the fairly recent past.  While the final syllabus has not been set, films still under consideration for inclusion are:   The Phantom of the Opera (1925), The Mummy (1932), Them! (1954), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Attack of the 50-foot Woman (1958), Village of the Damned (1960), King Kong v. Godzilla (1962), Jaws (1975), Independence Day (1996), and Let the Right One In (2008).  Regular participation in class discussions is expected.  There will be either a short paper and an in-class essay, or a longer paper depending on whether we end up with eight or nine films.

There will be no textbook for this class, and no reading, but you  MUST BE ABLE TO ATTEND FILM SHOWINGS OUTSIDE OF CLASS TIME.  A film will be shown each Monday and another film each Wednesday while the course runs, at 3:30 and again that evening at 6:00 or 7:00.  DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS CLASS IF YOU HAVE A CONLFICT AT 3:30 AND IN THE EVENING ON EITHER MONDAY OR WEDNESDAY. 

Nineteenth Century American Realism

ENGL 435A:  TR 12:30-1:20,  9/23/10 through 11/16/10

Instructor: C. Brichford

The literary movement known as Realism has always inspired controversy, from its first days when it was denounced as “low” and unartistic to more recent times when it was denounced as “naïve.”  To make matters worse, the works of the Realists have been read merely as more or less successful illustrations of their theoretical pronouncements, as footnote-fodder for a discussion of the movement as a whole.  The idiosyncratic character of the individual work of literary art has often been ignored, and an understanding of what Realism really was (and is) has been clouded.

In this course we will read three classic American Realist novels-- William Dean Howells' The Rise of Silas Lapham, Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie, and Frank Norris' McTeague--and some shorter fiction by Stephen Crane.  Our goal will be to form an understanding of the aims and methods of Realism based on the actual works of fiction which it produced.  In other words, we will work from practice back toward theory, interesting ourselves also in the differences between the works, both in terms of technique and in terms of their views of the world.

Shakespeare’s Romances

“How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, / That has such people in't!”

The Tempest  V.i.204-205

English 431A  Section 1  AD 334                      Professor:  Dr. Rieger

TR 2:00-3:15                                                          October 19 – November 18, 2010

            In this course we will read three of Shakespeare’s offerings in the romance, a curious subgenre of Renaissance drama also known as the tragicomedy.  We will read The Winter’s Tale,  Cymbeline, and The Tempest, and will subject those plays to intense, critically informed analysis.  We will pay particular attention to topics including historical context, critical reception, and language.  We will also view some film adaptations which your professor feels are particularly illuminating.

The purpose of this course is to acquaint the student with the central components and themes of Shakespeare’s romances, and prepare said student for graduate-level study.  Course requirements will include one lengthy, researched essay in addition to periodic shorter assignments.  Participation in class discussion is assumed. 

Prerequisites:  English 205 and one 300-level survey, preferably English 324

Witchcraft

“How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!”

                  Macbeth  IV.i.48

English 203A  Section 02  AD 321                  Professor:  Dr. Rieger

MWF 1:00-1:50                                                     September 24 – October 29, 2010                              

In this course we will be examining literary and historical representations of witchcraft in various periods from the ancient world to the Renaissance.  Specifically, we will be reading: The Medea, by Euripides;  The Malleus Maleficarum (a fifteenth century witch-hunter’s manual), by the Reverends Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger; Macbeth, by William Shakespeare; and The Witch, by Thomas Middleton.  We will also be screening Haxan, a 1922 silent film by Benjamin Christensen, re-released in 1968 with narration by William S. Burroughs.   Course requirements will include one lengthy, researched essay in addition to periodic shorter assignments.  Participation in class discussion is assumed. 

Before you register, your professor offers the following caveat: this course will engage with the notion of witchcraft primarily as a literary and cultural trope.  This course will not address the actual Wiccan faith, its history or practices.

Prerequisites:  English 102

ENGL 439A:  Introduction to Literary Theory

10/13-12/8                     

MW 10-10:50             

Admin 334

Dr. Gompf

Prerequisite: ENGL 205 or consent of instructor (majors from other disciplines are welcome).

            Anglo-American Feminism?  French Feminism?

Deconstruction?  Phenomenology? Structuralism?

“From the moment that there is meaning there are nothing but signs.  We think only in signs.” – Derrida Of Grammatology

“In other words, while relativism is a position one can entertain, it is not a position one can occupy” – Fish Is There a Text in This Class?

“Woman must write her self: must write about women and bring women to writing, from which they have been driven away as violently as from their bodies” – Cixous The Laugh of the Medusa

In this course we will discuss various schools of literary theory, including deconstruction, phenomenology, and structuralism – as well as different feminist and cultural theories. 

We will read some of the central texts of literary theory since 1965, including works by Derrida, Fish, Foucault, Cixous, and Bakhtin.

This course will provide you with the background knowledge you will need in theory if you intend to attend graduate school in English.

For this course you will write reading responses in which you summarize the theories, ask questions, and apply the theories to works of literature; you will also write two papers: one analyzing your own theoretical approach and another analyzing a published journal essay.

NineteenthCentury British Women Writers
Eng. 433 A-Fall 2010 Aug. 24-Oct. 12, 2010
Dr. A. Malkovich

This course will provide a close examination of the poetry, fiction, nonfiction and drama written by British women of the nineteenth century. We will examine texts by authors from differing social classes and cultural backgrounds and such works will be considered in the context of Victorian history and culture. Our examination of these authors will span the nineteenth century. A presentation, final paper, final exam and regular attendance/participation will be required.

English 434A  American Literature of the l9th Century:  Edgar Allan Poe

Fall Semester 2010:  MW  10:00 – 10:50, August 18 – October 11

ADMIN 334        Instructor:  Dr. Baker

In this course we will read selections from Poe’s criticism and tales, along with his only  novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.  In addition to writing responses, participating in class discussions, and presenting oral reports, students will write two papers, one on the novel and the other on one of Poe’s tales.  Reading assignments will also include some recent criticism of Poe's work and the editors’ introductions to The Portable Poe (the main text for the course) and to Pym.  There will be a final examination.  The prerequisites for this course are English 205 and one core course (preferably English 327).  Limited enrollment.