Course Catalog 2012-2013

Professor Ann Townsend, Chair

Professors David Baker, Kirk Combe, Ann Townsend; Associate Professors Brenda Boyle, James P. Davis, Linda Krumholz, Lisa J. McDonnell, Fred Porcheddu, Dennis Read, Sandra Runzo, Margot Singer; Assistant Professors Peter Grandbois, Jeehyun Lim, Diana Mafe, Regina Martin, Jack Shuler, James Weaver; Visiting Assistant Professors Sylvia Brown, Michael Croley; Academic Administrative Assistant Anneliese Deimel Davis

The English curriculum is intended to serve the general needs of the liberal arts student and at the same time provide coherent programs for the more specialized needs of students who wish to major in English with an emphasis in literature or creative writing. In the last twenty years, English literary studies have changed in response to new theoretical and cultural models as well as greater attention to Anglophone international and non-canonical literature and genres. In our courses and major, we approach the study of language and literature as a dynamic, living, and lively pursuit, one that integrates political, social, philosophic, cultural, and aesthetic values. We have designed a program that enables students to pursue a variety of personal and professional goals, one that seeks to balance a variety of needs: for experiences shared by all students majoring in English as well as opportunities for students to pursue individual interests; for historical breadth as well as depth of inquiry; for a variety of classroom experiences, including comprehensive historical surveys, specialized seminars (focusing on particular authors, genres, themes, critical approaches, or historical moments), and individual writing projects, whether scholarly or creative. The faculty in English participate actively in the General Education program, the Women's Studies program, the Black Studies program, service learning opportunities, the Queer Studies concentration, and International Studies.

All students may enjoy readings and lectures made possible by the endowed Harriet Ewens Beck Fund, which has brought such writers as Susan Orlean, Ted Kooser, Alice Walker, Bill Bryson, Maxine Hong Kingston, Adrienne Rich, Louise Erdrich, and Antonya Nelson for visits or short residencies each year. The curriculum in English is also enhanced by a variety of opportunities for students to pursue publishing their works locally in a variety of student-edited journals. ARTICULATE (a forum for cultural and literary criticism) and EXILE (a journal of creative writing) are among the publications associated with students in English.

Students who major in English must choose an advisor in the English Department to assist them in selecting and sequencing classes to meet their academic and professional goals. All students who major in English must complete a minimum of ten classes in the department, excluding FYS-101. The English major and minor each have two options: the literature emphasis and the creative writing emphasis. The two courses of study overlap and complement one another. Both literature and creative writing students should graduate from Denison with a strong knowledge of the history and practice of literary studies.

Each semester, students wishing to take classes in English should read the semester's course descriptions, available online and from the English office, which provide more detailed information about specific classes than what appears below.

LITERATURE EMPHASIS. 

Students who major in English with the Literature emphasis must take ten courses. Four courses are chosen from among the five core courses: four of those courses are historical survey courses that cover a variety of periods in English and American literature; the fifth course introduces students to literary theory and critical methods. Critical methods and literary theory are taught in many courses in the major, but English 202 provides an overview of literary theoretical debates, familiarity with some primary theoretical texts, and attention to research and critical practices in literary studies. This course is recommended for all students, particularly for students who wish to take advanced courses in literary theory or plan to pursue graduate studies in English.

All students with the Literature emphasis are strongly urged to begin their coursework with the required "four-of-five" courses that provide useful historical and theoretical contexts for subsequent, more focused study in the seminars. But, because specific 300-level seminars probably are not offered every semester, students are encouraged to take seminars, even before they have completed the required surveys, if they are interested in the topic. English 400, the Senior Seminar, is the English capstone course offered every semester on a variety of topics. Students who major in English with the Literature emphasis may choose to do a year-long senior research project in literary studies (English 451-452). Students can transfer only two courses to the Major from off-campus.

English majors with the Literature emphasis must take four of the following five courses: 

English 202: Introduction to Literary Studies: Literary Theory and Critical Methods

English 213: Early British Literature

English 214: 18th- and 19th-Century British Literature

English 230: American Literature before 1900

One 200 level 20th-century survey course (courses that fulfill this requirement will be noted on the registration database)

English majors with the Literature emphasis are also required to take the following: 

Four 300 level English seminar courses

One elective at any level

English 400: Senior Seminar

CREATIVE WRITING EMPHASIS. 

Students who major in English with the Creative Writing emphasis must take ten courses. English majors with a Creative Writing emphasis will read and write extensively, learn from practicing published writers, and hone their skills while studying a wide range of literary texts. Students majoring with an emphasis in Creative Writing will choose from a variety of courses divided among workshops and literature courses. The core of the creative writing courses is the workshop. Writing students take a series of increasingly advanced workshops to culminate, in the senior year, in a year-long writing project conducted on campus. The senior capstone is English 453-454 in which students complete a collection of their work (poetry, stories, drama, and/or nonfiction) by year’s end.

English majors with the Creative Writing emphasis must take three of the following five courses: 

English 202: Introduction to Literary Studies: Literary Theory and Critical Methods

English 213: Early British Literature

English 214: 18th- and 19th-Century British Literature

English 230: American Literature before 1900

One 200 level 20th-century survey course (courses that fulfill this requirement will be noted on the registration database)

English majors with the Creative Writing emphasis must take three 300 level English seminars. 

English majors with the Creative Writing emphasis must take four courses in the series of Creative Writing workshops: 

English 237: Creative Writing

English 383, 384, or 385: students choose either Fiction Writing, Nonfiction Writing, or Poetry Writing. (Students may, if their schedules permit, take more than one of these advanced workshops.) Students may not take any of these courses concurrent with the Senior Writing Project.

English 453 and English 454: Senior Writing Project

English 453-454 serves as the capstone experience for English majors with the Creative Writing emphasis; this 8-credit course consists of weekly group workshops, individual tutorials, a monthly colloquium and practicum, as well as a series of master classes and workshops with visiting writers. Students must submit a writing sample and show reasonable progress in creative writing courses at the end of their junior year to get permission to take the year-long senior project to complete the major with a Creative Writing emphasis.

The English minor consists of six courses:

To minor in English with a Literature emphasis, students must take three of the five required core 200 level courses (see above) and three courses at the 300 level (one may be at the 400 level).

To minor in English with a Creative Writing emphasis, students must take English 237, one advanced writing workshop (English 383, 384, or 385), two of the five required core 200 level courses, and two courses at the 300 level.

Introductory Topics in English (ENGL-199).  A general category used only in the evaluation of transfer credit. 1-4

Introduction to Literature (ENGL-200).  An introduction to literary types, this course will emphasize close interpretive reading of poetry, fiction and drama. 4

Academic Writing (ENGL-201).  Theory and practice in essay and other academic writing, allowing students to concentrate on mastering styles appropriate to their own academic or personal needs. 4

Introduction to Literary Studies: Literary Theory and Critical Methods (ENGL-202).  This course will teach students skills and materials that are important in literary studies today. It will include methods of reading and writing literary criticism, research methods in literary studies, analytical practices, an overview of literary theoretical debates of the 20th century, and selected readings from contemporary theory. In each section, the teacher will use one or two literary texts to test interpretative and theorectical approaches. 4

Studies in Literature (ENGL-210).  An intensive study of selected writers, works, literary genres, or themes. May be taken more than once for credit. 4

Early British Literature (ENGL-213).  A study of selected works by men and women writing in the 8th through the 17th centuries. With close attention to various genres and through various critical approaches, this course attends to literary and cultural developments as reflected in a variety of texts and contexts. 4

Eighteenth- and Nineteenth- Century British Literature (ENGL-214).  A study of selected works by men and women in the eighteenth centuries in England. The course pays close attention to various genres - satire, poetry, drama, criticism, and fiction - and is designed to sharpen students' reading, interpretive, critical and writing skills, while attending to literary and cultural developments in eighteenth-century, Romantic, and Victorian texts. 4

Shakespeare (ENGL-215).  A study of principal plays, emphasizing the poetic and dramatic aspects of Shakespeare's work, as viewed through a variety of critical perspectives. 4

Modern British and American Poetry (ENGL-219).  A survey of poetry from the first half of the 20th century. Attention to major poets (such as T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats, and Marianne Moore) as well as Modernist schools (Imagism, the Harlem Renaissance) will be enhanced by attention to the wider history, philosophy and aesthetics of the time. 4

Modern British and American Fiction (ENGL-220).  A survey of fiction from the first half of the 20th century, with attention to such authors as Conrad, Faulkner, Forster, Hemingway, Hurston, Joyce, Lawrence, Toomer, Welty, Wharton, Woolf and Wright. 4

Women in Literature (ENGL-225).  Selected poetry and prose by women guide inquiries into writing and gender and into related issues, such as sexuality, history, race, class, identity and power. Cross-listed with WMST 225. 4

American Literature Before 1900 (ENGL-230).  A survey of texts and literary movements in America before 1900, emphasizing literary responses to such issues as progress, national identity, the American landscape and slavery. The course will introduce seventeenth and eighteenth century texts and focus more fully on the literature of the nineteenth century, with attention to various genres and critical approaches. 4

Creative Writing (ENGL-237).  An introductory course in the writing of fiction and poetry. Students will be asked to read in both genres, do exercises focusing on technique and style, complete and revise significant work in both genres and critique classmates' work with an eye to providing constructive feedback. 4

Modern Drama (ENGL-240).  A consideration of drama from 1890 to 1956, with emphasis on British and American playwrights, and an eye to female and minority dramatists disenfranchised from the main stages. 4

Human Diversity Through Literature (ENGL-245).  A study of selected works by and about bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender people. 4

Ethnic Literature (ENGL-255).  A study of the literature of various ethnic, racial and regional groups of the United States. This course explores cultural heritages, historical struggles, artistic achievements and contemporary relations of groups in American society. 4

Nature and the Literary Imagination (ENGL-291).  A study of humanity's relationship with and shifting conceptions of the nonhuman world. Reading selections vary, but generally include past and contemporary writers who reflect different ethnic and regional outlooks and who work in various modes, including literature, memoir, natural history and science. 4

The Literature of Place (ENGL-298).  An exploration of the ways in which literature and locale inform each other, this course focuses on a specific site or community. Through readings of literature “about” that place, the class investigates how cultural, social, historical, and/or institutional realities interrelate—as both cause and effect—with text. An optional trip to the place in question follows the semester. 4

Intermediate Topics in English (ENGL-299).  A general category used only in the evaluation of transfer credit. 1-4

Studies in Literary Theory (ENGL-302).  A study of major literary and cultural theories important to literary studies today. The course will emphasize readings in primary texts by critical theorists as well as applications of those theories to text of various kinds. The teacher may focus on in-depth studies of one or two critical or cultural theories. 4

Studies in Literature (ENGL-310).  An intensive study of selected writers, works, literary genres, or themes. May be taken more than once for credit. 4

Studies in Composition and Rhetoric (ENGL-311).  An intensive study of selected issues, historical periods, theory and theorists, research, or pedagogy in composition and rhetoric. 4

Studies in the Short Story (ENGL-314).  A study of selected works of major and representative writers working in the genre of the short story. This course may focus on a few specific writers (such as Eudora Welty or Raymond Carver), or on selected schools and movements (such as the avant-garde, naturalism, or modernism), or on special topics within the field (such as post-colonial fictions or Southern writing). 4

African-American Women's Literature (ENGL-325).  Historical and contemporary African-American women's literature grounds an inquiry into black women's literary and intellectual traditions within the matrix of race, gender, class and sexual relations in the United States. Cross-listed with WMST 325. 4

Native American Literature (ENGL-326).  A study of Native American literature that will provoke considerations of Native American cultural and religious traditions, historical and legal struggles, artistic achievements and contributions to contemporary American culture. 4

Composition Theory and Pedagogy (ENGL-335).  An introduction to theory and practice in composition and an opportunity to apply theories in Denison's Writing Center or nearby classrooms. Students may concentrate on applying theory to any context, tailoring the practicum to their areas of interest. 4

Contemporary Drama (ENGL-340).  Intensive study of drama from 1956 to the present, with an emphasis on British and American playwrights. The course will focus on the issues, problems, techniques, and generic forms particular to contemporary drama, with interest in the emerging drama of minority, female, and gay and lesbian playwrights. 4

Studies in the English Novel (ENGL-341).  This course will explore the English novel by studying special thematic topics, its evolution, and/or developmental influences. The course might include such authors as DeFoe, Fielding, Austen, Bronte, Gaskell, Dickens, Eliot or Hardy. 4

Studies in the Contemporary Novel (ENGL-342).  A study of such contemporary international novelists as Salman Rushdie, Garcia-Marquez, Toni Morrison, Gunter Grass, and Nadine Gordimer. The course may have a special focus on such topics as the post-colonial novel or the historical novel. 4

Studies in Contemporary Poetry (ENGL-343).  A study of selected works of major and representative poets from the second half of the 20th century. Each section might focus on a few specific poets (such as Adrienne Rich or W.S. Merwin), or on selected schools and movements (such as the Confessionals, the Beats, the Language Poets), or on special topics within the field (such as mythology, feminism, or Post-modernism and the avant-garde.) 4

The English Language (ENGL-346).  A study of the development of the English language and its dynamic presence in the world today. In addition to surveying the history of English from its Indo-European origins to the present time, units within the semester cover general linguistics topics, contemporary literacy controversies, and the social implications of dialect variation and changes in usage. 4

Studies in Medieval British Literature (ENGL-348).  Special topics courses studying the textual forms of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland from 500 to 1500 CE. 4

Studies in European Literature (ENGL-349).  Selected works in translation from the Middle Ages through the twentieth century. Depending on the topic of the seminar, authors studied may include such diverse figures as Chretien de Troyes, Dante, Christine de Pisan, Cervantes, Madame de Lafayette, Moliere, Goethe, Ibsen, Tolstoy, Calvino and Christa Wolf. 4

The Harlem Renaissance (ENGL-355).  An analysis of the interrelationship between the cultural phenomenon and the literature of the Harlem Renaissance, particularly the way in which the social, economic and political conditions of the era helped to shape the literary art of the 1920s. 4

The Narrative of Black America (ENGL-356).  A study of representative samples of Black literature ranging from slave narratives to contemporary Black fiction. 4

Postcolonial Literature and Criticism (ENGL-357).  Readings in literature and criticism from Asia, Africa, Latin American and the Caribbean, in response to the experience of colonialism. 4

Directed Study (ENGL-361).  Offers the student an opportunity to develop, with the help of an interested professor, a special program of study in a given topic for one semester. May be taken more than once. Directed Study credit may be used to count toward an English major or minor, but it may not be used in place of required 300-level courses. 1-4

Directed Study (ENGL-362).  Offers the student an opportunity to develop, with the help of an interested professor, a special program of study in a given topic for one semester. May be taken more than once. Directed Study credit may be used to count toward an English major or minor, but it may not be used in place of required 300-level courses. 1-4

Independent Study (ENGL-363).  Offers the student an opportunity to develop within a semester a wholly individualized program of study, to be supervised by an interested professor. Independent Study credits may be used to count toward an English major or minor, but may not be used in place of required 300-level courses. 1-4

Independent Study (ENGL-364).  Offers the student an opportunity to develop within a semester a wholly individualized program of study, to be supervised by an interested professor. Independent Study credit may be used to count toward an English major or minor, but may not be used in place of required 300-level courses. 1-4

Studies in 16th- and Early 17th- Century British Literature (ENGL-365).  A study of selected works of poetry, prose and drama from 1500-1660. 4

Studies in Late 17th- and 18th Century British Literature (ENGL-366).  Special topics courses based in the literacy culture of England from roughly 1640-1800. 4

Studies in 19th- Century British Literature (ENGL-367).  Selected topics in the literature of 19th- century England. The course may focus on Romantic or Victorian authors or representative writers from both eras. 4

Studies in 19th- Century American Literature (ENGL-368).  Selected topics in the literature of 19th- century America. 4

Studies in Early American Literature (ENGL-369).  Selected topics in the writings of colonial and early national America. 4

Chaucer (ENGL-371).  A survey of Chaucer's verse and prose, centering on the Canterbury Tales. The course engages the social and intellectual transformations in 14th-century England, as well as interpretations of, and reactions to, Chaucer's writing in the centuries since. A recurrent concern will be the challenges created by the textual instability inherent in a manuscript culture. 4

Milton (ENGL-374).  A study of Paradise Lost and selected shorter poems. 4

Late 17th- and 18th - Century Drama (ENGL-375).  Studies in the production, reception and sociopolitical context of British drama from roughly 1660 to 1800. 4

Fiction Writing (ENGL-383).  An advanced workshop course in fiction writing. Students will be asked to read a wide selection of short fiction and to complete and revise a significant collection of their original work. Students will attain a working knowledge of fictional forms, techniques and aesthetics. 4

Nonfiction Writing (ENGL-384).  An advanced workshop in the writing of nonfiction, requiring numerous and varied reading and writing assignments. 4

Poetry Writing (ENGL-385).  An advanced workshop in poetry writing. Students will be asked to read a wide selection of poetry and to complete and revise a chapbook collection of their original works. Students will attain a working knowledge of poetic forms, technique and aesthetics. 4

Advanced Topics in English (ENGL-399).  A general category used only in the evaluation of transfer credit. 1-4

Senior Seminar (ENGL-400).  A required course for seniors that is organized around a theme or topic. All sections require frequent short reports to the class on research or reading. Each student will write a long paper as the basis for a major seminar presentation. 4

Senior Research (ENGL-451).  Senior students may work on an individually designed project for as much as two full semesters. 4

Senior Research (ENGL-452).  Senior students may work on an individually designed project for as much as two full semesters. 4

Senior Writing Project (ENGL-453).  This year-long project is required for a concentration in creative writing. Conducted under the directorship of a writing professor, each project will include an individual reading program and will result in a significant book-length manuscript of the student's creative work. 4

Senior Writing Project (ENGL-454).  This year-long project is required for a concentration in creative writing. Conducted under the directorship of a writing professor, each project will include an individual reading program and will result in a significant book-length manuscript of the student's creative work. 4