Faculty Members On Leave
The following professors will be on leave during the Spring 2006 semester: Linda Bamber, Deborah Digges, Alan Lebowitz, Joseph Litvak, Lecia Rosenthal, and Jonathan Wilson.

English 1- 4

• Schedule
• Course descriptions

English 5- 99

• Schedule
• Course descriptions

English 100- 199

• Schedule
• Course descriptions

English 200+

• Schedule
• Course descriptions

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English 1- 4: Schedule

English 1- 4: Course descriptions

English 1, which fulfills the first half of the College Writing Requirement, explores the principles of effective written communication and provides intensive practice in writing various types of expository prose, especially analysis and persuasion. Essays by contemporary and earlier authors will be examined as instances of the range and versatility of standard written English. English 1 is offered both semesters, with substantially fewer sections in the spring.

More information on First Year Writing.

English 2 fulfills the second half of the College Writing Requirement. Like English 1, English 2 is a composition course designed to provide a foundation for writing in other courses. Unlike English 1, English 2 offers students the opportunity to choose among several seminar topics, all of which are approached in an interdisciplinary way. While drawing on various materials including fiction, essays, films and other visual and aural texts, English 2 puts the primary emphasis on students' own writing. English 2 is offered both semesters, with substantially fewer sections in the fall.

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African American Experience

What have been the experiences of African Americans in the U.S.? How have African Americans attempted to construct their own identities and how have other Americans attempted to define "Blackness"? How have issues of class, gender, sexuality, regionalism, and skin tone impacted the formation of a collective African American identity? In this course, which is primarily devoted to increasing writing proficiency, we will use readings and texts from various disciplines to think about what it means to be African American in the U.S. and how this heterogeneous identity is expressed in different forms.

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Asian American Experience

This is a composition course exploring the heterogeneity and multiplicity of Asian American identity construction through close examination of texts by both Asian Americans and non- Asian Americans. How have Asian Americans been represented in films and books? Can only Asian American artists authentically portray Asian Americans? Do Asian American writers and filmmakers have a social responsibility to counter and challenge stereotypical depictions, or can they just tell an "American" story? Students will read stories about "coming of age" in various media, such as the film, Better Luck Tomorrow; the novel, American Son; and Asian American X, the anthology of essays by college- age Asian Americans. Through class discussions students will consider identity formation, but the primary mode of expression will be writing. Students will consistently practice writing and discuss their processes with their colleagues.

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Conformity and Rebellion

How does one act on discontent? What are its consequences? Does conformity always imply a sacrifice of individuality? Does rebellion always lead to marginalization? We will examine the tensions between conformity and rebellion in a variety of contexts: political, social, familial, and religious. Readings will include novels, short stories, plays and essays, and we may also consider other media such as film or music. Discussion of these materials and the issues raised by them will provide the basis for the student writing that is at the center of the course.

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Differences

What does it mean to be "different"–politically, religiously, racially or ethnically, sexually, or by reason of class or disability–from the social "norm"? How do those in the social "norm" react when they encounter those who are different? If the social norm is white, Protestant, male, heterosexual, and middle class, how do writers in other categories imagine themselves in relation to this "norm"? What are the special problems and opportunities for writers who are "different"? These are some of the questions to be addressed in this course which is devoted, primarily, to increasing proficiency in writing.

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Environmental Visions

With globalization at the forefront of current events, environmental issues have a greater urgency now than at any time in the recent past. This course will focus on some of the most immediate issues in current environmental politics: global climate change, environmental justice, the rights of indigenous people, animal rights, and recent proposals to drill for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. In addition, we will consider the connections between environmental crises and war. Students will explore the causes of environmental problems, their extent, and possible solutions through a variety of books, essays, and films—as well as through their own writing of persuasive essays and creative non- fiction.

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Family Ties

This writing course explores the family as a locus for conflict, alienation and reconciliation, as a center for the formation of identity, and as a source of joy. We will hear the voices of mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons as they speak of the experience of being within a family; and we will ask how families are formed. Strands of shared DNA define some, while legal documents establish others. Often people who are unrelated by biology or law nonetheless consider themselves family. While the work of novelists, essayists, biographers, and filmmakers will be the basis of our inquiry into topics as ancient as sibling rivalry and as contemporary as the ethics of reproductive technology, we will focus most of our attention on students' own writing about family ties.

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Films About Love, Sex, & Society

Many films deal with romantic relationships and the possibilities for happiness in them, raising questions about male and female social roles and about lovers both heterosexual and homosexual at odds with society or coming to terms with it. We will look at a selection of films, some older and black and white, some more recent, some English- language, some foreign- language (with subtitles); and we will talk about the issues they raise. Readings will be assigned on the films and on the broader issues. Students will be required to attend film screenings on specified evenings. We will do various types of writing, including formal analytical essays, film reviews, and informal response papers; and students' writing will be central.

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Love and Sexuality

In addition to examining love and sexuality both separately and with regard to one another, we will look at related issues such as gender, sex roles, sex, homosexuality, heterosexuality, narcissism, sadism, masochism, affection, marriage, marriage alternatives, divorce, adultery, pornography, prostitution, incest, and violence. Course materials will include some of the following: essays, theoretical writings, fiction, mythology, oral traditions, popular culture, and advertising. Students' ideas, interests, and experience will help guide the class, and students' writing will be the center of it.

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Other Worlds

What is real? Who says so? The common theme of this course is the human urge to explore other dimensions of reality and create alternate representations of consciousness. Readings may address myths, the supernatural, fairy tales, medieval romances, underworlds, and futurist visions. We will share our own ideas about boundaries—or lack of boundaries—between worlds. A central concern will be students' writing.

Road Stories

All writing involves exploration, but writing about travel has always provided people with a distinctive opportunity to explore, re- imagine and then represent themselves, other cultures and other natures. This semester, we will be writing about travel in the age of globalization and the information superhighway. How does tourism change tourists and the cultures they visit? Can a quest come from a brochure? Why go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem or Mecca when many of us can see these sites on our computer screens every night? Indeed, why travel at all? To help us answer such questions, we will be reading a variety of texts, both fiction and non- fiction, and we will view at least one road movie. But the focus of the course will remain on our own writing. How do we explore and then represent our own insights into the meaning of travel today?

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What is Queer?

In this writing seminar, we will interrogate what is called "queer" by turning to a range of essays, fictions, films, and television programs. We will start by looking at gender identity, and will investigate theories about how we acquire our genders, and what we do with them once we have them. We will move toward a consideration of various modes of queer sexuality, including—among others—gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender sexualities. As we focus on students' essay- writing and research, our broad context will include issues of race, culture, normativity, transgression, power, desire, affection, marriage, and alternatives to marriage.

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Lynn Stevens, Director

Designed for international students and for students who speak English as an additional language, English 3 fulfills the first half of the College Writing Requirement. Like English 1, this course explores the principles of effective written communication and provides intensive practice in writing various types of expository prose, especially analysis and persuasion. Essays by contemporary and earlier writers will be examined as instances of the range and versatility of standard written English. Offered in the fall semester; consent of the instructor is required for admission.

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Philosophy 1: (Introduction to Philosophy)

Students interested in taking Philosophy 1 as an English 2 equivalent should contact the Department of Philosophy. Students must register for Philosophy I in the Philosophy Department.

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English 5- 99: Schedule

Pre- requisites: English 1 and 2. English majors will note that courses are designated for degree requirement purposes either pre- 1830/1860 or post- 1830/1860 in the following table:

English 5- 99: Course descriptions

English 100- 199: Schedule

English 100- 199: Course descriptions

English 200+: Schedule

English 200+: Course descriptions

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