ENGLISH COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

 

English 117: Introduction to Theater

Through lectures, discussions, hands-on-experiences, master classes with visiting theater professionals, and performances outside of class, this course introduces students to significant texts, ideas, and crafts essential to the study of theater. Projects involve acting, directing, design, and theater criticism; writing assignments familiarize students with the analytic tools and accepted vocabulary of theater scholarship. [H]

Tysinger  MWF 9:00

 

English 119: Literary Women

Literary Women introduces literary works by twentieth-century women writers (e.g., Woolf, Millay, Plath, Rich, Angelou, Morrison) who examine gender-related themes such as femininity and masculinity, in/equality, beauty, marriage, parenthood, and so on. The course also examines how such themes develop and transform when presented from diverse perspectives (including differences in class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and so on). Readings move across different genres, including fiction (short stories and novels), personal essays, and poetry. [GM1, H]

Armstrong TR 9:30

 

English 135: Literature and Human Experience: Detective Fiction

For many, detective stories are a guilty pleasure, but they are also an excellent vehicle for literary investigation, raising questions about reading, the interpretive activity, the function of narrative, and the problem of identity. While this course will emphasize contemporary texts, it will also consider some earlier ones. Secondary readings will provide theoretical frameworks. Special attention will be paid to the development of the genre, its conventions, and the debates surrounding its status as “high” or “low” art. Authors will (probably) include Edgar Allan Poe,  Arthur Conan Doyle (“Sherlock Holmes”), Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Carolyn Keene (“Nancy Drew”), Robert Parker, Walter Mosley, Paul Auster, Patricia Cornwell, Sara Paretsky, and Ken Bruen.  [H]

Donahue TR 11:00

 

English 202: Writing Seminars

Writing seminars are courses that make writing and language their explicit subject. Examples include seminars in writing genres (memoir or travel writing), in rhetoric and argument, or in the way language and discourse constitute particular cultural constructions (“the animal” or “race”). While each seminar has a specific focus, all seminars emphasize the processes of academic reading and writing and use student writing as a primary text. Enrollment is limited to 15.  Does not count toward the English major, English minor, or Writing minor. [W]

Prerequisite: FYS.

 

English 202-01: CANCELED

 

English 202-02: Writing Seminar: Representing Animals

Animals are our companions, our scientific “models,” our evolutionary kin, our food, our genetic playthings, our fashion statements. We experience animals at home, in zoos, in the grocery store, in labs, in the “wild” and throughout the spectrum of popular media such as television and film. This course will investigate how animals are represented in language and the value systems that underwrite those representations. Among our chief considerations will be what our descriptions of animals say about us; the intersections of gender, race, and animality in language; and the question of animals “talking back.”  [W]

Falbo TR 9:30

 

English 202-03:  Writing Seminar: Food For Thought: Work for Food

Part of the focus is on a number of contemporary writers who write about food (Amanda Hesser, Adam Gopnik, ,and Alice Waters) to name three–and who therefore work in the service of food–for a privileged few while at the same time privileged themselves.  But. What about farmers (industrial and local), migrant workers, the gender gap between cooks and chefs?   And what about leftist restaurant owners (For example, Patty Wicks of the The White Dog Cafe) who see food as the embodiment of class politics and of a kind of class warfare, but who nonetheless charge a small fortune for lunch for two?  What about restaurants in general?  What are the socio-political implications of the way food itself “works” within the culture at large?  And what does it mean to be hungry?  These are among the questions at stake in the course.  [W]

Washington MWF 11:00

 

English 202.04:  Writing Seminar: The Art of Persuasion 

In this course we will analyze, evaluate, and reflect on the strategies various writers and speakers use to appeal to different audiences, while creating our own persuasive writing portfolios. We will analyze the critical roles purpose, context, and audience play in various persuasive strategies as we evaluate persuaders in action and their multiple viewpoints on issues of significance. These issues may include stereotypes in popular culture, bilingualism in America, the meaning of diversity on college campuses, and the links between education and the workforce.  [W]

Clayton MWF 2:10

 

English 202.05:  Writing Seminar: Imaginative Play in Academic Writing

What space is there for imaginative play within academic discourse? This course will offer student writers a space in which to experiment with fictional scenarios as a technique for enhancing academic writing and research. Through guided practice, workshops, and peer editing, students will assess the effectiveness of such writing in academic settings. As a case study, we will be examining representations of a “zombie apocalypse” in both academic and public discourse. [W]

Tatu  MWF 9:00

 

English 205: Literary Questions

This course provides students with an introduction to the theory and methodology of literary study by focusing on three questions: What is a literary text? How do we read a literary text? How do we write about a literary text? By considering the rhetorical, aesthetic, and ideological issues that determine literary value, students examine their assumptions about literature.  [H]
Sec 01: Belletto  MWF 9:00

Sec 02: Falbo TR 1:15 – Cancelled

Sec 03: Rohman TR 9:30

Sec 04: Van Dyke  MWF 10:00 – Cancelled

 

English 206: Literary History 

Does literature have a history?  This course brings together distinctive, major periods that are typically not studied together, allowing for an engaging literary dialogue that encourages the diversification of our traditional critical and analytical models. More than simply asserting chronology, “Literary History” asks that as shrewd readers we master the politics and process of canon formation. This process also invites us to evaluate the means by which we arrive at the concept of “great works” and, at the same time, sets the stage for a revealing story of genre, gender, authorship, race, and sexuality that begins in Renaissance Europe and culminates in the twentieth century during the Harlem Renaissance. [H]

I. Smith TR 11:00

 

English 211:  English Literature II – Cancelled

A survey of literature, chiefly poetry, from the Restoration through the nineteenth century; major writers, movements, and forms are viewed in their historical contexts.  Normally closed to seniors.   [H]

Byrd TR 9:30

 

English 212:  American Literature I

It all started with Columbus—or something like that.  As a survey of American literature, this course will begin with the first points of European contact with the Americas and trace the history of American writing up to the late nineteenth century.  Yet this history will necessarily leave out pieces to the puzzle of American literature, and so a major component of the course will be thinking about American literary history and the ways in which it has been made, unmade, and remade over time—why have some texts become popular, while old favorites have fallen out of favor, for instance?  We will explore major authors of American literature, as well as a few who aren’t as well known but who have made important contributions to the literary art.  Along the way, we’ll also learn a bit about the historical context of these pieces, and seek to understand how literary works fit into a larger cultural conversation.  [H]

Phillips MWF 9:00

 

English 231:   Journalistic Writing 

This course introduces the fundamentals of journalism through its most basic form: news reporting. Students will learning how to write clearly and succinctly, conduct interviews, locate and use accurate and relevant information, think analytically, recognize a good story, and work on deadline. The course also examines the changing media landscape as it pertains to digital media and the role of the journalist in a democratic society.  [W]

Parrish  MW 11 – 12:15

 

English 245: International Literature

Part of the excitement of being a student in the twenty-first century is witnessing the tumultuous changes occurring on the world stage.  Cultures once imagined to be at a relatively far distance have been brought much closer to us through the media, travel, and politics. “International Literature” expands the traditional canon of British and American texts to introduce several highly regarded world authors who have emerged in recent decades and whose presence has dramatically altered the literary scene.  Literature, then, serves as a crucial tool for us to encounter a new world order requiring us to look beyond our usual literary horizons.  [H]

I. Smith TR 2:45 – 4:00

 

English 250: Writing Genres: The Essay 2.0

Writing Genres (ENG 250) introduces you to the expectations and purposes of a particular written genre and offers intensive practice composing texts that function within the conventions and boundaries of this genre. You will compose multiple texts in drafts, participate in workshops and discussions, and produce critical analyses and reviews.

Each section of the course focuses on a different genre. Our focus this semester is the essay, with particular emphasis on exploring the essay genre in the digital age.   What is an essay? How has it been defined at different historical moments?  What possibilities and opportunities for essay writing are emerging in the digital environments currently available to us as 21st-century writers?  We’ll read a range of essays from early to contemporary examples of the genre.   Writing projects will include a podcast and a digital essay on topics chosen by students, as well as shorter assignments responding to the reading and our class discussion.

Falbo TR 1:15

 

English 251: Screen Writing

Intensive workshop in writing for film. Screenings, papers, and a digital video filmmaking assignment also required.

Prerequisite: permission of Professor Ohlin. If you wish to take the course, e-mail Professor Ohlin (ohlina@lafayette.edu) as soon as possible.  Permission of instructor required. [H, W]

Ohlin TR 11:00

 

English 255-01: Creative Writing
Intensive workshop class devoted to the writing of fiction and poetry. Writing exercises and assignments, combined with reading and analysis of professional writers’ work, will culminate in a portfolio of creative work by the student.

Prerequisite: permission of Professor Ohlin required. E-mail her at ohlina@lafayette.edu soon as possible to obtain permission.  [H,W]

Ohlin TR 9:30

 

English 255-02: Creative Writing

Intensive workshop class devoted to the writing of fiction and poetry.  Writing exercises and assignments, combined with reading and analysis of professional writers’ work, will culminate in a portfolio of creative work by the student.

Prerequisite: permission of Professor Upton required.  E-mail her at uptonlee@lafayette.edu as soon as possible to obtain permission.  [H,W]

Upton  M 1:00 – 4:00

 

English 272:  Internship

Practical experience in fields such as journalism, broadcasting, publishing, public relations, and advertising, in which writing is a central activity. Written reports are required of the student, as is an evaluation of the student by the supervising agency. Advance approval of the departmental internships coordinator required.

English Dept  TBA

 

English 276:  The Literature of the Sea

This course explores a range of literary works, focusing on the 19th and 20th centuries, that deal with humans’ interaction with the marine environment.  Ranging from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick to Rachel Carson’s Under the Sea-Wind to Niki Caro’s Whale Rider, the reading list highlights issues such as the role of heroism at sea, economic and ecological discourses of the world’s oceans, the rhetoric of science as exploration and meditation, and the ocean as a cultural crossroads.  Film screenings and one field trip will be required.  This course is writing-intensive, and participates in the Environmental Studies and International Studies majors.  One field trip early in the semester is required. [W]

Phillips MWF 11:00

 

English 300: Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer epitomizes the Middle Ages in our imaginations, but he is also our first modern writer. He was a pioneer in using English, the language of commerce and conversation, instead of the elite French or the scholarly Latin; in incorporating humor and satire into serious poetry; and in creating a wide variety of characters and entering into their consciousness. To read him is not just to learn about the past but also to feel him reaching out to us across 600 years. After an introduction to the pronunciation and vocabulary of Chaucer’s Middle English, we will read his magnificent love story, Troilus and Criseyde, and most of the Canterbury Tales. The major requirements will be three papers and two short-answer tests.  [H,W]

Prerequisite: English 205 and 210, or permission of the instructor.

Van Dyke MWF 2:10

 

English 304: American Writers

A study of one, two, or three American writers in some depth (for instance, Hemingway/ Faulkner, Baldwin/James).  [H,W]

Prerequisite: English 205 and a literary history course (English 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, or 213), or permission of the instructor.

Washington MWF 1:10

 

English 326: The Romantics   CANCELED

 

English 329:  The American 1950s

This is an advanced seminar that introduces students to the varied and complex works of literature written in the United States during the 1950s. Central course texts include work by Salinger, Okada, O’Connor, Nabokov, Ellison, Childress, Ginsberg, Kerouac, Mailer, and Roth. We also consider the films Blackboard Jungle and Imitation of Life[H,W]

Prerequisite: English 205 and a literary history course (English 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, or 213), or permission of the instructor.

Belletto  MWF 2:10

 

English 326: The Romantics    CANCELED

 

English 339:  Revenge and Restoration Drama
Swimming in blood at the start, drenched with gold by the finish, seventeenth-century theater reflected one of the more tumultuous eras in British history – a king beheaded, public theaters closed, a civil war, an exiled son of the executed king called home.  After the celebrated age of Queen Elizabeth and William Shakespeare, the Stuart monarchs found themselves in a climate of cynicism and fear, manifested in the “Revenge Tragedy,” with its deceptions, ghosts, murders, madness, and high body counts.  During Oliver Cromwell’s interregnum, Puritans drove theater underground, to be reborn with the triumphant restoration of King Charles II, fresh from the continent with new ideas.  Symmetrical forms replaced mixed genres, women supplanted boys onstage, and comedy trumped tragedy.  In this course we will read representative plays from the century, examining how the “skull beneath the skin” gave way to the periwigged rake, how issues of class, gender, and politics played themselves out on public and private stages.  [H,W]

Prerequisite: English 205 and a literary history course (English 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, or 213), or permission of the instructor.

Westfall  MWF 10:00

 

English 342: Modern British Literature 

This course investigates various literary and cultural crises during the British modernist period. Among our considerations will be how science and technology, evolutionary theory, the New Woman, and colonialism challenge traditional notions of what it means to be human at the turn of the twentieth century. We will investigate these changes in texts by writers such as Joseph Conrad, E. M. Forster, James Joyce, D. H. Lawrence, and Virginia Woolf.  [W]

Prerequisite: English 205 and a literary history course (English 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, or 213), or permission of the instructor.

Rohman  TR 11:00

 

English 347: Modern and Contemporary Poetry

Students will explore the aesthetic strategies of some of the most significant modern and contemporary poets writing in English, focusing in particular on the theories and practices related to experimentation.  The course will attempt to identify the ways that the contested legacies of modernist poetry are brought to bear on competing voices in contemporary poetry. Students will compose three formal writing projects, create imitations of some of the poets, and participate in a major panel presentation that introduces the class to a significant contemporary poet.  Attendance at extracurricular activities that feature poetry will be required.  [H,W]

Prerequisite: English 205 and a literary history course (English 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, or 213), or permission of the instructor.

Upton  MW 11:00


English 350:  Rhetoric, Discourse, and Power

Change the word, change the world. This course will engage in a serious and, at times, radical examination of the relationship between language and power. Using the tools of critical discourse analysis, we will study how people use language to construct oppressive and unequal social systems, to relate the status quo to common sense, and to mask racist and sexist thinking. And then we’ll figure out how to change things. First, we will build a critical “toolkit” with concepts from functional grammar, genre theory, and rhetoric (both ancient and contemporary). Starting with basic theories of language use, we will examine everyday texts—such as credit card ads, pharmaceutical commercials, course syllabi, and op/ed pieces—for the expectations they have of us as readers. From there we will move to more advanced concepts, which will enable us to critique the social functions of texts. We will use as data the conversations surrounding same-sex marriage, the Iraq war, Social Security, and various local events. Projects will include several analyses of language in use (including at least one self-analysis), a book abstract, and a group presentation. There may be a midterm.   [W]

Prerequisite: English 205 and a literary history course (English 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, or 213), or permission of the instructor.

Donahue MW 12:45-2:00

 

English 362: Advanced Creative Writing—Fiction

Intensive weekly workshops in fiction writing. Advanced exercises in structure and style and the composition of an ambitious final portfolio of short stories. Students must be committed to developing a high level of independence as fiction writers while being willing to experiment widely and regularly.  [W]

Prerequisites: English 250 or English 251 or English 255.

Permission of Professor Ohlin required. Students who wish to take the course should contact Professor Ohlin as soon as possible to be placed on her list: ohlina@lafayette.edu.

Ohlin W 1:00 – 4:00

 

English 377: What’s Happening in Early Modern Studies?

Change has been essential to the growth and dynamism of early modern English studies: new areas of interest emerge, different methodologies are explored, once excluded subjects make their way to the center of discussion, and seemingly outdated topics find another life within different critical orientations. The course introduces students to various critical and theoretical developments that inform the current work in early modern studies and engages them in the contemporary debates that drive and shape the field. Possible topics include: the revived interest in non-Shakespearean drama; the book and print; cosmetics, gender, and embodiment; trade, consumption, and the English national economy; race.  [W]

Prerequisite: English 205 and a literary history course (English 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, or 213), or permission of the instructor.

Smith TR 1:15

 

English 390: Independent Study

A program of tutorial study, initiated by the student and pursued independently under the guidance of an instructor from whom the student has gained approval and acceptance. [W]

Prerequisite: English 205 and a literary history course (English 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, or 213), anpermission of Professor Woolley.

 

English 495: Thesis

Tutorial sessions related to the student’s investigation of the area chosen for his or her honors essay. Open only to candidates for honors in English. [W]

Prerequisite: English 205 and a literary history course (English 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, or 213). Permission of the Associate Department Head required.

 

 

THEATER COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

 

Theater 107: Introduction to Theater

Through lectures, discussions, hands-on experiences, master classes with visiting theater professionals, and performances outside of class, this course introduces students to significant texts, ideas, and crafts essential to the study of theater. Projects involve acting, directing, design, and theater criticism; writing assignments familiarize students with the analytic tools and accepted vocabulary of theater scholarship. [H]

Tysinger  MWF 9:00

 

Theater 130 Acting I: Acting and Improvisation

This workshop-style course will introduce students to various fundamental techniques of acting and improvisation, with special emphasis on sensory awareness, observation, concentration, body movement and vocal development. Students will develop their imaginations and creative processes through performance situations involving improvisation, scene study and monologue work. [H]

Staff  – W 1:10 – 4:00

 

Theater 270:  Topics in Theater:  Fundamentals of Scenography

Theater involves extensive artistry beyond the performers you see on stage. Scene, costume, and lighting design are intensely creative areas of theater that use shared vocabulary but differing execution to heighten a production. The course will explore these areas with our primary focus on understanding the basic purpose, theory, and aesthetics of design for performance.  Assignments will include projects in each of scene, costume, and lighting design; testing of students’ comprehension of the functions and basic tenets of design; and exercises to train the eye and hand to better communicate ideas in design.

Prerequisite: THTR 107 or approval of the Director of Theater.

Lowry M 1:10 – 4:00

 

Theater 271: Review and Criticism
“Delightfully Fun!!!” “Two thumbs up!!!!” “Nominated for 8 Tony Awards!!!!” How often have we seen these “puffs” (reviews of a work of art, usually excessively complimentary) blasted across theater marquees and advertisements in print and on-line journals?  Truthfully, though, most of us choose to plunk down our hard-earned cash to attend a theater performance or a film based on its reviews.  Sometimes these are as simple as a friend’s recommendations, sometimes a quick blurb on Rotten Tomatoes, sometimes a cleverly crafted trailer or advertisement.  In this course we will analyze and learn to write various forms of effective reviews of film and theater.  We will also learn to distinguish between simple summaries and more sophisticated reviews that analyze style, technique, and quality.  We will conduct research to contextualize film and theater – historically, artistically, and generically – in order to kick our reviews up a notch into works of criticism.  [W]

Prerequisite: THTR 107, Eng 117 or permission of the instructor.

Westfall  MWF 9:00

 

Theater 314: Stage Direction

This course explores the director’s art and responsibility in the theatrical process, including casting, rehearsal, and organizational procedures from script analysis to performance. Discussion and practice in the principles of composition, picturization, movement, and blocking, with attention to issues of style, concept, and stage spaces. Students direct scenes in laboratory and a short play for public performance.

Prerequisites: THTR 207, ENG 117 or permission of the instructor.

O’Neill  TR 1:15

 

Theater 391:  Independent Study

Tutorial study in theater practice, initiated by the student and pursued independently under the guidance of an instructor from whom the student has gained approval and acceptance. May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: THTR 107 or THTR 221, and permission of the instructor.

O’Neill

 

Theater 400: Senior Project

Under the guidance of theater faculty and normally during the senior year, the student will undertake an advanced project in one or more specialized areas of theater (e.g., acting, directing, design, criticism). The project will serve to assess the student’s theater education and demonstrate the student’s potential as a theater artist and/or practitioner.

Prerequisite: Advance approval of the Director of Theater

O’Neill

 

Theater 495: Thesis

Tutorial sessions related to the student’s investigation of the area chosen for his or her honors essay. Open only to candidates for honors in theater, who take THTR 495 instead of THTR 400.

Prerequisite: THTR 207 and permission of the Director of Theater

O’Neill