English 100: Introduction to Academic Writing
Focuses on rhetorical awareness. In this course, students will explore the reading and writing practices of the academic community. Through primary and secondary research, and through guided writing practice, students will critically examine what these practices mean and consider how students’ own reading and writing practices fit into those of “the Academy.” While additional texts may be assigned, writing produced by students in the class will serve as the principal texts for the course. Additional texts may include Graff & Birkenstein’s They Say/I Say, Harris’s Rewriting: How to Do Things with Texts, and Richard Lanham’s Revising Prose. Enrollment is restricted to freshman and sophomores.
NOTE: This class will be of particular interest to students who have had limited experience with academic writing.
Prerequisite: FYS
Prof. C. Tatu MWF 11-11:50
English 115: Science Fiction
This course focuses on a genre that is highly popular but often regarded as mere entertainment and “fluff.” Examining representative short stories, novels, and films, we’ll discuss the imaginative and thought-provoking way in which Sci Fi writers have depicted human interactions and societies—those of the writer’s past and present as well as his or her potential future. Authors likely to be studied include Philip K. Dick, Ursula LeGuin, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Octavia Butler, H.G. Wells, Mary Shelley, Ray Bradbury…and a host of writers you probably haven’t heard of unless you’re an avid reader of Sci Fi.
Prof. D. Byrd TR 9:30 – 10:45
English 135: Literature & Human Experience
This course investigates how non-human animals are situated within literary and cultural discourse. The course begins with a broad introduction to the ways animals have been theorized within our own (Western) intellectual tradition, and then engages with representations of animals and the human/animal boundary in twentieth-century literature. We will therefore be reading a wide variety of texts that help us understand the ways animals are figured in literature.
Prof. C. Rohman MWF 11-11:50
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]
English 202-01: Writing with Digital Media
In this class we will write with—and about—digital media like blogs, wikis, and ebooks. We’ll consider how digital writing technologies give (and sometimes take away) control over the production of texts and their various elements like document design and publication format. We will also consider how the affordances of digital media enable multimodal forms of composing. You do not need previous experience with digital writing technologies to succeed in this class, but you should be willing to learn to work with software packages like Adobe’s InDesign.
Prof. T. Laquintano MWF 10-10:50
English 202-02: Spiritual Writing
This course explores a range of forms and practices involved in writing that as its subject the spiritual dimension of the human experience. Readings and techniques will incorporate several world spiritual traditions. Major emphases include contemplation and revision as ways of knowing, writing as self-discovery, and using writing to move from the self to the community. No religious or spiritual background is necessary for this course.
Prof. C. Phillips MWF 2:10-3
English 202-03: Writing Seminar: Fear and Dread: Thinking about Horror
What do The Odyssey, “Hansel and Gretel” and Beowulf have in common? These disparate and ancient stories all have monsters in them. Humans have been telling scary stories from the time they could tell stories at all, but Horror as a genre has only been codified in the last two hundred years, and there has been no time during that period when it has not been controversial and marginalized. Yet, Horror continues to be an incredibly popular genre. Using a variety of texts, with particular emphasis on student writing, this course will explore how language can be used both to convey and to construct terror, horror, and dread.
Prof. E. Rosen MWF 10-10:50
Eng 202-04: Arguments, Conversations, America and You
In this course we will explore some of the core arguments and conversations in American cultures. We will consider how these arguments throughout American history influence what we think and write about today. Questions we may ask include: Who are Americans? What are their dreams? How do they define work and success? What defines an American family? Why and how do Americans construct an “enemy”? 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.
Prof. K. Clayton – MWF, 11-11:50
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 Prof. S. Bellotto TR 1:15-2:30
Sec 02 Prof. C. Rohman MWF 1:10-2
English 206: Literary History
How can we know the history of literature? How much does it have to do with authors, or titles, or books, or readers, or professors, or you? We will explore these questions through several case studies: the 19th-century “discovery” of medieval literature, the rise and fall of illustrated fiction in magazines, and the reading habits of Easton Library Company patrons before the Civil War. Field trips and research at the Easton Area Public Library may be required.
Prof. C. Phillips MWF 9-9:50
English 210: Survey of British Literature
“English Literature I” is not an introduction to the study of literature, as the title might imply. It is the first half of an historical survey of British literature. It meets a requirement for the English major, but it is also intended for non-majors who want to read some of the best known and most influential works in the English tradition. The course covers nearly 1,000 years (ending in 1688); thus we cannot linger over any single work. Instead, I will ask you to read actively and intensely in preparation for discussing the significance of each text for its era and for readers today. You will also be asked to learn some major historical facts and literary concepts relevant to the works being studied. Requirements include daily quizzes (two per week), Moodle postings (at least one per week), two five- to six-page papers, and a final exam. English 210 counts toward the Literary History requirement for the English major (see major requirements for more information). Normally closed to seniors.
Prof. C. Van Dyke—MWF 10-10:50
English 213: American Literature II: The Gilded Age to the Present
This course surveys the literature of realism, modernism and postmodernism in America. It is designed as an introduction to students who may wish to pursue more intensive studies of the authors, genres, and literary movements in late nineteenth and twentieth-century America. Among the authors we will consider are Charles Chestnutt, Henry James, and Theodore Dreiser. Counts toward the literary history requirement for the English major (see major requirements for more information). Normally closed to seniors.
Prof B. Washington—MWF 3:10-4
English 217: Literature and Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis has always given to “literature” a privileged place. Many of its key terms–Oedipus complex, masochism, sadism–were derived from literature. And Freud was heard to say that the poets were there before him. This course will examine the special relationship that exists between psychoanalysis and literature, and the various ways in which that relationship has been understood by figures such as Freud, Jung, Klein, Kohut, Kristeva, Lacan, and Zizek. Literary materials will likely include: Hamlet, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The Turn of the Screw, short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Frankenstein, the poetry and diaries of Sylvia Plath, and The White Hotel. Several films, including those by Alfred Hitchcock, will also be required. Applying psychoanalysis to literature will interest us less than will a detailed consideration of how literature and psychoanalysis are implicated and illuminated by each other.
Prof. P. Donahue MW 11-12:15
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]
Prof. K. Parrish TH 1:15–2:30
English 246: Black Writers
English 246 often looks closely at non-fiction. This year, however, the course will examine classic “imaginative” texts: Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye; Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun; and more contemporary work by writers such as Michelle Cliff and E. Lynn Harris.
Prof. B. Washington—MWF 11-11:50
English 250-01: Science and Technology Writing
Science writers research issues in science and technology and compose for a general audience with their work appearing in newspapers, magazines, and books. In this class, students will develop their own writing projects based on personal interest and course readings. The aim of the course is to help students develop a writing style suitable for rendering complex contemporary scientific issues into engaging narrative. Most of our time will be spent on research, article development and the intricacies of graceful prose style.
Prof. T. Laquintano MWF 9-9:50
English 250-02: Humor Writing
A seminar in which we closely examine the work of exceptional humor writers and try to write a whole lot better than they ever did. No, seriously: a seminar in which we study selected strategies of writers such as Woody Allen, David Sedaris, and Jenny Lawson to determine how such strategies might inspire and enliven our own writing and allow us to generate new perspectives. Supportive atmosphere in which we destroy one another’s will to live. No, seriously: supportive atmosphere. Students will compile a final portfolio of humor writing in varied genres, including essays, flash fiction, and short scripts, with a research-based introduction. Impromptu exercises and collaborative writing, occasional arm-wrestling. Required: a great big (or even middling) sense of humor, tolerance. [W]
Prof. Lee Upton, TR 1:15-2:30
English 255: Creative Writing
An introduction to the writing of poetry and fiction.. Weekly exercises. Because reading generates and enriches writing, students will concentrate intensively on matters of craft in the work of highly accomplished imaginative writers. Completion of a final portfolio of revised imaginative writing will be required. Permission of instructor required. Students who wish to take the course should contact Professor Upton or Professor Rosen by e-mail as soon as possible to gain permission: uptonlee@lafayette.edu, or rosene@lafayette.edu [W]
Sec 01 Prof. L. Upton TR 2:45-4
Sec 02 Prof. E. Rosen MWF 1:10-2
English 274: Taboos: Literary Sexualities
Few contemporary issues generate as much controversy as same-gender attraction and relationships; fewer still are so deeply rooted in oppression, violence and discrimination. Literature, a vital tool of social investigation, plays a key role in exploding sexual taboos and the related politics of silence. The course will employ several angles of inquiry, including banned books, popular culture, activism, gender, religion and global cultures. Students will examine key historical moments in the modern history of gay and lesbian liberation; read across a variety of genres (short story, documentary, novel, drama, film); and engage the relevant critical terminology and theory.
Prof. I. Smith TR 2:45-4
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.
Prof. C. Van Dyke – MWF 2:10-3
English 301: Shakespeare
Often understood as situated at the pinnacle of English literary studies, Shakespeare is not an unreachable figure but one whose texts resonate dynamically with the cultural and political issues of a writer embedded in and responsive to his society. The course will focus on comedy, arguably the most social of genres that pays attention to the values and prejudices that shape normative behavior and thinking. And since comedy often implies marriage, the course will also examine the related issues of sexuality, gender, class, and race. As a working writer, Shakespeare uses comedy as a vehicle to reflect on the role and function of the playhouse in a society that regarded the theater as a potentially marginal and subversive institution.
Prof. I. Smith TR 1:15- 2:30
English 320: The English Language
Most people believe that language defines us as human; in any case, language links us with the rest of reality, human and otherwise. English 320 is divided into three segments: (i) descriptive linguistics (the scientific study of language, with an emphasis on the phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics of English); (ii) the history of English; and (iii) applied linguistics, the study of language in use. Requirements include class participation and informal exercises, four tests, and three written and/or oral projects. (Counts toward the literature major and the major with a concentration in writing. Recommended also for students who plan on a career in elementary or secondary teaching.)
Prof. C. Van Dyke MWF 11-11:50
English 326: The Romantics
This course will focus on English poetry of the period 1798-1832, much of which was inspired by the political revolutions in America and France. We will be reading prose by Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley and the poetry of Blake, Coleridge, Byron, Keats, Percy Shelley, and the Wordsworths. We will be exploring texts that focus on the nature of the creative process, differences in the perspectives of children and adults, relationships between women and men, the role of nature in human experience, and social and political phenomena such as slavery, prostitution, poverty, and warfare.
Prof. D. Byrd TR 11-12:15
English 332: Inventing America: 18th-Century Oceans
Empires. Sugar. Tea. Slaves. Revolution. All these hallmarks of the 18th century happened on, or because of, the sea. In the midst of exploration, empire-building, independence movements, and international trade, writers worked to make meaning out of the rapid expansion of the known world and the new political and aesthetic problems that expansion created. This course will study works from around the English-speaking world, from fiction (Robinson Crusoe, The Algerine Captive) to slave narratives (Equiano) to travel writings (Cook’s Journals) to poems (Wheatley’s works, “The Castaway”). As we’ll see, even the definition of literature was up for grabs in this period, and the ways people thought about the ocean over 200 years ago still influences our world today.
Prof. C. Phillips MWF 10-10:50
English 341 – Nineteenth-Century British Novel
Cultures of novel reading and writing in Great Britain in the nineteenth century. Through an examination of representative works from the period, we will consider how the novel both reflected and helped to shape public perceptions of some of the major social and psychological problems of the period (e.g., the impact of scientific progress and industrialization on English life and national identity, challenges to a rigid social structure and repressive moral code, attempts to redefine the nature and role of women). Texts may include novels by Austen, Braddon, the Brontes, Collins, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy and Wilde; Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor; selected contemporary periodicals; and other contemporary texts related to the emergence of the novel as a key venue for social and political debate. [W]
Prof. B. Falbo MWF 2:10-3
English 361: Advanced Creative Writing—Poetry
Intensive weekly workshop in poetry. The course requires completion of advanced exercises in structure and style and the composition of an ambitious final portfolio of poetry. Prerequisites: English 250 or English 251 or English 255 or permission of instructor. Signature of Professor Upton required. Students who wish to take the course should contact Professor Upton by email as soon as possible: uptonlee@lafayette.edu
Prof. L. Upton W 1:10-4
English 365: Seminar in Literary Criticism
An advanced introduction to the history of literary criticism and its dominant theoretical practices. Students read representative texts from various schools of criticism, such as structuralism, deconstruction, Marxism, psychoanalysis, gender studies, and cultural studies, and apply them to several literary works. Recommended for students seeking honors in English or considering graduate study in literature. Prerequisite: English 205 and a literary history course (English 206, 210, 211, 212, or 213), or permission of the instructor. [W]
Prof. C. Rohman, MWF 10-10:50
English 369: The Beat Generation in American Culture
Who were the Beats? Were they romantic literary geniuses? Know-nothing bohemians? Engaged cultural critics? Political dissenters? Criminals? Religious mystics? An exclusive Boys-Only club? Pre-Hippies? Drug addicts? Stylistic innovators? All of the above? This course will examine the “Beat Generation” as it was constructed by the Beats themselves and by the culture in and against which they wrote and lived. We will look at how Beat texts initiate a conversation with the values and self-image of America from the 1940s well into the 1970s. Students will also learn about current issues and trends in Beat studies. We will study not only the “canonical” Beat writers (Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Neal Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Gary Snyder), but will also study those associated with the Beats outside of this core group. These include African-American Beat writers such as LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), Ted Joans, and Bob Kaufman; and women Beat writers such as Hettie Jones, Joyce Johnson, Joanne Kyger, and Lenore Kandel. In-class presentations and a long research essay will be required.
Prof. S. Belletto TR 9:30-10:45
THEATER COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
THTR 120: Performance Practicum
Students cast in faculty-directed productions may qualify for .25 credits. Permission of Director of Theater required.
Hours arranged
THTR 121: Production Practicum
Student technical staff and crew for faculty-directed productions may qualify for .25 credits. Permission of either the Director of Theater or the College Theater Technical Director required.
Hours arranged
THTR 221: Stagecraft
An introduction to the history, theory, and practice of technical theater, focusing upon construction, painting, rigging, and electrical practices. Laboratory sessions in the theater shop and backstage assignments ensure hands-on exposure to topics discussed in class.
Pre Req. Permission of the Director of Theater required for members of the Class of 2014.
Mr.Tysinger TR 9:30-10:45
THTR 271-01: Topics in Theater: Lighting Design and Practice
The art of lighting design is one of revelation. This medium illuminates on a physical level of visibility; however, it also uses purposeful control of the intangible to shape atmosphere and illuminate emotional truth onstage. This class will explore the discipline of lighting design in both its artistry and mechanics in the aim of understanding not only the technology used in modern lighting but how to wield these tools expressively, aesthetically, and theatrically in production. Assignments will include a major project executing the concept, preparation, and package for a lighting design; smaller projects exploring how designers communicate the intangible; exercises in wielding light aesthetically, and tests of students’ comprehension of the basic tenets of lighting design and the common technology of the field. Students are expected to participate in crew for light hang and observe part of the technical rehearsal process for the spring mainstage production. Prerequisite: THTR 107 or permission of the Director of the Theater.
Mr. Lowry M 1:10 – 4:00
THTR 271-02: Topics in Theater: Voice for the Actor
This workshop course is designed to: develop your vocal skill and range, with the goal that you will be able to support and free your natural voice; develop your diction and enunciation to serve the dramatic texts of different periods, styles and genres; build vocal stamina, clarity and power; and protect your vocal instrument from damage through misuse. Success in this course will be measured by your participation in class discussions and exercises, your writing, quizzes, performances and presentations. You will be required to participate in exercises and discussions, keep an acting journal, demonstrate skills and techniques through in-class performances that will entail memorization, and give a final presentation to the class.
Ms. Cohea MW 7– 8:15p
THTR 276: Topics in Theater: Dance as an Art Form
Dance is an American pop-culture staple, a form of competition, and something people do at weddings. But when is it an art form? As we learn about the history of dance as a Western art form, we will learn dance movements and sequences in a studio setting. The class also will host contemporary guest choreographers who will share their work and experiences with students. Students will be required to attend some live dance performances during the semester. Finally, we will focus on identifying interdisciplinary ways to connect our study of dance with what we’re learning in other subjects. Both writing and dancing are involved in this course. Prerequisite: Permission of the Director of Theater required for members of the Class of 2014.
Mr. Munisteri W 1:10 – 4:00
THTR 312 Plays in Performance: American Drama on Film
Through reading the texts of American plays and analyzing their film adaptations, the course will offer various approaches to understanding performance as both an ephemeral and permanent phenomenon. We also will explore theater and film in cultural contexts, thereby acquiring a historical perspective on these genres, their conventions, their symbiotic relationship, and their profound differences. Readings will include: Desire Under the Elms and Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill; The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur; The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman; Picnic by William Inge; A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams; A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee; and, Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare. Screenings will include film adaptations of these plays, and in some cases—as in The Front Page and His Girl Friday—more than one adaptation. Requirements: two critical papers, one research project, final examination. Prerequisite: THTR 107, FAMS 101, ENGL 205, or permission of the instructor. [W]
Prof. M. O’Neill TR 11:00 – 12:15
THTR 330 – Theatrical Styles: Comedy
“Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.”—Donald Wolfit
“Life is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel”— Horace Walpole
The central paradox of comedy is to make the difficult look easy, the serious criticism look trivial. While many consider tragedy to be the more complex and socially significant form, in actuality comedy is the more intellectual and often more difficult to act. In this course we will explore the traditions and acting techniques of Commedia dell’arte (including lazzi, mask work, and improvisational scenarios), and Restoration Comedy of Manners (including period style, movement, and verbal wit play).
Students will read dramatic texts, study theater history, create characters and perform scenes common to both period styles.
Prof. S. Westfall MW 10-11:50
THTR 371: Advanced Topics in Theater: Acting for Television and Film
This workshop course will give students experience and instruction in the special set of skills that acting in film and television can require. The vast majority of opportunities for actors occur in film and television, rather than the stage; using training for live theater as a foundation, this course will consider in practical work for the camera how the different genres of film and television affect approaching and playing a role. Requirements: scene preparation, performances on camera, short papers, mandatory attendance at all classes.
Prerequisite: THTR 130, 230, 330, or permission of the Director of Theater.
Ms. Mc Cabe T 1:10 – 4:00