Southwestern University
 
 2004-2005 Catalog

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  ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

English Department

Division of Humanities

Associate Professor James A. Kilfoyle, PhD, Chair

Professor T. Walter Herbert, Jr. PhD

Professor Helene Meyers, PhD

Associate Professor David J. Gaines, PhD

Associate Professor Elisabeth Piedmont-Marton, PhD

Assistant Professor Eileen Cleere, PhD

Assistant Professor Michael B. Saenger, PhD

Assistant Professor Daniel Butterworth, PhD (part-time)

Assistant Professor Amy Wink, PhD (part-time)

Instructor Rebecca Lorins, BA, ABD (part-time)

The program in English provides a grounding in English and American literature strong enough to support a life of continued reading and reflection, with the deepened understanding of human experience that this makes possible. The program for the major and minor also imparts skills of writing, research, analysis, and interpretation that are useful in a broad range of professional and business activities.

Students may major in English as part of the Bachelor of Arts program. The English minor may be taken in conjunction with any major program at Southwestern. It makes a natural companion to majors in history, religion and philosophy, sciences, and business. In addition, students certifying to teach in secondary schools may choose English as a second teaching field, and those seeking elementary certification may choose an academic specialization in English. Concentrated work in English may also be done as part of an area of concentration.

Department course offerings support the General Education Program of the University. Normally, a student will take English 10-013 and at least one introductory literature course before taking other courses in the department. English 10-143, 10-153, 10-163, 10-173, and 10-183 are introductory courses, open to all students. English 10-153, 10-163, and 10-173 are strongly recommended to the prospective major or minor.

English majors must take a total of 30 semester hours in the department, 18 of which must be above the introductory level. The student must take Introduction to Literary Studies (10-183), at least one survey or period course before 1800 (10-153, 10-553, 10-603, 10-613, or 10-623), and Shakespeare (10-703) or Topics in Shakespeare (10-713). The University requirement for a capstone experience can be fulfilled in any one of three ways: the major can complete a two-semester Honors Project (10-983 twice) or take either Topics in Literary Criticism (10-813) or the Seminar (10-933). Note: Students who plan to undertake an Honors Project are strongly encouraged to take 10-503 (Literary Criticism/Literary Theory), or 10-813, or both before beginning the project.

It is also possible to do a 54-hour paired major in English and Feminist Studies by double-counting two courses cross-listed in English and Feminist Studies, Women’s Literature I (10-553) and Women’s Literature II (10-563). The department frequently offers other, more specialized, cross-listed courses (such as Medieval Women and Contemporary Gothic) that might substitute for one of the upper-level survey courses with the approval of both the English and Feminist Studies chairs.

A minor in English may be obtained by taking 18 semester hours of English, 12 of which must be above the introductory level. The minor is encouraged to take at least one survey or period course before 1800 (10-153, 10-553, 10-603, 10-613, or 10-623), and Shakespeare (10-703) or Topics in Shakespeare (10-713).

Students seeking secondary certification with English as a second teaching field will take a 24-hour program in English, 12 semester hours of which must be above introductory level. The student is urged to take at least one survey or period course before 1800 (10-153 10-553, 10-603, 10-613, or 10-623) and Shakespeare (10-703) or Topics in Shakespeare (10-713). Specific course requirements are listed in the Education section of the Catalog. Students seeking elementary certification with an academic specialization in English will take a 21-hour program in English, nine semester hours of which must be above the introductory level. All students who wish to certify (those seeking secondary certification with a major in English or with English as a second teaching field, and those seeking elementary certification with an academic specialization in English) should consult the Catalog sections pertaining to certification programs.

Concentrated work in English as part of an area of concentration requires 24 semester hours of work in English, 18 hours of which must be above the introductory level, and 24 additional semester hours from other departments, 18 of which must be above the introductory level.

Tutorials and Independent Study (10-903 and 10-951, 952, 953) are open to majors and minors who wish to develop special projects; they are not offered to accommodate scheduling problems of students in their senior year.

English (ENG)

10-013 WRITING AND CRITICAL THINKING. A course in persuasive, analytical, and researched writing that includes critical response to readings. (Each semester)
†10-143MASTERPIECES OF LITERATURE. The analysis and interpretation of works selected from English and world literature. (POK-Aesthetic Experience-Lecture)
†10-153SURVEY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE I. Beowulf to 1780. A historically organized course spanning a millennium of literary greatness, with particular emphases on social and cultural change and methods of literary analysis. May be taken independent of English 10-163. (POK-American and Western Cultural Heritage) (Annually)
†10-163SURVEY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE II. 1780 to present. A historically organized course. May be taken independent of English 10-153. (POK-American and Western Cultural Heritage) (Annually)
†10-173SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE. From before Columbus to the present. A historically organized course. May be taken independent of English 10-153 and English 10-163. (POK-American and Western Cultural Heritage) (Annually)
10-183 INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY STUDIES. An introduction to issues and methods of literary analysis. Topics and readings will vary from semester to semester. Required of all majors. (Annually)

Courses numbered 10-2XX and above (except for 10-423) are normally taken after a student has completed English 10-013 and at least one of the introductory literature courses (10-143, 10-153, 10-163, or 10-173).

†10-203GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. See Classics 07-203 and Religion 19-403. (POK-American and Western Cultural Heritage)
10-313 PLAYWRITING. See Theatre 74-313.
10-383PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. See Philosophy 18-383.
†10-393SHAKESPEARE THROUGH PERFORMANCE. This course introduces students to Shakespeare through the collective rehearsal and performance of one play (different each year). Whether individual students perform or not, each student will reach a deep understanding of the art of Shakespeare’s language and theater as they build their actual staging in specific scenes. Within this focused study of performing a specific play, many advanced topics of Shakespearean studies are addressed. May be repeated for credit. (POK-Aesthetic Experience: Performance)
10-403PERSONAL VOICE. An intensive course in writing with emphasis on the personal essay. Prerequisite: six semester hours of literature. (Alternate years)
10-413 ADVANCED WRITING. An intensive course in writing with emphasis on the critical essay.
†10-423CREATIVE WRITING. A writing workshop offered by a professional writer in either prose fiction or poetry. Approval of instructor required. (POK-Aesthetic Experience: Production)
10-443 THE TEACHING OF WRITING. A seminar emphasizing issues and strategies involved in working with student writing from various disciplines. Approval of the Writing Program Director required. (Annually)
10-503LITERARY CRITICISM/LITERARY THEORY. An introduction to major critical and theoretical approaches to literature. (Alternate years)
10-513TOPICS IN JEWISH LITERATURE. An overview of Jewish literary traditions and the socio-historical contexts that have shaped representations of Jewish cultural and religious experience. Topics and authors will vary to reflect the diversity of Jewish literary expression; offerings include Holocaust Literature, Jewish American Literature, Contemporary Jewish Women Writers, and Transatlantic Jews. (May be repeated with change in topic.) Also Religion 19-513.
†10-523MOVIES AND CULTURES. A history of narrative film from its origins to the present with an emphasis upon Hollywood cinema. Historical contexts and technological evolution are emphasized. Griffith, Eisenstein, Welles, and Hitchcock are among the directors studied. (POK-Aesthetic Experience-Lecture) (Annually)
10-533 POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE. A study of literature produced at the intersection of cultures. Consideration of ways cultural differences and legacies of colonization are negotiated. Major figures vary from year to year but will usually include Achebe, Gordimer, Head, Ngugi, Rushdie, and Soyinka.
10-553 WOMEN’S LITERATURE I. This course will consider early expressions of women’s voices in literature, especially within their historical context. Medieval through the 18th century. Also Feminist Studies 04-553. (Alternate years)
10-563 WOMEN’S LITERATURE II. A study of significant works by women, with emphasis on 19th- and 20th-century writers from the English-speaking world. Consideration of the cultural forces that helped shape these works and lives. Major figures will vary from year to year, but will usually include (among others) Woolf, C. Brontë, Chopin, Atwood, and Walker. Also Feminist Studies 04-573.
10-573FEMINIST FILM STUDIES. This course will focus on the way films define gender, and on the direction that film criticism takes when feminism goes to the movies. It includes an intensive consideration of feminist film criticism and theory from 1975 to the present, and is intended for students who are interested in film studies and who have had some experience with critical reading, writing and theoretical analysis. Also Feminist Studies 04-533.
†10-603MEDIEVAL LITERATURE. An advanced introduction to some of the best literature of the medieval period. Topics will vary but may include such authors as the Beowulf-poet, Chaucer, Malory and Langland. Some possible topics include quest-narratives, piety, drama, images of women, autobiography, and allegory. (POK-American and Western Cultural Heritage) (Alternate years)
†10-613TOPICS IN EARLY ENGLISH LITERATURE. This course covers literature of the Medieval and Renaissance periods, with varying focus. Potential themes include Medieval and Renaissance Drama, Early English Lyric Poetry, the Renaissance, Narrative Form, and Earlier English Religious Poetry. (POK-American and Western Cultural Heritage) (Alternate years)
10-623 TOPICS IN 18TH-CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE. A study of British writing of the long 18th century (1660-1800), with particular attention to cultural continuity and change. Focus and authors will vary; offerings include Sexual Politics of the Restoration Age, Reason and Madness in 18th-Century Fiction, Enlightenment Self-Fashioning, Center and Periphery: the Problem of the “British” 18th Century. (Alternate years; may be repeated with change in topic.)
10-633 TOPICS IN ROMANTICISM. This course will emphasize the poetry and prose of traditional Romantic writers such as Wordsworth, Keats, Coleridge, Hazlitt, Tighe, and Barbauld, and also will explore the Romantic-era work of novelists like Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Charlotte Smith, Sir Walter Scott, and Ann Radcliffe. Topics for this course will vary and may include Romanticism and Gender, The Byronic Hero, and Romanticism and Aesthetics. Also Feminist Studies 04-633. (Alternate years; may be repeated with change in topic.)
10-643 TOPICS IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE. This course will explore the Victorian period in British culture through the dominant literary genre of that period: the novel. Authors studied may include Dickens, Eliot, Trollope, Hardy, Braddon, Wilde, Collins, and the Bronte sisters. Specific topics for this course will vary and may include Austen and Bronte, Victorian Mystery, Realism and Sensationalism, and Victorian Arts. Also Feminist Studies 04-663. (Alternate years; may be repeated with change in topic.)
10-653 TOPICS IN MODERN BRITISH LITERATURE. A study of British writing of the first half of the twentieth century, with particular attention paid to the aesthetic, thematic and critical preoccupations that surround the term “modernism.” Topics and authors will vary; offerings include the Modernist Novel focused on Forster, Joyce, and Woolf, Modernism and the Movies, and Modernist Sexualities. (Alternate years; may be repeated with change in topic.)
10-663 TOPICS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE. A thematic study of American writers from an interdisciplinary perspective. American Poetry, Southwestern Literature, and Making and Unmaking of Democratic Selves are among the variants offered. (Alternate years; may be repeated with change in topic.)
10-673 TOPICS IN 19TH-CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE. A study of American writers of the nineteenth century, with particular attention to social and cultural change. Focus will vary from an advanced survey of such writers as Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Stowe, Whitman, Dickinson, and Twain to dual-author courses such as Hawthorne and Melville. (Alternate years; may be repeated with change in topic.)
10-683 TOPICS IN 20TH-CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE. A study of American writers of the twentieth century, with particular attention to social and cultural change. Focus will vary from an advanced survey of such writers as James, Adams, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Ellison, Salinger, Morrison, and DeLillo to thematically organized courses such as America Since the 1960s, Postwar(s) America, Popular versus Literary Culture, and America and the Movies. (Alternate years; may be repeated with change in topic.)
10-693 TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE. An overview of literature written in English from the 1960s to the present. Topics and authors will vary from semester to semester to reflect the diversity of contemporary literary achievement. Recent offerings include Contemporary Gothic, Contemporary British Literature, and Postmodern Revisions. (Annually; May be repeated with change in topic.) Also Feminist Studies 04-693.
10-703 SHAKESPEARE. An intensive introduction to the works of William Shakespeare. The selection of works will vary from semester to semester but will address the breadth of Shakespeare’s achievement. Required of all majors. Also Theatre 74-703. (Annually)
10-713TOPICS IN SHAKESPEARE. An intensive introduction to the works of William Shakespeare, with the same reading load and difficulty as 10-703, but with a topical focus. Topics may include Shakespearean Comedy, Shakespeare’s Poetry, Shakespeare and Gender, or Shakespeare and His Contemporaries. (Alternate years)
10-733 CHILDREN’S LITERATURE. See Education 45-733.
10-813 TOPICS IN LITERARY CRITICISM. Advanced, focused exploration of theoretical issues and debates at the heart of literary studies. Topics will vary to reflect diverse critical methodologies; offerings will include Feminist Literary Criticism, Identities of Texts, Cultural Poetics, and Questions of Aesthetics. May be repeated with change in topic. Fulfills the requirement for a capstone experience.

10-001, 002, 003, 004 SELECTED TOPICS. May be repeated with change in topic.
10-301, 302, 303, 304 SELECTED TOPICS. May be repeated with change in topic.
10-903 TUTORIAL.
10-933 SEMINAR. Fulfills the requirement for a capstone experience.
10-941, 942, 943, 944 ACADEMIC INTERNSHIP.
10-951, 952, 953, 954 INDEPENDENT STUDY AND RESEARCH. Open to English majors
and minors. May be repeated with change in content.
10-983 HONORS. By invitation only.