Southwestern University
 
 2005-2006 Catalog

Academic Calendar

Southwestern University: A Statement
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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 Eileen Cleere, PhD

Associate Professor David J. Gaines, PhD

Associate Professor Elisabeth Piedmont-Marton, PhD

Assistant Professor Michael B. Saenger, PhD

Visiting Assistant Professor Christopher LeCluyse, PhD

Scholar-in-Residence Timothy Robinson, PhD

Assistant Professor Betty Manriquez, PhD (part-time)

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

The program in English provides 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. It imparts skills of interpretation, analysis, research and writing that are useful in a broad range of professional 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. 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 (except for English 10-423). English 10-143, 10-153, 10-163, 10-173, and 10-183 are introductory courses, open to all students. English 10-153, 10-163, 10-173, and 10-183 are strongly recommended to the prospective major or minor.

Major requirements are in place to ensure that majors are exposed to a broad range of issues and texts representative of the discipline. This necessarily includes courses that present the historical and cultural range of literary production, a deliberate encounter with interpretive strategies under the heading of critical theory, and, under “emergent literatures or popular cultures,” a set of courses that exceed established, national canons of literature. Special topics courses (10-303) are frequently offered that, where designated, fulfill these requirements.

It is possible to complete 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), Women’s Literature II (10-563), or Feminist Film Studies (10-573). The department frequently offers other, more specialized, cross-listed courses that might substitute for one of the upper-level survey courses with the approval of both the English and Feminist Studies chairs.

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.

Major in English: 30 semester hours, including English 10-183; two courses in English literature written before 1785 from 10-153, 393, 553, 603, 623, 703, 713 (only one course in Shakespeare can count toward this requirement); one course in English literature written since 1785 from 10-163, 633, 643, 653; one course in American literature from 10-173, 663, 673, 683; one course in emergent literatures and popular cultures from 10-523, 533, 553, 563, 693; one course in critical theory from 10-443, 503, 573, 813; 10-813 or 933 (Capstone); enough additional hours of English to total 30 hours overall, and at least 18 hours above the introductory level.

Minor in English: 18 semester hours, including English 10-183; one survey or period course in English literature written before 1785 from 10-153, 393, 553, 603, 613, 623, 703, 713; twelve additional hours of English, with sufficient hours above the introductory level to total at least 12 hours above the introductory level.

See the Education Department for information regarding teacher certification in English.

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 1785. 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. 1785 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)
†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. (Biennially)
10-413 ADVANCED WRITING. An intensive course in writing with emphasis on the critical essay.
†10-423CREATIVE WRITING. A writing workshop 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. (Biennially)
†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. (Biennially)
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. (Biennially)
10-563 WOMEN’S LITERATURE II. This course will focus on the diversity of female literary traditions written in English during the past two centuries, with particular attention to aesthetic strategies that reflect, shape, and challenge feminist discourse. Also Feminist Studies 04-573. (Biennially)
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. (Biennially)
†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) (Biennially)
†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) (Biennially)
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. (Biennially; 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. (Biennially; 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. (Biennially; may be repeated with change in topic.)
10-653TOPICS IN 20TH CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE. This course will focus on the development of British modernisms and postmodernisms, with particular attention to the diverse aesthetic strategies that challenged, reinforced, and reconstructed ideas about subjectivity, gender, sexuality, nation, and novels. (Biennially; 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. (Biennially; 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. (Biennially; 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. (Biennially; may be repeated with change in topic.)
10-693 TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE. A study of literature written in English from the 1960s to the present. Topics and authors will vary from semester to semester to reflect the breadth and depth of contemporary literary traditions. (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. 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 English 10-703, but with a topical focus. Topics may include Shakespearean Comedy, Shakespeare’s Poetry, Shakespeare and Gender, or Shakespeare and His Contemporaries. (Biennially)
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, 954INDEPENDENT STUDY AND RESEARCH. Open to English majors
and minors. May be repeated with change in content.
10-983 HONORS. Students who wish to undertake an Honors Project should develop a proposal in consultation with the faculty member who has agreed to direct it. The proposal must then be endorsed by the department as a whole. Students who plan to undertake an Honors Project are strongly encouraged to take English 10-503, 813 or both before beginning the project.