Department of English, Graduate Courses, Autumn Quarter 2018-2019 May 23, 2018 Course Course Course ENG 401 ENG 411 ENG 449 History of the English Language Did you know that English has more words than any other natural language? Did you know that more people speak English as a second language (that is, besides speaking their native language) than any other language? In this class we will study how English reached this remarkable point in its evolution. Along the way, we ll learn about varieties of English (national, regional and social), the importance of the King James Bible (and Shakespeare) in the history of English, and the peculiar nature of the relationship between English spelling and pronunciation, as well as a host of other related historical and linguistic topics. Language and Style Core Requirement in the MAE Lang/Lit/Teaching/Publishing Elective in the MAWP Elective in the MAE and MAWP Chaucer: Master of Story This course is a graduate introduction to Chaucer and relevant primary and secondary materials on his works. After a few short poems, we will read two dream visions, House of Fame and Parliament of Fowls, and selections from Chaucer s masterful Trojan narrative, Troilus and Criseyde. We will then turn to his Canterbury Tales, working through the most famous of the verse stories. These texts will introduce the variety of Chaucer s style and tone, demonstrating the innovations that make him the Father of English poetry. Discover why the medieval world of Game of Thrones has become so riveting. MAE: Medieval Requirement; Elective Topics in 19th-Century British Literature: Godwins and the Shelleys The Godwins and the Shelleys will examine the relationship between two generations of writers: William Godwin, Mary Shelley, and Percy Shelley. We will read portions of William St. Clair s landmark study, The Godwins and the Shelleys, as well as major works by these writers, including Caleb Williams, Falkland, Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman, and numerous poems by Percy Shelley, as well as selections from Richard Holmes Shelley: the Pursuit. We will also read Mary Wollstonecraft s and A Short Residence in Sweden, Norway and Denmark and Frankenstein. MAE: 19 th Century Requirement; Elective Robert Meyer Lesley Kordecki Jonathan Gross
ENG 471 ENG 474 Book and Media History: The American Book in the Age of Mass Reproduction This course will take Harriet Beecher Stowe s 1852 novel Uncle Tom s Cabin as the focal point for a book and media history focused on the nineteenth-century United States. Originally written in installments and published serially in an anti-slavery newspaper, Uncle Tom s Cabin became not only the best-selling book of the nineteenth century, but also a story that has taken and continues to take multiple media forms across the world, including popular songs, minstrel shows, early film, and material culture. In its own time, it also provoked an outpouring of anti-tom novels from slavery s defenders. Stowe formed her characters and story by drawing heavily on materials from the first mass-produced and circulated newspapers and magazines. And Uncle Tom s Cabin was one of the first literary texts featured in early digital humanities work funded by the National Endowments for the Humanities and Arts. Outside of class, students will read the novel, and during our class meetings, we will discuss the text and consider it in relation to its multimedia existence, starting with an examination of antislavery print culture, moving to its newspaper serialization and subsequent publication as a novel in the U.S. and England (where it was first illustrated), to anti-tom responses, then turning to consider its remediation in a range of media forms up through the digital. Students will work on an extended research and writing project across the term that focuses on one of these media forms that Uncle Tom s Cabin has taken, learning about book and media history and studies in the process while honing their literary and media analytical skills. MAE: Core Requirement MAWP: Not Allowed Teaching Literature How does the teaching of literature serve, reflect, or challenge society? How has the profession of literary scholarship and teaching transformed over the last century to reflect our changing social values? What is the history of our literary canon(s)? What are the best practices in teaching literature? This course digs into the history, theory, and process of what we do in the classroom, and provides hands-on experience in planning lessons and assignments, teaching literary works, and constructing a syllabus. Students will create a course syllabus for an introductory literature class; for students who are high school teachers, the syllabus can be adapted to meet specific classroom situations. This course fulfills part of the requirement for the Certificate in Teaching English in the Two-Year College. Marcy Dinius Carolyn Goffman
ENG 475 ENG 477 ENG 477 ENG 480 Topics in Literature: Colonialism and Its Legacy Colonialism and Its Legacy, examines colonialism in its late phase, during the 19th and 20th centuries, and our current postcolonial period. We will look at these two historical phenomena world through the lenses of 20th- century British and Anglophone literature: novels, two plays, a movie, and four poems. British here is broadly defined. Thus we will read works by two Caribbean novelists and a poet/playwright (Rhys, Kincaid, and Walcott), a South African playwright (Fugard), and a Nigerian novelist (Achebe), as well as works by English writers (Kipling, Conrad, Forster). MAE: 20 th /21 st Century Requirement; Elective Topics in Publishing: The Independent Press In part by comparing trade publishing with independent publishing, we will examine the current, important phenomenon of the developing small-press movement in America. Furthermore, we will hear from progressive independent publishers in the Chicago literary scene to understand their take on key publishing issues. We will be comprehensive in our approach, covering such issues as the polarization of the publishing field, the digital revolution, and the struggle for visibility in the marketplace. We will also read a unique anthology about the various concerns of independent presses and magazines that was created by the students who last took this class. Topics in Publishing: Art & Tech of Book Design This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of book design, print processes, and publishing software. Special emphasis will be placed on InDesign, Photoshop, and exploration of text-based graphics. Introduction to Creative Writing: Intro to Fiction English 480 is an introductory course in creative writing, focusing on fiction. It requires no previous creative writing experience, but it does require a commitment to reading and writing extensively and to making space in your life for the creative process. This is also a workshop course, which means that you ll share your writing with the class and will become adept at both receiving and providing feedback on works in progress. MAWP: With permission of Program Director James Fairhall Chris Green Jon Resh Dan Stolar
ENG 484 ENG 484 Writing Workshop Topics: Novels I We can outline all we want we can plan the smallest details but the truth is that the shape and form of a novel isn t entirely clear, even to the author, until after she s completed an entire draft. It s only when a writer gets through what Anne Lamott calls the shitty first draft that he can begin to step back and begin the process of editing and revision. Think of this course like National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), only with a bit more structure and a grade at the end. The purpose of the course is to get you through the process of writing a first draft. Therefore, we will do our best to silence our inner (and outer!) critic and complete an initial draft of a novel, flaws and all, from page one to The End, considering the particular challenges of the novel form in terms of plot, structure, and character development. Students should come prepared with an idea for a project they would like to draft, along with a list of 5-10 novels they plan to turn to as inspiration and guidance. By the end of the term, writing around 20 pages a week, students should have a first draft of approximately 200 pages, depending on the scope of their project. This course is the first of a two-course sequence. The second course, ENG 484: Novels II: Revision, will include a more traditional workshop focusing on editing and revising the novel once the student has a completed first draft. Any student who has a completed prose fiction manuscript of at least 60,000 words can apply to take the second course without completing the first. Writing Workshop Topics: Art of Description This is a course in writing vivid and striking poetry and very short prose/fiction. We will study the craft of writing by closely examining selected texts and through in-class writing. In this class we will learn the art of description by writing scenes and vignettes. Scenes and vignettes are brief narratives and sketches characterized by great precision, economy of language, and accuracy of composition. A vignette a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or a fleeting slice of life is composed like a photograph or painting to give a trenchant impression about a character, an idea, a setting, or an object. The writing of vignettes requires utmost attention to detail, and requires a presence of mind and powers of keen observation that would be of help in any kind of creative writing. Class discussions will explore the direct relationship between the clarity of a writer s text and the vividness of the reader s imagination. After all, the art of description is, ultimately, mastered for the sake of the reader. Our goal: to write with clarity, power, and directness. Rebecca Johns Trissler Richard Jones
ENG 484 ENG 484 ENG 509 ENG 509 Writing Workshop Topics: Creative Nonfiction Forms: Lyric, Essay, Memoir, Reportage In this course we read, write, workshop, and discuss across the diverse sub-genres of contemporary creative nonfiction, including the lyric essay, the personal essay, literary reportage, the nonfiction short, literary memoir, graphic memoir, and hybrids. Students will consider the impact of form on content by trying out various nonfiction varieties and structures, participating in writing workshops, and writing and substantively revising in the nonfiction form of their choosing. Writing Workshop Topics: Prose and Pictures This cross-genre course will examine how writers can combine prose and images in their work. In addition to studying the works authors such as W.G. Sebald, Rebecca Solnit, Leanne Shapton and others who combine images and text, we will look at new storytelling platforms on web that give writers unprecedented abilities to combine pictures and prose. Internship "Internship in English" is a four-credit course designed to complement your English course of study along with your internship experience (100 hours of internship work). Using literature, film, and career guides, the class explores both academic and pragmatic aspects of work. We will analyze definitions of and strategies for career success, what makes work meaningful, the positive and negative power of technology in the workplace, and issues of ethics and social justice for employers and employees. Most practically, we will explore current career opportunities for English graduates and reflect on your ideal career paths, and ask you to create job-finding strategies. Ultimately, we will relate our readings and discussions to your internship and apply what we learn to your future career. There is no pre-requisite or prior knowledge needed to take this course. MAWP: Open Elective Internship MAWP: Open Elective Online By permission only. Registration is by permission of C. Green cgreen1@depaul.edu Online Admission to this class is by application to Carolyn Goffman Barrie Borich Miles Harvey Chris Green Carolyn Goffman