Writing Courses: Spring 2009
IDND 018: Expository Writing
Centered on student writing, this course teaches the writing process, emphasizing revision. Students write informal exercises and essays. Course required of some incoming students.
Staff/Offered every semester
Faculty teaching Expository Writing spring '09: Aimée Sands, Jessica Bane Robert.
Courses that fulfill the Verbal Expression (VE) requirement
These are only some of the available options for this spring.
ENG 20: Introduction to Literature
Students read and write about basic elements of poetry, fiction, and drama. Small classes and limited reading lists help establish an atmosphere conducive to significant class discussion; emphasis is placed on writing effectively about literature. Strongly recommended for prospective English majors. No student may take more than one section of English 020 for credit.
Faculty teaching English 20 spring '09: Ethan Myers, Steve Levin, Jessica Bane Robert, Lucilia Valerio, Louis Bastien, Steven Krzywda.
ENG 110: English Poetry I
Focuses on the development of important forms, themes and movements in English poetry. This course, which fulfills the poetry requirement for the English major, emphasizes intensive study and discussion of individual poems. It includes a series of essays on assigned topics and a sequence of poetry-writing exercises designed to enhance understanding of the demands of poetry form. Fulfills the Verbal Expression requirement. Strongly recommended for English majors in the first or second year; seniors by permission. For undergraduate English majors and minors, this course satisfies the Genre (B-1) requirement.
Offered spring 2009, Stephen M. Levin.
CMLT/FREN/WS 162: Fairy Tales of the World
Fairy tales are among the oldest and simplest forms of literature. They communicate archetypal patterns of human experiences and societal behavior; they reflect human wisdom of all ages derived from all cultures, and their moral teaching is universal and universally applicable. This course will apply a variety of critical analysis methods to a selection of fairy tales from different countries, with an emphasis on the Brothers Grimm and Perrault.
Offered spring 2009, Beth Gale.
IDND 22.1: Writing: The Beats
The Beat Generation's influence on American culture is still evident today, over 50 years after a group of young men—Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and others—first met in New York City. These radical writers shook up the literary world with their disregard for traditional literary styles and themes and their blatant rejection of the cultural values of postwar America. This class will introduce students to the major writers and works of the Beat Generation, focusing particularly on the following: notions of defiant individuality; alternative conceptions of religion, sexuality, and politics; the glorification the drug culture and of criminality; and how pop culture factors into the texts. Among the works studied in this class are Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, Allen Ginsberg's "Howl," and William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch.
Offered spring 2009, Jennifer Plante.
IDND 22.2: Sense of Place: Writings of Place and Nature
"It is not down in any map; true places never are," Herman Melville wrote in "Moby Dick." We are increasingly disconnected from the spirit of the natural world and our sense of place in this burgeoning technological age. The goal of this course is to reawaken our inherent connection to the earth, and place, in order to helps us see the world more clearly and understand it more deeply. We will study "nature writing" by those who have a special connection to the earth anchored a certain place—from Emerson and Thoreau to contemporary authors. As time permits we will conduct field studies, a film study, and be visited by an author. This course will explore what place can teach us, how it shapes our vision and sense of self along with our world view. Through reading and discussing essays, poems, and works of nonfiction, we will learn how we can be more aware of the world that sustains and surrounds us. Writing for this class will include creative pieces as well as analytical essays, and there will be a final project addressing a place of your choosing.
Offered spring 2009, Jessica Bane Robert.
IDND 22.3: Writing: Race
This is an opportunity to learn to write thoughtfully about one of the most critical issues facing our country. In this course, we will read and write about race, with the goal of understanding its influence - visible and invisible - in our lives and in American culture. We will read widely in history, psychology, critical whiteness studies, poetry, and memoir, studying texts by African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, white Americans, and recent immigrants. We will write personal essays and analytical essays, examining the role of race in our family histories and learning to recognize the racial subtext of movies, television shows, video games, and the recent presidential campaign. Students will be expected to produce four papers, including one research paper.
Offered spring 2009, Aimée Sands.
PHIL 102: Introduction to Philosophy
Introductory study of typical problems drawn from philosophy’s main branches. Topics include God’s existence, the nature of morality, skepticism, freedom vs. determinism, immortality and political theory. Readings are taken from both classic and contemporary sources.
Offered spring 2009, Catherine McKeen.