English

Faculty

Judith A. Lockyer, chair and professor.
B.A., 1971, M.A., 1980, University of Kentucky; Ph.D., 1984, University of Michigan. Appointed 1985.

Andrew D. Bethune, assistant professor.
B.A., 1993, M.A., 1994, University of Ottawa; Ph.D., 2002, University of Toronto. Appointed 2000.

Danit Brown, assistant professor.
B.A., 1992, Oberlin College; B.A., 2001, Tel Aviv University; M.F.A., 2004, Indiana University. Appointed 2005.

Nels A. Christensen, assistant professor.
A.B., 1993, California State University, Chico; M.A., 1997, Ph.D., 2005, Michigan State University. Appointed 2006.

Mary L. Collar, professor.
B.A., 1969, The University of Wisconsin; M.A., 1972, Ph.D., 1977, Pennsylvania State University. Appointed 1977.

Charles W. Crupi, professor.
B.A., 1961, Harvard University; M.A., 1963, University of California; Ph.D., 1967, Princeton University. Appointed 1974.

Sarah Jordan, associate professor.
B.A., 1980, Salem College; Ph.D., 1994, Brandeis University. Appointed 1994.

Lanya Lamouria, assistant professor.
B.A., 1992, University of California, Berkeley; M.A., 1994, Ph.D., 2005, Washington University, St. Louis. Appointed 2006.

Ian F. MacInnes, associate professor.
B.A., 1987, Swarthmore College; M.A., 1990, Ph.D., 1995, University of Virginia. Appointed 1994.

Helena G. Mesa, assistant professor.
B.A., 1994, Indiana University; M.F.A., 1997, University of Maryland; Ph.D., 2003, University of Houston. Appointed 2003.

Jessica F. Roberts, assistant professor.
A.B., 1997, Dartmouth College; M.A., 1999, Ph.D., 2005, University of Michigan. Appointed 2005.

Laura J. Williams, visiting assistant professor.
B.S., 1996, M.S. (Journalism), 1999, Columbia University. Appointed 2004.

Introduction

The Albion College English curriculum is designed to provide training in literary analysis, research and written communication. The major prepares students to read critically, to evaluate information and to express ideas with clarity and grace. The department offers courses in English and U.S. literatures and traditions, creative writing, journalism and literary theory. The curriculum includes the intensive study of the works of major writers, major periods of literary history and the development of literary types. Upper division courses provide experience in critical approaches to literature; many explore certain theoretical considerations implicit in literary study, such as the question of canon formation and the impact of gender, race and ethnicity, and class on the creation and reception of literary works. Courses in writing and language are designed to develop students' mastery of their language and and their capacity for rigorous analysis. The writing curriculum includes basic and advanced work in expository writing, poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction.

English Department Web site

Career Opportunities

In addition to preparing students for the advanced study of language and literature, majoring in English is excellent preparation for professional study in law, linguistics, library science, higher education administration, and public relations. Trained to read carefully and write clearly, students go on to a wide variety of careers in which language and research play an important role, including journalism, editing and writing, and elementary and secondary teaching. Moreover, many students have chosen English as a second major in recent years, using it to extend and strengthen their preparation for medicine, business and a variety of other fields.

Special Features

English majors enjoy a rich variety of research, writing and internship opportunities both on and off campus. Writing and editorial positions on the weekly student newspaper and the annual literary magazine are available, and the department helps place students in off-campus programs in Great Britain, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. In the past several years, majors have completed off-campus internships with the MacNeil Lehrer News Hour, CNN, Rolling Stone magazine and NBC News.

The department encourages qualified and interested majors to consider writing an honors thesis in English during their senior year. Successful completion of the thesis results in graduation with departmental honors in English.

Outstanding English majors are invited to join the Joseph J. Irwin Society, the English Department honorary.

The English Department sponsors a series of programs each year which bring distinguished writers and critics to campus for readings, lectures and meetings with classes. Campus visitors have included Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks, Allen Ginsberg, Joy Harjo, Terrance Hayes, Maria Howe, Galway Kinnell, Li Young Lee, and Gary Snyder.

Requirements for Major

• Nine units in English, including any three of the following: 253, 255, 257, 258, 261, plus one of the following: 203, 205, 206, 207, 307, 308, 321, 322, 323.
• At least four units in English courses numbered above 300 (only one may be a writing course). English 348 is required for certification in secondary teaching.
• The nine units used to fulfill major requirements must be taken for a numerical grade and may include a directed study only with special permission.

Requirements for Major with Creative Writing Emphasis

• Nine units in English, including: 205; one unit from 321, 322, 323; one unit from 378, 379; one additional writing course from 203, 206, 207, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 321, 322, 323, 378, 379 (note: 203 is required for students in secondary education); one unit from 253, 255, 257, 258, 261; four additional literature courses including at least two numbered above 300 and at least one focusing on the twentieth century (340, 341, or 360).
• The nine units used to fulfill major requirements must be taken for a numerical grade and may include a directed study only with special permission.

Requirements for Minor in English

This minor is constructed to accommodate any literature emphasis, whether broadly or specifically defined. The minor can provide a general overview, or it can be tailored to provide a specific focus as a complement for majors in history, American political thought, art history or other fields.

• Five units in English, including: 203, plus two from 151, 253, 255, 257, 258, 261 and two at the 300-level (excluding writing courses).
• All courses for the minor must be taken for a numerical grade, except those offered only on a credit/no credit basis.

Requirements for Minor in Journalism

This minor is intended for students who wish to pursue journalism. It may be completed in addition to an English major.

• Five units, including English 207 and four units from the following: 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312. One unit may be internship credit in journalism (typically fulfilled in an off-campus program, such as the New York Arts Program).
• All courses for the minor must be taken for a numerical grade, except those offered only on a credit/no credit basis.

Requirements for Major or Minor with Education Certification

• Elementary Major--Eight units in English, including: three units from 151, 253, 255, 257, 258 and 261; three units in literature, all of which must be at the 300-level or above; and two units of electives in writing or literature at the 200-level or above, except 203 and 348, which are also required as part of the Elementary Education Planned Program.
• Secondary Major--Major course requirements same as for the English major, except that English 348 must be included in the four 300-level courses.
• Secondary Minor--Five units in English, including: two units from 151, 253, 255, 257, 258, 261; one unit from 203, 205, 206, 207, 307, 308, 321; and two units numbered 300 or above, including 348 and one literature course. The five units must be taken for a numerical grade and may include a directed study only with special permission.
• Completion of all other requirements for teacher certification.

Writing and Language

100 Writing Essentials (1) Fall
Fundamentals of written communication, with particular emphasis upon individual deficiencies in grammatical forms and rhetorical structure. Admission by placement only. Students who are placed into English 100 as a result of the placement test must complete the class during their first full semester at Albion. A student placed into English 100 may drop the course only if the diagnostic testing done the first week of class alters the student's placement. The course must be taken for a numerical grade. (Not counted toward the major.) Staff.

101 English Composition (1) Fall, Spring
Encompasses the entire writing process, from generating ideas to polishing the final draft. Students learn to develop a significant, focused and clear thesis; construct unified, coherent and well-organized paragraphs; and produce concise, active, forceful prose. Initiates students into the traditions and conventions of formal argument and instructs them in the practice of editing and revising. Introduces the conventions of scholarship by teaching students to use sources effectively and acknowledge those sources appropriately. Students in English 101 write frequently, producing a minimum of 6,000 words during the semester, and they receive careful and regular commentary on their writing. (Not counted toward the major.) Staff.

101H Honors Composition (1) Fall
An honors level version of English 101 for students with superior writing skills. Admission by placement only. (Not counted toward the major.) Staff.

203 Advanced Expository Writing (1) Fall, Spring
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or above and one of the following: completion of English 101 or 101H with a grade of 2.0 or better, recommendation of student's instructor in English 100, placement during SOAR or advanced placement in English. Required of students obtaining elementary teacher certification.
Expository writing beyond the 101-level, with emphasis on writing for specific audiences, techniques of argumentation, and stylistic choices available to writers. Bethune, Collar, Jordan, Lockyer, MacInnes.

205 Introductory Creative Writing (1) Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: Completion of English 101 or 101H with a grade of 2.0 or better, recommendation of student's instructor in English 100, advanced placement in English or permission of instructor.
Practice in writing fiction and poetry, combined with a critical study of selected authors. Brown, Mesa.

206 Writing in Place (1) Fall
Prerequisite: English 101 or permission of instructor.
An advanced expository writing course with a thematic focus on place, nature and the environment. In addition to experimenting with various modes of writing, including exposition and creative non-fiction, students will come to a richer understanding of current environmental issues by observing, researching and writing about specific physical aspects of the natural environment. Christensen.

207 News and Feature Writing (1) Fall
Prerequisite: Completion of English 101 or 101H with a grade of 2.0 or better, recommendation of student's instructor in English 100, advanced placement in English or permission of instructor. Information gathering, news reporting and feature writing for the contemporary newspaper, with background on the origins and functions of the American press. Williams.

209 Responding to Student Writing: Consulting Theory and Practice (1/2)
Prerequisite: English 101, 101H or equivalent writing and learning experience.
An introduction to the theory and practice of writing consulting, as preparation for the individual or small group consulting that occurs in writing centers and professional consulting settings. Includes study and writing in multiple genres (e.g., autobiography, journal, ethnography, academic research). Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Hendrix.

275 Screenwriting Fundamentals (1)
Prerequisite: English 101
An intensive study of feature-film screenplay format and structure, including a workshop of student step outlines, treatments and screenplays. Includes exercises addressing specific screenwriting issues, such as character, setting, dialogue and subtext, as well as reading and analyzing of already-produced screenplays. Students are required to write and revise a short (minimum 45-minute) script. Offered in alternate years. Brown.

288, 289 Selected Topics (1/2, 1)
Staff.

306 Magazine Writing (1)
Examines the history and significance of magazines in the United States, from the explosion of lifestyle magazines in the late nineteenth century to current issues in magazine publishing. Writing assignments focus on producing publishable magazine articles. Williams.

308 Advanced News and Feature Writing (1) Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: English 207 or permission of instructor.
Further work in news and feature writing; supervised experience reporting and writing for the weekly campus newspaper, The Pleiad; introduction to newspaper production. Williams.

309, 310 News Editing I (1/2, 1) Fall, Spring
Prerequisites: English 207, 308 or permission of instructor.
Supervised experience in planning, editing, making up pages of the weekly student newspaper, The Pleiad. Weekly newspaper analysis and policy discussion. Williams.

311, 312 News Editing II (1/2, 1) Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: English 309 or 310.
Advanced application of principles learned in English 309 or 310. Williams.

321 Advanced Creative Writing (Poetry) (1) Fall
Prerequisite: English 205 or permission of instructor.
Study and practice in the writing of poetry. Mesa.

322 Advanced Creative Writing (Fiction) (1) Spring
Prerequisite: English 205 or permission of instructor.
Study and practice in the writing of fiction. Brown.

323 Creative Nonfiction Writing (1)
A study of literary nonfiction including the memoir, travel writing, nature writing and other forms. Discussion of the ways in which this "fourth genre" differs from journalistic writing and the ways in which it employs fiction-writing techniques. Students write their own creative nonfiction, combined with a critical study of selected literature. Authors may include both classic and contemporary writers such as Henry David Thoreau, George Orwell, James Baldwin, Annie Dilliard, Joan Didion, Paul Theroux, Maxine Hong Kingston and Tobias Wolfe. Brown, Mesa.

348 English Language (1) Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing or permission of instructor.
History, structure and usage of the oral and written English language. Required of students obtaining elementary teacher certification. Bethune, Hendrix.

356 Visual Poetry (1)
Combines the creation of poetry with presentation in printed form. Intended for writers and visual artists alike, this course teaches the fundamentals of writing poetry and letterpress printing. Using movable type and hand-operated printing presses, participants write, set and print their own broadsides and artists' books. Same as Art 356. Mesa, McCauley.

378 Creative Writing Workshop (Fiction) (1) Fall
Prerequisite: English 322, 323 or permission of instructor.
A workshop for advanced fiction writers. Student writers typically produce about 10,000 words and present selections of their in-progress work an average of three times by the end of the semester. To become familiar with current trends in fiction, students develop a personal reading list of current writers and fiction magazines. Stories will be submitted for publication. Students may emphasize creative nonfiction writing with the instructor's permission. Brown.

379 Creative Writing Workshop (Poetry) (1) Spring
Prerequisite: English 321.
A workshop for advanced poets focusing on producing and critiquing student writing. Students produce a body of polished poems, several of which are critiqued by the entire class. Students should have a thorough understanding of poetic forms and devices. Students are expected to develop their own style and interests, and to revise their work significantly. Includes discussion of publishing and of contemporary literary trends. Mesa.

388, 389 Selected Topics (1/2, 1)
Staff.

391, 392, 394 Internship (1/2, 1, 2) Fall, Spring
Opportunities in journalism, editing, publishing and other fields. Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Williams.

Literature

151 Introduction to the Study of Literature (1) Fall, Spring
Strategies for the close readings of literary texts and for the development of informed written analysis. Readings will be drawn from a variety of genres. Staff.

211 Latina/o Literature (1)
Focuses on contemporary poetry and prose by Latina/o writers, specifically Chicana/o, Cuban-American, Dominican-American and Puerto Rican-American authors. Offers a historical context for the literature, questions the idea of a ``Latina/o'' identity and considers issues such as immigration, the homeland, gender and class, as well as the role of storytelling within acculturation. Authors include Algarin, Alvarez, Castillo, Cisneros, Cruz, Diaz, Espada, Garcia, Gonzalez, Santiago and others. Mesa.

220 The Making of Modern Masculinities: British Literature and Manliness, 1660-1914 (1)
Traces the development of modern beliefs about appropriate male behavior as constructed and reflected by British literature from the Restoration of the monarchy to the eve of the Great War. Readings include fiction, poetry, essays, children's books, life-writing and some extra-literary texts like conduct books and visual texts. Also examines how these ideas about masculinity connect to other important social forces of the period, such as the rise of capitalism, the cult of domesticity and the swell of the British empire. Jordan.

234 African American Literature (1)
A survey of African American writing from 1770 to 1970, including poetry, novels, short stories and drama by such writers as Wheatley, Dunbar, Dubois, Chestnutt, Hughes, Baldwin, Wright, Baraka and Morrison. Lockyer, Roberts.

243 Women and Literature (1)
A study of the fiction, poetry and nonfiction written by British and American women. Texts are selected to represent diverse, historically-positioned perspectives and artistic techniques. Lamouria, Lockyer.

246 Immigration in Literature (1)
The representation of immigration and immigrant life in North America, especially in texts written by people who are themselves immigrants or the children of immigrants. Topics considered include working class experience, the psychic upheaval caused by drastic relocation, the special tensions that arise between children and parents as life is made in a new world and the formation of ethnic/racial identity through contact with those already resident in North America. Collar.

248 Children's Literature (1)
Directed at English majors and teacher certification candidates, but open to anyone interested in children's literature from the seventeenth century to the present. Emphasis on critical discussion of this literature as literature and on teaching techniques for bringing children in touch with books. Offered in alternate years. Staff.

253 British Literature I (1) Fall, Spring
Representative works of English literature from Beowulf to the eighteenth century. Authors typically include Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Sidney, Donne, Wroth, Philips, Milton, and others. Bethune, Crupi, MacInnes.

255 British Literature II (1) Fall, Spring
Representative works of English literature from the eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Authors typically include Dryden, Swift, Montagu, Pope, Johnson, Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Austen, Tennyson, Hopkins, Wilde and others. (English 253 is not a prerequisite.) Jordan, Lamouria.

257 American Literature I (1) Fall, Spring
Representative works of American literature from the colonial period through the mid-nineteenth century. Authors typically include Edwards, Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson, Fuller, Thoreau, Stowe, Whitman, Dickinson and others. Lockyer, Roberts.

258 American Literature II (1) Fall, Spring
Representative works of American literature from the Civil War through the mid-twentieth century. Authors typically include Twain, James, Chopin, Wharton, Frost, Eliot, Faulkner, Merrill, Brooks, Plath, Morrison and others. (English 257 is not a prerequisite.) Collar, Lockyer, Roberts.

261 Greek and Roman Literature (1) Fall
A survey of classical writers in translation, including Homer, the tragic dramatists, Virgil and others. Discussion topics include the cultural contexts of ancient literature (Greek religion, the Athenian polis, Roman imperialism, etc.) and the role of "the classics" in constructions of a western European "tradition." Crupi, MacInnes.

285 Gay and Lesbian Literature (1)
Examines lesbian and gay literature written in Great Britain and America from the Renaissance through the twentieth century, including works by Shakespeare, Byron, Whitman, Melville, Dickinson, Wilde, Cather, Woolf, Baldwin and Lorde. Considers such questions as: What makes a text "gay''? How does the cultural oppression of homosexuals shape the literary texts they produce? Do these works form any sort of literary tradition and, if so, how do they build on and influence each other? What is their place in the larger literary canon? Offered most years. Jordan.

330 The Novel and the New (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
Traces the development of the novel in England from the beginnings in the late seventeenth century up through the Romantic period. Considers the novel's origins in genres like travel narratives, spiritual autobiography, romance tales, criminal biographies and personal letters. Also considers the effect of historical and cultural factors like criminal law, the slave trade, gender roles, the rise of capitalism and the literary marketplace on the novel. Authors read include Behn, Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Radcliffe, Austen and Bronte. Offered in alternate years. Jordan.

331 British Fiction After 1850 (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
The development of the novel in England from the time of Dickens to the present. Offered in alternate years. Lamouria.

336 Dickens and London (1)
A study of Charles Dickens' treatment of the city in his journalism and fiction, with special attention to the following novels: Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend. Staff.

337 Victorian Sexualities (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
Integrates the study of literature and social history by examining how the Victorians thought and wrote about sexuality and gender. George Eliot, Christina Rossetti and Oscar Wilde are considered, alongside writings on prostitution, sexual difference and women's rights. Offered in alternate years. Lamouria.

338 Eighteenth-Century Culture Shocks (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
An examination of the categories of race, class and gender in eighteenth-century Britain and its colonies, emphasizing writing by people of color, working-class writers and women. Included are literary works by well-known writers (Behn, Defoe, Swift, Austen, etc.) and by less canonical ones. Extra-literary works are also considered (travel narratives, economic tracts, conduct books, etc.). Offered in alternate years. Jordan.

339 The British Romantics (1) Fall
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
Studies in the Romantic Period (from 1789 to roughly 1830) in Britain. Involves considerable study of the works of the major six poets of the period (Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats) as well as many other writers increasingly gaining scholarly attention (including Mary Wollstonecraft, Dorothy Wordsworth, Thomas de Quincey, Mary Shelley, John Clare and Felicia Hemans). Examines the Romantic questioning of traditional notions about God, sex, the imagination, the family, the rights of women and of the working classes, the natural world, science, slavery and aesthetics. Offered in alternate years. Jordan.

340 The Twentieth Century in English Literature (1) Fall
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
An examination of ideas surrounding nation, national literature, citizen and political standing, family, anti-colonialism and post-colonialism. Although some important non-literary documents are considered, the selected texts are principally literary and include works by such writers as Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, Chinua Achebe, Virginia Woolf, Zadie Smith, Pat Barker, Anita Desai and Michael Ondaatje. Offered in alternate years. Collar.

341 Contemporary Literature (1) Spring
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing higher or permission of instructor.
A study of British and American writers whose major work has been done since 1945. Collar.

342 Modern Poetry (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing higher or permission of instructor.
A study of the major modern poets: Eliot, Yeats, Frost, Stevens and others. Offered in alternate years. Collar.

344 The Age of Elizabeth (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
An exploration of Elizabethan literature in its literary and cultural context. Examines the ways in which writers deployed poetry, prose and drama in the service of political ambition, literary aspiration and religious sentiment, as well as erotic desire. The broad goal is to use these literary expressions to discuss the ways that subjectivity in the Renaissance rested uneasily on distinctions between self-assertion and narcissism, soul and body, health and disease. Particular attention is given to ways in which poetic expression contributes to the gendering of subjectivity. Offered in alternate years. MacInnes.

345 Redeeming Eve: Renaissance Women's Writing (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
An introduction to Renaissance women's studies and to literature written by English women in the early modern period (1500-1700). The readings combine literature and non-fiction of the period with modern critical works on women in the Renaissance. Examines the ways in which authorship was defined in the period and the ways such definitions either excluded or restricted female authors. Particular attention is given to larger issues of Renaissance studies such as the status and role of women, the gendering of subjectivity and the relationship between gender and sexuality. MacInnes.

346 Voices of Liberty: Milton and the Seventeenth Century (1)
England in the seventeenth century was a country torn apart by deep divisions, political, social and religious. From this turmoil, from civil war and political revolution, arose a host of new ideas and new ways of seeing the world. This course explores the poetry and prose of this period, with special emphasis on John Milton and Paradise Lost. Discussions range from cavalier love poetry to grand topics such as good and evil, free will and divine Providence. Offered in alternate years. MacInnes.

347 The Age of Satire (1) Spring
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
Studies the satirical literature of the eighteenth century, including works by Dryden, Rochester, Finch, Pope, Swift, Montagu, Fielding, Gay, Hogarth, Johnson and Austen. Examines the goals and qualities of satire. In considering why this period is so prone to satire, the course examines social and historical factors such as the rise of capitalism, changing gender roles, contests over class status, the spectacle of capital punishment, the new literary marketplace, and the ideal of companionate marriage. Generally offered in alternate years. Jordan.

350 The American Novel (1)
Considers the novel as both a traditional and experimental genre in American letters. Examines novels as American writers' artistic expressions of national crises such as war, as well as works of art born out of America's continuing struggle between stated ideals of democracy and individual rights. Texts include Herman Melville's Moby Dick and William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! and five-seven additional novels selected to provide students with varied opportunities to do advanced work in American literary studies. Lockyer, Roberts.

351 Four American Poets (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
A study of the poetry of four major American poets, particularly as discourse about such topics as the idea of America, its history and the role of poetry in its culture. Offered in alternate years. Lockyer.

352 Literature of the American Civil War (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
Examines the literature of the American Civil War and considers how the Civil War has lived in American letters from the early days of the Republic well into the post-civil rights world in which we live today. Texts will include Abraham Lincoln's speeches, Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, popular short stories and poems, Herman Melville's Battle Pieces and Aspects of War, Walt Whitman's Drum Taps, Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain and others. Roberts.

353 Medieval Drama (1)
Introduces students to a lively and important body of English medieval drama beginning with tenth-century dramatic representations of biblical narrative in the liturgy and carrying through to sixteenth-century humanist drama from the English schools. Emphasizes reading the works as texts intended to be dramatized or performed and includes the production and performance of a short work. Study of the means of production and dissemination of the texts helps students understand manuscript culture and the position of medieval drama in its wider European aesthetic and dramatic context.

354 Idea of Nature, Nature of Ideas (1)
Explores the relationship between the imagination and the natural world in the works of six American writers. Draws on the creative and critical tools of multiple disciplines--including literary studies, creative writing and natural history--to investigate how ecology provides a model for thinking and writing about the imaginative and creates capacities of the human mind and spirit. Christensen.

355 Chaucer (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
A comprehensive study of the works of Geoffrey Chaucer with emphasis on the minor poems, the dream visions and the Canterbury Tales. Examines the dissemination of works of medieval literature, manuscript production, the early printing of Chaucer's works and the changing nature of Chaucer criticism through successive centuries. Offered in alternate years. Bethune.

360 The Problem of Race in American Literature (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
An examination of the problem of black/white racial conflict in important American texts. The course examines representations of blackness and whiteness, and situates them within historical moments that have defined surges in writing about race: the coming of the Civil War, the failure of Reconstruction and the establishment of the color line, and the rise of Pan-Africanism as a matrix for the development of an autonomous African-American cultural consciousness. Offered in alternate years. Lockyer.

363 Literary Theory (1) Fall
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
A study of key theoretical concepts (like "intention'' and "discourse'') and theoretical orientations (for example, new criticism, deconstruction, feminist criticism, and the new historicism). Assignments range from applying a theoretical approach to developing a response to a theoretical question. Collar.

370 Medieval Romance: The Non-Arthurian Tradition (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
Examines selected non-Arthurian romances and challenges the validity of stereotypical views of the genre. Also considers how chivalric tropes influence gender relations today. Readings include chivalric conduct books, poetry and historical works from late medieval France and England. Bethune.

374 Theater and Society in Early Modern England (1)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
Examines the drama of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in its theatrical, social and political contexts. Offered in alternate years. Crupi.

375 Shakespeare I (1) Fall
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
A study of Shakespeare's plays before 1600, including at least two tragedies, five comedies and four history plays. The plays are examined individually as particular theatrical events in their own context and in subsequent ages, and conditions of production in Shakespeare's theater are considered. Major attention is given to the representation of gender in the plays, and other topics include the history of critical response, the variety of theoretical approaches currently available, and the many political and social agendas which the plays may have been made to serve. Same as Theatre 375. Crupi.

376 Shakespeare II (1) Spring
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.
A study of Shakespeare's plays after 1600, with special attention to the major tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra. The plays are examined individually, but attention is also given to social and political contexts. Major attention is given to the representation of gender in the plays, and other topics include the history of critical response, the variety of theoretical approaches currently available, and the many uses to which the plays have been put. (English 375 is not a prerequisite.) Same as Theatre 376. Crupi.

401, 402 English Seminar (1/2, 1) Fall, Spring
Selected subjects in English and American literature or language. Typical topics include African-American women writers, Restoration drama, Melville, etc. Staff.

411, 412 Directed Study (1/2, 1) Fall, Spring
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and permission of instructor. (Permission of department required to be counted toward the major.) Staff.