INTRODUCTORY TOPICS IN LITERATURE

ENLT 2555   Animal Fables & Beastly Fantasies [3]

1030 – 1245

Mr. Sligh

This course will explore the long history of beast fables and fantasy works featuring animals as characters, from Aesop’s “Tortoise and Hare” to Orwell’s Animal Farm.  Readings will be drawn from the ancient literatures of India and Greece, medieval fabliaux, African storytelling traditions of Jamaica and the American South, and a variety of 19th- and 20th-century authors. 

Satisfies the prerequisite for the English major.  Satisfies the Second Writing Requirement.

MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

ENMD 3510 Love and Death [3]
1300-1515
Mr. Baker

In this course we'll read a selection of works from the European Middle Ages, concentrating especially on those in which the themes of love and death intersect. Works will include Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain and The Saga of Kormak the Skald as well as selections from such longer works and collections as the Mabinogion, Boccaccio's Decameron, Malory's Le Morte Darthur, and The Nibelungenlied. 

Satisfies the literature before 1700 requirement for the English major.

SPECIAL TOPICS IN LITERATURE

ENSP 3860 The Game of Thrones [3]
1030-1245
Ms. Woolfork

A course devoted to exploring George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones universe from the novels (book 1) and the HBO television adaptation. We will compare the ways in which HBO’s approach to the Game of Thrones phenomena both changes and cements aspects that Martin created. Since the class may coincide with the release of season 8 (rumored to be the last season of the HBO series), we may also discuss these final developments.

INTRODUCTORY SEMINARS IN LITERATURE

ENLT 2555 Short Science Fictions [3]
1030 - 1245
Mr. Ferguson

Our world – whether in its dystopian politics, climate catastrophes, or even just its driverless cars – is increasingly written of in terms once reserved for the fantastic tales of science fiction. Through short stories, films, and games, this course will survey a range of these past visions, and speculate about the futures yet to come. 

Satisfies the prerequisite for the English major.  Satisfies the Second Writing Requirement.

SPECIAL TOPICS

ENSP 3300 Literary Editing [3]
1300-1515
Mr. Livingood

An introduction to modern desktop publishing and literary editing. Students will use Adobe Indesign to design a print project, publish the project using print-on-demand, and convert their work to ePub for viewing on a Kindle or other electronic device. Students will also learn the fundamentals of the Chicago Manual of Style and how to edit literary works. Students must be able to bring a PC or Mac laptop to class, and purchase a one-month rental of Adobe Indesign.

WRITING

ENWR 2700 Introduction to News Writing [3]
1030-1245
Mr. Kelly

Enrollment limited to 22 students.

Intermediate-level writing in news-media format, beginning with traditional hard-news stories and progressing to political stories and features.  Both overnight and in-class writing assignments.  Workshop environment.  

Satisfies the Second Writing Requirement.

INTRODUCTORY TOPICS IN LITERATURE

ENLT 2514 American Nobodies [3]
1300-1515
Ms. Goldblatt

This course investigates the figure of the unremarkable character in 20th and 21st-century U.S. literature as he or she appears in selected prose, drama and poetry.  These stories resist the more familiar myth of the American Dream, but we will explore what these obscure characters too can tell us about our culture, and even ourselves. 

Satisfies the prerequisite for the English major.  Satisfies the Second Writing Requirement.

SPECIAL TOPICS

ENSP 3559 Hacking for Humanists [3]
1030-1245
Mr. Pasanek

This course for English majors (and other students in the humanities) introduces the basics of computer programming, text analysis, text encoding, and statistics as experimental methodologies that promote new kinds of reading and interpretation.  The aim is to move from "computation into criticism," using selected poems and short stories as our textual starting points.