Department of English Course Descriptions Spring 2009 · 3300 Technical and Professional Writing Prerequisite(s): ENG 1302 or FAS 1302 or advanced placement; and either uppe‑level

Department of EnglishCourse Descriptions

Spring 2009

Baylor University

Special Ma*ers

English majors should take the required junior level surveys before taking 4000‑level classes.

Students majoring in the natural sciences may take English 3300 instead of English 1304.

Please Note

It is sometimes necessary to change course offerings, class schedules, and teacher assignments. The Department of English retains the right to add, change, or cancel any courses, class schedules, or teacher assignments listed herein at any time without prior notice.

0300 Developmental English

This course is for students who need additional

preparation to do college‑level work. English 0300 introduces

students to the fundamentals of writing by emphasizing

grammar, mechanics, punctuation, sentence structure,

paragraph structure, and essay structure. Ample exercises—

from identifying subjects and verbs to proof‑reading

paragraphs—are a hallmark of this course. Paragraph and

essay assignments reinforce the need for coherence and detail

in student writing. Satisfactory completion of English 0300 is

based on the student’s performance on the departmental final essay, which is pass or fail. Although this course gives load

credit, it satisfies no degree requirement.

Wilhite, Sec. 01, TR 11:00

1302 Thinking and WritingPrerequisite(s): ENG 0300 for students whose

diagnostic test indicates inability to do satisfactory

work in ENG 1302.

A course designed to help students be:er understand English grammar, rhetoric, and usage for correct and effective writing. The course focuses on the several steps in organizing

and writing the expository essay for a variety of purposes.

Essay assignments develop students’ capacity for logical

thought and expression.

Staff

1304 Thinking, Writing, and ResearchPrerequisite(s): ENG 1302 or FAS 1302 or advanced

placement.

A course designed to teach students to gather and

evaluate information from a variety of sources and to

incorporate ideas from these sources into the writing of a

research paper. In addition, the course explores the techniques of persuasive and critical writing.

Staff

1304 Thinking, Writing, and Research HonorsPrerequisite(s): English 1302 or advanced placement.

This section of our research‑based writing course

will focus on the interests of the Honors students involved.

Some may wish to begin the research which will inform their

theses; upperclassmen/‑women may wish to design research

assignments which will augment or add to their theses.

“Double‑dipping” cannot be allowed, but augmentation

is very much a possibility. Students will read works by

contemporary authors (Anne Lamo: is a possibility; so is Gilead by Marilynn Robinson, and The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd). Though we will use the writing to stimulate

class conversation, the course focus will be on developing a

lively, fluent writing style useful in research‑based or non‑research‑based writing.

Hanks, Sec. H1, TR 12:30

2301 British LiteraturePrerequisite(s): ENG 1302 and 1304 (or equivalent).

A study of the literature of Great Britain, emphasizing

the works of major writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare,

Milton, the Romantic poets, the Victorian poets, and the major

novelists.

Staff

2301.21 British Literature (ENG Majors Only)Prerequisite(s): English 1302 and 1304 (or equivalent).

In this survey for English majors of some of the great

works of British literature from the sixteenth century through

the present day, we will look at four periods of British literary

history – the Renaissance, the Romantic period, the Victorian

era and the twentieth century. We will cover a variety of

the genres of writing produced over these four and a half

centuries – including drama, film, epic, lyric poetry, the novel, the short story, and non‑fiction. Our selection aims to cover works by both women and men, by authors from the various

regions of the British Isles, and by representatives of Britain as

a multicultural society.

Ferre:er, Sec. 21, TR 12:30

2304 American LiteraturePrerequisite(s): English 1302 and 1304 (or equivalent).

A study of the literature of the United States,

emphasizing the works of major writers such as Frost, Ellison,

Hawthorne, Melville, Poe, Dickinson, Whitman, Twain,

Hemingway, Faulkner, and Morrison.

Staff

2304.01 American Literature (ENG Majors Only) Prerequisite(s): English 1302 and 1304 (or equivalent).

This course is designed to introduce English majors

to significant works of American literature as paths toward understanding the United States’ literary heritage and the

events and forces that have shaped American literature and

life. Readings and class discussion will offer an overview

of literary terms, genres, and criticism to further students’

critical and analytical reading skills and to encourage

students’ appreciation of a variety of literary styles and

techniques. Student course work will include daily reading and discussion, writing assignments using both primary

and secondary sources, and exams.

Callan, Sec. 01, MWF 9:05

2306 World Literature Prerequisite(s): ENG 1302 and 1304 (or equivalent).

A study of the literature of countries other than

Britain and the United States, emphasizing the work of major

writers such as Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, Dante, Boccaccio,

Cervantes, Goethe, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy, and

giving a:ention to selected classical works of non‑Western literature.

Foster, Sec. 02, TR 9:30; Sec. 04, TR 12:30

McDonald, Sec. 01, MWF 9:05; Sec. 03, MWF 10:10

3300 Technical and Professional Writing Prerequisite(s): ENG 1302 or FAS 1302 or advanced

placement; and either uppe‑level standing or consent

of instructor.

English 3300 is an advanced writing course designed

to meet the needs of students who are preparing for careers

in engineering, science, technical, business, and writing

professions. The course emphasizes rhetorical concepts such

as purpose, audience, style, and situation as well as strategies

for planning, organizing, designing, and editing technical

and professional communication. In addition, students will

learn strategies for communicating technical information to

a variety of audiences, including managers and users, both

technical and non‑technical.

Alexander, Sec. E1, TR 8:00; Sec. E3, TR 9:30,

Blalock, *Sec. E7, TR 12:30,

Medhurst, Sec. E5, TR 11:00; E8, TR 2:00,

Pi:man, Sec. E4, MWF 10:10; Sec. E6, MWF 12:20,Shaver, Sec. E2, MWF 9:05

(*Sec. E7 is for Computer Science, Bio Informatics, and

Engineer Majors only!)

3301 English WordsPrerequisite(s): Upper‑level standing or consent of

instructor.

This course introduces students to the study of the

vocabulary of English on several levels. We will examine

how English words are formed out of smaller units called

morphemes, how they are used in sentences, and how they

are acquired by English‑speaking children. We will also explore the history of the English lexicon and how words are

organized in a speaker’s mind.

Grebenyova, Sec. 01, MWF 2:30

3302 Modern English Grammar Prerequisite(s): Upper‑level standing.

This course examines the structure of present‑day

English. The primary goal is to make explicit the conventions

native speakers of English know implicitly. The terms and

concepts covered in class should be helpful as you work to

improve your writing and will allow you to discuss grammar

more confidently and precisely.

Butler, Sec. 01, MWF 10:10

3303 Advanced Expository Writing Prerequisite(s): Upper‑level standing or consent of

instructor.

This course offers junior and senior students the opportunity to study and work with advanced concepts and

techniques of expository writing. Students will read exemplary essays by prominent writers, analyze rhetorical techniques, and apply what they learn about writing to their own work

during the semester. Reading and writing assignments will

focus on organizational pa:erns, principles of logic, and stylistic devices. Classes will be structured around a pa:ern of reading, writing, and revising and will require class participation in each step of the writing process. The course is

designed to benefit all students who wish to strengthen their writing skills and is particularly helpful to students interested

in advanced studies or professions requiring writing skills.

Callan, Sec. 01, MWF 12:20

3305 Language in Society Prerequisite(s): Upper‑level standing or consent of

instructor.

The complexities of the relationship between language

and social identity have become a popular topic of interest for

people in social sciences. Sociolinguistic research has shown

that we behave and speak in ways that are highly influenced by our upbringing, our life experiences, and our sense of

self. We want to belong to certain groups and to distance

ourselves from others. One way of expressing our actual or desired group identity is by adopting or rejecting a group’s

speech style. However, some people have more ability and

greater access to learning a desired style than others, and

this disparity has been found to reinforce and perpetuate the

traditional power structures of society. This course covers

some of the key features of variation in language that we use

to both reflect and construct our social identity.

Butler, Sec. 01, TR 9:30

3307 Screenplay and Scriptwriting Prerequisite(s): Upper‑level standing or consent of

instructor.

Screenplay and Scriptwriting is a creative writing

class designed for beginning to intermediate writers with an

interest in dramatic forms like TV, movies, and writing for

the stage. The class will focus on close reading of scripts and

study of film and on the writing of a substantial portion of an actual screenplay. Among the elements we will discuss are

pitches, scenes, structure, dialogue, genre, adaptation, and

the business of screenwriting.

Garrett, Sec. 01, T 3:30‑6:30

3310 Introduction to Language and Linguistics Prerequisite(s): Upper‑level standing or consent of

instructor.

What do we know when we know a language? How do

we learn it? These are the central questions we will be concerned with in this course. We will examine the core subsystems of

natural language (sound structure, word structure, sentence

structure, and components of meaning) and ask how these

subsystems are acquired by children. We will also explore the biological basis of language in the human brain, and compare

human language to animal communication systems. You will

gain a scientific understanding of language structure that you can apply in many areas. You will learn how linguistic experts

find evidence for their views, and get a taste for some of the main issues in the field.

Grebenyova, Sec. 01, MWF 11:15

3311 English Literature through the 16th Century Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;

and upper‑level standing.

This is a survey course of selected works of Medieval

and Early Modern (Renaissance) English literature from the

Fourteenth, Fi]eenth, and Sixteenth Centuries, designed to give students an understanding not simply of the literature

itself but especially of the cultural and social contexts out of

which it developed. Representative works include translations

of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (selections) and his Troilus and Cressida, the Medieval miracle play The Second Shepherds’ Pageant, the Medieval morality play Everyman, Wya:’s and Surrey’s sonnets, Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella (selections), Book 1 of Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, and Shakespeare’s sonnets (selections) and his comedy Twel%h Night. Three in‑class exams

and a final exam and one relatively short critical essay form the basis for the grade.

Hunt, Sec. 01, TR 9:30

3331 English Literature of the 17th and 18th Century

Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


English poetry, prose, and drama from 1600 to 1800. In drama, Shakespeare’s King Lear and Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi. In prose, Donne, Bacon, Jonson, Browne, and Milton.

In fictional prose, Swi]’s Gulliver’s Travels and Sterne’s novel Tristram Shandy. In poetry, major Metaphysical Poets (Donne

and others) and major Classical Poets (Jonson and others).

Also sampled are Dryden, Pope, and Gray.

The course grade will be based primarily on four

factors: three major tests (the last one being the final exam) and

a brief analytical/critical paper. Each test and the paper will be

valued at one‑fourth in the course grade. Allowance also is

made for improvement and other factors to be announced on

the first day of class.

Ray, Sec. 01, MWF 1:25

3351 British Literature from the 19th Century to the Present

Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306; and

upper‑level standing.

This course surveys “British” literature, including

Irish literature, from the publication of Wordsworth’s and

Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads in 1798 through contemporary

literary works. We will read closely and immersively the work

of major British and Irish writers and discuss their themes,

techniques, styles, and values. By the end of the course you should be able to explicate poetry and employ poetic terms

in your analysis of poetry; be able to assess literature from

a given period and explain why it is typical of that period;

comprehend British literature in the various historical,

cultural, and formal contexts out of which it has been wri:en. Assignments include essays, exams, weekly quizzes, and high‑quality discussion.

Russell, Sec. 01, TR 9:30

3370 Religion and Literature Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


This course will ask how nineteenth‑century British

poets, critics, and readers turned to poetry to negotiate the

claims of religion and secular culture. According to inherited

wisdom, the story of nineteenth‑century religion and secular

culture has a foregone conclusion: it was the age in which

knock‑kneed religion inevitably faltered and fell down to pay

homage to mighty doubt. Our study of the part poetry played in this “age of faith and doubt,” however, will help tell a much

more exciting and complicated story. We will see agnostics,

atheists, and freethinkers understanding and writing poetry

in religious terms and finding in poetic art a sacramental and salvific power. And we will read orthodox Christian poets who draw inspiration for their religious visions from the new

claims of science. The very idea of “poetry” will stand for

some writers as a cultural religion that can replace crumbling

creeds; for others it will represent the spirit and truth of

those creeds. Inevitably, and rightly, we will be prompted to

think about how the paradoxes and questions we encounter comment on our times. We will be studying works by some

familiar names, such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Tennyson,

Arnold, the Brownings, and Gerard Manley Hopkins. Yet we

will also read authors whose names might be familiar, but

whose works probably are not: Robert Lowth, John Keble,

Arthur Henry Hallam, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Dante

Gabriel Rosse:i, and his sister, Christina Rosse:i.

King, Sec. 01, MWF 1:25

3380 American Literature through Whitman Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


This course is a survey of American literature from the

earliest Native American oral and wri:en literature through the literatures of the early explorers, of colonial America, of

the new republic, and of the American Renaissance. We will

be considering a wide range of distinctive voices, the richness,

the thematic and stylistic ranges as well as the geographical

and ethnic diversity of early American literature. We will

address the current effort to reconstruct the history of the literature of the United States and to extend the conventional

boundaries of the American literary tradition.

Walker‑Kennedy, Sec. 01, TR 11:00

3380 American Literature through Whitman Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


English 3380 is a survey of the literature of the United

States through Whitman, emphasizing the work of major

writers such as Bradstreet, Taylor, Edwards, Franklin,

Wheatley, Cooper, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, Poe,

Douglass, Whitman, and others. The objectives of the course

are to develop an understanding of the ethical and aesthetic

motivations for the greatest works of American literature from

the beginnings through Whitman, to understand the ebb and

flow of artistic movements in American history, and to hone the critical skills necessary for analyzing this great literature.

Fulton, Sec. 02, TR 12:30

American Literature from Whitman3390 Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


Because this is a survey course in American Literature,

we will pay a:ention to cultural backgrounds in relationship to the literature. We will examine a number of representative

selections from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth

century and develop the vocabulary necessary to discuss the

literature. Class periods will consist of lectures, discussions,

student presentations, and audio‑visuals. There will be two

papers, a midterm, a final examination, and a daily grade including brief writing assignments, a bibliographic search,

and one oral presentation.

Chinn, Sec. 01, MWF 1:25

4301 Advanced Creative Writing: ProsePrerequisite(s): ENG 3306 or consent of instructor.

A workshop course for advanced fiction writers. While we will read and discuss some published fiction, we will emphasize workshops of student works in progress. Each

student will respond to his/her colleagues’ work and compile

a portfolio of polished work for the major course grade.

Walker‑Nixon, Sec. 01, TR 11:00

4305 Advanced Creative Writing: Poetry Prerequisite(s): ENG 3304 or consent of instructor.

This is a workshop course in the writing of poetry

on an advanced level. It is available to those students who

are seriously interested in the cra] of poetry and who have already demonstrated that interest in practice by having taken

English 3304 or by having permission from the instructor. The

course will primarily be devoted to the practical ma:ers of the criticism and the revision of poems wri:en by the students enrolled. Each student will be expected to finish a substantial body of work during the course of the semester.

Davis, Sec. 01, W 2:30‑5:30

4309 Advanced Argumentative and Persuasive Writing Prerequisite(s): Upper‑level standing or consent of

instructor.

This class is designed for experienced writers who are

interested in developing sophisticated argumentative and

persuasive competence needed for writing in a variety of

genres required in educational se:ings. Students will learn

critical reading and writing strategies. They will also be

introduced to the Classical, Toulmin, and Rogerian methods

of framing arguments.

Pittman, Sec. 01, TR 11:00

4310 Old and Early Middle English Literature Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306; and upper‑level standing.

This course will offer an opportunity to study the inventive stories and poems enjoyed by medieval British

readers from about 890 A.D. to 1400. We will consider major

texts and representative genres of the early medieval period in

their cultural context, beginning with fine examples of Anglo‑Saxon prose and poetry before moving into the post‑Conquest era, when courtly Anglo‑Norman literature flourished in England. Readings in Middle English will unveil a rich

tradition of sacred and secular writing beyond the Canterbury Tales. Most texts will be read in translation.

Johnston, Sec. 01, TR 12:30

4312 Semantics and Pragmatics Prerequisite(s): ENG 3310.

This course will explore the meanings and uses of

language following the theoretical framework of linguistic

pragmatics. Pragmatics looks beyond the definition of words and the syntax of sentences to the tools and goals of

language use in real social contexts. How do we organize

turns in conversation? How do we use gestures to support

our message? How is it possible to interpret a question like “Where are my keys?” as both a request for information and an accusation that the hearer moved the keys? How do

men and women mark their u:erances in gender‑specific

ways? Students in this course will work together on a class

project collecting, transcribing, and analyzing original data

using a Conversation Analysis (CA) approach.

Butler, Sec. 01, TR 12:30

4313 Later Middle English Literature Excluding Chaucer Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


Students and professor will read and discuss the

Middle English literature of the High Middle Ages, in Middle

English. Chaucer’s works, covered in another course, will not

appear. Pearl, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Cycle Plays, the lyrics, verse romances, Piers Plowman, Julian of Norwich’s

Shewings, and (perhaps) The Book of Margery Kempe will

figure in the course readings. Students will write a short analytical paper and a longer (8‑10 pages) conference paper,

with an eye to a regional conference. Students will also write

two‑three tests and a comprehensive final examination.

Hanks, Sec. 01, MWF 10:10

4315 Phonetics and Phonology Prerequisite: ENG 3310.

This course is an introduction to the study of speech

sounds and sound systems of the world’s languages with a

focus on those sounds and sound pa:erns which occur in English. We will examine speech sounds in terms of their

production, their articulatory and acoustic features, and

their graphic representation in phonetic notation. While

an introduction to phonological theory will provide one

framework for the analysis of phonological processes that

occur in the languages of the world, computerized acoustic

analysis will give us another window into how speech sounds

affect each other.

Denton, Sec. 01, TR 11:00

4317 Special topics in Linguistics: Child Language Acquisition Prerequisite(s): Upper‑level standing and consent of

instructor.

How do children acquire their native language? What part of language knowledge is innate and what part must

be learned from the input? These are the central questions we will be concerned with in this course. We will examine

at what age children acquire the sounds, words, and syntax of their native language. And most intriguing, we would

explore if there is enough evidence for all this information in

the linguistic input children receive. We will have a hands‑on

exploration of language acquisition by conducting our own mini‑experiments with children acquiring English.

Grebenyova, Sec. 01, TR 2:00

4318 Writing for the Workplace Prerequisite(s): Upper‑level standing or consent of

instructor.

Advanced study and practice of writing for the

workplace, including editing, desktop publishing, website

design, and research. Students will complete a major

semester project, using the full range of currently available

so]ware to produce brochures, newsle:ers, websites, and other professional documents. In addition, students will plan,

design, and assemble professional portfolios to represent

themselves as professional writers. The course is designed for

students who plan to work in writing‑intensive professions.

Blalock, Sec. 01, MW 2:30

4324 Shakespeare: Selected Plays Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306; and

upper‑level standing.

A survey of Shakespeare’s plays (major comedies,

histories, problem plays, and tragedies), approached with

relevance for students of various fields of interest. Background in Shakespeare’s life, times, theater, and sonnets provided.

Plays will include As You Like It; The Merchant of Venice; Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2; Hamlet; Othello; Troilus and Cressida; Macbeth; Coriolanus; and The Tempest. Three tests and a brief analytical/critical paper are required. Each test/paper counts as approximately one‑fourth in the course grade, with some

allowance made for improvement and other factors to be

announced on the first day of class.

Ray, Sec.01, MWF 10:10

4324 Shakespeare: Selected Plays Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


A representative survey of Shakespeare’s drama—

comedies, tragedies, and histories—as well as his sonnets.

In addition to a selection of his poetry, students will read A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, Henry IV, The Merchant

of Venice, As You Like It, Hamlet, Measure for Measure, King Lear, and The Tempest. Three essay examinations and a short critical

paper will form the basis for evaluation.

Hunt, Sec. 02, TR 11:00

4342 English Poetry and Prose from 1745 to 1798 Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


This course surveys the literature of the second half of

the eighteenth century, beginning with the mid‑century poets

Thomas Gray and William Collins, and concluding with the

recovery of the lyric and the early stirrings of Romanticism in

the poems of Robert Burns and William Blake. We will also

read and discuss important critical, political, and historical

works by various authors including Samuel Johnson, David

Hume, and Edmund Burke in order to trace the development

of sensibility, historicism, and skepticism as important

concerns during this period. Our focusing theme will be the eighteenth‑century quest for a literature of experience. Grades will be based on two five‑to‑seven‑page papers and two essay examinations.

Foster, Sec. 01, MWF 9:05

4368 Nineteenth‑Century British Novel Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


Beginning with Emma (1816) and ending with Dracula (1897), this course will provide you with an overview of the

dazzling nineteenth century. The focus is on England, and you

will observe the emergence of the world’s first superpower through the eyes of its novelists, including Austen, Mary

Shelley, Charlo:e Bronte, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, James, Wilde, and Stoker. These novelists chronicle the human

vanity and misery that accompanied England’s meteoric

rise to greatness—and unfailingly scourge the politicians,

ecclesiastics, and pe:y bureaucrats who perpetuated the have and have‑not mentality. A general goal is to expose you to

a wide variety of novelists, novels, and narrative techniques. Active participation, response papers, examinations, and

critical essays all count towards the final grade.

Losey, Sec. 01, MW 2:30‑3:45

4375 Special Topics in Writing: Classical Rhetoric in Contemporary Writing Prerequisite: Upper‑level standing or consent of

instructor.

This class will identify classical rhetorical concepts

in contemporary texts including political speeches,

advertisements, essays, editorials, and communications

by organizations, charitable causes, and corporations.

Central questions that will guide our analyses include “who is persuading whom of what?”; “what are the means

of persuasion?”; and “how do we come to believe what we

believe?” Ultimately, this course will demonstrate how

rhetorical theory, dating back to ancient Greece, still provides

a valuable framework for understanding contemporary texts

and improving one’s writing in the information age. As part

of this course, students will practice using different rhetorical strategies in their own writing and perform rhetorical analyses

of current texts.

Shaver, Sec. 01, MWF 1:25

4377 Internship in Professional Writing Prerequisite: ENG 4318 or concurrent enrollment, and

consent of instructor.

English 4377 is an internship course that serves as a

capstone experience for Professional Writing majors. This

course provides students with a continuous period of on‑

the‑job experience as a writer in a professional se:ing and gives them multiple opportunities to apply the skills and

knowledge they have acquired through their coursework to a professional context. Over the course of the semester, students will work under the supervision of a faculty member

and an employer at the placement site to complete at least

154 documented hours of work as an intern (about 12 hours

a week, depending on when you get started). In addition,

students will a:end meetings with the faculty supervisor and other student interns at least once a month. These meetings

give students a regular opportunity to share accomplishments

and discuss observations and problems that arise on the job.

Finally, students will reflect on their learning and experiences by assembling a professional portfolio that represents their

talents and skills. Students are expected to secure their own

internship, and this internship site must be approved by the

faculty supervisor before work begins.

As students proceed with the internship, they will

gain practical experience functioning as a writer within a

professional organization. Students will develop skills in

“reading”—or recognizing and analyzing—the culture of a

particular organization, and apply this knowledge in order

to adapt to the workplace environment, contribute to the

organization’s work, and eventually identify possibilities

for innovation. As the semester proceeds, students will

become more adept at thinking of themselves as professional

writers and will be be:er prepared to develop and apply their knowledge and analytic abilities to future workplace

experiences.

Alexander, Sec. 01, TBA

4382 Major Authors Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


2009 marks the eightieth year of the Irish short story

writer and playwright Brian Friel’s life and also marks

the seventieth year of the Irish Nobel Prize winner, poet,

translator, critic, and playwright Seamus Heaney’s life. This

Major Authors course will celebrate the lives and work of

two of the twentieth century’s greatest writers by engaging

deeply with their imaginative work in the particular context

of Irish and Northern Irish history and culture. We will

start by reading some of Brian Friel’s short fiction that was originally published in The New Yorker in the 1950s and 1960s, then assess why he began writing drama full‑time and read

his major plays starting with Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1963) and concluding with The Home Place (2005). A]er a mid‑term exam over Friel’s work, we will assess Seamus Heaney’s

emergence as the major Irish poet a]er Yeats by discussing his role in the Belfast Group of creative writers in the early to

mid‑1960s and by reading each volume of his poetry and also one of his major plays, his translation of Sophocles’ Philoctetes,

The Cure at Troy, a play produced by the Field Day Theatre Company (co‑founded by Heaney and Friel, among others)

in 1990. Assignments will include two papers (one each on

Friel and Heaney) and two examinations (one each on Friel

and Heaney). Books: Brian Friel’s Selected Stories, Plays One and Two, The Homeplace, Friel’s Essays, Diaries and Interviews: 1964‑1999, ed. Christopher Murray; Heaney’s Opened Ground: Poems 1966‑1996, The Cure at Troy, Electric Light, District and Circle, and Finders, Keepers: Selected Essays 1971‑2001. Close reading and vibrant class discussion required.

Russell, Sec. 01, TR 2:00

4385 Contemporary Poetry Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


This course will deal with both American and British

poetry. It will begin with several major figures in the modern period, follow the dominant lyric tradition through poets at

work during the post‑modern period, and conclude with a

concentration on several contemporary poets. (It will also

consider the poets coming to Baylor for the Beall Poetry

Festival, which will be held during the semester.) Students

will make several short presentations, write two papers, and

take a final exam.

Davis, Sec. 01, MWF 11:15

4387 Modern American Novel/1900–1945 Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


The period between the two world wars was one of the

richest and most productive periods of American literature.

In this course, we will study a range of American novels from

the first half of the twentieth century. We will cover a range of the different voices making themselves heard in fiction during this period. We will begin with the great modernist

writers, such as Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Faulkner, and

we will read one of Steinbeck’s major social novels. We will

read two African American novels, and we will focus on some

of the fiction wri:en by women during this period. We will cover the work of Jewish, Southern and proletarian novelists,

watch a World War II movie, and finish with a glimpse at what begins to happen in American fiction a]er 1945. The aim of this course is for students to get to know and to think for

themselves about a representative sample of the wide range

of American voices expressing themselves in the form of the

novel during the first half of the twentieth century. We will study these works in the context of the historical background

that produced them, and we will also look at some of the

theories of the novel articulated during this period

Ferre:er, Sec. 01, TR 9:30

4388 Christian Literacy Classics Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


A study of the various ways in which theological

and imaginative excellence is displayed in such classic

Christian authors as Dante, Herbert, Bunyan, Hopkins, and

Dostoevsky.

Wood, Sec. 01, TR 2:00

4390 Literature of the South Prerequisite(s): ENG 2301 and either 2304 or 2306;


In this course we will read short stories, poetry, and

novels wri:en by Southern writers from the colonial period to the present. Although we will discuss these texts from several

points of view, one of our primary tasks will be to examine how

they reflect historical and cultural issues related to the South, both as a physical place and as a fictional construct. Among the authors included will be Edgar Allan Poe, Frederick

Douglass, Charles Chesnu:, Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Ernest Gaines. Requirements will include two exams and a research paper.

Ford, Sec. 01, MWF 1:25

5302 Old English Literature Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing and at least one

course in Old English language (ENG 5301 or

equivalent) or permission of the professor.

This course provides further practice with the Old English language and a detailed overview of Anglo‑Saxon

literature and the culture which spawned it. The course will

begin with an introduction to the social structure of the early

Germanic people and their associated values, practices, and

beliefs. We will draw upon this knowledge throughout the

semester as we a:empt to understand how Germanic values merged with Christianity in Anglo‑Saxon culture and how

these values are portrayed together in its literature. Texts will

generally be read in the original Old English and selections will include elegies, ba:le poetry, poetic renderings of biblical stories, and sections of Beowulf.

Denton, Sec. 01, T 3:30‑6:30

5306 Literary Criticism

In this course, we will be looking at the main

developments in literary theory since about 1960, which have revolutionized the way in which we think and write

about texts of all kinds, from Shakespeare to Sex and the City. Literary theory can be a difficult subject, and this course will emphasize a clear understanding of the basic arguments

of each of the authors we study. To that end, we will study

excerpts from the primary texts of some of the major literary

theorists of the last few decades, along with a commentary

on their work, which explains their ideas and the contexts of

those ideas in somewhat clearer language than the average

French philosopher tends to use. We will cover Russian

Formalism, structuralism, post‑structuralism, deconstruction,

postmodernism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, feminism, post‑

colonialism, gender theory, hermeneutics and Christian

literary theory. The value of literary theory, in my view, lies

primarily in the ways it allows you to open up and interpret

texts in new and previously unthought‑of ways, and so we will

be emphasizing the practice of interpreting texts of all kinds in

the light of the theories we study. Students will be encouraged

to judge for themselves the strengths and weakness, the uses

and abuses, of the theories we will cover in understanding

texts, and the world which they define, for themselves.

Ferretter, Sec. 01, T 3:30‑6:30

5314 Creative Writing

This is a workshop course in the writing of poetry

on an advanced level. It is available to those students who

are seriously interested in the cra] of poetry and who have already demonstrated that interest in practice by having taken

English 3304 or by having permission from the instructor. The

course will primarily be devoted to the practical ma:ers of the criticism and the revision of poems wri:en by the students enrolled. Each student will be expected to finish a substantial body of work during the course of the semester.

Davis, Sec. 01, W 2:30‑5:30

5330 Seventeenth‑Century British Literature: Seminar

This course considers the major poetry and prose of

John Milton as it relates to the intersection of three main

areas of intellectual ferment in seventeenth‑century Britain:

the dominant shi] from Renaissance Neoplatonism to Enlightenment rationalism, the development of the discourse

of religious toleration, and the culmination of the Renaissance

humanist practice of rewriting or adapting biblical narrative.

Some possible topics for consideration include: the politics of

genre, Renaissance humanist education and translation, the

poetics of toleration, biblicist rhetorics, and the narration of

freedom.

Donnelly, Sec. 01, W 4:00‑7:00

5350 Early Romantic Poets: Wordsworth and Coleridge: Seminar

This seminar will focus on the poetry and prose of

Wordsworth and Coleridge, but will include forays into the

work of Dorothy Wordsworth and other figures, especially

female poets. A variety of methodological approaches will

be employed, including pre‑structuralist strategies such as

New Criticism and archetypal criticism, but students will

be expected to employ postructuralist methods of inquiry as well. Seminar procedure will emphasize discussions and

individual participation stimulated by informal oral reports,

longer class presentations, and occasional lectures by the

instructor.

Barcus, Sec. 01, W 4:00‑7:00

5364 Browning: Seminar

The poetry of each of the poets Robert Browning

and Elizabeth Barre: Browning provides a rich source of information and insight for anyone interested in exploring

the literary, religious, philosophical, political, and social

issues of nineteenth‑century England. The Browning Seminar

will focus on the careful reading and discussion of the major

poetical work of Robert Browning—The Ring and the Book—

and the major work of Elizabeth Barre: Browning—Aurora Leigh—as well as other important selected works of each poet.

Students will be responsible for weekly reading assignments,

for participation in class discussion of the readings, for editing

a manuscript le:er from the collection of Browning materials in the Armstrong Browning Library, for a short seminar paper,

and for an article‑length final seminar paper drawing on the collection of Browning materials in the Armstrong Browning

Library.

Vitanza, Sec. 01, M 4:00‑7:00

5376 Religion and Literature Seminar: Stories from the Edge: Literary and Theological Approaches to Theodicy

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing in the doctoral

Religion and Literature concentration or consent of

the instructor.

Members of this seminar will explore theological,

narratological, and literary responses to the age‑old question of theodicy, why evil, suffering, and death exist in a good Creation. Other theological concerns will include faith and belief, Fate and cosmic order, and God’s engagement with

Creation. Texts will include the Psalms, the Book of Job,

and selections from the Gospels, as well as contemporary

novels, nonfiction, sermons, and films by such authors and filmmakers as Walker Percy, Marilynne Robinson, Cormac McCarthy, Barbara Brown Taylor, Woody Allen, and M.

Night Shyamalan. Seminar members will brief the seminar

on a major theological work in the field and give a teaching presentation that may be expanded into the conference paper

that is the primary product of the course.

Garre:, Sec. 01, R 3:30‑6:30

5393 Nineteenth‑Century American Literature Seminar: Mark Twain

“All modern American literature comes from one

book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn,” wrote Ernest

Hemingway in The Green Hills of Africa. Twain’s influence on American literature is undeniable, but the influences on Twain’s development are somewhat murkier. How Samuel

Langhorne Clemens created “Mark Twain” and developed

that persona over many years is the subject of this course. The

first readings will focus on Twain’s earliest work, his western newspaper writings as a “Sagebrush Bohemian,” as well as

his first full‑length books, The Innocents Abroad and Roughing

It. We will also read the author’s classics: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Life on the Mississippi; A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court; and No. 44, The

Mysterious Stranger. The course will also include a generous

selection of the writer’s short fiction. Course activities will include close examination of texts, class discussion, several

presentations, and a seminar paper.

Fulton, Sec. 01, R 3:30‑6:30

5395 Contemporary American Literature

Authors read will include Franzen (The Corrections, 2001), Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, 2001), Russo (Empire Falls, 2002), Cisneros (Caramelo, 2002), Jones (The Known World, 2003), Robinson (Gilead, 2004), Delillo (Falling Man, 2007), Oats (The Gravedigger’s Daughter, 2007), Díaz (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, 2007), Lahiri (Unaccustomed Earth, 2008), Proulx (Fine Just the Way It Is, 2008), and Erdrich (The Plague of Doves, 2008). Some a:ention to narrative theory. Lots of presentations, a book review, and

a seminar paper.

Thomas, Sec. 01, M 4:00‑7:00

Quotable

“All things…are

charged with God

and if we know

how to touch them

give off sparks and take fire, yield drops and flow, ring and tell of him.”

‑‑Gerard Manley

Hopkins

Documents

Department of English Course Descriptions Spring 2009 · 3300 Technical and Professional Writing Prerequisite(s): ENG 1302 or FAS 1302 or advanced placement; and either uppe‑level