Category: English

The fairy tale is a distinct genre of literature, with its own set of characteristics and audience expectations. In this course, students will study numerous classic examples of the fairy tale, such as those collected by the Brothers Grimm and salon tales written by Charles Perrault for members of the French court, as well as modern revisionist adaptations. The origins of fairy tales from saga and certain Renaissance collections such as the Pentamerone by Giambattista Basile and The Arabian Nights will also be explored. Students can expect to study saga, classic Marchen, and global examples of diffusionism. Some attention is paid to art from the tradition of fairy tale illustration as well as filmic adaptations.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: DEN 102

This upper-level course on Shakespeare and the Emergence of the Early Modern Self seeks to explore the ways in which the language of Shakespeare – in sonnet sequence, in comedy and tragedy – allows a site for the study of the struggles, conflicts and anxieties in the emergence of what may be called early modern subjection. Through close attention to the language and conventions of Elizabethan writing and staging, students are encouraged to formulate their own historical yet creative reading of self and subjectivity in Shakespeare’s art and work. A special section on Shakespeare and Film is used to open discussion on the uses and re-interpretation of Shakespeare’s works for modern and contemporary audiences (in terms of gender, race and class).

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: DEN 102

The purpose of this workshop is to create and refine new fiction in the form of flash or short stories, novellas and/or novel chapters. Since good writing rarely occurs in a vacuum, in addition to providing critiques on student story and chapter drafts, we will also discuss materials from professional writers to help deepen our own understanding of the craft of fiction and the interplay between form and content.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: DEN 102

Creative nonfiction is a type of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to construct narratives that have their foundation in fact. Examples include: memoir, travelogue, the personal essay, and cultural observation. As opposed to journalism and technical writing, which are also based in fact, creative nonfiction projects a dramatic, literary framework onto everyday existence, rendering it enlightening and potentially meaningful to the reader. We will study examples of creative nonfiction in order to determine some of the structures and methods of this relatively open genre, and in turn, apply them to students’ own work. As a workshop class, the primary focus is student writing of manuscripts to be critiqued and improved. The class requires students to share their writing, questions, and opinions. As an online workshop class, we will interact almost entirely through the medium of Blackboard, posting work and responses weekly or bi-weekly. On a deeper level, we will consider the sometimes slippery nature of truth as it applies to this writing form, looking for consensus on the boundaries we can push, vs. those we must maintain in order for this genre to preserve its claim to authority.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: DEN 102

Science Fiction and Horror may transport readers to a planet light years away or usher them through fiend filled graveyards and crypts. Whether extrapolating futuristic technology from contemporary science or conjuring novel survival strategies, these genres imagine what might have been or what might be, creating a platform for rich possibility. In this course, we will explore the nature of both genres by reading and discussing a diverse selection of works drawn from text, film, television, radio and comics before students generate writing of their own. Concepts will be reinforced through group workshop and discussion. In this multi-genre course, we will focus on those elements that make for vivid, effective, memorable writing in science fiction and horror: original detail, memorable image, inventive language and authentic setting. Both critical thinking and artistic sensibility will be emphasized.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: DEN 102

The Scriptwriting Workshop offers art and design students an opportunity to read scripted texts within the contemporary professional canon prepared for radio broadcast, theater, television and film. Scripting mechanics will be emphasized, including voice and character development, three-act structure, plot points, sequencing and stage and shot direction. Students will compose an original short form work and critique the work of colleagues. Concepts will be reinforced through group workshop and discussion. Both critical reading and artistic sensibility will be emphasized.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: DEN 102

This course looks at some of the sexual, social, and cultural dilemmas facing women as writers, artists and individuals, based upon the literature written both by and about them. Readings include novels and a series of short fiction, essays, poetry, etc.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: DEN 102

This course explores the myriad and changing roles of the automobile in American culture. Through numerous examples of car culture in literature and film, this course interrogates, celebrates and ponders both the past and future of one of modern technology’s most remarkable and influential inventions. A survey of literary and cinematic case studies are used in the course to establish an ongoing, theoretically geared discussion of the Wondrous Machine.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: DEN 239