SPRING 2010
503-001
Theory and Practice of Teaching Composition
Anthony Atkins
W 6:30-9:15
MO 204
The goals of this course are three-fold. First, students should gain an understanding of the history and progression of composition theory and its practices. Second, students should recognize the place of composition and writing studies among other disciplines of English. Third, students should exit the course with a fully prepared syllabus, schedule, and online course component for UNCW’s English 101 course. Additionally, students will gain experience working with communication technologies that enhance the teaching of writing, presentations of research, and scholarship. The course is designed for English graduate students, but the course will open up to students from other graduate programs once all ENG students who wish to take the course have registered. The maximum number of students allowed in the course is 15.
514-001
Studies in Drama: Intertextual Shakespeare
Lewis Walker
T 3:30-6:15
MO 102
This course will be concerned with speculating on some of the ways in which Shakespeare may have responded to the works of others, especially Chaucer and Michel de Montaigne. We will investigate cases of obvious “borrowing” by Shakespeare as well as larger questions like the ways in which Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde stimulated Shakespeare to create Troilus and Cressida. As time permits, we will also look into Shakespeare’s appropriation of the language and materials of the Geneva Bible and the Book of Common Prayer and consider Shakespeare’s influence on John Milton. Oral presentation, annotated bibliography of 8-10 items, informal response papers, critical paper of 10-12 pages.
552-001
Rhetoric and Culture
Kristen Seas
R 6:30-9:15
MO 204
Rhetoric can change the world. That might seem like a bold statement, but consider this: if we want to change how people act, then we need to change how they think, right? Rhetoric – as an art of effective, persuasive communication – is all about shaping and thus potentially changing how people view the world and thus act within it. Indeed, since ancient Greece, rhetoric has been seen as either a means of upholding the status quo or of bringing about revolution. Thus rhetoric has been both revered as a vital part of human culture and despised as a deceptive manipulation. In this graduate seminar, we will look at the relationship between rhetoric and culture, especially in terms of how ideologies that support culture are always already rhetorical constructs and thus subject to how we use discourse. We will reflect on some of the classical origins of rhetoric and the first theories of how this art of persuasion influences human society, as well as explore how contemporary thinkers foreground the power and responsibility that all authors have when they put rhetoric into practice.Students will be responsible for producing an original scholarly essay at the end of the class, as well as response writings throughout the semester. Required Text: Course Pack
561:001
Topics in American Literature: Tortured Souls—the American Romantics
Mark Boren
W 3:30-6:15
MO 106
This course will look in depth at key texts of the American Romantics, attempting to define both what makes them Romantic and uniquely American. Well spend a lot of time on poetry, as well as upon poetics and the poetical as it appears in other literary forms, including novels. In addition to exploring traditional literary themes and ideas associated with American Romanticism, we’ll look closely at literary invention, unique constructions of gender and race, depictions of violence, and the aestheticization of sexuality—along with a corresponding eroticization of language.
561-002
Topics in American Literature: 20th Century Black American Writers
Tiffany Gilbert
M 3:30-6:16
MO 102
This course focuses on the fiction of African American authors James Baldwin, Richard Wright, and Ralph Ellison. We will probe their works and lives for insights on what it means to be simultaneously black, male, and American. We will read selections from Baldwin’s questioning fiction and nonfiction, Wright’s titanic Native Son, and Ellison’s singular epic, Invisible Man, as well scholarly criticism to amplify our understandings of these authors. Assignments will likely include a presentation, short essay critiques, and a substantive final essay with a research dimension.
56-:01
Multicultural Children’s and Young Adult Literature
Katie Peel
M 6:30-9:15
MO 102
This course will explore the history and issues of multiculturalism with regard to children’s and young adult literature. We will study canonically “othered” identities as they become the subject of children’s and young adult literature, as well as the politics of inclusion. Some of the questions we will ask and attempt to answer include what are the definition and requirements of “multicultural literature”? What is at stake in representing the “other” in literature for young readers? What do any of these texts do: do they instruct? Do they open conversations about multicultural issues? What are the roles and responsibilities of authors and readers of multicultural literature? What are the roles of such texts in classrooms and libraries? How should darker issues of multiculturalism (such as the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, or the Holocaust) be addressed in children’s and young adult literature? We will talk about how identity is represented, and issues of celebrating diversity versus mainstreaming identity. We will consider issues of cultural authenticity and stereotype, as well as how reading such literature engages issues of the reader’s own subjectivity.
580-002
Studies in Literature: History and Indian Fiction
Cara Cilano
T 6:30-9:15
MO102
The creation of the Republic of India, the world's largest democracy, in August of 1947 provides this nation's fiction writers with the singular opportunity to imagine that moment as a birth, a new beginning. Yet, at the same time, the peoples, cultures, and languages of this geographical region stretch far back into the “mists of time.” In this course, we will examine how contemporary Indian fiction (1980s-present) represents this paradox of newness in oldness through literary modes ranging from traditional realism to intertextual bricolage and the fantastical. Our texts cover key moments in the recent history of the subcontinent: the decline of the Mughal Empire; the rise of the British Raj; the struggle for independence, with a particular focus on Gandhi; and the challenges posed to postcolonial India's secular democracy by fundamentalisms, violence, and corruption. With its focus on Indian fiction and its attendant critical issues, this course offers students a chance to engage with literature well outside their own national frame of reference. Beyond active participation, students can expect to write weekly responses and two research papers of varying lengths. There will also be the opportunity for students to lead discussion. Texts include: Chandra, Red Earth and Pouring Rain; Seth, A Suitable Boy; Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel; Rushdie, Shame; Mistry, Such a Long Journey; Desai, Baumgartner's Bombay; Ghosh, The Glass Palace; and Adiga, Between the Assassinations.
