Undergraduate Program

Provides a close reading of a selection of literary masterpieces. Readings vary from year to year. Please see public notes for specific section titles and course descriptions.  

Location

(MW 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

Graduate teaching assistantship in English.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Graduate research assistantship in English.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course introduces students to Rochester, NY, through the eyes of the humanities. We discuss the city’s museum exhibits and public murals, parks and cemeteries, memorial monuments and statues, photographs and speeches, drama and prose fiction, journalism and oral history, and protests and social movements from the 19th through the 21st centuries as depicted in film and print. The protest and social movement unit of the course considers, in addition to contemporary protests and social movements, anti-slavery and women's rights movements in the 19th century, and protests for racial justice and the organization of FIGHT in the 1960s. We become familiar with models in the humanities for reading, viewing, and analyzing these objects, spaces, and events, and we practice our interpretative skills in class discussion and in journals. Students also learn about digital resources for presenting their work (Omeka, StoryMaps) and, if they find these resources useful, have the option of incorporating them into their writing assignments. Satisfies the “additional survey or approach course” in the British and American Literature track of the English major. Satisfies a requirement in the following Humanities/English cluster: Media, Culture, and Communication. This course is appropriate for all students. No requirements or prerequisites. Please note: This course includes a handful of field trips on- and off-campus. All field trips, including transportation, occur during our regular scheduled class sessions; field trips will not conflict with other courses, labs, jobs, or extracurricular activities.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Much English literature — older classics as well as much newer work — presupposes a knowledge of Genesis, the Gospels, Revelation, Homer, Virgil, Plato and Aristotle, the Greek Tragedians, and the many other books and authors who make up the classical and scriptural canons. While one cannot hope to cover the whole output of Athens and Jerusalem (and Rome and Alexandria and Constantinople and beyond) in a single semester, this class offers both an introductory overview of these massively important bodies of writing and a deep focus on some key works. In addition to readings in the biblical and classical traditions, we will further consider some of the literatures which shaped them, as well as later influential scriptures beyond the Abrahamic religions: for instance, the epics and hymns of ancient Mesopotamia, the funerary literature of Egypt, and key texts from Vedic, Taoist, and Buddhist traditions. All are welcome; no prerequisites.

Location

(MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

An introductory study of early British literature, its forms and themes, and the development of our literary tradition.

Location

(MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

As an introduction to the art of film, this course will present the concepts of film form, film aesthetics, and film style, while remaining attentive to the various ways in which cinema also involves an interaction with audiences and larger social structures.

Location

(TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

The objective of this course is to provide the necessary tools to enable critical reflection on the respective values and mutual relationships of comics, art and film. The first weeks will be spent acquiring the technical and historical context that will enable us to begin to recognize the breadth and depth of word/image narrative practices. After developing a core vocabulary for thinking about comics as a medium we will then look at how artists and directors have drawn on that vocabulary in a range of different contexts. Retaining a sense of the specificity of both comics and film as artistic mediums, we will closely consider topics ranging from cross-cultural translation, ontologies of otherness, and modes of mediated history. Course requirements include class participation, an autobiographical comic, weekly wordless posts, a vocabulary quiz and a final paper/project.  

Location

(MW 6:15PM - 7:30PM)

This class is a writing workshop, where students share their own fiction and participate in group critique. We will read and discuss stories from the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries by writers of many backgrounds and dispositions, including James Joyce, Isak Dinesen, Edward P. Jones, Ha Jin, Joy Williams, W. G. Sebald, Gabriel García Márquez, Laura (Riding) Jackson, Chinua Achebe, and Franz Kafka. Students will have the chance to experiment with different styles and structures as they learn about literary invention. We'll consider techniques for shaping fictional characters, the management of point of view, the possibilities of narrative design, the role of setting and description, and the process of revision. Please contact David Hansen at dhansen9@esm.rochester.edu

Location

(W 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

This class is a writing workshop, where students share their own fiction and participate in group critique. We will read and discuss stories from the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries by writers of many backgrounds and dispositions, including James Joyce, Isak Dinesen, Edward P. Jones, Ha Jin, Joy Williams, W. G. Sebald, Gabriel García Márquez, Laura (Riding) Jackson, Chinua Achebe, and Franz Kafka. Students will have the chance to experiment with different styles and structures as they learn about literary invention. We'll consider techniques for shaping fictional characters, the management of point of view, the possibilities of narrative design, the role of setting and description, and the process of revision. Please contact David Hansen at dhansen9@esm.rochester.edu

Location

(T 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

This class is a writing workshop, where students share their own fiction and participate in group critique. We will read and discuss stories from the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries by writers of many backgrounds and dispositions, including James Joyce, Isak Dinesen, Edward P. Jones, Ha Jin, Joy Williams, W. G. Sebald, Gabriel García Márquez, Laura (Riding) Jackson, Chinua Achebe, and Franz Kafka. Students will have the chance to experiment with different styles and structures as they learn about literary invention. We'll consider techniques for shaping fictional characters, the management of point of view, the possibilities of narrative design, the role of setting and description, and the process of revision. Please contact David Hansen at dhansen9@esm.rochester.edu

Location

(R 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

An introductory course in the art of writing poetry. In addition to reading and writing poems, students will learn about various essential elements of craft such as image, metaphor, line, syntax, rhyme, and meter. The course will be conducted in a workshop format.

Location

(M 3:25PM - 6:05PM)

An introductory course in the art of writing poetry. In addition to reading and writing poems, students will learn about various essential elements of craft such as image, metaphor, line, syntax, rhyme, and meter. The course will be conducted in a workshop format.

Location

(T 3:25PM - 6:05PM)

Not unlike the essay or laboratory experiment, a play is a tool that allows the curious mind to develop, test, and rethink ideas, and to grapple with significant issues (both public and private) in live, three-dimensional space. Playwriting introduces the beginning writer interested in exploring the discipline of live performance (and the seasoned writer wishing to develop his/her craft) to the exciting world of writing for the stage. Each semester, students in this course get the chance to study with a different, award-winning guest playwright. In so doing, they get to experience instruction and guidance under the tutelage of some of the most exciting voices working professionally in the American theatre.

Location

(M 12:30PM - 3:15PM)

This course introduces students to the mechanics, materials, and aesthetics of lighting for the theatre.  Students gain a thorough understanding of lighting equipment, procedures, safety, and how these fascinating elements contribute to creating theatrical storytelling.  Students work actively with these technologies on productions, getting valuable practical experience. There is a required lab component that will be scheduled with the instructor.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

This course introduces students to the mechanics, materials, and aesthetics of lighting for the theatre.  Students gain a thorough understanding of lighting equipment, procedures, safety, and how these fascinating elements contribute to creating theatrical storytelling.  Students work actively with these technologies on productions, getting valuable practical experience. There is a required lab component that will be scheduled with the instructor.

Location

(F 1:00PM - 4:00PM)

This is a creative writing course that focuses on "Speculative Fiction," the early term given to what we call "science fiction" because it speculated about the future. I use it here very loosely to mean any fiction that takes for its subject something fantastic or whimsical, whether its setting is contemporary, historical, futuristic, or alternative. Actually, science fiction falls under the very large umbrella of "Fantasy," which used to dominate creative writings before the introduction of the "novel." This course is not, per se, a course on "genre" literature--a term I dislike because even "literary" or "mainstream" fiction has "genres." I am interested in leading you in writing short fiction not only in traditional areas (hard SF, high fantasy) but also fiction that straddles conventional generic boundaries, such as the work of Nancy Kress, Kim Stanley Robinson, Margaret Atwood, A.S. Byatt, Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, Ted Chiang, Rachel Swirsky, N.K. Jemisin and other authors. Gratuitous body horror or sexual situations are discouraged. This class requires permission of the instructor. Please provide the instructor (sarah.higley@rochester.edu) as soon as possible a short sample of your best creative writing and a short explanation of what this course will fulfill for you academically and/or personally. I hope to engage an outside speaker. I can only take 15 people.

Location

(TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Want to get your feet wet or hands dirty doing some exciting behind-the-scenes work on Theatre Program productions? A perfect hands-on way to explore the excitement, camaraderie, creativity, and skills needed for backstage work—in lighting, sound, costumes, scenery, or stage management—is to get involved in ENGL 126 Production Experience, a 1-credit, half semester course where you get to work on actual theatre productions in the brand-new Sloan Performing Arts Center through lab participation, joining run crews, or other practical ways. You’ll learn valuable skills while contributing to the excellence in production that the International Theatre Program is known for. You’ll play a real role in making theatre happen! No prior experience needed.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

A laboratory course on the fundamentals of gathering, assessing, and writing news. The course emphasizes accuracy and  presentation, and explores a variety of story structures, from hard news to features and columns. This course will be taught by David Andreatta. If you have any questions please contact him at dandreat@ur.rochester.edu

Location

(TR 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

Basic public speaking is the focus. Emphasis is placed on researching speeches, using appropriate language and delivery, and listening critically to oral presentations. ENG 134 contains two quizzes, a final exam, and four speeches to be given by the student. The speeches include a tribute, persuasive, explanatory, and problem-solving address. Material also features video and inaugural addresses of past U.S. presidents. The course utilizes instructor Curt Smith’s experience as a former White House presidential speechwriter and as a Smithsonian Institution series host.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

The purpose of this course is to give students an appreciation for and knowledge of critical thinking and reasoned decision-making through argumentation. Students will research both sides of a topic, write argument briefs, and participate in formal and informal debates. Students will also be exposed to the major paradigms used in judging debates.

Location

(TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

The purpose of this course is to give students an appreciation for and knowledge of critical thinking and reasoned decision-making through argumentation. Students will research both sides of a topic, write argument briefs, and participate in formal and informal debates. Students will also be exposed to the major paradigms used in judging debates.

Location

(TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

This course will introduce students to the process of creating and altering costumes for a theatrical production. Through a variety of projects, students will learn a myriad of techniques used in hand sewing, machine sewing, and fabric manipulation. Emphasis will be placed on the ability to create a costume from initial design to a fully realized garment. Students will use these skills on multiple projects throughout the course as well as lab time where they will refine these skills on a current theatrical production.  Students will also get to discover the Costume Designer's process, from initial sketch through finished garment, and will get exciting opportunities to work with guest artists on actual theatrical productions, creating a better understanding of the process and function of a professional costume shop.

Location

(TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Do you want to be on stage and screen, but wonder if you have the skills to land a gig? Auditioning for Live Theatre and Film will introduce students to the practice of auditioning for acting work. Throughout the semester students will learn to prepare monologues, analyze, and perform sides from theatre and film scripts and how to put together resumes, headshot and submissions for work. Each student will finish the class with two contrasting monologues, a headshot and resume and knowing how to slate and represent themselves in the room. The class will include a sample audition with professional directors and Q & A to help you learn how to put your best foot forward when you enter the audition room.

Location

(M 10:00AM - 11:15AM)

What happens when we mix music and words? This course will study the complex and evolving relationship between music and text. We will study songs from different styles and time periodsart songs, early music, rock, and jazz. We will learn about the rhythm and meter of poetry and how it relates to the basic elements of music. And we will consider how words and music combine in genres such as opera, musical theater, and modern multimedia. No prior training in music or poetry is required.

Location

(MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Space and how it is conceived and explored is fundamental to the telling of stories on stage and elsewhere. This introductory course aims at giving students skills to create, translate and communicate a visual design/environment for performance. The class will focus on design fundamentals, materials, research and visual storytelling through class discussion, script analysis and practical work. Students will read a play, devise a concept for that play, research possible environments, and begin to produce drawings and other visual ideas for their design. Student's work will be presented and discussed in each class.

Location

(M 10:25AM - 1:05PM)

This course introduces the basic aesthetic and technical elements of video production. Emphasis is on the creative use and understanding of the video medium while learning to use the video camera, video editing processes and the fundamental procedures of planning video projects. Strategies for the use of video as an art-making tool will be explored. Works by artists and directors critically exploring media of film and video will be viewed and discussed. Video techniques will be studied through screenings, group discussions, readings, practice sessions and presentations of original video projects made during the course. Sophomores and Juniors with officially declared FMS and SA majors are given priority registration; followed by sophomores and juniors with officially declared FMS and SA minors.

Location

(TR 4:50PM - 7:30PM)

This course enables students to move progressively toward a stronger understanding of long form improvisation acting theory and skills related to listening, supporting others, heightening, and taking risks. By the end of this course, students will be able to work within a cast to create full-length, fully improvised plays that incorporate spontaneous monologues and scenes with recurring characters and themes. Particular focus will be paid to a format known as “The Harold,” which is widely considered the cornerstone of modern improv comedy. 

Location

(R 3:25PM - 6:05PM)

The creation of a contemporary theatrical production uses skills and talents across a wide range of disciplines: from carpentry to rigging, from painting to computer drafting, from electrical to audiovisual engineering for the stage. This introductory course will explore the theories, methods, and safe practice of set construction (including using power tools), rigging, stage lighting, drafting, sound, and scene painting. Students will work on actual productions staged by the Theatre Program during required labs that will be scheduled with the instructor.

Location

(MW 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

Ever wonder and admire how sound designers create awesome aural environments in live performance? This course investigates the tools, tricks, skills, and equipment of realizing sound design for the theater. You’ll learn how Sound Designers shape sound and music, and collaborate with other artists to achieve a specific creative vision. You’ll see and experience how sound systems are put together, getting hands-on time with different equipment and learning just what each piece does. We will build on the fundamentals of sound systems that can start as small as your computer and go as large as filling a 1,000 seat theater or larger. As you learn these trades and skills, you’ll then apply them in the Theatre Program's productions, working with peers and industry professionals to put on a full scale production. Whatever your experience level, you are welcome here. All you need is a passion for hearing the world around you, and the desire to bring your own creative world to life on whatever stage you find. There is a required lab component that will be scheduled with the instructor.

Location

(TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

This course serves as an introduction to, and exploration of the acting process for the stage, developing the fundamental skills students need to approach a text from a performer’s standpoint and to create character. The course takes as its basic premise that the actor’s instrument is the self—with all of the physical, psychological, intellectual, social, moral and spiritual implications of that term. Students will be encouraged in both the expression and the expansion of the self and of the imagination. The class will also help the student develop an overall appreciation for the role of the theatre in today’s society.

Location

(W 10:25AM - 1:05PM)

This course serves as an introduction to, and exploration of the acting process for the stage, developing the fundamental skills students need to approach a text from a performer’s standpoint and to create character. The course takes as its basic premise that the actor’s instrument is the self—with all of the physical, psychological, intellectual, social, moral and spiritual implications of that term. Students will be encouraged in both the expression and the expansion of the self and of the imagination. The class will also help the student develop an overall appreciation for the role of the theatre in today’s society.

Location

(W 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

Ninety three percent of communication is nonverbal. In today's ever increasingly technological world “soft skills” are more valuable than ever. It is not just important what we say, but how we say it. In Movement for the Actor using Alexander Technique, Bartenieff Fundamental, View Points, Laban and many other exercises and explorations students will gain an awareness of their own habits and physical tensions, learn alignment and relaxation techniques, let go of inhibitions and then learn to make physical choices to create diverse and inventive characters. Students will learn to read the body language of others and tools to use in their own lives to physically adjust and respond and relate to new situations in new ways.

Location

(F 10:25AM - 1:05PM)

In todays theatre, the director is generally considered to be the key creative figure in how a theatre production is conceived, explored and presented. But the directors task is a difficult one, encompassing rigorous intellectual, theatrical and artistic knowledge and skills. This introductory directing techniques class for aspiring directors will explore the nature of the theatrical event, investigate conceptualization, visualization, text analysis, action and design as they pertain to the director's craft. In conjunction with a weekly scheduled lab.

Location

(F 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

In todays theatre, the director is generally considered to be the key creative figure in how a theatre production is conceived, explored and presented. But the directors task is a difficult one, encompassing rigorous intellectual, theatrical and artistic knowledge and skills. This introductory directing techniques class for aspiring directors will explore the nature of the theatrical event, investigate conceptualization, visualization, text analysis, action and design as they pertain to the director's craft. In conjunction with a weekly scheduled lab.

Location

(W 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

Theatre and Cultural Context (previously Intro to Theatre) is an introductory class allowing students to comprehensively and actively understand the entire theatrical production process from the page to the stage, while simultaneously exploring the cultural (and other contexts) in which artists, playwrights, directors and designers create the magic of theatre. Students discover theatre in an immersive way, studying and gaining insight into the actual texts of works being produced by the UR International Theatre Program.  In conjunction with professional artists who direct and design our productions, students explore the creative and artistic process and gain first-hand, practical knowledge working in one of many labs associated with the production (scenery, lighting, costume, sound, etc.). A unique course melding the theoretical and practical, with a deep dive into the (largely, though not exclusively) Western cultural literacy all rolled into one.  There is a required lab component that will be scheduled with the instructor.

Location

(W 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

English is a banquet of words. And language is political. How do changes in English represent and affect culture?  Inflicted by invasions and adaptations it remained English. Brought to Britain by Germanic tribes in the 5th century, it was matured by violent and peaceful contact with other peoples and ideas. Few other languages are so accepting of neologism, so humongous in vocabulary, so malleable of construction. We’ll peruse texts from Old, Middle and Modern English and watch it grow from a Teutonic tongue to the powerful, ductile, and eclectic instrument it is today, spreading to other continents, colonizing and absorbing. We’ll peruse linguistic Angst and jouissance by King Alfred, Aelfric, Robert of Gloucester, Chaucer, Caxton, Mulcaster, Shakespeare, Swift, Johnson, Webster, Orwell and others who praise or blame our shifty English, or who MANIPULATE it?. We’ll grok urban dialects, vernaculars, slang, texting, gender. Is it “based on” or “based off of”? “lie” or “lay”? What’s the deal with register? Vernacular vs. high-falutin’ “academic” English? Are you down with this? Grads welcome!

Location

(TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

What did drama look and feel like in the Middle Ages? How much can we know about performances that took place well over 600 years ago? We have two main goals ahead of us in this course: to read the major extant works of drama in Middle English, and to stage a medieval play. Along the way, we will discuss the texts themselves, the manuscript history of the surviving plays, their performance history, their relation to drama on the Continent, the religious opposition to them, sixteenth-century attempts to de-Catholicize them, their ultimate suppression after the Reformation, and their revival in twentieth-century England and North America.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

The first of a sequence of two, the course approaches 'The Divine Comedy' both as a poetic masterpiece and as an encyclopedia of medieval culture. Through a close textual analysis of 'Inferno,' and the first half of 'Purgatorio,' students learn how to approach Dantes poetry as a vehicle for thought, an instrument of self-discovery, and a way to understand and affect the historical reality. They also gain a perspective on the Biblical, Christian, and Classical traditions as they intersect with the multiple levels of Dantes concern, ranging from literature to history, from politics to government, from philosophy to theology. A visual component, including illustrations of the 'Comedy' and multiple artworks pertinent to the narrative, complements the course. Class format includes lectures, discussion, and a weekly recitation session. Intensive class participation is encouraged. Dante I can be taken independently from Dante II. No prerequisites. Freshmen are welcome. Part of the Dante Humanities Cluster.

Location

(MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Varying topics relating to the literature and culture of the Middle Ages.

Location

(TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

A selection of the works of William Shakespeare. Please see public notes for this semesters specific focus.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

British literature of the Victorian period (1830-1900), including prose, drama, and poetry. This topics course can be repeated (2 times) for additional credit as long as the special topic (section title) is different. Please see public notes for specific section titles and course descriptions.  

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

Varying topics relating to the literature and culture of the United States.  Please see public notes for specific section titles and course descriptions.  This topics course can be repeated (4 times) for additional credit as long as the special topic (section title) is different.

Location

(TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

Varying topics in drama written after 1800, in its historical and cultural contexts. Please see public notes for specific section titles and course descriptions. This topics course can be repeated (2 times) for additional credit as long as the special topic (section title) is different.

Location

(MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Intensive study of the writings of a single author or small group of authors from literary traditions in English.  Please see public notes for specific section titles and course descriptions.  This topics course can be repeated (3 times) for additional credit as long as the special topic (section title) is different.

Location

(MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Varying topics on the study of poetry, outside the bounds of any single historical period. Please see public notes for specific section titles and course descriptions.  This topics course can be repeated (2 times) for additional credit as long as the special topic (section title) is different.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Varying topics relating to literature and culture representing specific styles, modes, genres, or media.  Please see public notes for specific section titles and course descriptions.  This topics course can be repeated (4 times) for additional credit as long as the special topic (section title) is different.

Location

(MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

Varying topics relating to writings by women and the representation of gender from a variety of periods and cultures.  Please see public notes for specific section titles and course descriptions.  This topics course can be repeated (4 times) for additional credit as long as the special topic (section title) is different.

Location

(TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

This 4-credit intersession course will be conducted in London, UK, for approximately two weeks at the end of December into Early January. Attending two plays per day with a seminar discussion each morning, students in this course are exposed to a full range of theatre experiences, from intimate theatre-in-the-round to monumental productions at the National Theatre, and from West End spectaculars to cutting-edge works mounted in post-industrial spaces. See the link on the English Department homepage to find the course's website, which describes the program in greater detail and contains syllabi from the past 25+ years. Need-based financial aid is available. The fee total is $2850. Please see the public notes for the exact travel dates.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course surveys the history of cinema from its emergence in the mid-1890s to the transition to sound in the late 1920s. We will examine the cinema as a set of aesthetic, social, technological, national, cultural and industrial practices as they were exercised and developed during this 30-year span. We will explore the diverse forms cinema took and functions it performed during this period by looking closely at a range of films and writings about films and film culture. We will also examine contexts within which these films were produced and experienced as well as theorizations of cinema that emerged concurrently with them. The course thus introduces students to the study of film history as well as a key national and international trends in making and thinking about cinema as it rose to prominence as a vital component of the art and culture of the twentieth century. Previous coursework in film is recommended, though not required; please contact the professor if this will be your first experience studying film in an academic setting.

Location

(MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini made some of the most challenging and controversial works in the history of cinema. He created scandal with his radical critique of Italy’s modernization and rising consumer culture in the 1960s. This course gives students a solid understanding of his major films by examining how each work addresses Italy’s transformation from a premodern, agrarian and artisanal civilization, to a modern capitalist one. Films include: Accattone, Mamma Roma, The Hawks and the Sparrows, Theorem, The Decameron and Salò. To provide students with foundations in Pasolini’s thought and film analysis, discussions will focus on both thematic and formal issues, such as Marxism, the sacred, sexuality, violence and pastiche. Assignments include: historical, biographical and critical readings, film screenings, short papers and a final essay. Readings will be in English and films will be shown with English subtitles.

Location

(TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

This course will explore developments in world cinema industrial, social, and political from 1959 to 1989. It will explore film aesthetics, technologies, and circulation questions, considering questions like the following: What’s new about the French New Wave? What do we mean by Third Cinema? How do different national cinemas influence each other? In what ways have various national cinemas responded critically to Hollywood’s commercial dominance and to its conventions? How do popular and art? cinemas speak to each other. How does cinema respond to the pressures and provocations of other media at the inception of the digital age? Weekly screenings and film journals required.

Location

(MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

This course doubles as an internship at Open Letter Books (no need to apply for an internship separately) and focuses on explaining the basics of the business of literary publishing: editing, marketing, promoting, fundraising, e-books, the future of bookselling, etc. Literature in translation is emphasized in this class, and all the topics covered tie in with the various projects interns work on for Open Letter Books.

Location

(MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Investigate technical theater beyond the realms of ENGL 170/171 (Technical Theater). Focus on skilled and specialized work related to the scenic design and technical production of the semester's Theatre Program productions. Working in small seminars and in one-on-one tutorials, the instructor will assist students in learning more about their chosen technical area, including advanced scenic and technical problem-solving. There is a required lab component that will be scheduled with the instructor.

Location

(MW 2:00PM - 3:25PM)

Pre-req: ENGL174, 292, 293, 294, 295 or by Audition
Acting II aims to provide students who have substantial or significant performance experience an opportunity to explore, in depth, advanced acting techniques, while further developing interpretive and imaginative skills. The class aims to build creativity and the ability to inhabit a broad diversity of characters and performance styles.

Location

(TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

This workshop is for advanced fiction writers who have completed ENG 121 or have permission from the instructor. The course emphasizes the development of each student's individual style and imagination, as well as the practical and technical concerns of a fiction writer's craft. Readings will be drawn from a wide variety of modern and contemporary writers. Students will be expected to write three original short stories as well as to revise extensively in order to explore the full range of the story's potential. Applicable English Cluster: Creative Writing.

Location

(M 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

Advanced creative writing workshop in poetry. Work by various contemporary poets will provide the framework for explorations into technique and poetic narrative.

Location

(W 3:25PM - 6:05PM)

Varrying topics in screenwriting and scriptwriting. This topics course can be repeated (2 times) for additional credit as long as the special topic (section title) is different. Please see public notes for specific section titles and course descriptions.

Location

(M 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

What makes The Onion funny? How about the likes of Tina Fey, Mark Twain, Chris Rock, Jonathan Swift, Lord Byron, Mindy Kaling, Dave Barry, Demetri Martin, Ali Wong, and David Sedaris? In this course we’ll seek inspiration from some of the funniest people alive (and dead) while writing our own humor pieces. Students will have a chance to explore a variety of genres, including parodies, opinion pieces, sketches, funny features, personal narratives, and comic poems and songs; to share their work with the class; and to introduce each other to their favorite humorists. Please e-mail instructor with a paragraph describing why you would like to take the course.

Location

(W 3:25PM - 6:05PM)

Varying topics relating to the intersections of journalism and other forms of media.  Please see public notes for specific section titles and course descriptions.  This topics course can be repeated (2 times) for additional credit as long as the special topic (section title) is different.

Location

(M 3:25PM - 6:05PM)

Prerequisites: Interested students must apply. Minimum GPA of 3.0.

Prepares sophomores, juniors, and seniors enrolled in five-year programs, from the humanities, sciences, and the social sciences for work as writing fellows. Course design facilitates the development of a strong, intuitive writer and speaker in order to become a successful reader, listener and responder in peer-tutoring situations. Ample writing and rewriting experiences, practice in informal and formal speaking, and the critical reading of published essays and student work enhance students' ability to become conscious, flexible communicators. Before tutoring on their own, students observe writing fellows and writing center consultants conduct tutoring sessions. On completion of the course with a B or better, fellows should be prepared to accept their own hours as peer tutors.

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR A RECITATION WHEN REGISTERING FOR THE MAIN SECTION

Location

(MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Prerequisites: Interested students must apply. Minimum GPA of 3.0.

Prepares sophomores, juniors, and seniors enrolled in five-year programs, from the humanities, sciences, and the social sciences for work as writing fellows. Course design facilitates the development of a strong, intuitive writer and speaker in order to become a successful reader, listener and responder in peer-tutoring situations. Ample writing and rewriting experiences, practice in informal and formal speaking, and the critical reading of published essays and student work enhance students' ability to become conscious, flexible communicators. Before tutoring on their own, students observe writing fellows and writing center consultants conduct tutoring sessions. On completion of the course with a B or better, fellows should be prepared to accept their own hours as peer tutors.

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR A RECITATION WHEN REGISTERING FOR THE MAIN SECTION

Location

(F 12:00PM - 12:50PM)

This course will introduce students to the theoretical backgrounds, practical challenges, and creative activity of literary translation. We will consider varied descriptions by translators of what it is they believe they are doing and what they hope to accomplish by doing it; and we will study specific translations into English from a variety of sources to investigate the strategies and choices translators make and the implication of those choices for our developing sense of what kinds of texts translations are. Finally, students will undertake a translation project of their own. By the end of this class each student should have a working knowledge of both the theory and the craft of literary translation.

Location

(W 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

This course investigates and plays with the sentence, revealing its incredible potential to shape meaning, identity, voice, and our relationship with our readers. Drawing on work in functional linguistics (e.g., Aull, Hyland, Vande Kopple) and voice (e.g., Palacas, Young), we’ll see how different sentence-level choices create different meanings and effects. Assignments will regularly involve analyzing texts chosen and written by students, playing purposefully with language, and testing the effects of different choices. To aid analysis, generative AI (eg., GPT) and our imaginations will be used to generate different versions of the “same” text; An easy-to-use corpus analysis tool (AntConc) will help reveal textual patterns across large amounts of text. Through a final project, students will investigate some aspect of the sentence in a medium and context of their choice or address an interesting theoretical question about the sentence. This course is ideal for those interested in any kind of writing, writing education, or editing. Background in linguistics or grammar is not necessary. Open to undergraduates and graduate students.

Location

(TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

For actors, assistant directors and select student staff working on a current main stage production.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

For actors, assistant directors and select student staff working on a current mainstage production. By audition/arrangement with instructor.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

The stage manager is the critical organizational and management hub in the artistic process of theatrical production. Stage Managers are skilled project managers, and the skills learned in stage management are applicable to almost any management Stage Management (fall/spring) students will get an in-depth introduction to and immersion in stage managing a theatrical production. In addition, cover all areas of management skills, safety procedures, technical knowledge, and paperwork, students will be expected to serve as an assistant stage manager or production stage manager on one (or both) Theater Program productions in their registered semester.

Location

(F 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

1 credit pass/fail performance lab course for students accepted into ENGL292, 293, 294, or 295 or for those involved as actors in mainstage Theatre Program productions.

Permission of Instructor Required

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

1 credit pass/fail performance lab course for students or actors accepted into ENGL294, or 295 mainstage Theatre Program productions.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course introduces students to the rich body of disaster literature and cinema in Japan. We will explore how Japanese artists creatively reflected on themes of loss, grief, trauma, survival, and healing; we will critically analyze how disaster writings and films probe the issues of socio-political infrastructure as well as human pain and strength. Described as events that cause “the breach of collective expectations in institutions and practices that make everyday life work” (Curato and Corpus Ong 2015), the “disasters” we encounter in this class include both natural and human-generated calamities such as fire, earthquake, war, atomic bombing, and epidemic. Also covered in this class are writings on “imagined disasters” as found in science fiction and dystopian fantasy (for example, the 1973 novel Japan Sinks by Komatsu Sakyō and its parody “The World Sinks Except Japan” by Tsutsui Yasutaka).

Location

(TR 6:15PM - 7:30PM)

This course surveys women’s literature in East Asia from the classical to the contemporary period. Through a diverse selection of women’s writings that encompass classical poetry, proletariat literature, war novels, and science fiction, students explore how women writers actively engaged with their respective societies during various points in history. Students will also gain critical insights into the issue of how “women’s literature” can be constructed within different frameworks such as history, social-political freedom, gender identity, commercial publishing, and artistic expression. While studying their writings and diverse voices, we meditate on these underlying questions: what is “women’s literature”? When and how can it be a productive category, and when is it not?

Location

(R 3:25PM - 6:05PM)

Throughout much of modern medical and cultural history, bodily difference has been categorized as disability—as a problematic deviation from standards of normalcy and health. This legacy has been fiercely debated and contested in recent years, with much disagreement about the category’s usefulness in medical contexts and beyond. This course will explore different perspectives on disability through works of modern culture, and primarily through literature, television, and film. We will investigate the traditional medical model of disability, and explore what changing understandings of disability mean for the future of healthcare and the relationship between healthcare providers and patients. The course is writing-intensive, and requires students to share and workshop their papers with peers.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course will build upon skills and experience garnered in earlier stage management coursework on Theatre Program mainstage production.  It allows students to build real-world management techniques, test and develop their working knowledge of stage management, and develop hands-on experience in “the field”.  Students will again work with professional artists on a Theatre Program Mainstage production and are expected to manage the production with advanced facility, significant self-regulation and self-evaluation, and develop mentorship skills to assist, inspire, and enhance the abilities of their student assistant stage management team members. 

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

In Special Projects: Theatre students work in a particular area or on a particular project of their choosing or devising. Developed with and overseen by a Theatre Program faculty member and functioning like an Independent Study, Special Projects: Theatre allows students the opportunity of specializing in or investigate theatre in a tailored, focused, and self-directed way.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Read short stories by contemporary writers along with fiction by the students in the workshop, and discuss ways writers can sharpen the conversation between text and reader. Also consider editing and reviewing techniques. Students expected to write and revise at least three original stories or three sections of a longer work of fiction.

Location

(T 4:50PM - 7:30PM)

Poems, as William Carlos Williams once said, are machines made out of words, and in this advanced poetry workshop we will work on making the most gorgeous, gripping, and efficient machines possible. To that end, we will read both one another's poems and poems by established authors, in either case paying attention to the ways in which the authors harness aspects of their medium, the English language: syntax, diction, rhythm. The poems we write may take any shape, any form, but we will work towards understanding why a particular poem must take the shape it has; we will pay attention not so much to what the poems say as to how they say it. Requirements: weekly writing and reading assignments, revisions of assignments, devoted participation in class discussions, a final project.

Location

(T 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

Advanced seminars focus on a particular body of works (literary or cinematic), a special research topic, or a particular critical or theoretical issue. One or more extended critical essays will be required. Open to junior and senior English majors. Others may be admitted by permission of instructor.

Location

(T 4:50PM - 7:30PM)

No description

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed through the Independent Study Form​

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Advanced Stage Management Practicum is designed for, and available only to students fulfilling the roll of a Production Stage Manager on a mainstage Theatre Program production.

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the Internship Registration Form.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

No description

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Special seminar for senior majors accepted into the English Honors Program. Topics vary each year.

Location

(W 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

No description

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

No description

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)