Past courses - FALL 2008
Course Descriptions | Course List
This is a select and incomplete set of course descriptions for the English and Linguistics courses that will be offered in FALL 2008. Others will be added as the Department receives them.
For a complete course offerings for Fall 2008 English and Linguistics courses (without full descriptions), please consult the UIC's online Schedule of Classes. Note that some of the information below updates and corrects information (particularly concerning course topics, times and room locations) in the printed version of the Timetable.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
11047/20577
Sherfinski, Todd
8-8:50 MWF
Lies that Lead to Truth: English 101 is an introductory Literature course that focuses on what stories and poems are-the literary elements that comprise them-and how reader do something with such stories and poems-how readers apply wittingly and unwittingly apply literary approaches to poetry and fiction. Through close readings, class discussions, quizzes, and written assignments, students in English 101 will both sharpen their critical and interpretive skills and address Picasso’s claim that “art is a lie that leads people to the truth.”
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
25642/25644
Costello, D. Star
MW 10AM F10AM
As an introduction to the study of literature, this course will cover literary works of fiction, poetry and drama by diverse authors representing a number of time periods. Students will learn about literary techniques and begin to develop a vocabulary that will help them analyze and discuss literature. In addition to considering specific literary works, the course will address larger questions about what literature is, how one might be said to understand it, and what literature does for individuals and society—that is, why we read literature and what cultural and historical roles literature plays. Students will develop skills in critical reading and thinking, and effective communication, both orally and in writing, in formal and informal modes.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
11088/20586
Krall, A
MWF 1:00-1:50 p.m.
This section of Understanding Literature will focus on strategies for critically reading, analyzing, and writing about the major genres of literature, including fiction, poetry, and drama. Although we will read a wide variety of literary texts, the course will have a special emphasis on the urban literature of the twentieth century, particularly texts by Chicago writers. This will allow us to examine the ways literature represents life in the modern city and participates in an ongoing conversation about the contested meanings of urban life.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
22331/22335
Weeg, M.
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
In this course, together, we will delve into short fiction, a novel, poetry and drama to try to figure out why literature is significant to us as individuals and ultimately to all of humankind. We will study the elements of literature -- symbolism, theme, imagery, plot and so forth --to try to better understand the richness and depth of the text we are looking at. We will even become authors ourselves and write and revise a short story throughout the semester (to be analyzed by a fellow classmate as part of the midterm exam). Reading, writing and participation are required.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
26196/26197
Parr, K
Understanding Literature covers reading and analysis of texts from a variety of literary forms and periods and gives special attention to methods for determining literary meaning. As an introduction to literature, this course will introduce you to literary analysis. As we read pieces of literature, we will pay very close attention to specific literary techniques each author uses. We will then use those observations as the basis of our analyses of these texts. Ultimately, the course will bring to you an appreciation of literature as art. Additionally, this course will focus on teaching you how to write well-organized, thorough, and analytical essays about literature.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
22233/22237
Buslik, G
In this introductory course, we will read and learn how to appreciate great works of literature. We will study short stories, novels, poetry, and drama
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
25643/25645
Johnson, S
MWF 12-12:50 p.m.
Speculative Fiction: Writing the Imagination. In this introductory course, we will examine several works that fall within the large, inclusive boundaries of "speculative" or "interstitial" fiction--science fiction, fantasy, and horror among them. While reading both long and short fictions by older and more contemporary writers, we will consider how spec fic can address questions of social and political change (Tolkien's _The Lord of the Rings_), gender and sexual identify (the works of Alice Sheldon and Angela Carter), and those allegedly "universal" themes of life, death, and what it means to be "human."
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
20583/11053
Jenks, P
MWF 10-10:50 a.m.
Daring Truths: Carolyn Forché speaks of “poetry of witness.” This notion of witness is rooted in the Greek notion of parrhesia, a daring to speak the truth for the betterment of others. What is the nature of daring to speak the truth in Literature? What are the consequences of writing and reading? We will study a broad range of poetry, fiction, and drama this semester exploring this theme. Texts for the course include work by Sophocles, Shakespeare, Mary Shelley, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Franz Kafka, Jean Genet, Ralph Ellison, Chinua Achebe, Robert Duncan, Paul Celan, and Marjane Satrapi.
ENGL 102: Introduction to Film
11104
Stewart, K
ENGL 103: English and American Poetry
20646/20645
Pittendrigh, N
TR 11:00-12:15 p.m.,
TR 11-11:44 a.m.
There are two basic goals in this course: 1) to expose the student to poems s/he likes (and to try to figure out why), and 2) to get students fascinated with the history of poetry and the art of poetry. This course will try to deliver up the changing conception of what poetry is and what it was supposed to do. Why has the history of poetry gone in the direction it has? Why has it gone from great formality to "anything goes," or "whatever works?"
ENGL 103: English and American Poetry
26199/26200
Schaffenberger, K
MWF 1-1:50 p.m.
This class provides an overview of English and American poetry in the 20th century, focusing specifically and the relationship between poetry and the visual arts. What are some of the key differences between reading a poem and "reading" a painting? How are these acts similar? How do particular poets treat the visual arts in their work? How does artistic theory affect painterly practice? Poets to be covered in this class include the Bloomsbury Group, the WWI poets, H.D., Pound & Eliot, and Gertrude Stein, as well as several contemporary poets. No prior knowledge of poetic form is necessary. Students will write five short response papers (1-2 pages each), take a midterm exam, and turn in a final research project on at least two poets we have covered in class.
ENG 103: Introduction to English and American Poetry
22348/22349
Moore, J
MWF 9-9:50 a.m.
In this course we will read, critique, and discuss the works of various poets, focusing particular attention on romantic, modern, and contemporary traditions and theories. We will develop a vocabulary with which to speak about poetry's forms, contents and contexts, considering the ways in which a poem functions within its larger historical situation; emphasis will be placed on gaining an understanding of various schools and poetic traditions through analysis of both critical and creative texts. Requirements include a class presentation, a midterm exam, and a final paper.
English 104: English and American Drama
26201
Rodden, D
MWF 9-9:50 a.m.
In this course we will look at drama from the perspective of violence and victims. Our readings will cover various periods and styles as we investigate how violence is performed on stage, what violence means to the theater, the audience and the society in which it is produced. We will also discuss how the victims of violence are portrayed and react in various plays. Both terms will be defined very broadly. Assignments will include readings, quizzes, response papers and a formal paper.
ENGL 105: English and American Fiction
20597/11126
Monson-Rosen, M
TR 2-3:15 p.m.
Weird Books by Women: In this course, we will read weird (that is, gothic, postmodern, fantastical, etc.) novels and short stories by British and American women writers from the 19th and 20th centuries. Texts will include work by Emily Brontë, Mary Shelley, Angela Carter, Gayl Jones, Shirley Jackson, Jeanette Winterson, et al, as well as some literary theory and criticism.
ENGL 105: English and American Fiction
11133/20596
Meinhardt, M
This Introduction to Fiction course will focus on the contemporary American short story. The course will explore Modern and Postmodern sensibilities, multicultural influences, and critical appreciations for today's short fiction.
ENGL 105: English and American Fiction
20594/11123
Cravens, C
TR 8-9:15 a.m.
This course examines the elements of fiction through close readings of short stories and novellas. Although we will primarily focus on American and English authors, we will also read important European authors who had a significant influence on literary movements in the late nineteenth century, as well as influential Latin American and African authors of the twentieth century. The two objectives for this course are close reading and analytical writing, the skills for both of which will be developed through weekly writing assignments.
ENG 105: English and American Fiction
25646/25647
Boese, S
MWF 12-12:50 p.m.
ENGL 107: Introduction to Shakespeare
26583/26585
Walser, A
MWF 2-2:50 p.m.
Harold Bloom has called Shakespeare the center of the Western canon. This section of English 107 will introduce students to key plays of Shakespeare's, including THE TEMPEST, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, and THE WINTER'S TALE, as well as to important critical approaches to the work. The class will focus in particular on how these plays configure the relationship between art, desire, and the state.
ENGL 108: British Literature and British Culture
22313
TR 11-12:15 p.m.
ENGL 109: American Literature and American Culture
25232/25236
Poore, J
MWF 11-11:50 a.m.
Labor and Leisure in American Literature and Culture: Arguably, one of the foundational myths of American culture is the ideal of a “classless” society—a society made up of self-determining individuals, where the economic and social distinctions of the “Old World” (i.e. Europe) no longer apply. American fiction of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries did much to challenge the reality of that ideal. The texts we will study in this class explore issues such as self-reliance and social mobility, slave labor and racial discrimination, women in the workplace and in the home, and the creation of an American “leisure class.” Readings will include fiction by Herman Melville, Louisa May Alcott, James Weldon Johnson, Upton Sinclair, F. Scott Fitzgerald and William Faulkner, among others. We’ll also read essays and other non-fiction materials that will help to put these works in historical and cultural context.
ENGL 109: American Literature and American Culture
27713/27714
Bennett, M
MWF 8-8:50 a.m.
American Culture Gothic Fiction: Fear, Death, and the Grotesque: This course will focus on American Gothic fiction writers from the 18th through the 20th century. Gothic horror does not necessarily deal literally with demons, vampires, and the supernatural. Instead, we will study the deeper meaning and social significance of Gothic fiction, as authors use horror to explore the fear of change, alienation, and death in their own lives and societies. Themes of family, illness, trauma, sexuality, religion, race, war, and technology will be examined through the course’s selection of short stories and novels. The course goal is to think and write critically about literary concepts in Gothic fiction, while analyzing the narrative techniques in a variety of texts from a variety of different authors and time periods. Two 4-5 page papers and a few shorter response papers will be due as part of the course writing.
ENGL 109: American Literature and American Culture
25234/25238
King, M
TR 11-12:15 p.m.
In this class, we will traverse 150 years of American literature, reading texts that explicitly or implicitly delve into epistemological concerns. Epistemology, the study of the variety, grounds, and validity of knowledge, ask questions such as: What is knowledge? How do we gather information? Is this process of gathering information reliable? If not, how is our access to truth impacted by a faulty methodology? What do people know? At different points in American history, epistemological concerns become the overriding topic of literary endeavors. Yet, in each historical moment, epistemological anxiety focuses on the vexed access to different types of knowledge, revealing the diverse social and cultural concerns preoccupying the nation at various points in time. For example, in the late 1920s and early 1930s, William Faulkner, Nella Larsen, and George Schuyler investigate race, in particular the ambiguity arising from the one drop rule. Throughout the course, we will track American authors’ epistemological concerns as a means of gaining access to the doubts and apprehensions of American society at various points in time. We will read the following texts (subject to change) in this class: short stories by Edgar Allan Poe and Herman Melville, Henry James’ Turn of the Screw, Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth, Nella Larsen’s Passing, William Faulkner’s Light in August, George Schuyler’s Black No More, Tim O’Brien’s In the Lake of the Woods, Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower.
ENGL 110: English and American Popular Genres
11166
Cassidy, M
T 2-4:45 p.m., R 2-3:15 p.m.
This course surveys significant genres from popular culture, drawing upon texts in literature, film, and television. The genres under consideration this semester include the spy story, detection and crime, the romance, horror, and the television sitcom. Lectures introduce students to theories of popular culture, genre theory, and the link between gender and genre. Questions of racial and ethnic representations also overarch the course. In addition to our literary readings, each week a feature-length film or television program is screened as a required part of classwork. In past semesters, films studied have included The Siege, El Mariachi, and The Exorcist. Other screenings feature the domestic sitcom on television, with a special emphasis on All in the Family, Good Times, Will and Grace, and The Simpsons. In the study of television comedy, students become acquainted with television theory and notions of postmodernism.
ENGL 112: Introduction to Native American Literature
25239
Franks, P
MWF 9-9:50 a.m.
ENGL 113: Introduction to Multiethnic Literatures in the United States
25649
Reich, S
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
ENGL 113: Introduction to Multiethnic Literatures in the United States
11236
Alexander, N
MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.
This course examines a range of multiethnic literature written by ethnic American writers in the United States. The course looks at the literary function of “ethnicity” in the United States from the perspective of both those who claim an “ethnic” identity and those who do not. This course will use the medium of film to explore the historical journey of different ethnicities, and will use texts to address a range of issues peculiar to these communities in the United States. In the first half of the course, you will read texts that examine the African American identity. You will study the vital historical moments of this group including the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement. You will read classic texts constructed in these periods including Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes were Watching God and Assata Shakur’s Autobiography. In the second half of this course, you will study Asian American and Latino/a American ethnicities. You will read texts that address issues such as trans-nationalism and generational differences including John Okada’s No-No Boy and Esmeralda Santiago’s When I Was Puerto Rican. Essentially, you will learn how different ethnic groups evolved, and how ethnicity functions in the national imagination.
ENGL 113: Introduction to Multiethnic Literatures in the United States
27276
Gruba, J
MWF 12-12:50 p.m.
This course will provide an introduction to the Multiethnic Literatures in the United States by investigating narratives of Multiethnic Chicago. In addition to a course packet of essays, texts may include Tina DeRosa’s Paper Fish, Marie Hall Ets’ Rosa: The Life of an Italian Immigrant, John Powers’ Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, Gwendolyn Brooks’ Maud Martha, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, H.G. Carrillo’s Loosing My Espanish, Gregory Michie’s Holler If You Hear Me, Stuart Dybek’s Coast of Chicago, Studs Terkel’s Division Street, Sandra Cisnero’s House on Mango Street, Jane Addam’s Twenty Years at Hull House, Richard Wright’s Native Son, Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan and stories and poetry by other Chicago writers. Assignments will include: quizzes, response papers, two 6-8 page papers, midterm and final exam.
English 113: Multi-Ethnic Literature: Multiethnic America
11238
Malik, S
TR 2-3:15 p.m.
ENGL 117: Introduction to Gender, Sexuality and Literature
11241
Costello, V
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
ENGL 117: Introduction to Gender, Sexuality and Literature
25656
Gruba, J
MWF 1-1:50 p.m.
This course is an introduction to literary texts in Western and other traditions that explore issues of gender and sexuality. In addition to a course packet of essays, texts may include Chitra Divakaruni’s Queen of Dreams, Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit Jungle, James Baldwin’s Giovanni's Room, Tina DeRosa’s Paper Fish, Audre Lorde’s Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, Rosario Ferre’s The Youngest Doll, Carole Maso’s The American Woman in the Chinese Hat, Octavia Butler’s Blood Child, Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman At Point Zero, and Chuck Palahnuik’s Fight Club. Assignments will include: quizzes, response papers, two 6-8 page papers, midterm and final exam.
English 120: Film and Culture
26208
Messenger, C
MW 3-5:50 p.m.
This course will explore the intersections between film noir as a film genre and American culture. In addition to examining the genre’s influence over time, we will also be looking at its conventions in an international context. Films to be screened include Double Indemnity, Chungking Express, and Blade Runner. This course aims to build upon students’ working knowledge of the formal components of moving image artistry with an emphasis on the ways films construct and convey meanings through generic repetition and aesthetic innovation.
English 121 Intro to Moving Images
20666
Haisman, A
TR 3:30-5:50 p.m.
In this introduction to film, television, and new media studies we will focus on the basics of film analysis, including narrative, ideology, cinematography, sound, and editing. We will apply these tools to an examination of television, the Internet, and new digital media. Our overarching concerns will be with how these various aspects of the moving image work together to construct meanings and with the social values implied by such meanings. Our particular focus will be on comedy pioneers such as Lucille Ball, the Pythons and Charlies Chaplin and the rigorous writing that goes into producing such seemingly spontaneous humor. We will also examine the stand-up culture and cartoons such as *South Park* and the *Simpsons *as particularly fertile arenas of political commentary. An emphasis will be placed on writing and analytical skills.
ENGL 122: Understanding Rhetoric
29013
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
Departmental Approval Required.
English 122: Understanding Rhetoric
27003
Druschke, C
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
What is rhetoric? Is it "the good man speaking well" as Quintilian argued? Plato's "guiding of the soul through words"? Aristotle's mandate "not to persuade but to see the available means of persuasion in each case"? Or, is it, as UIC's own Ralph Cintron once argued, "a kind of grab bag of practical advice... it is the favored art of all hermeneuts of suspicion; one can be skilled at it without knowing a damn thing about it." Assuming you don't yet know a damn thing about rhetoric, we will attempt to sort through these differing understandings, examining rhetoric as both a critical and constructive art. Beginning with a study of ancient rhetoric, you will be encouraged to situate this knowledge in contemporary public conversations, to engage in public debate, and to understand the stakes in your doing so. You will be asked to learn rhetorical terms, to participate in lively discussion and debate inside and outside of the classroom, and to craft effective and timely arguments to advocate for the realities you wish to see in the world.
ENGL 122: Understanding Rhetoric
27257
Marie, M
MWF 10:00-10:50
This course will introduce students to rhetoric, one of the oldest academic disciplines, and how it shapes public life. Beginning with the ancient rhetorical tradition and continuing through renewed contemporary interest in rhetoricality, we will concentrate on rhetoric as both a set of practices and body of theory. The current economic, political, and religious climate will focus our inquiry as we seek locate the foundations and critical application of rhetoric in the practice of everyday life.
ENGL 125: Introduction to Asian American Studies
19879
Su, K
MWF 10-10:50
200 LEVEL
ENGL 200: Basic English Grammar
21003
Rosenbush, M
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
During the first part of the semester, students will be introduced to grammarby examining the framework of English sentences. Through diagramming experiences, students will develop an understanding of the ten basic sentence patterns, the expanded verb pattern, and sentence variations and their applications. The last part of the class will cover morphology and a close look at form and structure classes, wrapping up with an informative section on purposeful punctuation. Take-home quizzes and in-class exams will measure student progress throughout the semester. Students will complete two final projects: Language Logs, which record observations and explanations of interesting uses of English (written and oral) and a syntactical and morphological analysis of Jabberwocky.
ENGL 200: Basic English Grammar
12066
Romeo, R
MWF 3-3:50 p.m.
Students will be introduced to the basic grammatical structures and semantics of English. The focus will be on the interrelationship of syntax and semantics, showing how small changes in structure can affect the meaning of sentences.
ENGL 201: Introduction to the Writing of Non-fiction Prose
12068
Pilat, R
MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m.
Nonfiction as written and read today reflects a cultural fascination with the writer as both “I” and “eye”. It is a body of work that exploded in the twentieth century, but has roots in classical literary traditions. Students will read the work of many nonfiction writers, and write in varying forms of this genre including: personal or critical essay, the memoir, the interview, the meditation, as well as narratives of process analysis, segmented writing, and literary journalism. Interviewing skills, ethnographic study, and other methods of field research will also be explored. Students write weekly blog responses, two analytic reviews of an author’s work, a collaborative magazine report, and three nonfiction pieces for in-class workshops. Each student will submit an end-of-term portfolio of revised work.
ENGL 201: Introduction to the Writing of Non-fiction Prose
12072
Corey, M
TR 3:30-4:45 p.m.
ENGL 202: Media and Professional Writing
23568
Andrews, L
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
Chicago, one of the most vibrant cities in America to find a writing job after graduation, provides a backdrop for English 202. By interviewing the people who live and work here students gain a perspective on the world of professional writing. Through readings, class discussions, writing, and interviews, they also will gain a perspective on today’s media, challenged by technology and accompanying financial constraints. The goals of the course are: 1) to understand and respond to the needs of the audience; 2) to develop a news sense; 3) to be aware of the world of professional writing; 4) to be an aggressive and ethical writer; 5) to build a writing portfolio for internship and employment interviews.
ENGL 202: Media and Professional Writing
28654
Allen, J. L.
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
This course teaches the basics of journalism to enable students to write in a clear, informative and dynamic manner in a variety of work settings, from news media to public relations to business. Assignments send students out to Chicago’s people, neighborhoods and public events to transform that world into compelling factual stories. Course goals: 1) develop the craft of journalistic and fact-based writing; 2) understand the news media business; 3) create a writing portfolio for internships and jobs.
ENGL 210: Introduction to the Writing of Poetry
26214
Fouts, T
MWF 9-9:50 a.m.
ENGL 210: Introduction to the Writing of Poetry
12082
Corey, M
MWF 1:00-1:50 p.m.
In this class, you will explore the practice of reading and writing poetry by composing, workshopping, and revising a number of original poems. To prepare, the first half of the course will be dedicated solely to reading––and discussing in detail––a selection of poems from broad range of periods and writers, and identifying what authorial techniques make those poems effective. In turn, you will use this time to generate ideas for your own work in verse. During the second portion of the semester, you will demonstrate your understanding of the genre by composing a handful of original poems; each of these will be in a form of your choice. To support your composition of those poems, we will meet individually and on a frequent basis to discuss your work. At the close of the term, you will submit a portfolio of revised poems accompanied by a statement of artistic intent.
English 210: Introduction to the Writing of Poetry
12086
Heltzel, C
TR 2:00-3:15 p.m.
This course is designed to provide you with the vocabulary to talk about poetry written for the page as a critical reader and writer. The first half of the course will center on discussion of readings from Mary Kinzie's “A Poet's Guide to Poetry” and assigned poems. The second half of the course will consist of workshops and discussions of book-length works of poetry. Grades will be based on participation and class discussion, workshops, at least one presentation, an imitation project, a final portfolio, a midterm, final, and quizzes.
ENGL 212: Introduction to the Writing of Fiction
12103
James Pate
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
The purpose of this class is to help you develop your fiction writing skills through the techniques and strategies which we will discuss during the semester. We will read published stories in order to analyze multiple aspects of the craft. We will also workshop student stories. Over the course of the semester you will be asked to turn in two stories, and also offer a page of written critique to each student story being workshopped.
ENGL 212: Introduction to the Writing of Fiction
22428
Milks, M
MWF 9-9:50 a.m.
In this introduction to the elements of fiction writing, we will focus on the contemporary short story in some of its many guises. In addition to reading recently published short stories and workshopping their own, students will be asked to enter the community of writers by attending two readings, exploring the world of literary journals, and participating in a collaborative writing project.
ENGL 212: Introduction to the Writing of Fiction
12103
Pate, J
TR 9-10:45 a.m.
English 212: Introduction to Fiction Writing
22429
Messenger, C
MWF 2:00-2:50 p.m.
This course was designed to build your fiction writing skills. We will discuss aspects of fiction and the craft of writing, read contemporary published fiction together, and workshop student stories. In addition, you will be asked to do writing exercises, write short reading response papers on the fiction we read, write detailed comments on your classmates’ stories, and build a portfolio of your own work. Constant attendance is crucial to the success of a workshop.
English 212: Introduction to Fiction Writing
12098
McFarland, M
TR 3:30-4:45 p.m.
This course is designed to build your fiction-writing skills, emphasizing all stages of project development (idea generation, drafting and revision) and focusing on the elements of the fiction form (character, dialogue, point of view, plot, style, etc.). Our class will be a place for active writing, reading and responding in a workshop setting. During the first half of the course, we will read and study the work of numerous published authors and you will complete a number of shorter writing assignments. The second half of the course will function as a workshop for the two short stories you will write over the course of the semester.
ENGL 222: Tutoring in the Writing Center
28655
Wulff, A
M 2:00-3:15
English 222 is fundamentally advanced writing course. Students practice writing and revision as well as develop different approaches to helping other writers. This course includes required weekly class meetings for discussing readings as well as weekly writing assignments. In addition to class time, students schedule three hours per week to tutor.
ENGL 222: Tutoring in the Writing Center
12108
Williams, C
W 3:00-4:15 p.m.
English 222 is fundamentally advanced writing course. Students practice writing and revision as well as develop different approaches to helping other writers. This course includes required weekly class meetings for discussing readings as well as weekly writing assignments. In addition to class time, students schedule three hours per week to tutor.
ENGL 222: Tutoring in the Writing Center
12110
Marshall, L
T 3:30-4:45 p.m.
English 222 is fundamentally advanced writing course. Students practice writing and revision as well as develop different approaches to helping other writers. This course includes required weekly class meetings for discussing readings as well as weekly writing assignments. In addition to class time, students schedule three hours per week to tutor.
English 232: History of Film I: 1890 to World War II
12114/12118
Hall, S
T 3:30-4:45 p.m., R 2:00-4:45 p.m.
ENGL 234: History of Television
29021
Bui, D
TR 8-9:15 a.m.
ENGL 240: Introduction to Literary Study and Critical Methods
22356/22357
Graff, G & Birkenstein-Graff, C
TR 2-3:15 p.m.
As a course that fulfills the Writing in the Disciplines requirement for English Majors, this section of ENGL 240 is designed to help students write their way into the conversations of literary critics. As a result, we will read a series of literary works--and a series of critical debates that illuminate these works and provide entry points for student writing. One such debate will focus on whether literature should be read for entertainment or analyzed for its deeper "hidden meanings." Other debates will center on whether literary works should be read as expressions of timeless, universal values, as aesthetic objects, or as historical documents that intervene in social, political conflicts.
ENGL 240: Introduction to Literary Study and Critical Methods
22317/22321
Grimes, C
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
ENGL 240: Introduction to Literary Study and Critical Methods
20654/20653
Chiang, M
MWF 10-10:50 a.m.
ENGL 240: Introduction to Literary Study and Critical Methods
24159
Pugh, C
MWF 1:00-1:50 p.m.
In this course, we will discuss the ways in which a work of literature can generate multiple critical readings, as well as the ways in which we can make judgments about the viability of those readings and create our own counter-arguments based on strategic presentation of textual evidence. Our critical readings will also address issues of genre that inform works of poetry, the fairy tale, and the novel. The course is conceived as an active dialogue between literary and critical pieces; later in the course, we will discuss the ways in which the distinction between “literary” and “critical” works can fruitfully break down. Our selection of readings includes poetry by Emily Dickinson and Wallace Stevens; fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and others; novels and novellas by Nella Larsen, Manuel Puig, and Clarice Lispector; and theory and criticism by Helen Vendler, W.J.T. Mitchell, James Kavanagh, Louis Althusser, Roland Barthes, Helene Cixous, Barbara Johnson, Judith Butler, and others. This course is conceived as a seminar; class discussion will therefore be paramount here. Students will write short papers and a longer, integrative final paper. A short oral presentation will also be required.
ENGL 241: English Literature I
22324/22310
Brown, G
F 9-9:50 a.m., F 10-10:50 a.m.
ENGL 241: English Literature I
25241/25242
Brown, G
F 9-9:50 a.m., F 10-10:50 a.m.
ENGL 241: English Literature I
12171
Rose, M
MW 10-10:50 a.m.
This course will survey English literature from the Anglo-Saxon era through the late seventeenth century. We will study texts from the medieval and early modern centuries with the following goals: exploring the development of literary forms, such as lyric and narrative poetry, drama, satire, and prose fiction and non-fiction; becoming acquainted with various kinds of literary analysis and approaches, including close, in-depth reading of texts and examining the ways that texts participate in history; and considering the changing representation of such issues as gender, social class, race, and heroism. We will study some anonymous authors, along with works by Chaucer, Margery Kempe, Julian of Norwich, Thomas Wyatt, Thomas More, Philip Sidney, Mary Wroth, Elizabeth Tudor, Christopher Marlowe, John Donne, George Herbert, Ben Jonson, William Shakespeare, and John Milton. Requirements: In addition to regular attendance in both lectures and sections, there will be two short essays, a midterm, and a final examination.
ENGL 242: English Literature II: 1660 to 1900
12192/22315, 22314, 12174, 12180
Canuel, M
MW 11:00 a.m. (Lecture); F 10 AM, F 11 AM, F 10 AM, F 11 AM (DIS)
This course surveys British literature by authors ranging from the Augustans to the late Victorians. Our aim is to read and critically examine a range of works written in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. We will accomplish this goal by reading widely, discussing works in class, and providing responses in short classroom assignments and longer essays. Classroom discussions will tend to emphasize techniques of "close reading" that enhance our appreciation of specific formal strategies involved in novels, plays, or poems. Thus, we will often focus on selected areas of text from the assigned readings rather than produce generalized accounts. In addition, we will add depth to our study of literary works by considering them in relation to specific historical contexts, including constructions of sexual, racial, and national identity; the altering social role of established religion; the relationship between literature and social reform. Requirements: attendance and participation in all classes, occasional short quizzes or assignments, two papers, mid-term and final examinations
ENGL 242: English Literature II 1660–1900
14507 (Lecture)
Kornbluh, Anna
MW 9:00-9:50 a.m.
Materialisms: This course surveys the development of genres and the innovation of forms across two and an half centuries of British literary history, from the Restoration through the Victorian era. We will situate literary forms and themes in relation to a broad cultural and historical context including the decline of fixed hierarchies, the expanse of global trade, imperial violence, and capitalism, and the rise of materialisms in science, culture, and art. To balance the historical and generic breadth of the course content, we will emphasize techniques of “close reading” to carefully appreciate the specific formal strategies involved in writing poems, plays, or novels. Authors include Behn, Pope, Defoe, Wordsworth, Austen, Eliot, Wilde, and others.
English 243: American Literature: Beginnings to 1900
27429/27430
Whalen, T
TR 11-12:15 p.m.
English 243: American Literature: Beginnings to 1900
12200
Michaels, W
MWF 1-1:50 p.m.
This class is a survey of American literature from its origins to the early 20th century. There will be two mid-term exams, a final and several short writing assignments.
ENGL 260: Comparative Black Literatures
24489
Barnes, N
TR 3:30-4:45 p.m.
English 261: Reading Black Women Writing
27175
Barnes, N
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
English 295: Latino Literary Studies
25053
MWF 3-3:50 p.m.
English 297: Studies in Classical Tradition
28934/28935
MacGregor, A
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
300 Level
ENGL 302: Studies in the Moving Image
21666
Rubin, M
TR 5:00-7:50 p.m.
Topic: An investigation of the most famous film director. The emphasis is on close analysis of Hitchcock's major films, including The 39 Steps, Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds. One film per week is screened and discussed. Course requirements include a final, an oral report, and regular short-essay quizzes. Required text: Hitchcock by Francois Truffaut. Recommended text: Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light by Patrick McGilligan.
ENGL 305: Studies in Fiction
29269
Wildman, G
TR 3:30-4:45 p.m.
Topic: The Outsider in Literature. This course will look at the use of several Outsider figures in literature as a lens through which to examine broader social and psychological issues that they bring into play. Assignments will include short critical or creative response papers.
ENGL 311: Medieval English Literature
27719
Bestul, T
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
A study of major works of medieval literature from the period 1300–1500. We will concentrate on six main texts, which illustrate the rich variety of medieval literature: The Inferno of Dante Alighieri, Geoffrey Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde and Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale, Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan, the Book of Margery Kempe, and Malory’s Morte Darthure. Among these, there will be an emphasis on Chaucer. Topics covered include heroic literature and the formation of national identity (Chaucer’s Troilus, Malory’s Morte Darthure), sexuality, the construction of gender, and women’s literary expression (Chaucer’s Troilus, Wife of Bath, Gottfried von Strassburg, Margery Kempe), and the quest for spiritual fulfillment (Dante, Margery Kempe). Background readings, including scholarly essays, will be part of the assigned reading. Requirements: mid-term and final exam; several papers.
ENGL 313: Major Plays of Shakespeare
27149/27150
Huntington, J
TR 3:30-4:45 p.m.
This introductory course will broaden and deepen your acquaintance with the bard by studying in some detail eight of Shakespeare's plays. I will assume students have had some experience reading Shakespeare. At the cost of missing some wonderful plays, we will focus on Shakespeare's last plays: a selection from the great tragedies (Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth), the problem Comedies (Troilus and Cressida, Measure for Measure), and the romances (Pericles, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest). Students will write two 2-page exercises, two 5-page papers, a midterm, and a final exam, take a number of short quizzes, and memorize a passage from one of the plays. The text will be The Norton Shakespeare, Vol 2, The Later Plays, ed Stephen Greenblatt et al. (Norton).
ENGL 317: Victorian Literature
26236
Kornbluh, A
MWF 10-10:50 a.m.
Sex & the City: Victorian Literature in Victorian London: This course surveys British literature from 1837-1901 by considering the conjuncture of two major Victorian preoccupations: sexuality and urbanization. Studying novels, prose, drama, and poetry, we will encounter a spectrum of literary responses to the development of modern sexual and gender identities and norms, and to the growth of London as the world’s largest city in the nineteenth century. We will ask about the formal and thematic conventions associated with writing about the city and about sexuality, about the city as erotic space, about separate spheres and same-sex desire, about romance and finance, and about the fears and pleasures that galvanized the Victorians. Likely topics range from prostitutes to orphans, seriality to serial killers, sewers to the stock market, and consumption in its tuberculine and shopping varieties, with some monsters, recipes, detectives, odd women, and deviants for good measure. Authors include Darwin, Dickens, Doyle, Gaskell, Gissing, Martineau, Mayhew, Rossetti, Ruskin, Shaw, Stevenson, and Wilde, among others. Requirements include exams, discussion/response papers, and a term paper.
ENGL 323: American Literature I: 1790 to 1865
27720
Whalen, T
TR 2:00-3:15 p.m.
ENGL 325: Modern American Literature
27721
Messenger, C
MWF 2-2:50 p.m.
A study of Modern American Fiction, concentrating on the period roughly from 1910-1935. Books and authors will include Johnson, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EX-COLORED MAN; Cather. MY ANTONIA; Hemingway, IN OUR TIME; Cather, THE PROFESSOR'S HOUSE; Fitzgerald, TENDER IS THE NIGHT; Faulkner, SANCTUARY, LIGHT IN AUGUST; Larsen, QUICKSAND, PASSING. Two short papers, mid term and final exams, several reaction papers. Discussion format whenever possible. Inquiries welcome. Summer is a good time to read and get ahead of the game.
ENGL 327: Contemporary American Literature: 1980-Present
27722
Tabbi, J
TR 2:00-3:15 p.m.
ENGL 343: Literature and Religion: Studies in Myth
27724
Havrelock, R
MWF 12-12:50 p.m.
This course concerns the genre of myth. We will read myths cross-culturally and examine recurring shared structures. The primary texts focus on myths of creation and the founding of a nation. While studying the myths themselves, we will also study theories of myth and inquire how different theorists answer the question of why members of far distant cultures have the same stories. The theorists include Cassirer, Dundes, Eliade, Freud, Jung, Lévi-Strauss, Malinowski and Vernant.
ENGL 394: Special Topics in English Studies
28695
Havrelock, R
MWF 11-11:50 a.m.
"Gender and Sexuality in Judaism and Christianity": This course considers how the definitions of men and women were generated in ancient religion and how the roles of men and women were determined. Central texts such as the story of creation, Adam and Eve, Sodom, laws of Leviticus, and Romans are studied and followed through the history of Christian and Jewish biblical interpretation. The course also considers biblical texts concerning marriage, illicit relationships, friendship and same-sex love in the context of the ancient world. While the focus is on the primary, foundational texts of Judaism and Christianity, the course also deals with how biblical texts are mobilized in today’s society to determine legislation and sexual mores. All texts are studied in translation and no prior knowledge is required.
ENGL 398: English Honors Seminar
23303
Arranged
ENGL 399: Independent Study in English
CRN: Varies by professor
Arranged
ENGL 400: History of the English Language
26241/26242
Bestul, T
TR 3:30-4:45 p.m.
We will study the fascinating development of the English language from the beginning to the present day and learn to appreciate its many varieties. Topics covered include the phenomenon of language change, writing systems and the effects of writing on speech, the major language families of the world, Old and Middle English, dialect and the rise of standard English, the use of English as a world language. The emphasis will be on social and historical aspects rather than on technical linguistic matters, although students will be expected to learn basic linguistic terms and concepts. Student discussion will be expected and encouraged. Students do NOT need English 200 as a prerequisite for this course. Requirements: written exercises, final paper, mid-term and final exam. Text: Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable, A History of the English Language (5th ed.), with associated Companion (3rd ed.).
ENGL 429: Topics in Literature and Culture: The City as Cultural Focus
28689
Thomas, A
R 2:00-4:45 p.m.
ENGL 446: Topics in Criticism and Theory
27727/27728
Lukacher, N
TR 3:30-5:00 p.m.
"God in Theory": This course is Part I of a two-semester-long course on the fate of the idea of God after the death of God, which is to say, a history of the idea of God from Kant to Derrida. Nietzsche's revelation that "God is dead," would have come as no surprise to the German Idealists, i.e. Kant, Fichte, Hegel, and company, who spent much of their time explaining to the good burghers of Germany that, despite appearances to the contrary, they really were not atheists. Of course, that didn't help much: Kant's book on religion was banned, Fichte was fired from his professorship, and only Hegel's untimely death put an end to pressures to stop his lectures on the philosophy of religion. Heidegger is, of course, the most atheistic philosopher one could possibly imagine; and Derrida is notorious for his paradoxical insistence on "religion without religion." The goal of this English 446 is to examine the spectral afterlife of the idea of God in contemporary theory. Graduate students not enrolled in a degree program must have permission of the professor.
ENGL 459: Introduction to the Teaching of English in Middle and Secondary Schools
20648/21077
Rutter, S
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
ENGL 471: Topics in Native American Literatures
27729/27730
Urrea, L
TR 11-12:15 p.m.
ENGL 481: Methods of Teaching English in Middle and Secondary Schools
21079/21080
Schaafsma, D
TR 3:30-4:45 p.m.
ENGL 482: Campus Writing Consultants
21190/21191
Arranged
ENGL 486: The Teaching of Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools
20658/21082
Farquhar, A
R 5:00-7:50 p.m.
ENGL 489: The Teaching of Reading and Literature in Middle and Secondary Schools
20611/21083
Manski, C
TR 2-3:15 p.m.
ENGL 490: Advanced Writing of Poetry
12504/20335:
MWF 2:00-2:50 p.m.
Glomski, C
English 490 is the advanced undergraduate poetry workshop and the successor to English 210, which is its pre-requisite (and in which UIC students are required to achieve a grade of “B” or better). If you enroll for this course you are expected to have a working knowledge of common poetic forms and figures of thought, and to have some experience participating in a creative writing workshop. In addition to pursuing your own work, you should be prepared to respond to various poetic writing assignments (intermittently given throughout the semester); to offer regular critical commentary on peer work; and deliver informal, but thoughtful, presentations on assigned topics. Readings will center on a course topic to be announced. Previous topics have been “Years of the Modern,” “Secrets of Surrealism,” and “Literary Anthologies, Literary Communities.”
ENGL 490: Advanced Writing of Poetry
22373/22374
MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m.
Cycholl, B
“The ‘I’ in the Poem": This poetry workshop will examine the influence of autobiography in writing. Poets will write and critique a series of poems centered on this concern. Quoting Viktor Shklovsky, Lyn Hejinian notes, “Art can restore to [us] sensation of the world, [it] can resurrect things and kill pessimism.” Our focus of study this fall will be the fulcrum of that “sensation,” the poet’s “I.” What aspects of autobiography enter the poem itself? How do understandings of “self” make an articulation of that “I” more complex? How do contemporary poets use aspects of geography or politics to complicate the influence of autobiographical experience? These questions frame our study, introduced by the work of poets including Robert Lowell, Frank O’Hara, Emily Dickinson, Michael O’Brien, Lyn Hejinian, and Sterling Plumpp.
ENGL 491: Advanced Writing of Fiction
22375/22376
Stolley, L.
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
ENGL 491: Advanced Writing of Fiction
12505/20340
Mohanraj, M.
MWF 1-1:50 a.m.
ENGL 491: Advanced Writing of Fiction
12509/12507
Wildman, E
TR 2-3:15 a.m., W 3-5:50
So far as possible the course will be conducted workshop fashion and the focus will be on original student material. A minimum of two stories will be required, plus a revision of one of them. Student writings will be supplemented by readings from an anthology in order to illustrate various strategies and techniques that successful writers have employed.
ENGL 492: Advanced Writing of Nonfiction Prose
12510/20346
Barrigar, D
MWF 10:00-10:50 p.m.
English 492 is for advanced writers who want to explore creative nonfiction. Writing in the course will be supplemented by readings in the genre. Students will compose and turn in for workshopping at least three original, full-length essays, and will write critiques of one another's rough drafts as well as discussing them in class. Major focus on revision of works-in progress. Students should have prior knowledge of the basic creative writing techniques and terms before enrolling.
ENGL 491: Advanced Writing of Fiction
22828/22829
Wildman, E
TR 2:00-3:15 p.m.
ENGL 492: Advanced Writing of Nonfiction Prose
24123/24124
Newirth, M
TR 11:00-11:50 a.m.
ENGL 493: Internship in Nonfiction Writing
25243/25244; R 4:00-4:50 p.m.
Andrews, L
27737/27738; W 1:00-1:50 p.m.
Andrews, L
The large metropolitan area of Chicago offers many internship opportunities for English majors in publishing, non-profits, corporations, government agencies, fundraising, and public relations. Tasks vary and may involve writing feature stories, annual reports, or copy for a brochure; researching for a white paper; or interviewing employees for a company’s newsletter. While they are writing, editing, or researching approximately 12 hours a week in an internship, students are enrolled in English 493, a three-credit course that meets for an hour each week. Writing samples, resume and cover letters, which are generated in ENGL 202, are required to apply for an internship. In ENGL 493 students have an opportunity to share knowledge gained in the internship, write short papers, and learn about professional writing. Through internships students examine different work cultures and build a network of contacts before graduation.
ENGL 498: Educational Practice with Seminar I
12520
Manski, C
ARR
ENGL 498: Educational Practice with Seminar I
12523
Manski, C
ARR
ENGL 498: Educational Practice with Seminar I
12525
Williams, K
ARR
ENGL 498: Educational Practice with Seminar I
14554
Destigter, T
W 4-5:50 p.m.
ENGL 499: Educational Practice with Seminar II
12531, 12533, 12534, 12535, 27740, 28837
ARR
500 Level
English 500: Proseminar
22397
Ashton, J
M 6-8:50 p.m.
English 503: Proseminar I: Theory and Practice of Criticism
21006
Brown, N
W 6-8:50 p.m.
Martin Heidegger called aesthetics “the element in which art dies”; Theodor Adorno argued that “art perceived aesthetically is art aesthetically misperceived.” These rejections of the aesthetic (in their proper contexts each deeply ambivalent) are executed in the service of radically opposed political projects: Heidegger accepted a university rectorship under the Nazi regime while Adorno, a member of the Marxist-oriented Frankfurt School, fled Germany in 1934. Meanwhile, we hardly need to be reminded that in mainstream or journalistic cultural criticism (not to mention forms of academic criticism associated with the canonization of Modernism) the rejection of aesthetics is often replaced by the refusal of politics. Needless to say, the rejection of politics as such in the work of art is by and large the rejection of a particular politics and thus a political act, while the critique of aesthetics as such usually turns out to champion some articular aesthetic. Nonetheless, both the refusal of political content and the critique of aesthetics, in their most rigorous expressions, have undeniable legitimacy. At the same time the work of art, in order to be something more than mere ideology and yet to have some function beyond the decorative, requires both an aesthetic and a political dimension. One might even say that this aporia is the space from which art emerges. The dialectic between aesthetics and politics, expressed here in its most empty and abstract form, plays out concretely in mutually exclusive solutions whose interplay goes to the heart of contemporary theory. The primary purposes of this course are to acquaint students with a cross section of critical problems facing literary studies today and to develop students’ facility in manipulating and deploying concepts central to the discipline. With an eye towards their future professional activities, however, students will receive guidance in presenting their work according to the norms and standard practices of the discipline. Note: Although they fall somewhat outside the purview of this course, Kant’s third Critique and Hegel’s Aesthetics constitute the philosophical background to much of the material we will be addressing. While it will not be required, students may find it useful to read Kant’s Critique of Judgment (especially Part I, Division I, Books I & II), and Hegel’s Lectures on Fine Art (especially Volume I, Part II, Sections I & II) over the summer.
English 520: Seminar in Renaissance
27731
Lukacher, N
R 5:00-8:00 p.m.
Studies Special Topic: "Early Modern TragiComedy." This seminar will explore the problem of genre in 17th-century English drama. In the frontispiece to his WORKS (1616), Ben Jonson famously depicted tragicomedy as the supreme muse of the drama, reigning over both tragedy and comedy. The seminar will examine how and why the Italian-inspired mixed mode of tragicomedy came to preeminence during the 17th century. Readings will range throughout the 17th century, from Shakespeare and Jonson to Beaumont & Fletcher, Middleton, Massinger, and Dryden. Our focus will be on plays written before and after the English Civil War, and on the relation of the literary violation of the putative "law of genre" to a wide range of historical and philosophical issues. Graduate students not enrolled in a degree program must have permission of the professor.
ENGL 537: Global and Multiethnic Literatures and Cultures
27743
Jun, H
T 2-4:50 p.m.
English 540: Seminar in Modern and/or Contemporary Studies in English
27058
Michaels, W
M 6-8:50 p.m.
This a course about American literature (primarily the novel) from the late 30s through the early 50s. Texts to be discussed will include: Dusk of Dawn - 1940; For Whom the Bell Tolls - 1940; Let us Now Praise Famous Men - 1941; The Naked and The Dead - 1948; Intruder in the Dust - 1949; Stranger and Alone – 1950; Invisible Man - 1952 and The Outsider - 1953. The seminar will meet in conjunction with Kenneth Warren's class at the University of Chicago, so you have to be prepared to get yourself to Hyde Park every other week. Writing requirements will be an in-class presentation and a final seminar paper.
ENGL 555: Teaching College Writing
12546
Feldman, A
M 3-5:50 p.m.
Teaching College Writing, prepares teaching assistants to offer challenging writing courses to UIC's diverse students. Participants in this seminar study composition theory in the context of UIC's approach – to engage students in a consequential, public conversation through writing. Participants in English 555 design two syllabi for freshman writing courses that ask students to read critically and write in response to a variety of academic and public situations. This course involves substantial collaboration and team work among participants. As part of the seminar, teaching assistants plan sequences of activities to teach about genre, situation, language, and the consequences of writing. Other important topics include argument, summary, synthesis, and analysis. Special emphasis is placed on designing group activities; responding to, evaluating, and grading writing; support for writing academic research papers; and peer review. During the semester teaching assistants also practice teaches in a mentor's class and tutor in the Writing Center. The instructor's permission is required for admission to this course.
ENGL 557: Language and Literacy
23604
DeStigter, T
T 5:00-7:50 p.m.
Seminar in English Education: "American Pragmatism and the Search for Democratic Education." English 557 is intended to serve the needs and interests of students enrolled in either the graduate English or Education programs, especially those whose interests include secondary and post-secondary pedagogy. Two central questions will guide the course—the beginning of it, at least: 1) How has the philosophical tradition of American pragmatism shaped ideas and practices of education? and 2) What are the uses and limitations of pragmatism for educators as they seek to foster democratic ideals in a pluralistic society such as ours? Course requirements include bi-weekly 500-word written responses to course readings, a five-page mid-term reflection paper, and a final fifteen-twenty page seminar paper. Students will also work in pairs to take turns leading class discussions. Likely readings include the following:
William James, Pragmatism
John Dewey, selections from Democracy and Education, The Public and Its Problems, Experience and Education, and Culture As Freedom
Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House
W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk
Louise W. Knight, Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy
Greg Michie, Holler If You Hear Me: The Education of Teacher and His Students
James C. Scott, selections from Seeing Like A State: How Schemes To Improve the Human Condition Have Failed
Cornel West, The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism
Eric Klinenberg, Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago
Louis Menand, The Metaphysical Club: A History of Ideas in America
Paul Lichterman, Elusive Togetherness: Church Groups Trying To Bridge America’s Divisions
Joan Richardson, A Natural History of Pragmatism
Questions? Contact Prof. Todd DeStigter.
ENGL 570: Program for Writers: Poetry Workshop
12547
Pugh, C
W 3:00-5:50 p.m.
This course is a poetry workshop for graduate level poets (in the English department graduate program). The discussion of student work will be the primary focus here, but we will also read several volumes of contemporary poetry which are notable for the particular ways in which they navigate issues of syntax and line. The course includes critical reading (e.g. Kinzie, Fussell, Herrnstein Smith) which examines the syntax, form, and musicality of lyric poetry in a literary context, thus concurrently informing our hands-on discussions of poetic making. Students will write and revise new poems, working towards a final portfolio due at the end of the course; they will also produce an artist’s statement and other critical written responses to the readings, in addition to an oral presentation.
ENGL 571: Program for Writers: Fiction Workshop
12548
Grimes, C
R 2-4:50 p.m.
ENGL 572: Program for Writers: Novel Workshop
12549
Mazza, C
T 5:00-7:50 p.m.
This workshop is open to all graduate students in the English Department's Program for Writers. All other graduate students from English Department programs or from other UIC departments must get prior approval of the professor. In this workshop we evaluate and discuss novels-in-progress. You do not have to have a completed novel to participate. You may have an un-started idea or a single chapter, perhaps several drafted chapters. Story-cycles are also welcome. The workshop will not distribute nor discuss genre novels or any kind of formula-driven fiction. Aspects of publishing and other functional or philosophic issues in a novelist's life are also fodder for workshop conversation.
ENGL 573: Program for Writers: Translation Workshop
28653
Winters, A
R 2:00-4:50 p.m.
This workshop gives graduate students the opportunity to work on an extended literary translation project (prose, poetry) from a foreign language of their choice. We begin with a consideration, through Biguenet and Schulte's THE CRAFT OF TRANSLATION, and essays by Benjamin and Heidegger, of issues viewed as crucial to translation:
lexical “register”; denotation, exactitudes and the role of “imitations”; aural mimesis, etc. We will all work on 1 or 2 practice translations in prose and poetry, with English as both original and receiver language. During this early part of the course students will select an author or text for their term project.
We will spend the latter two thirds of the workshop on individual projects. These begin with the distribution of original texts or transliterations with interlinear English (permitting students of different language backgrounds to participate), accompanied by literal translations. We then move on to revised and polished versions, making stylistic decisions as we go. The term project is a final revision, along with an essay suitable for journal publication.
TEACHING METHOD. Discussion, workshop.
EVALUATION. Attendance; annotations of student translations for workshop discussion; final polished project and introductory essay on author. Anne Winters, Professor of English, UH 1909. <awinters@uic.edu> Instructor has knowledge of French, German, Italian, Latin, Greek, Hebrew. Course projects have been in Spanish as well; also Swahili, Greek, Russian, Hebrew, etc., through transliterations.
English 581: Interdisciplinary English Studies
24349
Cintron, R
R 5:00-7:50 p.m.
Rhetorical studies is that disciplinary field that defines interdisciplinarity. In simpler language: because rhetoric takes argument and other kinds of language performance as the focus of its inquiries, it has, since its beginnings, dealt with argument and language use in all disciplines and contexts. Hence, today we can think about the rhetorics of science, history, literature, engineering, anthropology, economics, and so on. And we can also think about the rhetorics of abortion, immigration, globalization, and democracy.
This class, then, begins with the study of rhetoric. We will explore some basic notions concerning its history and what it is. We will then “think rhetorically” about democracy and globalization. A few nods will be made toward early democratic theory, but the focus will be on our post-Berlin-wall-moment when all barriers to the creation of global democracy and capitalism are removed. This situation raises questions about the possible emergence of “democratic amalgams.” It also raises questions about nations and nationalisms versus supranational entities such as the IMF, World Bank, and EU. And those entities themselves raise questions about neoliberalism as the economic engine of globalization—why, for instance, does Latin America generally speaking reject neoliberalism whereas Eastern Europe adopts it? Why does the same phenomenon generate opposing rhetorics? And more to the point: what is neoliberalism anyway?
Here are some further topics that may emerge from our central inquiry: the recent emergence of arguments defending a world or cosmopolitan citizenry as opposed to a national citizenry; the transformation of rights discourse for the sake of creating a global democracy; the volatility of immigrant labor: does it signify national breakdown or a wealth transfer from first world to third world?
Texts being considered:
Wendy Brown, Edgework
Arjun Appadurai, Fear of Small Numbers
Zygmunt Bauman, Globalization
The Belgrade Circle, The Politics of Human Rights
Paul Woodruff, First Democracy
Luciano Canfora, Democracy in Europe
Saskia Sassen, Territory, Authority, Rights
Richard Peet, Geography of Power
David Harvey, A Brief History of Neoliberalism
Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended
Renato Barilli, Rhetoric
Ernesto LaClau, On Populist Reason
Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities
Sabrina Ramet, The Liberal Project and the Transformation of Democracy
During his or her academic career, a student may enroll in a variety of independent studies. A student must obtain approval from the professor with whom he or she expects to work. It is the student’s responsibility to find a professor willing to direct the student’s independent study. Students then must complete an Independent Study/Research form ("the Purple Form") which needs to be signed by the professor who will supervise the work and presented to the Director of Graduate Studies for approval. A brief description of the project or research should be attached as well. Professors have the right to decline to take independent study students in a given semester. It is also the student's responsibility to meet regularly with the professor and to fulfill the special demands of the independent study. The work should be completed in the semester in which it is undertaken.
ENGL 591
Prospectus Research
1-12 credits (variable).
For doctoral students only. Supervised research and development of dissertation prospectus and colloquium committee. All doctoral students are expected to enroll
for Prospectus Research when they have passed their Preliminary Examination.
ENGL 592
Preliminary Exam Research
1-12 credits (variable).
For doctoral students only.
Supervised research and reading that facilitates the student's preparation for the preliminary examinations. Course is graded S/U only. Credit 1 to 12 hours, may be repeated for maximum of 12 hours of credit.
ENGL 596
Independent Study
1-4 credits (variable). Individualized research and study, with
the supervision of a faculty member, in topics not covered by regular course
offerings.
ENGL 597
Master's Project Research
0-4 credits (variable).
For Master's degree students only. Supervised research and reading that facilitates the student's preparation of project research. Course is graded S/U only. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 hours. No more than 4 hours of ENGL 597 may be applied toward the degree.
ENGL 599
Thesis Research
1-16 credits (variable). All doctoral students are expected to enroll
for Thesis Research when they have passed their Preliminary Examination (they must also enroll in ENGL 591).
They must earn up to 32 hours for the dissertation.
LING 150: Introduction to the Study of Language
19911; MW 12-12:50 p.m.
21176; MWF 3:00-3:50 p.m.
Drown, J
This course offers a survey of the primary ways in which language is studied and analyzed in Linguistics. We will look at areas such as Syntax, Semantics, Morphology, Phonetics, Phonology, Language Acquisition and Sociolinguistics. In doing so, we will come to learn how much unconscious knowledge we have about this complex tool of language. We will also come to see the myriad ways in which linguistic knowledge and study can be applied in the real world. This course is offered in both a blended and traditional format. If the section is marked "Blended-Online and Classroom," use of a computer and internet access is required. Blended sections require students to do some of their coursework online. A high-speed connection, while not required, is strongly suggested.
LING 405: Introduction to General Linguistics
27715/27732
Xiang, X
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
The courses survey the core areas of general linguistics, including phonetics-phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, as well as issues in first/second-language acquisition. The courses also introduce students to a selected number of cognitive, social and discourse approaches to the study of language.
LING 483: Methodology of TESOL
12262/20528
Judd, E
TR 2-3:15 p.m.
Description: An overview of basic methodology for the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Specific areas to be covered are the teaching of: listening, speaking, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, reading, writing and culture. Students will be given two take-home examinations, and are also expected to write a research paper.
LING 496
Independent Study
1-4 credits
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. May be repeated. Students may register in more than one section per term. A maximum of 6 hours is allowed for undergraduate students, and 8 hours of credit for graduate students. Prerequisite(s): 9 hours of linguistics and approval of the head of the department. This course counts toward the limited number of independent study hours accepted toward the undergraduate degree and the major.
LING 531: Grammar in TESOL
12233
Williams, J
MWF 2-2:50 p.m.
LING 551: Research Practicum in Sociolinguistics
28532
Potowski, K
TR 2-3:15 p.m.
LING 594:
Internship in TESOL
12242
Judd, E
ARR
1-12 hours. OPEN ONLY TO MA TESOL STUDENTS. Supervised teaching of TESOL at a location in the metropolitan Chicago area.
LING 596
Independent Study in Linguistics
ARR
1-6 hours. May be repeated to a maximum of 6 hours. Students may register in more than one section per term. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor and approval of the head of the department.
LING 598
Master's Thesis Research
ARR
0-16 hours. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. May be repeated to a maximum of 12 hours. Students may register in more than one section per term. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the thesis supervisor and approval of the head of the department. Open only to degree candidates.
