Past courses - SPRING 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 SPRING 2008. Others will be added as the Department receives them.
For a complete course offerings for Spring 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
18934/18933
Cycholl, G
MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m.
The Thrill of the Real:
Ian Watt sees the novel as a “full and authentic report of human experience.” Yet, what defines this “human experience?” What thrill do we feel when a film or book purports to be “based on true events?” Is there such a thing as an “American surrealism?” This semester, we will examine how American artists and writers have marked and explored “the real.” Texts for the course include work by Virginia Woolf, Milan Kundera, Raymond Carver, Ammiel Alcalay, Wallace Stevens, Luis Alberto Urrea, Don Delillo, Theodore Dreiser, and Leslie Scalapino. Also, local writers and artists will visit the classroom to discuss their own work and its capacities to “tell a story.”
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
18932/18931
Swain, L
MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.
"Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings: Influences and Influence": This particular incarnation of English 101 will use the novel The Lord of the Rings (hereafter LoTR) as a springboard to discuss literature. The novel contains within its pages wonderful examples of symbolism, character development, plotting, scene, poetry, rewriting of earlier texts, and other literary devices that we will explore in more or less depth. And to illustrate some of the themes in the book we will be examining a play that Tolkien himself wrote as well as other plays such as Shakespeare’s Henry V. But our examination of LoTR will not only be about literary things, but we will examine the novel itself as a work of art, we will explore the novel’s own themes and characters and why those are interesting. Further we will read some works that influenced Tolkien and look at ways they illustrate the novel’s themes, how Tolkien adapted or even changed those works in the writing of his own.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
14319/14318
Lewis, J
MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m.
In this course we will study poetry, fiction and drama that span time and place, from Homer's Iliad to Sembene Ousmene's God's Bits of Wood and Nicole Krauss's The History of Love. We will write about these texts often; a primary goal of this course is that students improve as writers of literary, argumentative essays.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
14321/14320
Stolley, L
MWF 12:00-12:50 a.m.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
14317/14316
Gates, A
MWF 1:00-1:50 a.m.
As an introduction to the study of literature, this section of English 101 will cover literary works from three genres—fiction, poetry, and drama—by diverse authors representing a wide span of time. You will learn about literary techniques and begin to develop a vocabulary that helps you analyze, and discuss literature. In addition to considering specific literary works, we will also address the larger questions of 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. Emphasis will be on careful reading, critical thinking, and cogent writing.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
18928/18927
Partica, H
TR 8:00-8:44 a.m./8:45-9:15 a.m.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
18938/18937
Buslik, Gary
TR 3:30-4:14 p.m./4:15-5:00 p.m.
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
26885/26886
Zabic, S
TR 9:30-10:14 a.m./10:15-11:00 a.m.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
11047/20577
Franks, Pete
MWF 8:00-8:50
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
18930/18929
Sherfinski, T
TR 11:00-11:44 a.m./ 11:45-12:15 p.m.
Lies that Lead to Truth: Haroon, the young protagonist of Salman Rushdie’s Haroon and The Sea of Stories, asks his famous storytelling father, “What’s the point of telling stories that might not even be true?” It’s a good question. One that might lead students to ask, “Why do I need to take a Lit. course? What’s the big deal about short stories, poems? Who cares about Emily Grierson, about a red wheel barrow? Plots are just pieces of burying ground. Characters are signs on a keyboard. Settings are part of my ipod menu.” English 101 is an introductory Literature course that focuses on what stories and poems are and the literary elements that comprise them, and how readers do something with such stories and poems by wittingly and unwittingly applying literary approaches to them. Through close readings, class discussions, quizzes, and written assignments, students in English 101 will both sharpen their critical and interpretive skills and provide a variety of answers to Haroon’s query.
ENGL 101: Understanding Literature
22165/22164
Walser, A
TR 2:00-2:44 p.m./2:45-3:30 p.m.
This section of English 101 will introduce students to the reading of literature -- to authors as diverse as Ovid and Kafka, Shakespeare and Mary Shelley, Zora Neale Hurston and Jorge Luis Borges. By the end of the semester, students will have a better idea of how to write coherently and critically about literature, and they will have a new set of terms and techniques to help them make more sophisticated judgments – whether aesthetic, political, historical, or ethical – about the books they read.
ENGL 103: English and American Poetry
20877/14326
Fouts, T
MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m.
ENGL 103: English and American Poetry
20878/14328
Brown, G
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
ENGL 105: English and American Fiction
14332/20924
Brooks, R
MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m.
ENGL 105: English and American Fiction
14331/20940
Cravens, C
TR 8:00-9:15 a.m.
ENGL 105: English and American Fiction
14333/20941
Franks, P
MWF 9:30-10:45 a.m.
ENGL 107: Introduction to Shakespeare
25568/25569
Romeo, R
MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m.
ENGL 108: British Literature and British Culture
19653
Ford, W
MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m.
ENGL 109: American Literature and American Culture
22523/24546
King, M
MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.
ENGL 109: American Literature and American Culture
24547/24548
Ulibarri, K
MWF 1:00-1:50 p.m.
ENGL 109: American Literature and American Culture
24549/24550
Sims, C
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
ENGL 109: American Literature and American Culture
26249/26250
Grosch, A
TR 9:30-10:14 a.m./10:15-10:45 a.m.
Topic: Chicago Literature in Historical and Cultural Context
This course offers students an opportunity to develop their knowledge of the city by reading, conversing, and writing. To enrich our understanding of Chicago literature, we will read–throughout the course–sections from Irving Cutler, Chicago: Metropolis of the Mid-Continent, 4th ed. (2006). This text provides a lucid survey of the physical city, its history and culture. In the following order, we will read texts from varying genres depicting life in Chicago from the late nineteenth century through the twentieth century: Erik Larson, The Devil in White City (2003); Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie (1900); Nelson Algren, Chicago: City on the Make (1951); Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun (1959); Mike Royko, Boss (1971); Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift (1975); Alex Kotlowitz, There Are No Children Here (1991). Students will be expected to follow the syllabus schedule by reading assignments before class. Moreover, each student must write five essays of five double-spaced pages each. In the essays, students will create their own content in relation to the course topic. Essays are due on Thursdays of the third, sixth, ninth, twelfth, and fifteenth weeks. Classes will feature small-group and whole-class discussions as well as strategy sessions to improve expository writing. In this course, there are no tests. Students will be graded on attendance, oral participation, and quality of writing.
ENGL 111: Women and Literature
14584
Maland, W
MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m.
ENGL 113: Introduction to Multiethnic Literatures in the United States
14340
Nilges, M
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
This reading intensive course will examine literary representations of racialized (political) subjectivity in times of multiculturalism and diversity management. Focusing on African-American and Asian-American literature of the last two decades, we will examine recent developments in the sociopolitical logic and power structures of the US that have radically transformed the ways in which we discuss concepts such as race, racism, citizenship, whiteness, governmentality, marginalization, and inclusion. In times of neoliberalism, the principles upon which our socioeconomic order rests reject the violently segregating power structures we often still tend to associate with the term “racism.” How, then, do we talk about racism and racialized subjectivity in a society that assumes that its inside is a clean space, free from racism, in which racism is increasingly located in a marginalized area that is inhabited by stereotypical representatives of the “old racism” such as Don Imus? The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has often been described as bringing our focus back to the racism existing in the midst of our society. What is the logic that underlies this kind of racism and how does it relate to the new power structures that determine the function of racialized subjectivity and cultural diversity in a globalized U.S. Karen Tei Yamashita alludes to when she writes, “multiculturalism is a white guy in a flannel shirt wearing dreadlocks?” Students are expected to participate in class discussion, write four short response papers, a 5-page mid-term, an 8-page final critical essay, as well as give a 20-minute presentation on the research project that will lead to the final essay. We will read the following novels: Karen Tei Yamashita. Tropic of Orange; Octavia Butler. Parable of the Sower; Parable of the Talents; Cynthia Kadohata. In the Heart of the Valley of Love; Chang Rae Lee. Native Speaker; Walter Mosley, Futureland; Colson Whitehead. The Intuitionist.
ENGL 113: Introduction to Multiethnic Literatures in the United States
22459
Alexander, N
TR 12:00-12:50 p.m.
ENGL 115: Understanding the Bible as Literature
26084/26624
Gebhardt, N
TR 11:00-11:44 a.m./11:45-12:15 p.m.
This course will approach the Bible as a literary text, an anthology of sacred writings set down over a thousand year period, collected, redacted, and translated over thousands more. We will explore the many genres of which it is comprised as well as considering historical context. With a methodical approach to the familiar and the less the familiar we will seek to understand how meaning grows out of form and context as well as literary aspects such as point of view, theme, and symbolism. The forms we will study include the origin narrative, historical recital, the historical narrative, wisdom literature, prophetic/apocalyptic literature, poetry, parable, and the epistle. Time permitting, we will also explore allegory and contemporary literature with connections to the Bible.
ENGL 117: Introduction to Gender, Sexuality and Literature
22168
Costello, V
MWF 1:00-1:5o p.m.
ENGL 119: Introduction to African American Literature Since 1910
14588
Jun, H
TR 2:00-3:15 p.m.
ENGL 122: Understanding Rhetoric
24552
Layng-Awasthi, T
MWF 12:00-12:50 p.m.
The field of Rhetoric as it stands today is an eclectic field which draws its analytical tools from many disciplines. Some scholars say that Rhetoric has passed beyond Aristotle's definition that it is the available means of persuasion and that definition is now outmoded. However, in choosing to use many fields to supplement its analytical tools, rhetoric still remains true to its core. In this class, we will study not only the structure of rhetoric itself, but also how it has expanded out from its core to become rhetoricality rather than remain classical rhetoric.
ENGL 125: Introduction to Asian American Studies
24628
Su, K
MW 3:00-3:50 p.m.
200 LEVEL
ENGL 200: Basic English Grammar
19970
Rosenbush, M
MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.
ENGL 200: Basic English Grammar
26085
Parr, K
MWF 12:00-12:50 p.m.
ENGL 201: Introduction to the Writing of Non-fiction Prose
14479
Pilat, R
TR 11:00-12:15 p.m.
Nonfiction as written and read today reflects a cultural fascination with the writer as both "I" and "eye." It’s a body of work that exploded in the twentieth century, but has roots in classical literary traditions. From this starting point, students will read from the work of many nonfiction writers, and opt to 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. Student writing will include weekly blog responses on Blackboard, two analytic reviews of an author’s work, a magazine report, and three nonfiction pieces, to be peer reviewed in class. Students will meet with the instructor, at the beginning and the end of the term to set and evaluate writing goals. Each student will submit an end-of-term portfolio of revised work with a reflective cover letter.
ENGL 201: Introduction to the Writing of Non-fiction Prose
22216
Corey, M
TR 3:00-3:50 p.m.
In this course, students will explore the practice of reading and writing prose by composing, workshopping, and revising a number of original non-fiction essays. In preparation, the first half of the course will be dedicated not only to a discussion of the creative non-fiction genre and its boundaries, but also to reading essays from the genre. In turn, students will use this time to generate ideas for their own non-fiction work. During the second portion of the semester, the class will demonstrate their understanding of our readings by composing several creative non-fiction essays, which will be submitted to the peer review process. At the close of the term, students will meet individually with the instructor to discuss their creative work. The final goal of this course is for each student to submit a portfolio of revised essays accompanied by a brief artist’s statement.
ENGL 202: Media and Professional Writing
23683
Andrews, L
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
Chicago, one of the most competitive news towns in America, provides a dynamic backdrop for English 202. Students learn to be analytical when judging media content. Through readings, class discussions, writing, and interviews, they will gain a perspective on today’s media, which is undergoing historical transformation because of 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 rapidly changing media business and the opportunities this presents; 4) to be an aggressive and ethical newshound; 5) to learn the style of journalistic writing; 6) to create a writing portfolio for internship and employment interviews.
ENGL 210: Introduction to the Writing of Poetry
14486
Moore, J
MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m.
ENGL 210: Introduction to the Writing of Poetry
14487
McDermott, E
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
In this course you will both read and write poetry. Obviously, each of these skills takes practice. With that said, however, practicing how to read a poem is fundamental for two reasons: first, to identify elements of craft that are and are not at work in the poem and to think about how such elements contribute to the poem’s success; second, to consider the work in the larger context of a poetic tradition. Ultimately, these reasons will assist you not only in the composition and revision of your own poems, but also in the thoughtful criticism you provide to your fellow writers in the workshop setting.
ENGL 212: Introduction to the Writing of Fiction
22214
Martinez, N
MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m.
ENGL 212: Introduction to the Writing of Fiction
14489
Shearer, J
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
ENGL 212: Introduction to the Writing of Fiction
14488
Berner, J
MWF 12:00-12:50 p.m.
ENGL 222: Tutoring in the Writing Center
14496
Marshall, L
W 3:00-4:15
ENGL 222: Tutoring in the Writing Center
14495
Henderson, A
T 3:30-4:45 p.m.
An advanced writing course focusing on tutoring and writing through theories about how students write and methodological approaches to tutoring and teaching. You will explore and question your writing choices and the choices you make in a tutoring session as it relates to how you negotiate your position as a "liason" between writer and instructor/university. You will also explore your position as a tutor and a writer and how it connects to issues of power and authority, academic standards of writing, theories about ESL students, and Black English speakers. This course will demand constant reflection, revision, and perhaps revelation about some of your most difficult and challenging writing experiences and tutoring sessions.
ENGL 233: History of Film II: World War II to the Present
14589/14590
Lyons, M
TR 2:00-3:14 p.m./3:15-4:45 p.m.
ENGL 234: History of Television
23017
Bui, D
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
ENGL 240: Introduction to Literary Study and Critical Methods
20947 (Lecture)
Davis, L
MW 1:00-1:50 p.m.
ENGL 240: Introduction to Literary Study and Critical Methods
20949 (Lecture) / 19977 (DIS)
Chiang, M
TR 11:00-12:15
This class will introduce students to the basics of literary reading and interpretation, the practice of criticism, and concepts and methods from various strands of contemporary literary theory. We will begin with an overview of the history of literary theory, including structuralist, poststructuralist, Marxist, feminist, queer and ethnic theories. We will then seek to use elements of those theories in our readings of contemporary multiethnic American literature. Students will be required to conduct research over the course of the semester, and to include that research in their papers. In addition, students will also give a brief presentation on the results of their research, and turn in a written report. The topic of this presentation can either focus on criticism of a particular text, or on a specific aspect of literary criticism or theory. The class is designed to be flexible so that students can focus their research and papers either more on theory and criticism, or on literature.
ENGL 240: Introduction to Literary Study and Critical Methods
19978 (DIS)
Barounis, C
F 1:00-1:50 p.m.
ENGL 240: Introduction to Literary Study and Critical Methods
26086 (DIS)
Haisman, A
F 1:00-1:50 p.m.
ENGL 240: Introduction to Literary Study and Critical Methods
26087 (DIS)
Barounis, C
F 12:00-12:50 p.m.
ENGL 240: Introduction to Literary Study and Critical Methods
26088 (DIS)
Haisman, A
F 12:00-12:50 p.m.
ENGL 240: Introduction to Literary Study and Critical Methods
24804 (Lecture) / 24803 (DIS)
Kuiken, K
MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.
In this introduction to literary study and critical methods, we will discuss the ways in which a work of literature can generate multiple critical readings, as well as questions about the viability of those readings. We will explore basic questions that govern the task of interpretation, focusing jointly on "literary" and "critical" works. We will also consider under what circumstances this distinction (between purely "primary" texts and "secondary" critical texts) becomes difficult to sustain. We will consider works of fiction, critical commentary on those works, as well as works of criticism that consider the limits and scope of literary study. We will end the course with the question of whether or how these interpretive strategies we have studied could be applied more broadly to other media such as film. Since the course is conceived as a seminar, class discussion will be extremely important (see "participation" below). Students will write short papers, and a longer "scholarly essay" which integrates secondary criticism into a sustained interpretation of a key "literary" text.
Texts: Critical Terms for Literary Study, 2nd edition. Ed. Frank Lenttricchia. U Chicago Press. Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness and Other Tales. Oxford U. Press. Don Delillo, White Noise. Critical Edition. Viking Critical Library, 1998. William Shakespeare. Othello. Oxford U. Press. Other readings downloadable as a PDF on course website (Blackboard).
ENGL 241: English Literature I
14497 (Lecture)
Grey, R
MW 10:00-10:50 a.m.
This course will offer a survey of literature from Anglo-Saxon texts through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Seventeenth Century. The intent is to provide both an historical overview and in-depth readings of texts in these periods. The emphasis throughout will be upon learning how to do a variety of literary analyses (both in subject matter and style), identifying literary genres (drama, lyric and epic poetry, dream visions, etc.), and viewing the authors’ literary efforts as cultural artifacts, so this will include the historical contexts of the writings. The authors read will range from anonymous early texts through Chaucer, Marie de France, Shakespeare, Wyatt, Surrey, Sidney, Marlowe, Aemillia Lanyer, Mary Wroth, John Donne, and John Milton. Some of the approaches to the texts will include historical and feminist, among others. Course Requirements: You will be asked to write two-in class midterms, one paper (6-8 pages), and a final exam. Required texts: Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th Edition, vols. A & B (volumes sold together as a package).
Available at Chicago Textbooks, 1076 W. Taylor. Phone: (312) 733-8398.
--Please note that it is mandatory to enroll in a discussion section.
--Regular attendance is mandatory in lecture and discussion and will be monitored in both.
ENGL 241: English Literature I
24297 (DIS)
Messenger, C
F 10:00-10:50 a.m.
ENGL 241: English Literature I
26089 (DIS)
Sheerin, B
F 10:00-10:50 a.m.
ENGL 241: English Literature I
26090 (DIS)
Sheerin, B
F 9:00-9:50 a.m.
ENGL 241: English Literature I
26091 (DIS)
Messenger, C
F 9:00-9:50 a.m.
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
ENGL 242: English Literature II 1660–1900
14502 (DIS)
Poore, J
F 9:00-9:50 a.m.
ENGL 242: English Literature II 1660–1900
14503 (DIS)
Poore, J
F 10:00-10:50 a.m.
ENGL 242: English Literature II 1660–1900
14504 (DIS)
Costello, D
F 11:00-11:50 a.m.
ENGL 242: English Literature II 1660–1900
14505 (DIS)
Costello, D
F 10:00-10:50 a.m.
ENGL 243: American Literature: Beginnings to 1900
14514 (Lecture)
Whalen, T
MW 11:00-11:50 a.m.
ENGL 243: American Literature: Beginnings to 1900
14513 (DIS)
Gruba, J
F 12:00-12:50 p.m.
ENGL 243: American Literature: Beginnings to 1900
14509 (DIS)
Casey, J
F 12:00-12:50 p.m.
ENGL 243: American Literature: Beginnings to 1900
14512 (DIS)
Gruba, J
F 11:00-11:50 a.m.
ENGL 243: American Literature: Beginnings to 1900
14510 (DIS)
Casey, J
F 11:00-11:50 a.m.
ENGL 260: Comparative Black Literatures
26634
Brown, N
MW 5:00-6:15 p.m.
300 Level
ENGL 302: Studies in the Moving Image
14521
Rubin, M
TR 5:00-7:50 p.m.
Topic: "The Films of Alfred Hitchcock": 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. Text: Hitchcock by Francois Truffaut.
ENGL 305: Studies in Fiction
26203
Schaafsma, D
TR 3:30-4:45 p.m.
This section of Studies in Fiction focuses on young adult literature, or fiction written about adolescents specifically for an adolescent audience. The course will appeal largely to English education students, as these books often prove to be an exciting adjunct to the traditional curriculum, often speaking directly to students not well engaged with the literature of the English curriculum. Some of the books are written with a particular appeal to “at risk” or struggling students. A regular approach to the material will be how to engage prospective middle and high school students with the materials, and sometimes, how to pair such books with more “classic” texts still regularly taught in schools. We’ll read more texts about urban areas and students of color, since the English education program has an urban focus, works such as Push by Sapphire, Monster by Walter Dean Myers, and we’ll read several works written for adolescents by Chicago area authors, or works about Chicago, including Sandra Cisneros. We’ll also spend a couple weeks reading a few graphic novels, including Craig Thompson’s Blankets and Persepolisby Marjane Satrapi. Creative writing students might be interested in this course because most of YAL tends to be growing up stories, which is one topic of interest for many undergrad fiction and non-fiction writers in particular. Students who have taken the children’s literature course in the college of education may be interested in this course, too. Since the books are written for a younger audience, we’ll be reading a lot of them, trust me. We’ll also be reading materials directed to understanding this area of literature. Since there is not graduate level young adult literature course, graduate students in the MA in EE and Med programs are also welcome to talk to me about taking the course.
ENGL 312: Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Literature
26092
Lukacher, N
MW 3:00-4:15 p.m.
This course will focus in particular on the poetry of Edmund Spenser and John Donne, and on the prose of Robert Burton. A survey of English Literature from the 1530s until the Restoration in 1660, this course will be particularly concerned with close readings of the poetry of Edmund Spenser and John Donne, and with Robert Burton's ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY. The relation of literary language to melancholy, mourning, faith, and skepticism will be a persistent theme throughout the semester.
ENGL 342: Cultural and Media Studies
26095
Cassidy, M
R 2:00-4:15 p.m. / T 2:00-3:15 p.m.
"Television and Cultural Change": This course looks back at television’s connection to major cultural shifts in the United States since 1945. We study television’s influence on significant social and national movements across time, ending each topic with a discussion of contemporary television texts. Among topics studied: Advertising cigarettes and alcohol; Race, ethnicity, and the Civil Rights Movement; The culture of violence; The sexual revolution; Youth rebellion; Feminism; Religious movements; The changing American workplace; The cult of personality. Students are introduced to television theory, key TV genres, and television "historiography" (the ways in which TV history can be told). Class meets Tuesday and Thursday, from 2-3:15. From 3:15-4:15 on Thursdays, we screen television programs relevant to our discussion. Attendance at these screenings is required. Students complete several short daily assignments; an oral presentation on a topic of their choice; a midterm and final exam; and one research paper of 8-10 pages.
400 Level
ENGL 417: Topics in Restoration and Eighteenth-century Literature and Culture
25579
Freeman, L
F 10:00-12:50 p.m.
In this seminar we will take up the period in English literary history that has been identified with the “rise of the novel.” Situating that development in its historical context, we will explore the boundaries of fiction and the emerging definition of a form. More specifically, we will treat the works in question as literary experiments in their own time and examine the threads of critical debate that arose around these works and that still shape the contours of argument in novel studies today. Of particular interest in our discussions will be the boundaries between allegory and history, between transparency and opacity, and between romance and realism as they were and are articulated both in the fictional works themselves and in literary theory of the past and present. Primary texts will include: John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones, Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy, and Charlotte Lennox’s The Female Quixote, and Burney’s Evelina. Secondary readings may include pamphlets and essays from the eighteenth century; narrative theory by Dorrit Cohn, Paul Ricoeur, Michael Riffaterre, Hayden White, and others; as well as excerpts from histories of the eighteenth-century novel by Nancy Armstrong, Homer Obed Brown, Margaret Doody, Catherine Gallagher, Michael McKeon, and Ian Watt.
ENGL 421: Topics in Victorian Literature
26097/26148
Kornbluh, A
MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m.
Realism and Reproduction:
This course examines the ways the Victorian realist novel engages questions of production and reproduction. We will spend most of our time assessing the techniques novelists invented or refined to produce a “reality effect,” and we will think about these formal techniques in relationship to nineteenth-century concerns with economic production, sexual and social reproduction, and photography. Many of the novels we will read distinctly combine representations of incest, orphans, bastards, loners, and adulterers with representations of economic, industrial, and financial development, and we will work to interpret these combinations of sexual and economic themes as ways for the realist novel to explore its own productive / reproductive status. Emphasis will be on careful, close reading; reading load will be heavy. Requirements include oral presentations on close reading passages, one short (4-5pg) essay, and one longer (8-10pg) essay incorporating research. Graduate students will develop an article length critical paper. Texts include: Wuthering Heights, North and South, Great Expectations, Silas Marner, Jude the Obscure, and short excerpts from prose authors such as Darwin, Malthus, Lewes.
ENGL 427: Topics in American Literature and Culture, 1900-Present
26099/26149
Dubey, M
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
This course will closely examine the writing of Toni Morrison, including novels, short stories, and essays.
ENGL 428: Topics in Literature and Culture, 1900-Present
26100/26150
Urrea, L
TR 11:00-12:15 p.m.
From Walt Whitman to Jack Kerouac and beyond, the open road has been an enduring and defining aspect of American literature. This course will carry us far across the continent as we examine and explore the varied aspects of this unique genre of writing and culture. From Route 66 to the Blue Highways of back-roads wanderers, we will explore the American obsession with freedom and fast movement, for the exotic and the familiar, for the myth and the verity of the country's character and imagination. We will read the central texts, both fiction and non-fiction, of this quintessentially American literary form. We will also explore film and music as vivid footnotes to the literature.
ENGL 439: Topics in Fiction and Theories of Fiction
26101/26151
Tabbi, J
TR 2:00-3:15 p.m.
"World-Poems: The bearing of global ecologies and technologies on the long poem in the United States": A consideration of the developing form of the long poem, achieved by major poets and discussed by theorists in the United States. In addition to understanding these poems on terms developed internally during the acts of composition and reading, we will discuss how such a development can be seen to bear, both directly and indirectly, on current ecological thought at the level of persons, localities, nations, networks, and the planet as a 'difficult whole.' Discussion will center on some of the following texts and authors: A. R. Ammons, Garbage; Robert Creeley, Death and Life; Susan Howe, The Europe of Trusts; James Merrill, The Changing Light at Sandover; Stephanie Strickland, V: Losing L'una/WaveSon.nets/ Vniverse; Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri. Empire (Duke 2000) and Multitude; Brian McHale, The Obligation Toward the Difficult Whole; The "electropoetics' and 'critical ecologies' threads in ebr, www.electronicbookreview.com.
ENGL 441: Topics in Asian American Literature and Culture
24677/24678
Chiang, M
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
This advanced seminar will focus upon the formal and stylistic strategies that Asian American writers have developed in their attempts to write out of buried histories and segregated communities. The difficulties entailed in these efforts are signaled by the multiple generic crossings of many Asian American texts, blurring fiction with history, myth and autobiography, sociology and story- telling. While Asian American writers are inspired by modernist and postmodernist experimentation with writing and textuality, their aesthetics is shaped by the struggle to bring into representation those aspects of Asian American subjectivity, history, and community that have been excluded by western forms, genres, and styles. We will also examine the unwieldy collectivity that is "Asian America," and ask how ethnic subjects from disparate linguistic, cultural, and national traditions can speak to one another. What are the points of commonality that bind these texts together into a literature that can be called"Asian American"? Texts will include: Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior; Ginu Kamani, Junglee Girl; Theresa Cha, Dictee; Jessica Hagedorn, Dogeaters; R. Zamora Linmark, Rolling the Rs; Lisa Linn Kanae, Sista Tongue; David Henry Hwang, M. Butterfly; and Don Lee, Yellow. Course requirements include two short papers and one final paper.
ENGL 443: Topics in Gender, Sexuality and Literature
24679/24680
Barnes, N
MWF 1:00-1:50 p.m.
ENGL 446: Topics in Criticism and Theory
24820/24821
Lukacher, N
M 5:00-7:50 p.m.
This is a course about poetry and deconstruction, about deconstruction in poetry, and poetry in deconstruction. The thought and language of what absolutely resists thought and language emerge differently in philosophical prose, in narrative literary art, and in poetry. Shakespeare's Sonnets, much of Emily Dickinson's verse, and Paul Celan's later poetry, including his translations of several of Shakespeare's Sonnets and Dickinson's lyrics, will be our key texts.
ENGL 459: Introduction to the Teaching of English in Middle and Secondary Schools
19861/19863
Destigter, T
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
ENGL 478: The Bible as Literature
26179/26180
Winters, A
MWF 12:00-12:50 p.m.
"The Bible as Literature: New Testament": This course will explore the literary forms, historical background, and crucial theological themes of the sacred texts of Christianity.
We will first read selectively in the Hebrew scriptures, passages crucial to understanding the world of first-century Palestinian Judaism. We'll then briefly look into intertestamental developments, and continue with a careful reading of the gospels of Matthew and John, the Book of Acts, the epistles of Paul and other letters, and Revelation. Please note that the first two days of background work are essential for this course.
ENGL 481: Methods of Teaching English in Middle and Secondary Schools
19874/19876
Farquhar, A
T 4:00-6:50 p.m.
ENGL 482: Campus Writing Consultants
14540/14542
Saravia, L
R 12:00-1:50 p.m.
ENGL 486: The Teaching of Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools
19256/19257
Manski, C
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.
ENGL 489: The Teaching of Reading and Literature in Middle and Secondary Schools
19905/19907
Rutter, S
T 2:00-3:15 p.m.
ENGL 489: Advanced Writing of Poetry
19913/19914
Glomski, C
MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.
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 491: Advanced Writing of Fiction
19260/19261
Stolley, L
MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.
ENGL 491: Advanced Writing of Fiction
14547/14548
Grimes, C
TR 11:00-12:15 p.m.
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 492: Advanced Writing of Nonfiction Prose
14549/19262
Barrigar, D
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
ENGL 493: Internship in Nonfiction Writing
22507/22508; R 4:00-4:50 p.m.
Andrews, L
26976/26977; 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, and public relations firms. Tasks vary and may involve writing a brochure, collecting data for a white paper, or interviewing employees for a company’s newsletter. While writing, editing, or researching in an internship, students are enrolled in English 493. Resume, cover letter, and writing samples are required to apply. The three-credit course meets for an hour each week to give students an opportunity to share knowledge gained in the internship, write short papers, and learn about the culture and business of professional writing. Internships give students an opportunity to examine different work scenarios and to build a network of contacts before graduation.
ENGL 498: Educational Practice with Seminar I
14555
Manski, C
ARR
ENGL 498: Educational Practice with Seminar I
14555
Manski, C
ARR
ENGL 498: Educational Practice with Seminar I
14556
Stein, J
ARR
ENGL 498: Educational Practice with Seminar I
14557
Charest, B
ARR
ENGL 498: Educational Practice with Seminar I
14558
Williams, K
ARR
ENGL 498: Educational Practice with Seminar I
14559
Williams, K
ARR
ENGL 498: Educational Practice with Seminar I
14554
Destigter, T
ARR
ENGL 499: Educational Practice with Seminar II
14560
Destigter, T
W 4:00-5:15 p.m.
ENGL 499: Educational Practice with Seminar II
14561
Manski, C
ARR
ENGL 499: Educational Practice with Seminar II
14562
Stein, J
ARR
ENGL 499: Educational Practice with Seminar II
14563
Charest, B
ARR
ENGL 499: Educational Practice with Seminar II
14564
Williams, K
ARR
ENGL 499: Educational Practice with Seminar II
14565
Williams, K
ARR
500 Level
ENGL 504: Proseminar II: Seminar in Critical Studies
20011
Jun, H
W 5:00-7:50 p.m.
ENGL 527: American Literature and Culture
24691
Whalen, T
W 2:00-4:50 p.m.
ENGL 537: Global and Multiethnic Literatures and Cultures
22662
Clarke, A
M 5:00-7:50 p.m.
"W.E.B. Du Bois: The Work and its Critics": This seminar will examine the recent critical reception of W.E.B. Du Bois and explore its impact on the questions that animate contemporary African American literary and cultural studies. We will discuss the work of Anthony Appiah, Nahum Chandler, Ronald Judy, Kevin Thomas Miles, Tommy Lott, amongst other recent interpreters of Du Bois and interrogate the critical register from which their rereading takes place.
ENGL 540: Seminar in Modern or Contemporary Studies
26178
Tabbi, J
R 5:00-7:50 p.m.
A consideration of recent work by novelists, poets, and theorists in the United States, and how such work bears on longstanding international debates on World Literature. Among authors studied will be Susan Howe (Europe of Trusts), William Gaddis, Harry Mathews and the Oulipo group, Richard Powers, Thomas Pynchon (Against the Day), Rob Swigart, Stephanie Strickland, Lynne Tillman, William Vollmann (Rising Up and Rising Down), and David Foster Wallace. Background for world-systems theory will include Fernand Braudel's History of Civilizations, Pascal Casanova's World Republic of Letters, Niklas Luhmann's essay, 'Globalization or World Society,' and Emanuel Wallerstein's Introduction to World-Systems Theory. Several essays in Christopher Prendergast's collection, Debating World Literature, will also be read in depth, along with the Fictions Present and End Construction threads in EBR (www.electronicbookreview.com).
ENGL 550: Seminar in American Studies After 1865
26177
Grimes, C
T 2:00-4:50 p.m.
ENGL 554: Seminar in English Education
26204
Schaafsma, D
M 4:00-6:50 p.m.
This course in research methodology focuses on teacher research and narrative inquiry as twin methodologies, and is recommended for teachers in the MA program and doctoral students who see themselves possibly writing a narrative thesis or dissertation, whether that work be creative non-fiction, fiction, or classroom study. Generally, students in English education, Rhetoric and Composition, Education, and Creative Writing take the course, but all are welcome. We’ll read a variety of stories, we’ll tell teaching stories and we’ll read a variety of methodological materials in the area. Depending on who signs up, and your interests, we’ll either emphasize one or the other methodology, but we’ll look at the relationship between both, and the philosophical foundations for each of them.
ENGL 557: Language and Literacy
26884
Graff, G
T 2:00-5:00 p.m.
The Profession and Its Discontents. This seminar aims to provide an overview of "the profession" of English, including new and old debates about the directions in which English research and teaching should go. It will look at the conflicts that have opposed research to teaching, the teaching of writing to that of literature, and literary theory to textual interpretation. It will also look at the state of academic writing and publication, asking how graduate students can best negotiate questions about jargon, professional and nonprofessional audiences, and finding an entry into professional conversations. It will also focus on questions about teaching, including how teachers can close the gap between students and academic intellectual culture.
ENGL 570: Program for Writers: Poetry Workshop
14576
Winters, Anne
M 2:00-4:50 p.m.
Discussion and revision of student poems. This workshop is restricted to graduate students in the English Department Writing Program.
ENGL 571: Program for Writers: Fiction Workshop
14577
Wildman, E
W 2:00-4:50 p.m.
ENGL 572: Program for Writers: Novel Workshop
14578
Mazza, Cris
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 departments must get prior approval of the professor. This is a writing workshop where we evaluate and discuss novels-in-progress. You do not have to have a completed novel to participate. You may only have an 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 574: Program for Writers: Non-Fiction Workshop
20018
Urrea, L
R 2:00-4:50 p.m.
ENGL 583: Seminar in Theories of the Popular
26104
Huntington, J
T 5:00-7:50 p.m.
This course will review the history of the relation of popular literature to "art" and then think through a number of recent theoretical interpretations of this difference, discussing work by such theorists as Theodore Adorno, Stuart Hall, Janice Radway, Michel de Certeau, John Fiske, Pierre Bourdieu and John Frow. We will ground the theoretical in the actual by studying a few genres of the popular, which we will choose in class. Each student will be responsible for a presentation to the class. There will be two or three short papers, a prospectus for a long paper, and a long paper. I will also set up a Blackboard site for written discussion
ENGL 586: Seminar in Discourse, Culture, Mind
26102
Davis, L
M 2:00-4:50 p.m.
"Science and Society": This year's course on Biocultures will concern itself with the rise of science as a social and cultural imperative. We will look at a variety of documents including novels, films. and more general books on the rise of science. The relationship between science and the humanities will be considered. We will also consider popular cultural resistances to science. Students will be responsible for one in-class presentation and one 20-30 page paper.
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
14128; MWF 1:00-1:50 p.m.
22170; MWF 2:00-2:50 p.m.
Drown, J
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 201
Classical Etymology in the Life Sciences
24928
Kershaw, A
LING 480
Sociolinguistics
14141/24755
Cameron, R
M 4:00-6:50 p.m.
Although a central question in Sociolinguistics is the role of language in shaping society, perhaps of greater importance is the role of society in shaping language. Sociolinguistics is the study of language structure and use which requires reference to context of use and who says what to whom. Topics include discourse analysis, politeness, talk-in-interaction, ethnography, regional and social dialects, gender, ethnicity, speech styles, language change, bilingualism, pidgins & creoles, attitudes towards language, language planning, language learning, and language education. Although English is the primary language of the class, we will look at social issues in other languages as well. Requirements include exams and a number of data analysis problems. Textbooks plus supplementary articles serve as readings.
LING 487
Computer Assisted Language Learning
26646/26647
Rott, S
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m.
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 540
Language and Gender
26105
Cameron, R
Being female or being male may seem as natural to us as breathing. If so, part of our identity is rooted in biology. Yet, many researchers distinguish biology from behavior or sex from gender. Identity is seen as something we do, someone we achieve, or a person we perform. A major tool of performance is language. If gender identity is something we perform, how do we perform this through language? Do we perform gender identity in exactly the same way from one moment to the next in a conversation? From one conversation to the next? Do other individuals perform this identity in the same way as us even though they may differ in terms of age, class, community, country, or ethnicity? In this class, we explore how gender is constructed through language, both as an object of research and as a category of experience, action, and opportunity. It is a class in sociolinguistics, a field of research which focuses on interactions between categories of social experience, language use, and language change. We will look at gender research into speakers of Spanish, English, Basque, Catalan, Koasati, Japanese, Portuguese, Arabic, French, German, and Hungarian, among others. We will ask such questions as: Do women and men really speak or write differently from one another? What can we say about sexuality and language use? Does gender influence conversational turn taking or making a request or being polite? Can gender identity influence choice of language in bilingual communities? Why are teenage girls the leaders of language change? Because this is a seminar, there is much teacher-student and student-student interaction. Close assistance on the paper and oral presentation is provided. This class will be cross-listed with Span 540: Seminar on Language in Context. All readings are in English.
LING 556
Second Language Learning
14142
Williams, J
TR 2:00-3:15 p.m.
LING 582
Qualitative Methods in Communication
14143
Barnhurst, K
W 4:00-6:30 p.m.
LING 583
Materials and Curriculum Development in TESOL
14133
Xiang, X
MWF 1:00-2:50 p.m.
This course aims to facilitate students' development of a systematic
understanding of and practical knowledge in materials and curriculum
development with a focus on the teaching of English as a second/foreign
language. Through a series of problem-solving activities, critical reviews
and hands-on projects, students will develop expertise essential for a
language teacher in and outside of the classroom, including, but not limited
to, the abilities to assess teaching situations and students needs; develop
syllabus type appropriate for the target teaching situation and learning
group; assess, supplement and adapt textbooks to maximize learning results;
design instructional modules based on authentic language data, as well as
utilize instructional technology in the second/foreign language classroom
(prerequisite: LING483).
LING 586
Classroom Testing for TESOL
14134
Judd, E
MWF 2:00-2:50 p.m.
LING 594
Internship in TESOL
25591
Judd, E
W 3:00-4:45 p.m.
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.
