ENGLISH FALL 2024 COURSE OFFERINGS
English FALL 2024 Course Offerings
100 level courses
123. Intro to Fiction
Do you enjoy reading, watching, or listening to stories, but lack the words to describe why they appeal to you and how they work? This course is designed to increase your interpretive skills by exploring the way fiction writers utilize structure, character, point of view, and other essential elements to provoke and move their readers. We will also explore how fiction writers capture important social and cultural experiences with their works. Readings may include novels, novellas, short stories, flash fiction, and comics. Students may also be invited to try out some storytelling themselves. No seniors.
190. Fairy Tales
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, / Who’s the fairest one of all?” As anyone who has read the Brothers Grimm knows, the answer is “Snow White.” With skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, she surpasses her wicked stepmother in beauty and therefore seals her death warrant. But why does the stepmother sit around talking to a mirror? Why does Snow White have to escape from her stepmother by moving in with seven dwarfs? And why must she die before she can meet her prince? What’s really going on in fairy tales? We will answer such questions by analyzing a range of fairy tales, from classics (such as the Grimms’ “Snow White”) to new hybrids (such as the graphic novel series Fables) to film adaptations (such as Maleficent). In doing so, we will explore what a fairy tale is, how fairy tales change to meet the needs of different cultures, and why fairy tales continue to appeal to us. Assignments will include critical essays, a group research project and presentation, and the creation of your own fairy tale. No Seniors.
200 Level Creative Writing Courses
201. Journalism
A general study of journalistic principles and methods, as well as extensive practice in the gathering and writing of news. In the first half of the semester, students learn to analyze and compose basic types of stories in a style particular to new media, with an emphasis on accuracy, clarity and efficiency. In the second half of the semester, students practice and refine their reporting skills in an atmosphere cl osely resembling the conditions of a modern newsroom. They cover actual events of local, state, national and international importance as they unfold in real time-all under the pressure of real deadlines.Fulfills ARTS Distribution.
209. Athlete Media Relations Internship
ERMISSION ONLY COURSE. Internships in Sports Writing. This internship course is designed for students who are interested gaining real-world experience writing about sports. Students will learn how to track statistics while covering a game, write game stories and feature stories, and will cap the semester with an in-depth piece that explores an issue that affects collegiate student-athletes here at St. Lawrence. Reading assignments will be primarily from The Athletic and The Best American Sports Writing series, and exemplary student work may be featured on the Saints Athletics website. The small-group setting allows for intensive peer group review and students should expect to participate in a collaborative editing process. The internship counts as a creative writing course and is completed in addition to the five courses required for the introductory level of the major.
241. Techniques of Fiction
NO SENIORS In this introductory course on the basics of writing prose fiction, we will read and analyze a variety of short stories with an eye toward becoming better fiction writers ourselves. By reading diverse authors, periods, and approaches to storytelling, we will become more adept at important techniques such as narrative form, characterization, and point of view. We will compose a series of short exercises that may be reviewed in workshop for possible inclusion in a portfolio of significantly revised and polished work.
242. Techniques of Poetry
Techniques of Poetry.An introductory study of prosody and poetics. Class attention is divided among student writing, theory and published models. Weekly writing assignments address a variety of technical issues connected with both traditional and experimental verse, while reading assignments providing examples to follow or possibilities for further study. Matters of voice, affect, intuition, chance and imagination are given as much attention as those analytic skills necessary for clear communication. All students are required to share their oral and written work for group discussion and critique.
243. Techniques of Creative Non-Fiction
NO SENIORS Techniques of Creative Non-Fiction. In this introductory course on the basics of writing literary nonfiction, we will read and analyze a variety of examples of creative nonfiction, including memoirs and personal essays, with an eye toward becoming better nonfiction writers and readers ourselves. By encountering diverse authors, periods, and approaches to storytelling and sharing insights and knowledge about our personal encounters with the world around us, we will improve our application of various important techniques such as form, structure, persona, characterization, and voice. We will compose a series of short exercises that with revisions may become longer memoirs and personal essays to share with the class workshop, and assemble a final portfolio of revised and polished work.
244. Screenwriting
Techniques of Screenwriting. An introductory study of basic technical problems and formal concepts of screenwriting. The study of produced screenplays and formal film technique, along with writing scene exercises, builds toward the construction of a short (50-minute) script. Also offered as PCA-244 and DMF-244. Fulfills ARTS Distribution.
200 Level Literature Courses
225. English Literature I
Survey of English Literature I. In this course, students will learn about the history of British literature from the 8th through the 17th centuries. The course invites students to explore developments in British literature through the lens of history and its relation to the development of the concept of the individual as well as competing philosophies of religious, political, and social life. Within this context, the course traces literary movements and the evolution of literary forms. It features a variety of drama, poetry, and some fiction and nonfiction from writers whose gender, class, and cultural outlook vary widely from historical era to era. Some of the texts we read are by famous authors like Chaucer, Shakespeare, or Milton; others are composed by less well-known and even anonymous authors. Some of the texts we read are in languages other than English, so we'll read those in translation, with the exception of Chaucer, whom we'll discover in his original middle English; others employ syntax that, though the same as our modern English, differs in exciting and beautiful ways. With each new text, students will gain a deeper appreciation of the volume, breadth, and variety of written work created in the British archipelago from the Medieval Period to the Restoration. Students contemplating graduate study in English are strongly recommended to take this course.
226. English Literature II
Survey of English Literature II. In this course, students will learn about the history of British literature starting at about 1700 and extending into the twentieth century and beyond. The course invites students to explore developments in British literature through the lens of history and its relation to competing philosophies of political and social life. Within this context, the course traces literary movements and the evolution of literary forms. It features a variety of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry from writers of different social classes, genders, and cultural traditions. Some of the texts we read are by famous authors like Jane Austen or T. S. Eliot; others are composed by less well-known authors. Students contemplating graduate study in English are strongly recommended to take this course.
250-01. Shaking Up Shakespeare
This section of Methods of Critical Analysis will begin with a preliminary unit on close reading, focusing on a few of Shakespeare’s sonnets, and then move into the requisite survey of the conceptual lenses, the “methods of critical analysis,” through which we will explore one tragedy, Hamlet, and one comedy, Twelfth Night.
250-02. The Art of Nathanael West
In this section of Methods of Critical Analysis, we will study the work of writer Nathanael West. In his short life (1903-1940), he left behind four novels that continue to resonate with the dreams and anxieties of American life in the twenty-first century. This class will consider how West used the art of storytelling to confront the issues of his time, from the economic upheaval of the Great Depression, to the social impact of new technologies like the cinema, to the threat of fascism invading from abroad. Through close reading of West’s fiction, you will be introduced to the many ways that narrative is used, not just to reflect but also to critique and explore alternatives to the realities we inhabit.
200 Level Special Topics (3,000-3,999)
3076. The Cyborg in Literature and Film
Part human, part machine, the cyborg is more than a feature of science fiction—representations of cyborgs in literature and film have a lot to say about our present reality and the future of public health. Using examples from the previous and current centuries, we will explore this fascination with human-machine hybrids, and how it informs ongoing debates about technology and its relationship to humanity. Cross-listed with Digital Media and Film; counts toward the Public Health major or minor.
3082. Growing up Star Wars
Anakin Skywalker. Padmé Amidala. Jin Erso. Han Solo. The names of STAR WARS characters infiltrate modern American culture. But have you thought about what it really means to grow up as a Jedi knight? Or to study at a political academy so that you can become queen by age fourteen? Or, more extreme still, to enlist for military service when you’re not yet sixteen? The STAR WARS galaxy offers may routes to children and young adults to educate themselves in a chosen profession, exploring the positive and negative impacts that such an education can create for a society. In this way, STAR WARS participates in the genre of the bildungsroman, a story about the formative years shaping a person as they grow up. In this class, we will focus on the coming of age stories for characters in the STAR WARS galaxy, both reading novels and watching films, to emphasize how psychological, moral, ethical, and spiritual developments shape these characters on their journeys into maturity, on their journeys to becoming forces on their own planets and in the galaxy at large. On the way, we will also tackle questions of gender, race, equality, environmentalism, and age, studying how these issues contribute to the personalities that the STAR WARS universe creates. Weekly writing assignments, presentations, and a final project will comprise the majority of work for this class. Cross-listed with Education.
3083. The Lyric Essay & Hybrid Genre
This creative writing course allows students the intellectual freedom and creative space to explore essay writing through the lens of poetry/poetics, memoir, text/image, experimentation, collage, and typographic design. Throughout the semester students will engage a series of writing assignments focusing on found forms, while developing idiosyncratic methods of composing lyric prose. First Years welcome!
3084. Narrative Medicine, Medical Narratives
How do doctors utilize literary methods like “narrative analysis” and “close reading” in their diagnostic practices? How might literary descriptions of pain, disability, and vulnerability sensitize the physician and instill empathy and compassion as parts of professional competency? How might characterological constructions of different bodies and psychic states expand our understanding of the human condition? Can creative writing really be a medical instrument, as Dr. Jay Baruch argues? How do you “honor” the stories of illness, as Dr. Rita Charon suggests? We will explore topics like patient perspective, historically shifting meanings of illness, structural racism in medical practice, stigma and social norms, healthcare activism, and media representations of health and wellness by analyzing literature, film, and critical essays. Students will also participate in weekly “narrative medicine workshops” to practice skills in observation, evaluation, and storytelling. Lastly, students will reflect on the forms and genres of contemporary medical writing to try their hand at it. May count towards the Public Health major.
3091. Environmental Film
This course introduces students to the artistic genre of environmental film and the critical field of ecocinema studies. For the past century, film has played a vital role in the study and celebration of wildlife, often serving as a catalyst for conservation efforts. Journalists and activists have mobilized the medium to raise public awareness and call for action in response to such environmental issues as industrial agriculture and hydro-fracking. Outdoor enthusiasts have captured their adventures and journeys on film, animated classics have personified the lives of nonhuman animals, and Hollywood blockbusters have dramatized the climate crisis and satirized our dysfunctional response to it. Films reveal cultural attitudes about the natural world; they advance political agendas and ethical positions; and as a material practice and big business, filmmaking and the film industry also have an impact on the physical environment. We will view a variety of films from the following subgenres: silent films and animated classics; wildlife documentaries; environmental issues exposés and jeremiads; outdoor adventure and wilderness survival dramas; eco-horror and eco-disaster thrillers. In this course we will “read” film as a kind of literature. Students will write film reviews and develop their original voices as film critics; they will learn to apply the insights of ecocriticism and cultural theory; they will research historical contexts and environmental issues, deliver at least one oral presentation, and pitch an idea for a new environmental film. Cross-listed with Digital Media and Film and Environmental Studies.
3120. Lord of Fantasy; J.R.R. Tolkien and the Creation of Middle-earth
This course will explore J. R. R. Tolkien’s imagined world of Middle-earth through The Lord of the Rings and other writings, while also placing Tolkien’s creative work within the context of the real world in which Tolkien lived. Through historical investigation of twentieth-century Britain and Europe, literary analysis of Tolkien’s novels, and exploration of Tolkien’s linguistic scholarship, religious beliefs, and personal life, we will gain a rich understanding of Tolkien and his work. Please take note that this course is focused on Tolkien’s novels, not Peter Jackson’s movies (although we will spend a little time on the movies toward the end of the semester). Cross-listed with History.
300 Level Creative Writing Courses
308. Advanced Creative Non-Fiction
CW: Advanced Creative Non-Fiction Writing. Building upon the techniques that we acquired in ENG-243, Techniques of Creative Nonfiction, we will seek to deepen our exploration of writing, reading, and analyzing literary essays by reading a diverse range of authors who challenge basic approaches to writing memoirs and literary essays. We will focus on more nuanced concerns, such as style,voice, narrative stance, and structure, and we may experiment with forms and sub-genres such as the lyric essay, the segmented essay, and other hybrid forms. We will also read theory and criticism on creative nonfiction so as to better understand the possibilities this genre offers writers. In a workshop setting, we will analyze our own work in depth with an eye toward deep, comprehensive revision. Preparing the final portfolio will allow us to learn how to line -edit our prose as well as how to critically situate our own work within the genre. Prerequisite: ENG-243.
310. Advanced Fiction Writing
Building upon the craft techniques acquired in ENG-241, Techniques of Fiction, students encounter authors who challenge basic assumptions about the nature of fiction through writing narratives that experiment with the givens of traditional story forms. Discussion of student-produced manuscripts in a workshop setting is one of a number of pedagogies employed. Emphasis is on writing improvement through increasing awareness of the technical dynamics of the short story genre and through cultivating an understanding of contemporary idioms and the uses of the imagination. Prerequisites: ENG-241.
300 Level Literature Courses
329. Gothic Novel
What is a Gothic novel? How and when did this subgenre originate? How have its conventions changed, and why? In this course, we answer these questions while examining how the Gothic reflects shifting concepts of science and religion, humanity and monstrosity, the individual and society. In the process, we will try to understand why the Gothic continues to appeal to readers. What functions does it serve? Prerequisite: English 250. Fullfills HU distribution ( 2013 curriculum).
357. Post-Colonial Literature and Film
NO PASS/FAIL OPTION. Throughout the mid- to late-twentieth century, formerly colonized people from around the world gained independence and established new nations. It meant the end of a particular form of oppression but also the enormous challenge of producing new cultural norms, governance, social relations, and intellectual habits. Decolonization gave as much rise to civil wars and coup d'états as to a rich body of art that imagine unseen possibilities while registering the realities of intergenerational trauma, survival, and diaspora. We will explore how new media capture these experiences by encountering films and novels by Ousmane Sembène, Michel Khleifi, Atom Egoyan, Sohrab Salles, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Tayeb Salih, and Arundhati Roy, to name a few. We will supplement our reading and viewing with major architects and theorists of anti-colonial revolutions like Franz Fanon and C.L.R. James. DIV13.
300 Level Projects For Juniors
389, 390. Projects for Juniors
Student-initiated projects involving significant study and writing carried out through frequent conferences with a faculty sponsor. These projects are completed in addition to the five courses required for the advanced level of the major. Prerequisites: junior standing, a 3.4 GPA in English, and approval by the departmental Honors/Independent Projects committee. Proposals must be submitted to the committee by March 1 of the semester preceding the beginning of fall projects, and by November 1 of the semester preceding spring projects.
300 Level Special Topics (4,000-4,999)
4024. The House of Cadmus in Greek & Roman Mythology
Hercules. Perseus. Achilles. Odysseus. The names of Greek heroes infiltrate modern American culture. But do you know who the first Greek hero was? Do you know who slayed the most monsters, and incidentally, who created the Greek alphabet? Cadmus’s name may be lost to American pop culture, but his deeds, and the deeds of his descendants, remain very much alive in the world of Greek and Roman mythology. In this course, we’ll study conceptions of the hero, of fate, of family, of revenge, and of war by focusing on the House of Cadmus and the famous city of Thebes that Cadmus founded. Starting with the achievements of Cadmus and moving through the generations to his great-great grandson Oedipus, the ill-fated king of Thebes who tragically killed his father and married his mother, we’ll question why cycles of success and failure and creation and doom plague Thebes and those who live in it. Sophocles’ plays Oedipus Rex and Antigone as well as Statius’s epic poem A Song of Thebes will be among the plays and poetry with which we’ll engage to understand the fascination that Thebes had in minds of the Greeks and Romans.
Senior year experiences
450. Senior Seminar – Jane Austen
Longbourn, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: these are only a few of the recent adaptations of Jane Austen's novels. What is it about Austen's writings that intrigues us? How is it that a woman who died in 1817 continues to influence our culture? And to what extent are we actually reading—or misreading—her novels? In this senior seminar, we will explore these questions first by returning to Austen’s novels and situating them in their historical contexts. We will then consider recent adaptations of Austen’s works, trying to determine what they mean for us.
489, 490. SYE: Projects for Seniors
Projects for Seniors. Student-initiated projects involving significant study and writing carried out through frequent conferences with a faculty sponsor. These projects are completed in addition to the five courses required for the advanced level of the major. Prerequisites: senior standing, a 3.4 GPA in English, and approval by the departmental Honors/Independent Projects committee. English majors who complete a senior project will earn the Honors in English designation if, at the conclusion of the semester they complete their project, their English GPA (including the project grade) is at least 3.7. Proposals for fall projects must be submitted to the committee by March 1 of the semester preceding the beginning of fall projects, and by November 1 of the semester preceding the beginning of spring projects.