Fall 2003 English Courses

Course Title	Course Description
Haiku Writing Roundtable (1 credit) Dr. Randy Brooks EN 170-01 F 2:00	This is a one-credit poetry writing workshop modeled after writer support groups. Reading goals will be to become familiar with contemporary American haiku and an understanding of Zen poetics. Writing goals will be to try a wide variety of approaches to writing haiku in order to find your own way to the highest quality haiku possible for you. Each student will create a small chapbook of their best haiku and submit haiku to at least two literary journals. Prerequisites: none.
Creative Writing Roundtable: Hip Hop Lyrics (1 credit) Dr. Terry Shepherd EN 170-02 W 4:00	During the semester, we will investigate the role of hip-hop lyrics in American culture with the assistance of our very own expert, A.D. Carson. Most of us know that this art form has been slighted, at the least and criminalized, at the most. Many experts have suggested, however, that these very lyrics are the literature of a new generation of young people. How aware are these people that hip-hop lyrics allude to and, thus, provide an opening for the reading of more traditional literature? Each of you will work on a project of choice depending upon your individual interests. For example, some may want to create a portfolio of original lyrics, some may want to write for publication reviews of current releases, some may want to create specific approaches to the use of lyrics in high school classrooms, etc. We will also visit a studio during the production of a sound-track, participate in a radio program about hip hop lyrics and sponsor an open mic night for those on campus who want to join us in celebrating the new poetry of the twenty-first century. Join us for an exciting, music-filled course.
Writing Seminar: Classical & Contemporary Persuasions Dr. Nancy DeJoy EN 200-01 M 5:00-7:30	This course focuses on an in depth study of classical Aristotelian persuasion. Students will study this method and practice applying it in a variety of writing situations. We will spend the latter part of the course studying and practicing the ways contemporary persuasion adheres to and challenges the Aristotelian model of persuasive discourse. Texts for the latter part of the course will be selected by the class and may include a variety of texts from popular culture (e.g., song lyrics, advertisements, editorials, etc.). This course fulfills the classical traditions requirement.
Intro to Creative Writing EN 201-01 T Th 12:30	An introduction to three genres: fiction, poetry, and drama. Special attention given to techniques of characterization, dialogue, diction, phrasing, plotting, narration, description and prosody. Includes a writing project designed by each student.
Newswriting 1 EN 215-01 T Th 3:30	News 1 is an introduction to print journalism. This fast-paced writing course covers basic and intermediate news writing (everything short of features and investigative reporting). It also covers the basics of journalism ethics and legal issues and Associated Press style. Work situations simulate the experience of a beginning reporter at a newspaper. By mid-semester, you'll be encouraged to submit stories to the Decaturian and build your writing portfolio. Prerequisite: IN151 or consent.
Computer-Aided Publishing Dr. Randy Brooks EN 270-01 MWF 12:00	This is an introductory workshop in which you will learn how to design print publications. You will learn how to use current computer aided publishing technology, how to design effective documents for a variety of rhetorical situations, how to manage the publishing process, and how to teach others the basics of computer aided publishing.
Journalism Workshop EN 280-01 TBA	Experienced journalism students receive credit for making regular contributions to the Decaturian, Millikin's student newspaper, under the direction of the instructor and student editors. Students also analyze their writing progress for a portfolio. This course is repeatable up to eight times. Prerequisite: Newswriting I (EN215) or consent.
Web Publishing Dr. Michael O’Conner EN 301-01 T Th 9:30	In this course, you will create a variety of online documents, building projects from simple web pages to complex presentations and interactive hypermedia which include basic levels of interface design. You will gain competence with current computer technology relating to online publishing including: HTML scripting, text manipulation, hypertext design principles, orientation and navigation skills, manipulation of images, animation, and user testing. You will share your learning experiences with others and demonstrate and present your design strategies and knowledge through professional written and oral communication. Required for Prof. Writing & Publishing Track
Writer’s Workshop Dr. Terry Shepherd EN 301-01 T Th 2:00	This course provides each of you with an opportunity to work on individual projects with the intention of completing at least one major project by the end of the semester. The class time will be spent in a workshop setting, sharing and critiquing each other’s pieces in progress. Thus, you will be responsible for working on your own writing, sharing what you have written, being open to feedback for the purpose of moving your work to its next stage and providing the same to others. Additionally, we will explore the very act of creativity as it is expressed in the written word. Each of you will have an opportunity to investigate possible places to submit your work and will be strongly encouraged to do so. Throughout the semester, we will have visiting writers attend our workshops and talk about their own writing.
Senior Writing Portfolio Dr. Nancy DeJoy EN 410-01 T 5:00-7:30	This course is designed to enhance your already sophisticated knowledge of writing and the roles it plays in our culture. To that end, we will spend time thinking through the ways that your writing major/minor can function in life after graduation. We will look at a variety of ways to design portfolios–from pop-up books to electronic portfolios. To create their own portfolios, students will review, analyze, and revise past works as well as creating new texts as necessary.
Internship: The Teaching of Writing Dr. Michael O’Conner EN 470-01 TBA	In this course, students work with a faculty member in an IN150 course, helping to design assignments, tutor students and read about and discuss various composition theories. Students will also have in-depth discussions with a wide range of English professors on issues of theory and best practices. This course is required for English Education majors and encouraged for English majors planning to attend graduate school.
Internship: Professional Writing EN 480-01 TBA	Writing internship that fulfills the off-campus learning requirement. Signature of chair required.

Fall 2003 Literature Courses

Course Title	Course Description
Approaches to Literature Prof. Sandra McKenna EN 120-01 MWF 8:00 EN 120-02 MWF 2:00	The course offers students an opportunity to explore, discuss and write about a variety of literary genres including novels, short fiction, poetry and drama. Students learn to think critically while enhancing their understanding of the music and the power of language. As we uncover the "mysteries" of literature, students gain new insights into the creative process and into the ways stories link the reader and the writer.
Literature of Childhood: (Mis)representation of Other Prof. Mary Dwiggins EN 220-01 T Th 2:00	In this course we will examine cultural representations, or misrepresentaion as the case might be, of diversity inside America. We will look at the representations of gender, race, and class. We will explore the meaning of diversity while analyzing picture books, novels, and films marketed to children. Among the material we will examine are films produced by Walt Disney and books such as Parrot in the Oven, The Giver, I Never Meant to Tell You This, and many picture books.
African-American Literature EN 220-02 MWF 1:00	Literature of African-American culture.
American Literature through Twain Dr. Brian Mihm EN 231-01 MWF 10:00	This course is a study of major American writers, ideas, and literary trends from Puritan literature through the work of Mark Twain. The course provides cultural background for the readings, and it emphasizes writers of the 19^th century including Poe, Hawthorne, Thoreau, Stowe, Melville, Douglass, Whitman and Dickinson. Recurring themes include freedom and restraint, self and civilization, reason and madness, society and the individual.
Major World Authors: Classical Traditions Dr. Randy Brooks EN 241-01 MWF 9:00	This course examines the role of literature and rhetoric in classical society. The course surveys classical origins of literary and rhetorical arts through primary texts including: The Odyssey, Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Poetic, Plato’s Phaedrus and Gorgias, and Longinus On the Sublime. This course examines the tension between oral traditions and the emergence of a radical new technology called "writing" through the close reading of primary texts including epic, lyric, dialogue, drama, oratory and classical theories of rhetoric and poetic. This course fulfills the classical traditions core requirement for all English majors.
Mjr. English Authors I EN 321-01 MW 2:00-3:15	Reading and analysis of major writers of English literature from the beginnings to the end of the 18^th century. Students will read such works as Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, selections from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the sonnets and at least one major play of Shakespeare, Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, Milton’s Paradise Lost, Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Boswell’s Life of Johnson. Students will also trace the evolution of the English language and the major cultural and political events of each period.
Shakespeare: Early Works EN 325-01 T Th 12:30	This course will examine the early works of Shakespeare including the sonnets and selected comedies, histories, and tragedies: for example Titus Andronicus, The Taming of the Shrew, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry IV, Part I, Richard III and Hamlet. Class discussions will explore Shakespeare’s writings in the context of early modern culture and as performance texts. In addition to close reading of the plays, we will dip into the current critical conversations about the plays by reading several critical essays.
Studies in Poetry: Three American Poets– Dickinson, Millay, and Frost Dr. Brian Mihm EN 340-01 MWF 11:00	Three American Poets--Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Edna St. Vincent Millay--represent a significant tradition in American poetry, centered on individualism, human values, and a search for meaning in the modern world. To some extent, their poetry reflects their own lives: one, nearly a recluse for her whole life, another a New England farmer who read at J.F.K's inauguration, and the third, a 1920s feminist. First lines of famous poems--"I, being born a woman...," "Something there is that doesn't love a wall," and "Because I could not stop for Death..." tease us into wanting to read more, and more. The course includes discussing the poems themselves, reading a biography of each poet, and becoming familiar with some recent critical approaches. Requirements: short writings on individual poems and a research project. Fulfills the College literature requirement, culture track, studies in poetry for majors.
Studies in Fiction: Forbidden Fruit Dr. Terry Shepherd EN 360-02 W 5:00-7:30	During this semester we are going to read and digest pieces of fiction written by women which have been/are considered the forbidden fruit of literature. Why are some works labeled tantalizing, provocative, off-limits, frivolous, unworthy? Why have some of the writers been shunned by their literary friends? Why are people threatened by the consumption of such writing? Is one person's forbidden fruit another person's fruit of choice? By focusing on novels (and a few short stories) which have fallen from the tree, we will discover for ourselves what our fruit of choice is. Our time together will be spent discussing, debating and deciding where we stand and why on the various issues associated with the works. Each of you will complete a project to share with the class. The project topic will be chosen by you in consultation with me. Examples of what we will read: Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate, Kate Chopin's The Awakening, Marilyn Robinson's Housekeeping, Joanne Harris’ Chocolat. Come share a tasty, stimulating experience. Fruit will be provided.
International Literature: The Writer as Witness: International Women Writers Dr. Brian Mihm EN 366-01 T Th 9:30	This course will take a multi-disciplinary approach to international writing by women who seek to balance moral and political relevance with commitment to art. We will read works by such writers as Nadine Gordimer, Isabelle Allende, Bharati Mukherjee, and Nawal El-Saadawi to explore the dual roles of the woman writer as witness and as artist. Placing each writer in her sociopolitical context, we will examine relationships among politics, gender, ethnicity, art and the individual. We will ask what role, if any, art plays in human rights activism.