English

EWR 267: Craft of Creative Writing
 

Ever wonder when reading a piece of writing, be it a poem, an essay or story, why you find yourself powerfully moved by the language? This course is an introduction to hard and fast means by which you can make your writing vivid, visceral, and uniquely you own. We will read a lot, we will write a lot, and we’ll have great conversations about the power of literature to enact change.

This class is ONLINE SYNCH
and meets on: MW, 4:40 – 6:20

Prof Cate Marvin

EWR 277: Introduction to Journalism
 

Introduction to Journalism will present students will the concept of newsworthiness while emphasizing the basic elements of journalistic writing and media analysis, including hard news, soft news, objective reporting, working with sources, profiles, spot event coverage, opinion writing, and photojournalism. Plus, you get to work our college newspaper, The Banner!

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: MW 12:20 – 2:15

Prof Fred Kaufman

EWR 281: Writing and Peer Tutoring
 

This course is designed for anyone with interests in teaching, tutoring, editing, or writing. Our coursework will merge writing theories with practical experience, allowing students to develop an increased writerly ability and agility in making compositional choices and articulating how and why those choices are effective. This course paves a path for employment in the CSI tutoring centers.

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: TTH 4:40 – 6:20

Prof. Melanie McNulty

ENL 290: Introduction to Literary Studies

This course will introduce you to three major literary genres: lyric poetry, drama, and the novel. You will learn how to recognize and comment on the formal elements of poetry (e.g., meter, stanza form, syntax, diction, structure) and to appreciate a poet’s aesthetic choices and imaginative inventions. This course is designed to help you sharpen your powers of observation, to ask productive questions, and to make compelling and well-supported arguments.

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: TTH 12:20 – 2:15

Prof. C. Miller

ENL 290: Introduction to Literary Studies

This course is an introduction not only to traditional literary genres (such as plays, poems, and short stories) but to recent and mixed genres (such as the graphic novel and the prose poem). And while the focus is on variety—different genres, different approaches to interpretation, different time periods—there are also some themes, such as creativity and mental illness. The weekly reading is generally light: a play, a few poems, or a couple of stories.

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: W 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Steve Monte

ENL 300: British and American Literary Traditions

ENL 300 is an exciting literary journey that many students have found central to their growth as English majors. We will begin our journey with a study of the exciting tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The poem is filled with magic, brave deeds, and a meditation on nature’s ways. After a look at the early modern styles and ideas infused in Renaissance and Seventeenth Century works, we will spend time with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein before crossing the pond for some well-penned gore written by Edgar Allan Poe.

This class is ONLINE SYNCH
and meets on: TH 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Maryann Feola

ENL 307: African Literature
 

“The pen that writes legends is always on its last drop of ink when the real story begins.” --Patrice Nganang
What stories are difficult to tell? What stories do we prefer to forget? What happens when the stories that are passed down to us do not match the official narrative? We will read four contemporary novels where stories of love, loss, war, colonization, and hope mingle with memory to create sweeping, powerful narratives that cannot be forgotten.

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: MW 2:30 – 4:25

Prof Sohom Ray

ENL 309: US Literature in Comparative Contexts

“Pop Goes the Pacific”
In this course, we will read three pairs of books to see how Pacific Rim consciousness has been reconfigured over several generations and situated within the marketable world of Pop Culture. Key questions emerge. How has the Pacific region emerged as a determinant of postmodern American identity, especially on the west coast? Who determines exactly what hemispheric regionalism means? When differences of opinion emerge, what are the points of contention? I

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: W 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Tim Gray

ENL 310: World Literature in Contexts

Sincerity and Authenticity
In this semester, we explore the idea of self and self-identity in different cultures and in different historical periods. We examine how different societies understand what it means to be a genuine person or a good person. We ask how these societies deal with contradictions between individual desires, aspirations and social expectations. We also explore if there is a true self within us to which we can be completely faithful. And if so, should we?

This class is HYBRID/ASYNCH
and meets on: TH 12:20 – 2:15

Prof Janet Dudley

ENL 323: COMING OF AGE NARRATIVES

What does it mean to come of age today, in a world fractured by multiple crises, from the erosion of democracy to the breakdown of a stable climate? Can we imagine better futures for our children and young people? In this course, we will explore Young Adult literature that represents possible alternative futures to our crisis-ridden present.

This class is HYBRID ASYNCH
and meets on: T 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Ashley Dawson

ENL 330: The American Renaissance
 

We live in turbulent times marked by political divisiveness, violence, and growing distrust. In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, an amazing group of writers examined the complexity of American identity and experience as their nation was both expanding and being torn apart. We will analyze affecting psychological components within classic texts, showing how representations of fear, desire, vulnerability and other emotional states of individual humans help to differentiate literature from other forms of history, and ultimately make us feel less alone.

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: M 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Tim Gray

EWR 343: Creative Nonfiction Workshop

In this creative writing workshop, we will focus on different aspects of creative nonfiction, especially memoir writing. We will discuss: fracture; self-portraits and family portraits; the role of memory and perception; the relation of the individual to society; the structure and ethics of “truth” in nonfiction. We will study how writers use literary devices such as point of view, “scenes” vs. “summarizing,” and attention to character, setting, and detail to craft their stories. There will be in-class and take-home writing assignments. Be prepared to write!

This class is ONLINE SYNCH
and meets on: TH 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Ava Chin

ENL 348: Women Novelists
 

This course will focus on three fictional works by contemporary women writers of African descent who challenge and revise our traditional understanding of African American literature. Texts under consideration include: Brit Bennet's The Vanishing Half, NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names, Yaa Gyasi's Transcendant Kingdom, and Edwidge Danticat's Everything Inside.

This class is ONLINE SYNCH
and meets on: MW 12:20 – 2:15

Prof Maria Bellamy

ENL 359: Contemporary Drama
 

We will be focusing on contemporary works by American women of color, including Danai Gurira, Kristina Wong, Quiara Alegría Hudes, and Katori Hall. We will discuss the historical, social, political, and cultural backgrounds of the plays, as well as their literary and theatrical aspects. In addition, we will look also look at work by writers like Branden Jacob-Jenkins and Kristoffer Diaz.

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: MW 2:30 – 4:20

Prof Lee Papa

ENL 362: The Later Shakespeare
 

“Taking Plays Inside”
This course will consider what indoor performance did to the style and content of Shakespeare’s later plays. While Shakespeare’s early plays were performed outdoors, the later works were often performed inside—a radical new idea in the early 17th century. A new emphasis was placed on questions of psychological interiority—the space of the mind itself.

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: TTH 10:10 – 12:05

Prof Simon Reader

ENL 369: Gender and the Negotiation of Difference

Some North American indigenous women writers.
Some of the late 20th and early 21st centuries’ most lauded novelists, memoirists, and poets have been Native American women: As a non-Native person, non-expert in this field of study, and a part of settler culture, with only analytical skills and good will to go on, how do I approach each of these women’s art? With enthusiasm and with humility, I hope: and your company, possibly.

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: MW 10:10 – 12:05

Prof Alyson Bardsley

EWR 372: Craft of Poetry
 

This intermediate level poetry workshop has as its focus specific elements of craft: we will make a brief foray into traditional forms, try our hands at varying modes of lineation, and invent dynamic ways to enter into our poems. If this sounds daunting to you, please be assured it’s all perfectly do-able and quite a bit of fun. We’ll have as our thematic focus what is referred to as Poetry of Witness—that is, works that speaks to civil and human rights

This class is ONLINE SYNCH
and meets on: MW 10:10 – 12:05

Prof Cate Marvin

EWR 373: Craft of Playwriting
 

This class will serve as both an introduction to the writing of dramatic scripts, as well as a place to develop short plays. We will approach plays as a performed medium, and we will build our skills with various exercises and readings. The class will be writing intensive, both in class and out. Playwriting, like other genres, has its own demands, and we will explore how writers can use the space of the stage and the word on the page to create compelling drama.

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: M 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Lee Papa

EWR 440: Magazine Writing
 

In this writing course, we will address current issues and trends in magazine journalism, including ethics, digital media, and the changing face of the genre in the wake of new technology. We will look at investigative journalism, narrative journalism, gonzo journalism, and the ways in which journalism has been affected by technology.

This class is ONLINE SYNCH
and meets on: TTH 4:40 – 6:20

Prof Ava Chin