Revised August 16, 2002 Writing Courses: 100-101-102-150
Literature and Language Courses: 100-level 200-level 300-level
English Education Courses: 300-level and Graduate
Foreign Language Courses: Arabic, French, Italian, Spanish
An elective course designed for students who wish additional help in reading, writing, and rhetorical analysis.
ENGL 100: Reading, Writing, and Rhetoric
See Schedule below
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01: Christian Sheridan
9:00 - 9:50 MWF
02: Christian Sheridan
10:00 - 10:50 MWF
03: Marianne Grisolano
9:30 - 10:50 TTh
Application of the principles of clear thinking and effective writing to expository and argumentative essays. Must be passed with a grade of C or better.
ENGL 101: Critical Thinking and Writing
See Schedule below
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01: William Burns
8:00 - 8:50 MWF
02: Aisha Karim
9:00 - 9:50 MWF
03: Laurence Musgrove
10:00 - 10:50 MWF
04: Aisha Karim
11:00 - 11:50 MWF
05: Amy Torgeson
12:00 - 12:50 MWF
06: William Burns
1:00 - 1:50 MWF
07: Susan Fabian
8:00 - 9:20 TTh
08: Susan Fabian
9:30 - 10:50 TTh
09: Jesse Seldess
11:00 - 12:20 TTh
10: Angelo Bonadonna
12:30 - 1:50 TTh
11: Julie Kelly
6:30 - 9:20 Mon.
12: Peggy Ann Griffin
11:00 - 12:20 TTh
A continuation of English 101 but including training in writing documented research papers. Each instructor may choose a topic and assign selected readings, which provide the subject matter for student writing. Must be passed with a grade of C or better. Prerequisite: English 101 with a C or better.
ENGL 102: Research and Writing
See schedule below
In this section of English 102, we will study some notable "banned books" in an effort to understand and raise questions about why censorship occurs; how one defines the limits of free speech; whether there is a link between literature and human actions; how one moves toward creating a more ethical society. Our selected texts include Bradbury's Farenheit 451; Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye; Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; Dahl's James and the Giant Peach; Cormier's The Chocolate War; Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice; and Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.
01: Gina Rossetti
11:00 - 12:20 TTh
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02: Suzette Zientara
9:00 - 9:50 MWF
03: Amani Wazwaz
6:30 - 9:20 Mon.
04: Jesse Seldess
9:30 - 10:50 TTh
This course is designed to open up issues of the self in relation to our natural environment, the world in which we live. We will collect information, discuss contemporary issues, and examine our assumptions using both written and "real life" texts. Everyone will compile a college writing portfolio which will include informal/journal response writing, an observation/description, an interview report, and a short documented research project. The portfolio will constitute the final product to be graded and will be due at the end of the semester.
ENGL 150 01: Honors English
12:30 - 1:50 TTh
Augustus Kolich
Required text: Research Writing in the Information Age by Arnold, Poston, and Witek.
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Course Description: [Please Note: This description was provided by an instructor no longer scheduled to teach the course. Details may change.] Introduction to writing poetry and short fiction. Students will compose several poems and at least one short story in the context of reading classic and contemporary literature.
ENGL 210 01: Creative Writing
1:00 - 1:50 MWF
Amy Torgeson
Course Assignments: Students will compose ten poems and two short stories, as well as perform at least one of their works in public setting.
Course Texts
Dunning and Stafford, Getting the Knack
Kennedy and Gioia, An Introduction to Poetry
King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Howe, Short Stories
Course Goals
1. To develop a community of readers and writers with a shared interest in creating literary art
2. To promote creative expression through structured practice and performance
3. To improve student ability to read and appreciate literary texts
4. To understand how literary art is interpreted and evaluated
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Principles of effective argument and exposition applied to writing about business and professional topics. Emphasis on clear and effective writing for the appropriate audiences.
ENGL 354: Business and Professional Writing
See Schedule Below
Prerequisites: English 101 and 102, Junior standing, or consent of the instructor.
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01: Augustus Kolich
9:30 - 10:50 TTh
02: Maureen Bigane
6:30 - 9:20 Tues.
03: Peggy Ann Griffin
9:30 - 10:50 TTh
04:
9:30 - 10:50 TTh
Recommended for the Literature/Fine Arts core requirement.
ENGL 154: Introduction to Literature
See Schedule Below
Close reading and analysis of poetry, fiction, and/or drama selections leading to a better understanding of how literature works and what it can do. Open to all students and designed for students who are not English majors. May be taken concurrently with English 101-102.
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01: Gina Rossetti
11:00 - 11:50 MWF
02: Mary Testa
6:30 - 9:20 Wed.
Recommended for the Literature/Fine Arts core requirement.
ENGL 157: Introduction to Shakespeare
01: Norman Boyer
9:00 - 9:50 MWF
02: Norman Boyer
10:00 - 10:50 MWF
This is an introductory course in Shakespeare designed for students who are not English majors but who have perhaps read one or two plays in high school, seen some interesting film versions (or maybe only Shakespeare in Love or O), and want to read and see more. We will read and discuss six plays: two comedies (Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night) and the four great tragedies (Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth). Our texts will be the new Pelican Shakespeare editions of the plays (see my web page, http://english.sxu.edu/boyer , for a detailed list). Course requirements will include daily quizzes, two hour exams, a final exam, and an optional short paper or project (3-4 typed pages or equivalent). Please note that this course does not satisfy the English major Shakespeare requirement or any other English major requirement. It does satisfy 3 hours of the University core requirement in literature and fine arts, and it counts toward the English minor and the School of Education English concentration.
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This course surveys English literature from the Anglo-Saxon period to the end of the Renaissance. We will be placing these works in their historical context, focusing both on the relevant social, political, and economic issues and on important literary influences. Our goal will be to increase our understanding and enjoyment of some of the greatest works of English literature, works that establish the foundation for later British and American literature. Since this course covers the earliest parts of the canon of English literature, it will provide us with opportunities to raise questions about how that canon is defined and how issues of class and gender are addressed in canonical texts.
1:00 - 1:50 MWF
Christian Sheridan
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Recommended for the Literature/Fine Arts core requirement.
ENGL 203 01: North American Literature to 1865
11:00 - 12:20 TTH
Augustus Kolich
American Literature from the Puritans to the Civil War: In this survey, we will read selected authors from the period.
Requirements: Four (4) exams; no papers.
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Recommended for the Literature/Fine Arts core requirement for students with a strong background in literature.
ENGL 207 01: Introduction to Literary Interpretation
9:30-10:50 RRh
Carol Poston
This is the foundation course for interpreting literary texts. We will begin by "close reading" of several genres of literature: poetry, short story, and novel, then begin to assemble possible critical approaches. We will use an anthology for the short work and read the novel Frankenstein in a critical edition. Writing will include in-class ungraded responses, graded quizzes, a mid-term and final exam, and a short critical paper of 5-7 pages.
Prerequisite: English major or English 101. Required of English majors but also open to English minors and other interested students with strong backgrounds in the study of literature. Should be taken as soon as possible by English majors.
Requirements: Weekly quizzes, two exams, and a short critical paper.
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Recommended for the Literature/Fine Arts core requirement for students with a strong background in literature.
ENGL 207 02: Introduction to Literary Interpretation
1:00 - 1:00 MWF
Norman Boyer
English 207 is designed as a required introduction to the study of literature for English majors and minors, although other students with strong backgrounds in literature are also welcome, especially Education majors planning a concentration in English. After a short study of poetry, we will turn to two key literary texts: William Shakespeare's Hamlet and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. In addition to reading these key texts (in the Bedford Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism editions), we will be considering ways in which scholars and critics have approached these works by reading several essays representing different critical approaches. The course is thus designed to give you an introduction to the contemporary discourse(s) of literary studies, to invite you to join this exciting discourse, and to suggest ways of approaching literary works in other English courses. The major requirements of the course will be two or three short papers, a short research paper, and a take-home final exam. There will also be lots of additional informal writing. We will use Blackboard for our communications and at least some of our informal writing. Regular attendance and active class and group participation are extremely important and will affect your grade. Our texts, in addition to the editions of Hamlet and Heart of Darkness already mentioned, will be R. S. Gwynn, ed., Poetry: A Pocket Anthology, 3rd ed and Edward A. Shannon, The Prentice Hall Pocket Guide to Writing About Literature. An optional, recommended text that all English majors should have is Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook, 5th ed. (See my web page, http://english.sxu.edu/boyer , for a detailed list.)
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The Performance of Gender on the English Renaissance Stage. Like all popular entertainers, Shakespeare, his competitors, and his successors responded to their audience's fascination with and anxieties about the performance of gender in their own lives and in the London society in which they lived. In this course we will explore the intersections of gender and performance in 10-12 plays by several London dramatists whose plays were performed between 1585 and 1625, with help from recent critical scholarship on the plays and the issues involved. We will use the new English Renaissance Drama: A Norton Anthology, edited by David Bevington, and the Pelican Shakespeare edition of Titus Andronicus. Course requirements will include 1 or 2 oral reports, a documented research paper of 10-12 typed pages, midterm and final exams, and other informal writing. This course is primarily for junior-senior English majors, but other students with the appropriate preparation are welcome. I assume that students enrolling in the class have the ability to read, discuss, research, and write about complex literary texts with at least the skills provided by English 207, Introduction to Literary Interpretation, and have had some experience reading Shakespeare or other early texts.
11:00 - 11:50 MWF
Norman Boyer
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In this course we will study British literary and cultural texts of the period from 1789 to 1830 by way of six major discourses current at the time: the French Revolution and the Rights of Man, the Rights of Woman, Society and Political Economy, Science and Nature, and Aesthetic Theory and Literary Criticism. We will include works from all the major poets of the time as we examine these discourses. We will enrich our understanding with art, music, and electronic sources.
ENGL 311 01: English Literature of the Romantic Period
2:00 - 4:50 Th
Carol Poston
Course requirements: midterm and final exams with both objective and essay sections and a short (5 - 7) critical paper. Required text: British Literature from 1780-1830. Ed. Anne K. Mellor and Richard E. Matlak.
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Description:
ENGL 331 01: Issues in African-American Literature
10:00 - 10:50 MWF
Nelson Hathcock
This course will examine a number of texts--autobiography, essay, novel, and short story--by important African-American writers. We will interrogate this range of genre by looking closely at the ways in which the texts foreground cultural / racial identity, social and political oppression, and issues of gender, among other concerns.Possible texts:
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Charles W. Chesnutt, The Marrow of Tradition
Nella Larsen, Quicksand and Passing
James Alan McPherson, Elbow Room
Richard Wright, Black Boy
James Baldwin, The Fire Next TimeRequirements:
Attendance
One brief, well-focused research paper (6-8 pages)
Two examinations
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The overarching concern of this course is to look at the ideology of postcolonial imperialism, variously called neocolonialism, and how this ideology works itself out in contemporary postcolonial fiction. While focusing on contemporary third-world texts from four different regions (one each from India, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Somalia), we will also be reading articles on what binds these texts together, what makes these texts postcolonial, and what the term "postcolonial" itself might mean. Keeping in mind these theoretical questions, some of the questions that we will be asking through these novels are: how can these texts be read as symptomatic of the economic situation of the nation from which the authors hail? What do some of these texts accomplish by their use of allegory? What kinds of practical solutions, if any, do the texts offer for the problems of their nation? I expect that through this semester students will be developing not only analytical, writing, and research skills, but also broadly, an awareness of issues concerning cultural and national difference, economic and political disenfranchisement, and the connections between the different parts of the third-world as well as between the third, the second and the first worlds.
ENGL 360 01: Postcolonial Literature
12:00 - 12:50 MWF
Aisha Karim
TEXTS:
Arundhati Roy, God of Small Things
Nuruddin Farah, Close Sesame
Ben Okri, Famished Road
Mohsin Hamid, Moth Smoke
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American Women's Literature: Finding Rooms of Their Own. In the course, we will study the impact of Virginia Woolf's text "A Room of One's Own" in terms of late 19th and 20th-century American women writers. The course will focus heavily on the 20th century and will examine whether there is a definable women's literary tradition; consider the strengths and limitations of Woolf's model; and examine how women writers of color augment--and at other times challenge--the implied myths and assumptions that undergird white women's fiction. Texts: Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, Sarah Orne Jewett's A Country Doctor, Kate Chopin's The Awakening, Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, Anzia Yexierska's The Bread Givers, Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Sandra Cisneros' House on Mango Street, Hisaye Yamamoto's Seventeen Syllables, and Wendy Wasserstein's An American Daughter.
ENGL 360 01: American Women's Literature
12:30 - 1:50 TT
Gina Rossetti
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This course is designed to engage students in a survey of competing theories about what makes for great literature, and to explore their own literary tastes and preferences. What is it that most engages them in stories they read? What are their criteria for "greatness" in literature?
ENGL 395 01:Senior Seminar: "Great Literature": Theory and the Literary Experience
2:30 - 5:20 M
Judith Hiltner
As a group we will discuss selected essays that attempt to articulate criteria for greatness, and several short literary works whose "greatness" has long been assumed or has been contested. Students will select a work that has inspired them as the focus for their seminar paper. They will explore what earlier reviewers and critics have found of merit in the work, and develop their own argument for its greatness, applying criteria they consider most significant.
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Description and Goals:
ENGL 395 02: Senior Seminar: The Nature of "Greatness": Theory and the Literary Experience
2:30 - 5:20 M
Nelson Hathcock
This course will involve two distinct tracks. One, a reading and discussion of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, will model a consideration of that text in terms of its "greatness," that is, its appropriateness for a canon of "American Literature." The second track will involve the student's choice of a work that she considers seminal or essential and a research project that builds the case for including that text in a canon. In order to fulfill both these objectives, we will be reading selections of literary theory that impinge directly on the questions of canonicity; articles on Fitzgerald's text that will deepen our ability to gauge its fit or lack of fit in a canon; and our own writings on the issues raised by class discussions.Requirements [sample]:
* 15-20 page research paper (Each stage including prospectus, working bibliography, presentation draft, and final draft completed by dates indicated on the syllabus)
* in-class presentation of research paper
* response to another student's paper
* several in-class reports on assigned essays
* one 2-3 page essay exploring biographical and academic influences on the student's literary tastes
* close reading of assigned text[s]
* informal written responses to reading
* attendance and active participation in seminar discussionsLikely Texts
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (Scribner Paperback Fiction)
Matthew J. Bruccoli, ed., New Essays on The Great Gatsby (Cambridge UP)
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The premise of this course is the notion that the best way to begin learning how to teach writing is to study how you yourself have learned (and continue to learn) to write. By reflecting on your intuitions about writing, you'll be better equipped to understand and appreciate the research and intuitions of the scholars and writers we as a class will be reading throughout the semester. Thus, one of the principal assignments throughout the semester will be a journal in which you react to and reflect on the course readings in the context of your own remembered development as a writer.
ENGL 356 01: Teaching of Writing
5:00 - 7:50 Tues.
ENGLG 456 01: Teaching of Writing
Angelo Bonadonna
Our readings will address a variety of practical teaching of writing issues, including teaching the writing process, writing about literature, revising, collaborative learning, grammar and writing, the writing workshop, journals, responding to writing, the rhetorical nature of writing, and others. Other course work besides the readings and journal include two reaction papers, a research paper, and participation in a small group that will lead class on two separate days during the semester.
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Required for English majors seeking certification at the secondary level.
ENGL 373 01: Methods of Teaching English in the Middle and Secondary School
5:00 - 7:50 Thurs.
Angelo Bonadonna
This course involves the study of the principles, methods, and materials of teaching English in middle school and senior high school. Course requirements include class and field experiences (30 hours), the development of a unit of study (in any of the language arts areas-literature, writing, speech, drama, film, journalism, and so on), the teaching of practice lessons, reflective writing on course readings, and, as a culmination of all the course components, the development of a course portfolio.All course activities and discussions are oriented around the question, What is needed to become an excellent English teacher? There are many ways, of course, to answer this question. The major course premise is the view that, of all the qualities one might name-of all the skills, knowledge, and dispositions that are desirable for a prospective teacher to possess-the foremost quality is a professionally reflective habit of mind. Defining and exemplifying this disposition is a central concern of the course in general, and the portfolio project in particular.
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Learn the language, learn about the culture
Courses Offered by the Foreign Language ProgramAll courses fulfill the Foreign Language/Foreign Culture core requirement -- Spanish 360 fulfills the Literature/Fine Arts requirement.
Language courses
All language courses have a strong oral component.
If you are taking language classes at Saint Xavier for the first time, you will be required to take a language placement exam before the beginning of the semester.
Prerequisite: Placement exam or no previous study of Arabic. An introduction to Arabic for students who have had no previous study of the language.
ARAB 101 01: Elementary Arabic I
10:00 - 10:50 MWF
Masoud Ali Masoud
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Prerequisite: Placement exam or no previous study of French. An introduction to French for students who have had no previous study of the language that places equal emphasis on listening comprehension, oral expression, and grammar. Basic grammatical structures are presented. Course work includes: recitation and written exercises, videos, workbooks and reading of simple texts, as well as cultural information about the French-speaking world. Course requirements: chapter exams, quizzes and a comprehensive final exam.
FRNCH 101 01: Elementary French I
1:00 - 1:50 MWF
Ruth Lenczycki
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Prerequisite: French 102 or placement exam. Continued development of vocabulary and study of advanced grammar structures with equal emphasis on both passive comprehension and active use of French in its spoken and written forms. Course requirements: chapter exams, quizzes and a comprehensive final exam.
FRNCH 103 01: Intermediate French I
11:00 - 11:50 MWF
Ruth Lenczycki
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Prerequisite: No previous study of Italian. An introduction to Italian for students who have had no previous study of the language that places equal emphasis on listening comprehension, oral expression, and grammar. Basic grammatical structures are presented. Course work includes: recitation and written exercises, videos, workbooks and reading of simple texts, as well as cultural information about the Italian-speaking world. Course requirements: chapter exams, quizzes and a comprehensive final exam.
ITAL 101 01: Elementary Italian I
9:00 - 9:50 MWF
Alberta Gatti
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Prerequisite: Placement exam or no previous study of Spanish. An introduction to Spanish for students who have had no previous study of the language that places equal emphasis on listening comprehension, oral expression, and grammar. Basic grammatical structures are presented: agreement of subject-adjective, subject-verb, present tense of the indicative, adverbs and pronouns, etc. Course work includes: recitation and written exercises, videos, workbooks and reading of simple texts, as well as cultural information about the Spanish-speaking world. Course requirements: chapter exams, quizzes and a comprehensive final exam.
SPAN 101: Elementary Spanish I
See schedule below
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01: Olga Vilella
9:00 - 9:50 MWF
02: Olga Vilella
10:00 - 10:50 MWF
03: Olga Vilella
1:00 - 1:30 MWF
Prerequisite: Spanish 102 or placement exam. "Nuevos destinos" program. Follow Raquel, a LA lawyer that travels to different places in Spain and Latin America to unravel the mysteries of Spanish-Mexican family. Expand your vocabulary while touring the Spanish-speaking world from your class. Class material will include reading of short stories in Spanish.
SPAN 103 01: Intermediate Spanish I
10:00 - 10:50 MWF
Alberta Gatti
Prerequisite: Spanish 103 or placement exam.
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Prerequisite: Spanish 104 or placement exam. Are you ready to take your oral skills to a higher level? This class is packed with conversational drills aimed to build vocabulary and fluency. A grammar review is also part of the class. The materials used include short stories, drama, films and performances.
SPAN 203 01: Conversational Practice
11:00 - 11:50 MWF
Olga Vilella
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Prerequisite: 200 level language class or placement. A historically contextualized approach to the literature of Spain. Spanish 301 will examine the works of Spanish authors starting with the first known literary work in Spanish, the Cantar de Mio Cid to the 17th century, including Miguel de Cervantes, author of the Quixote.
SPAN 301 01: Survey of Spanish Literature (in Spanish)
12:00 - 12:50 MWF
Alberta Gatti
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Prerequisite: Senior standing as a Spanish major or consent of the instructor. A study of some of the major playwrights and works of the Spanish Golden Age (XVI and XVII centuries) using current methodologies, critical approaches and research techniques. Authors studied may include: Lope de Vega, Guillén de Castro, Ruíz de Alarcón and Calderón de la Barca. Course requirements: at least two oral presentations and a senior paper. All work must be done in Spanish.
SPAN 395 01: Senior Seminar (in Spanish)
1:00 - 2:20 MW
Alberta Gatti
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