FALL 2018 COURSES

The following courses are offered during the Fall 2018 semester. Please view the Moravian University Course Catalog for a complete listing of English Department course offerings.

100-Level Courses

English 101A: American Literature: Roots and Routes

This course is an introduction to the development of the American literary heritage, with emphasis on analytical, written, and oral skills. We will focus on works that either remain deeply rooted in one place or chart routes to new destinations. In addition to considering why some writers and characters prefer the comforts (or challenges) of home while others are lured (or forced) to go on the road, we will also explore tensions between region and nation throughout American literature. LinC M2 course. Crooke

English 102A: British Literature: Truth and Beauty

How have writers shared their perceptions on the human condition in literary works ranging from Beowulf, epic story of a hero, to modern expressions of love, loss, frustration, and ambition? This course provides an introduction to distinctive British works, emphasizing analytical and communication skills, and celebrating the ways in which literature of various eras and genres appeals to the human mind and heart. LinC M2 course. Dougal

English 104A: The Experience of Literature: Price(s) of Success

This course will engage questions of how cultural, geographic, personal, national, and/or political notions of success shape and are reflected in the writing of a number of authors. By focusing on notions of “success,” and on the ways in which these notions have influenced narrative practices, we will work to uncover not only the ways in which these notions shift but also the degrees to which they remain constant. In doing so, we will move towards a better understanding of what it means/has meant to be successful, placing an emphasis on our own critical thinking, reading, and writing skills. (Also an Africana Studies minor course.) LinC M2 course. LaRue

English 104B: The Experience of Literature: Medieval Voices

Although often seen as distant from us, medieval literature gives expression to a familiar range of human experience -- our disappointments and our inspirations, our fears and our hopes, our failures and our successes, and more. In its exploration of selections of medieval literature (c.500CE - c.1500CE) drawn from the variety of voices that gave rise to English literary culture, this course introduces major literary genres (prose, poetry, and drama) and emphasizes analytical and communication skills through written and oral projects. LinC M2 course. Black

English 104PM: The Experience of Literature: Autobiographical Impulse

Have you ever wondered why human beings love to tell stories? What makes us so curious about the lives of individuals we have never met? Telling a story, beginning with “Once upon a time,” takes us back to an oral tradition when stories were passed down and evolved over time. This course will examine the autobiographical impulse in literature, including memoir, fiction, poetry, and film. We will examine how this autobiographical impulse leads the writer to objectify the self differently in different genres. Students will develop critical thinking and analytical skills through close readings and class discussions. Students will develop writing and organizational skills by writing essays about the texts examined. LinC M2 course. Allen

English 105: African American Literature: Race, Gender, and Resistance

This course introduces students to African American Studies through various depictions of the lived experiences of African Americans. These depictions emerge in historical discourses, art, language, literature, cultural studies, film, music, poetry, and drama. This course outlines the various subjects of African American Studies through the historical, literary, aural, and oral texts that reflect the culture of Black folk in the United States. (Also an Africana Studies minor and a Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies Minor course.) LinC M2 course. Waller-Peterson

200-Level Courses

English 212: Introduction to Creative Writing

Guided practice in poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction. Prerequisites: Writing 100 or LINC 101, and permission of instructor. LinC M6 course. Crooke

English 224: Introduction to Journalism

An integrative journalism course in which students will learn how to write, edit, pitch and publish news and features for a variety of media outlets; taught by an active media professional, with assistance and resources from Moravian's David Zinczenko Center for Integrative Media. Prerequisites: Sophomore class standing; B or higher in LINC 101 or Writing 100 (or equivalent). Alu

English 225: Introduction to English Studies

Introduction to various aspects of the discipline, including analysis of literature, bibliographic and research techniques, critical thinking and writing, various literary approaches, literary theory, and history of the field. Closed to non-English majors except by written permission of department chair or instructor. Writing intensive. Strongly encouraged as a pre-requisite for upper-level ENGL courses. Tabor

English 230: Public Speaking

Basic theory of public speaking with emphasis on developing skills essential to effective interpersonal communication in industrial, business, and academic settings. Ward

English 244: Contemporary Native American Literature

This course will provide students with an opportunity to closely read poetry, fiction, drama, and essays written by and about Native Americans. To truly understand these literary texts, we will need to learn about native peoples’ history, cultural contexts, oral traditions, and identity. Developing and interrogating questions regarding Native American identity will complicate our understanding of fixed literary genres and the power relations they encode. Our readings, discussions, and writing assignments will offer the opportunity to develop questions at issue for our discourse community. Writing especially will provide the chance to develop your own line of inquiry regarding specific texts. Prerequisite: English 225 or permission of instructor. Tabor

English 288: Internship

Practical field experience in writing for mass media, business, industry, or nonprofits. Designed in consultation with director of internship program and field supervisor. By arrangement. Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing; 200-level writing course approved by the English major advisor or English Department Chair. Hinnefeld

English 291: Modern African Literature

The title of this course is a bit misleading, as there is no such thing as “African Literature,” per se. It is perhaps more accurate to say that this course is interested in looking at the literature of the African continent. Even, this, however, comes with its own host of questions: Who can produce the literature of Africa? Where must this literature be produced in order to be considered “African”? What must literature look like to be considered “African”? Who or what is even meant by “African,” anyway? Focusing on the span of time from 1940 and 1980, this course offers an introduction to the literature that has come to be defined as African literature. With a particular interest in how the literature of this period has helped (re)establish and/or (re)position images of Africa, we will read and analyze the works of a few of the writers who paved the way for contemporary African writers like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Teju Cole, Taiye Selasi, and A. Igoni Barrett. Though it should go without saying, an interrogation and contextualization of issues of gender, sexuality, race/racism, and ethnicity will be crucial in fully making sense of the texts and their narratives. LaRue

English 296: Introduction to Writing Arts

Students explore foundational concepts in writing arts in order to understand writing as both a subject of study and a significant symbolic activity in our everyday lives. Topics include key tenets of rhetoric and poetics and the functions of writing in various contexts; the role of writing in shaping various academic, creative, public, and professional communities; the development of writing abilities; and the role of technological advancements on the changing character of writing. Prerequisite: LinC 101 or equivalent. Mikovits

English 298: To Be Black in America

Toni Morrison states, “I’ve been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates. The language of Between the World and Me, like Coates’s journey, is visceral, eloquent, and beautifully redemptive. And its examination of the hazards and hopes of black male life is as profound as it is revelatory. This is required reading.” This course explores the literary genealogy of twentieth century black writers that include Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, and Ta-Nehisi Coates with an emphasis on what it means to be black in America. Waller-Peterson

300-Level Courses

English 316: Rhetorics of Everyday Life

Students analyze contemporary everyday discourses through rhetorical lenses, focusing on the ways language and other symbols function to persuade and/or to promote or prohibit understanding across differences. Students study theories of rhetorical analysis and practice those theories by analyzing self-selected contemporary discursive artifacts from pop culture, politics, and other aspects of everyday life. Students learn methods for critiquing the relative effectiveness of discourses within certain contexts as well as how to use that knowledge to better assess the effectiveness of their own writing. Fodrey

English 320: The Art of Poetry

Designed to provide the student of literature with theories and techniques for understanding, appreciating, and evaluating poetry. Dougal

English 355: Literature and Culture of Medieval Britian

Study of selected major and minor texts (mostly in translation) from Old English and Middle English literature, with corresponding interdisciplinary study of their cultural contexts. Examination of the evolution of literary genres, styles, and audiences. Exploration of the approaches and perspectives of contemporary scholarship to topics and issues in medieval studies, with a consideration of the links between contemporary and medieval cultures. Black

English 371: Senior Seminar

This course will synthesize and expand upon what students have learned throughout their major. Weekly meetings will consist of readings, discussion, and writing on topics within English Studies. Course requirements will include an extended written work in a student’s chosen genre, as well as a portfolio. Prerequisite: ENGL 225 or permission of instructor. Dougal

English 386: Internship

English 390: 20th Century African American Women's Literature

Alice Walker concludes her four-part definition of womanist with the following: “Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender”. Kimberlé Crenshaw says, “In every generation and in every intellectual sphere and in every political moment, there have been African American women who have articulated the need to think and talk about race through a lense that ooks at gender, or think and talk about feminism through a lens that looks at race. So this is in continuity with that.” This course explores themes of womanism and intersectionality in the works of writers including Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Gloria Naylor, and Ann Petry. (Also an Africana Studies minor and a Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies Minor course.) Waller-Peterson