Spring 2017 COURSES

The following courses are offered during the Spring 2017 semester. Please view the Moravian University Course Catalog for a complete listing of English Department course offerings.

100-Level Courses

English 101A: American Literature: Voicing the American Experience 

Introduction to the development of the American literary heritage, with emphasis on analytical, written, and oral skills. LinC M2 course. Comfort

English 101B: 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 102: British Literature

Introduction to distinctive British works, emphasizing analytical and communication skills. LinC M2 course. Staff

English 104: The Experience of Literature: War In Literature

There are many words for war but only one for peace; why do we all struggle and endanger the planet that hosts us? This course is an introduction to major literary genres—fiction, poetry, and drama—from a variety of times and cultures, emphasizing analytical and communication skills through written and oral projects. The course will focus particularly on the literature of war. LinC M2 course. Gal

English 104B: Experience of Literature: Literature & Medicine

This course introduces students to the Health Humanities through historical, literary, and bioethical approaches to health. Students will engage a wide range of fiction and non-fiction literature that defines and depicts the health humanities, patient-clinician relationships, mental illness, and epidemics. Readings will focus on the history of the heath humanities, individual perspectives of illness and well-being, and ethical issues related to compassionate care. LinC M2 course. Waller-Peterson

English 104C: Experience of Literature: Sexuality and Gender in "Africa"

How do we talk about sexuality and gender in the context of “Africa”? On the one hand, many Black communities throughout the world often look back to Africa for examples of how to live sexual and gendered lives. On the other hand, many American and European queer and feminist scholars and individuals often look to Africa as an example of how not to think about these terms. But how do Africans, themselves, think about and live what we call “sexuality” and “gender”? This course seeks answers to these questions.

Through a combination of literary texts (i.e., novels, short stories, and films), cultural texts (i.e., scholarly articles, newspaper articles, etc.), and historical and legal documents from various African nations (with particular emphases on Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa), we will work towards a better understanding of what ideas of sexuality and gender look like throughout Africa. Beginning with the question, “How do we speak of sexuality and gender in the context of ‘Africa’?,” we will move towards the question, “How do Africans think and talk about sexuality and gender?” In examining these questions, we will begin developing answers to the question, “What can ‘African’ notions of sexuality and gender teach us about our own interpretations of these terms and their lived experiences?” LinC M2 course. LaRue

200-Level Courses

English 211: Creative Non-Fiction

Guided practice in public and personal essay writing. Workshop setting. Prerequisites: Writing 100, Writing 191, LINC 101, or equivalent F1 course. Fodrey

English 221: English Language

Introduction to phonology, grammar, lexicon, and other aspects of English from its beginning to the present, with an emphasis on current language issues. Black

English 225: Introduction to English Studies

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. Black

English 232: Art of the Theater

Aesthetic, historical, and production aspects of theater. Practical experience in production. Counts towards "Literary Genre" requirement for English majors. Schorr

English 242: Environmental Writing

This writing course will survey a broad spectrum of environmental literature, from Thoreau’s Walden to Cheryl Strayed’s recent bestseller Wild, as well as images, music, and cinema that address environmental themes. Through writing, class discussion, and other assignments, students will reflect on our changing relationship with the natural world and consider what the engagement has meant for both the planet and its human inhabitants. The course follows a workshop format, so reading and critiquing other students’ writing is required. Harris

English 262: Literature & the Way We Live

This course considers such moral issues as the environment; identity, duties to kin; love, marriage and sex; racism and sexism; as posed within a variety of world literature that includes short stories, novels, poetry, and drama, ranging from the era of Sophocles' Antigone to the present. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. LinC U2 course. Dougal

English 292: Professional Writing

Introduction to business and technical composing practices and genres with an emphasis on audience awareness, document design, and project development and management. Includes critical rhetorical study and creation of job and grant application materials, manuals, proposals, print and digital marketing materials, and other deliverables requested as part of this class' service learning collaboration with local organizations. Fodrey

English 298.2: Writing Fellows Training

This course explores connections between the theory and practice of writing, tutoring, and teaching. Students will gain practical teaching, presentation, and leadership skills through a range of reflective and research-based assignments. We will also address considerations related to advising, student affairs, and the transition to college life. This course is required for Moravian students who wish to become Writing Fellows or Writing Center Tutors, though any students who are interested in writing and teaching are welcome to enroll. Permission of instructor required. Mikovits

English 299: Neo-Slave Narratives: Historicity and Re-memory

Slave narratives occupy a significant space in the African American literary canon and American literature as they: depict the disparate treatment of blacks in America; speak out against dehumanization and tyranny; and demand freedom and equality. This course explores twentieth and twenty-first century writers who turn to the slave narrative genre with the creation of what Valerie Smith called the neo-slave narrative. More specifically, this course explores literary representations of “historicity”—historical authenticity—and “re-memory”—defined in Toni Morrison’s Beloved as remembering memories. Students will read two classic slave narratives: Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself (1845) and Harriett Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life a Slave Girl (1861) before turning to neo-slave narratives that include: Toni Morrison’s Beloved; Octavia Butler’s Kindred; Sherley Ann Williams’ Dessa Rose; Ishmael Reed’s Flight to Canada; and Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad. Cross-listed as WGSS and Africana Studies. Counts towards "Literary Genre" requirement for English majors. Waller-Peterson

300-Level Courses

English 313: Poetry Writing

Focused study of contemporary poetry, writing of a range of complete poetic works. Workshop setting. Prerequisites: English 211 or 212, or permission of instructor. LinC M6 course. Hinnefeld

English 330: Shakespeare

The major plays. Alternate years. Black

English 341: American Realism

Development of realism in American literature from its late 19th-century beginnings to its height in the early to mid-20th century. Counts towards "Literary Period" requirement for English majors. Alternate years. Waller-Peterson

English 352: British Literature 1780–1830

A study of literature by men and women of varying ethnicities and social classes, and of primary documents that reveal major historical conditions and social and cultural movements to which these writers responded. Some emphasis upon major Romantic poets. Counts towards "Literary Period" requirement for English majors. Dougal

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. Dougal

English 395: 21st-Century Queer Minority Writing

Within the last two decades, there has been an exponential increase in mainstream discussions of LGBTQ issues. While shows like Modern Family, The Fosters, and, more recently, How to Get Away with Murder, have helped bring gay and lesbian faces into the homes of millions across the country, for many in the LGBTQ community, these mainstream images bring with them the sense that to be gay is to be white. Although a few exceptions exist (the most notable being, perhaps, Empire’s Jamal Lyons), minorities are still left asking: Where are all the black, brown, and yellow faces? This course works to answer this question, along with another equally important question: How do black, brown, and yellow gays and lesbians experience their sexualities in and apart from these mainstream images? Focusing on writings from the 21st-century, we will work towards a better understanding of what it means to be queer and a racial minority. In so doing, we will work towards a better understanding of what it means to belong to this (Queer) Nation. Cross-listed as Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Africana Studies. Counts towards "Literary Period" requirement for English majors. LinC U2 course. LaRue