English 2000 is an introduction to literature and its interpretation. Our guiding questions: Why study literature? How does literature make a difference in the imaginative, social, and political life of the culture it helps write? Along the way we will read such famous authors as Sophocles, Shakespeare, Blake, and Keats. We will also read modern and contemporary American novels by Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison. You will leave this course with a passion for literature and, I hope, a command of genre, literary device, technique, and interpretation.  

Texts: Sophocles. The Theban Plays. Penguin Classics; Shakespeare. Tragedy of Othello. Signet; Blake. Songs of Innocence and Experience. Oxford UP; Keats. Selected Poems. Penguin Classics; Whitman. The Portable Walt Whitman. Penguin Classics; Hurston. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harvest; Morrison. Sula. Vintage.  Course Pack, Hecimovich.

This course is designed to give students an overview of language and its various aspects (e.g. sociological, cognitive, and structural) as well as some insight into the field of linguistics, the scientific study of language.  It is designed as a low-intensity, non-technical introduction to the study of human languages.  We will examine language change and variation across and within communities (e.g. the different ways of speaking English with which many of you may be familiar) as well as variation within individuals.  We will focus on the history of English, the background to the emergence of American English, linguistic pluralism and multilingualism in the USA, dialects of American English, among other topics.  From this course, you should begin to develop an understanding of how linguists analyze and describe language, what we “know” when we “know” a language as human beings, how humans use language, and what language can tell us about culture and being human in general.

When asked what interests her about teaching African American literature, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison replied that she enjoys the discursive environment, especially among students—black students, white students-—for a way to talk about these things, a vocabulary that allows them to talk about race in a manner that is not diminishing, demeaning, reductive or ad hominem. Race is a very difficult thing to talk about, because the conversation frequently ends up being patronizing, guilt ridden, hostile or resentful. But for those interested in the study of literature and the writing of literature, it is something you have to confront and think about.

This course traces the African American literary tradition from its beginnings in the 18th century to the contemporary moment. Our readings span roughly five periods of literary production: the colonial and early national eras; the antislavery era; the post-reconstruction era; the early twentieth century; the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This course will investigate some of the literary forms, artistic strategies, and intellectual concerns that shaped and defined African American literature during the 20th century. Writers include Douglass, Stowe, Hurston, Ellison, Morrison, Walker and others. The course will also focus on the socio-political and historical context for these writers and their works.

Texts: Fredrick Douglass - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Norton Critical Edition) Harriet Beecher Stowe - Uncle Tom's Cabin (Penguin Classics Edition) Zora Neale Hurston - Their Eyes Were Watching God (Harvest) Ralph Ellison - Invisible Man (Vintage) Toni Morrison - Sula (Vintage) Alice Walker - The Color Purple (Harvest) Course Pack, Hecimovich

This course is designed to give students an overview of language and its various technical aspects (e.g. sociological, cognitive, and structural) as well as some insight into the field of linguistics, the scientific study of language.  We will examine in detail some of the basic tools for studying various aspects of language (e.g. phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics).  We will also discuss issues of language use, including variation across and within communities (e.g. the different ways of speaking English with which many of you may be familiar) as well as variation within individuals.  From this course, you should begin to develop an understanding of how linguists analyze and describe language, what we “know” when we “know” a language as human beings, how humans use language, and what language can tell us about culture and being human in general.

Objectives: 
(1) To allow students to understand that the human ability to use Language is unique to that species, and that differences between our species and other species may be directly related to this ability to create and maintain language.  In fact, Language (the innate genetic specification to acquire any human language one is exposed to in sufficient detail as a child) may be the only feature of our species that is not shared with other mammals.
(2) To introduce students to the general principles necessary for the study of language.
(3) To develop in students an ability to analyze the phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic components of English and its usage.  Other languages of the world will be discussed as well as, especially in terms of how the features of major world language groups differ from English.
(4) To introduce students to language variation and modern variationist theory.

This section of advanced composition focuses on film as a rhetorical text. Students will learn how “to read” films beyond their simple entertainment value and to analyze how films work rhetorically for their target audiences. There are many informal writing exercises that will help students to become good critical readers of film. They will also learn to evaluate thesis statements, analyze uses of evidence, organize essays, and analyze visual rhetoric in film. Students will also be required to give small oral presentations on class films. They will visit Joyner Library for a library session on film research. The library session will help students to use reputable, academic, online sources for their final informational film research papers. A minimum of 35% of our classes will be online.

Selected Films: Thank You for Smoking, The Education of Shelby Knox, No End in Sight, Growing Up Online, Traffic, Syriana, Babel, Lions for Lambs, Children of Men, The Lives of Others, Happy Endings, The Namesake, The Great Debaters, Strange Days, and Across the Universe.

Dreams and Dreaming in Literature and Film
Examining a range of texts across several genres--novels, poetry, drama, short stories, and films--we will structure our textual analysis around the following issues: as readers, how do we approach literary representations of dreams?  How do we recognize and react to elements in the dream as text, i.e., "read" dreams?  How do dreams intersect with memory, autobiography, prophecy, and creativity? How do concepts of dreaming shape our perceptions of text, self, and world?  How do we use dreams as entry points through which to effectively analyze a text?  We will consider these questions as the basis to fulfill our course objectives.

Selected Screenings: Waking Life (2001, Richard Linklater), La Rivière du hibou [An Occurrence at Owl Creak Bridge] (1962, Robert Enrico),  Fight Club (1999, David Fincher), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997, Bruce Seth Green), Repulsion (1965, Roman Polanski), Mulholland Drive (2001, David Lynch), Sherlock, Jr. (1924, Buster Keaton), Jacob’s Ladder (1990, Adrian Lyne), The Matrix (1999, Wachowski brothers), Brazil (1985, Terry Gilliam)

The goal of this course, as its title suggests, is to “introduce” students to the broad field of film studies, including formal analysis, genre studies, film history and theory.

This course focuses on literature written by women during wars and their aftermaths. To introduce you to the rich body of women's writing, we will read a variety of works and discuss the dynamic interplay of the cultural-historical moment and the text.  We will also examine the continuities/discontinuities among the writers and the wartimes they represent.  

We will explore the ways in which war and violence influence the construction of culture, gender, and identity.  Texts include Toni Morrison’s Sula, Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, Bobbie Ann Mason’s In Country, Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran:  A Memoir in Books, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, and Kayla Williams’ Love My Rifle More Than You: Young, Female, and in the US Army.

This course presents a linguistic perspective on the emergence of American English, specifically within the context of the many languages heard in what is called today the United States as spoken by those persons involved in and affected by colonialism and immigration, both past and present.  This course also discusses several varieties or dialects of American English.  It also presents issues related to language usage, language variation, linguistic pluralism and its implications and possible resolutions in the United States and its territories.

The goal of this course, as its title suggests, is to introduce students to the broad field of film studies, including formal analysis, genre studies, film history and theory.

The goal of this course, as its title suggests, is to introduce students to the broad field of film studies, including formal analysis, genre studies, film history and theory.

If you have heard recent election ads, it might seem like Latinos are undocumented Mexicans moving into North Carolina, Arizona, California, and Texas. Latinos actually come from many nations and several parts of the world: the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Europe.  Moreover, Latinos are not all new to the U.S.; they have been here since Columbus arrived.

Students in this course will learn about the experience of being Latina/o in the U.S., from a variety of perspectives.  The literature will introduce students to specific historical, political, and cultural experiences of Latinas/os.
 
Readings include poems, stories, essays, plays, and several novels. Authors include Julia Alvarez, Junot Díaz, Ernesto Quiñonez, Helena Maria Viramontes, Virgil Suárez, Nelly Rosario, Tomas Rivera, Cristina García, Francisco Goldman, and Judith Ortiz Cofer. Readings are in English, but students must use a Spanish-English dictionary to understand Spanish passages.
 
This section of the course is WI (it fulfills Writing Intensive Requirements). Students will prepare daily paragraphs, and complete in-class writing, short papers, and one long, research paper. Research, Writing, and Editing workshops will develop and improve students’ writing skills.

This course will explore literatures by Native Americans in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including autobiography, fiction, poetry, essays, and film.  In addition to studying the texts as literary productions, we will study historical, political, and cultural background to help us understand them more fully. We will address issues of identity and authenticity, language and orality, and stereotyping and prejudice, with an emphasis on themes of historical trauma and healing. 

 

Texts will include:     

Brave Bird, Mary, Lakota Woman

Silko, Leslie Marmon, Ceremony (2006 Penguin Classics ed.)

Red Eagle, Philip, Red Earth

Alexie, Sherman, Flight

Howe, LeAnne, Shell Shaker

Duncan, Barbara, Living Stories of the Cherokee

Hedge Coke, Allison Adelle, Off Season, City Pipe

Film:  In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Smoke Signals, Way of the Warrior, Naturally Native, Spiral of Fire

The emphasis will be on classic short stories from throughout the world (not just English and American writers). A final unit on the Southern short story will be included as well. Course requirements include three examinations and a research paper. Students will have the optional to take this course for writing intensive credit, which will consist of a series of written responses to each story that we will read.

The focus will be on the masterworks from Homer to Dante. The syllabus will be responsive; we will decide what we are reading based on the students’ prior experience. For example, if everyone has read the Canterbury Tales, we will substitute something new and different. Readings will be selected from throughout the world; English and American literatures will not be emphasized. Since this course is writing intensive, student will write brief (1-2 pages) written responses to the readings. Additional requirements are three examinations and a research paper.

This course is designed to give you an overview of the history of English, beginning with a discussion of general linguistic principles and then proceeding to discuss the Indo-European family of languages and the Germanic invasion of what would eventually be called Angle-land or England.  Our approach in this class will be two-fold.  We will examine the specific linguistic features of the Old, Middle, and Modern English periods (i.e. the lexical, morphological, phonological, and syntactic, and semantic developments of each period), but we will also contextualize that discussion within the social and cultural developments of the time.  We will end the course with a broad discussion of the modern descendents (i.e. American, British Canadian, Australian, Jamaican, Belizian, Nigerian, etc.) of these historical periods of the English language.   

This course is designed to give you an overview of the sounds (i.e. phonetics) and sounds patterns (i.e. phonemics) of English, primarily American English.  The first part of the course will be a presentation of the specific sounds of American English, how they are made by the human speech apparatus and in what manner.  Then we will examine how these sounds are arranged in specific patterns in American English, and, since no one language is in isolation from other languages, we will examine sounds and sound patterns of many other languages too.  The remainder of the course will examine the morphology of English or the word-building processes used to expand the lexicon of any language.

This section of advanced composition focuses on film as a rhetorical text. Students will learn how “to read” films beyond their simple entertainment value and to analyze how films work rhetorically for their target audiences.  There are many informal writing exercises that will help students to become good critical readers of film.  They will also learn to evaluate thesis statements, analyze uses of evidence, organize essays, and analyze visual rhetoric in film. Students will also be required to give small oral presentations on class films.  They will visit Joyner Library for a library session on film research.  The library session will help students to use reputable, academic, online sources for their final informational film research papers.  A minimum of 35% of our classes will be online.

Selected Films:  Thank You for Smoking, The Education of Shelby Knox, No End in Sight, Growing Up Online, Traffic, Syriana, Babel, Lions for Lambs, Children of Men, The Lives of Others, Happy Endings, The Namesake, The Great Debaters, Strange Days, and Across the Universe.