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Writing Courses: Spring 2008

Faculty teaching Expository Writing spring '08: Aimeé Sands, Jessica Bane Robert.

Courses that fulfill the Verbal Expression (VE) requirement

ENG 20: Introduction to Literature
Students read and write about basic elements of poetry, fiction, and drama. Small classes and limited reading lists help establish an atmosphere conducive to significant class discussion; emphasis is placed on writing effectively about literature.  Strongly recommended for prospective English majors. No student may take more than one section of English 020 for credit.

Faculty teaching English 20 spring '08: Ethan Myers, Jennifer Gjulameti, Jessica Bane Robert, Lucilia Valerio, Louis Bastien

ENG 110: English Poetry I

Focuses on the development of important forms, themes and movements in English poetry. This course, which fulfills the poetry requirement for the English major, emphasizes intensive study and discussion of individual poems. It includes a series of essays on assigned topics and a sequence of poetry-writing exercises designed to enhance understanding of the demands of poetry form. Fulfills the Verbal Expression requirement. Strongly recommended for English majors in the first or second year; seniors by permission. For undergraduate English majors and minors, this course satisfies the Genre (B-1) requirement.

Faculty: Stephen Levin

IDND 22.1: Writing: The Beats

The Beat Generation's influence on American culture is still evident today, over 50 years after a group of young men—Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and others—first met in New York City. These radical writers shook up the literary world with their disregard for traditional literary styles and themes and their blatant rejection of the cultural values of postwar America. This class will introduce students to the major writers and works of the Beat Generation, focusing particularly on the following: notions of defiant individuality; alternative conceptions of religion, sexuality, and politics; the glorification the drug culture and of criminality; and how pop culture factors into the texts. Among the works studied in this class are Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, Allen Ginsberg's "Howl," and William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch.

Faculty: Jennifer Plante

IDND 22.2: Sense of Place: Writings of Place and Nature

"It is not down in any map; true places never are," Herman Melville wrote in "Moby Dick." We are increasingly disconnected from the spirit of the natural world and our sense of place in this burgeoning technological age. The goal of this course is to reawaken our inherent connection to the earth, and place, in order to helps us see the world more clearly and understand it more deeply. We will study "nature writing" by those who have a special connection to the earth anchored a certain place—from Emerson and Thoreau to contemporary authors. As time permits we will conduct field studies, a film study, and be visited by an author. This course will explore what place can teach us, how it shapes our vision and sense of self along with our world view. Through reading and discussing essays, poems, and works of nonfiction, we will learn how we can be more aware of the world that sustains and surrounds us. Writing for this class will include creative pieces as well as analytical essays, and there will be a final project addressing a place of your choosing.

Faculty: Jessica Bane Robert

PHIL 102: Introduction to Philosophy

Introductory study of typical problems drawn from philosophy’s main branches. Topics include God’s existence, the nature of morality, skepticism, freedom vs. determinism, immortality and political theory. Readings are taken from both classic and contemporary sources.

Faculty: Luke Jerzykiewicz

TA 153: Modern Drama

This is a course designed to introduce the student to the major dramatic writers from the 19th century to the present. In studying the plays, a number of different points of view and reference will be considered including that of the playwright, the actor, the director, the historian, the dramaturge. The student is encouraged to formulate a personal opinion of these plays and dramatists. The major focus of the course is the text and the student's understanding and interpretation of the work. However, a strong emphasis will also be placed on the performance aspect of these plays. This can take many forms, including coordination of our efforts with theatre classes on campus, field trips to theatres nearby, use of video, and even staged readings of the scripts in class. Fulfills the Verbal Expression requirement. You must have been placed at the Verbal Expression level to choose this seminar.

Faculty: Gino DiIorio

Additional Resources

2004 IWCA Conference Academic Catalog Goddard Library

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