Please note: This is NOT the most current catalog.

English

http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/

Chair, 2008-09: Mary Steen, writing

Faculty, 2008-09: Mark Allister, American literature, environmental literature, American studies; Richard C. Buckstead, American literature, Asian literature; Karen Cherewatuk, Anglo Saxon, medieval literature; Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, creative writing; Jenny Dunning, creative writing; Richard DuRocher, Renaissance literature, Milton; Joan Hepburn, African American literature, drama; Jan C. Hill, writing, journalism; Jonathan E. Hill, British romantic literature and culture; Carol Holly, American literature; Karen Marsalek, medieval literature and linguistics; Joseph Mbele, post-Colonial literature; Diana Postlethwaite, 19th-century British literature, literature and film; Ali Selim, screenwriting; Mary Titus, American literature; Mary Trull, 16th- and 17th-century literature; Colin Wells, 18th-century British and American literature

Literature is one of the most compelling ways in which humans have recorded and reflected on their lives, imagined different worlds, and communicated one with another. Literature offers the pleasures of artistic expression combined with the powerful consolations of empathy and insight, knowledge and inspiration.

The English Department offers a major that, drawing on some 1,500 years of literatures in English, provides a sound foundation in the history of British and American literature and introduces students to the more recent, global range of literatures in English. It contrasts and connects literatures in English across national boundaries, historical periods, differing cultures, and the various literary genres. Students read from Geoffrey Chaucer to Chinua Achebe, from Mary Rowlandson to Jamaica Kincaid; they read epics, novels, and plays, essays and memoirs, lyrics and short stories.

In discussing and writing on what they have read, students develop an informed understanding of the force of literary language and improve their own powers of communication, analysis, and persuasion. In the department’s creative writing courses, students can nourish their own verbal creativity and, perhaps, make their own contribution to literatures in English.

The English major is easily and frequently combined with other majors. English courses also count toward general education requirements (see below) and contribute to a number of interdisciplinary concentrations, including American racial and multicultural studies, American studies, medieval studies, and women’s studies. The English major is very compatible with off-campus and overseas study (see below under Special Programs), since most courses taken elsewhere in literature in English can count toward the major as electives.

What can you do with an English major? Students who wish to teach English at the secondary school level use their major towards a Communication Arts and Literature License. Most English majors use their powers of critical thinking, verbal comprehension, reading, writing, and speaking to enter a wide range of jobs, occupations, training programs, and professions. They find that what their English major gave them is good for the marketplace and good for a lifetime.

OVERVIEW OF THE MAJOR

The basic English major is nine courses. All majors complete the same four courses: English 185, 221, 222, and one course from a category designated “Global Literatures in English, 1850-Present” (GLE). With the remaining five (or more) electives, two of which must be at Level III, students can pursue their own particular interests and give their major the emphasis they choose, whether particular authors, historical periods, genres or topics, or a focus on creative writing.

GENERAL EDUCATION

Many English courses carry general education credit in ALS-L, ORC and WRI. Some carry HWC, MCS-G and MCS-D, and EIN credit.

PREREQUISITES

General Education 111 or its equivalent is a prerequisite for all other courses in the department except some Level I Interim courses. While a few courses have additional prerequisites, most Level I and Level II courses are open to all — majors and non-majors alike — after General Education 111. Level III courses (numbered 300 or higher) are primarily for English majors and ordinarily build upon prior work. All Level III courses require as a prerequisite English 185 and at least one Level II course in an area of relevant background as confirmed by the instructor or the department.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THE MAJOR

https://www.stolaf.edu/committees/curriculum/ge/learning-outcomes.html

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJORS
Requirements for the Graduation Major

Nine English courses including English 185, 221, 222, and one course from a category designated “Global Literatures in English, 1850-Present” (GLE); plus five electives (two of which must be at Level III). Supplementary courses in disciplines such as classics, history, philosophy, and modern foreign languages are recommended for all majors.

GLE courses are offered at both Level II and III and may be taken at any time during the major. Courses in this category are global in scope (that is, not confined to, although they may include, literature written in Great Britain and the USA). GLE courses emphasize the multicultural, transnational, and post-colonial nature of much literature written in English. A list of courses meeting this requirement will be posted on the department website each term.

Requirements for the Communication Arts/Literature (CAL) Teaching Licensure plus English Graduation Major

Eight English courses including English 185, 221, 222, and one course from a category designated “Global Literatures in English, 1850-Present” (GLE); 233; 251 or 257; 274; and one Level III literature elective; Theatre 100, 120; Media Studies 160; plus the requirements in professional education, including Education 321 and 345. (Consult the CAL Licensure Advisor.)

Requirements for the Communication Arts/Literature (CAL) Teaching Licensure

Six English courses including English 185; 221; 233; 251 or 257; 274; and one English literature elective; two of Theatre 100, 115, 120, 130; Media Studies 160; plus the requirements in professional education, including Education 321 and 345. (Consult the CAL Licensure Advisor.)

DISTINCTION

The English Department awards distinction on the basis of a student’s overall record in the department and on the quality of a written project – critical or creative – submitted by the candidate in his or her senior year. To be a candidate for departmental distinction, a student must have completed a minimum of seven graded courses in the major, six of which must have been taught by St. Olaf College faculty. The combined GPA of all graded courses in the major taught by St. Olaf faculty must be 3.5 or higher. Such students may apply at the beginning of either the Fall Semester or the Spring Semester of their senior year. Students interested in distinction should obtain guidelines from the Department Distinction Coordinator and find a supervisor in the English Department before applying.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Special programs include semester and full-year study in England at Oxford, Lancaster, and East Anglia; study in Scotland at Aberdeen; semester and full-year study in Ireland at Trinity College, University College Dublin and University College Galway; Interim study in the Caribbean and in Ireland; semester and Interim study at the Newberry Library in Chicago; Urban Teaching semester in Chicago; Interim theater study in London; internships in writing. (See INTERNATIONAL AND OFF-CAMPUS STUDIES for further information.)

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDY

Students planning on graduate study in English should take the graduation major and additional courses for a total not to exceed 14. Specific programs should be planned with the student’s academic advisor. At least two foreign languages should be included, one of which should be French or German. In recent years, English majors have been accepted for graduate study in literature (at Berkeley, Chicago, Princeton, Toronto, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin) and in writing (at Boston University, George Mason, Iowa, and New School University).

COURSES

Level II courses (numbered in the 200s) are open to all students without prerequisite beyond General Education 111 or its equivalent. Level III courses (numbered in the 300s) are primarily confined to the major, demand control of methods and of basic factual and theoretical knowledge appropriate to English studies, require more advanced work, assume more preparation, and pursue subjects in greater depth than do Level II courses. Level III courses are open to students with the stated prerequisites.

Courses in writing provide the opportunity for students, whether beginning or experienced writers, to develop their own work in a variety of modes including poetry, journalism, creative nonfiction, drama, and fiction for both beginning and experienced writers.

LITERARY STUDIES

108 The Hero and the Trickster in Post-Colonial Literature

Students examine various heroic and trickster figures as manifested in post-colonial literature from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, both oral and written, and seek to understand what basic human needs and realities these figures express and fulfill.

123 Introduction to Poetry

This course introduces students to poetry from a range of perspectives including, but not limited to: the poet's life; the application of categories of analysis such as race, gender, and nationality; poetry as literary craft; and the aesthetic appreciation of poems. To experience the literary medium of poetry in the fullest sense, students are required to write about, memorize, orally interpret/recite, and compose their own poetry.

124 Introduction to Drama

This course introduces students to literary analysis through dramatic texts and performance. Activities may include trips to see local productions, student in-class performances, staged readings, and viewing filmed productions. Plays are drawn from varied genres, two or more historical periods, and both traditional and experimental approaches.

138 Romantic Comedy and Film Noir

The course explores illuminating contrasts in these distinctively American film narratives, tracing the origins and development of the two genres. Attention will be given as well to the formal features of cinematic storytelling --e.g. shots, composition, lighting, editing. Exemplary films range from "It Happened One Night" to "When Harry Met Sally," "Double Indemnity" to "Memento." Offered during Interim.

169 Detective Fiction

Students read detective stories from their earliest forms in Poe and Doyle to their postmodern deconstruction in the hands of Paul Auster, and examine the problematic character of evidence, causality, verification, agency, and meaning itself. These matters are understood differently in different times and different places. Thus, a good detective story is also an investigation into culture, race, and gender. Offered during Interim.

182 The American Dramatic Tradition: Odets to Mamet

Students read and consider the American dramatic tradition from O'Neill and Odets to Baraka and Shange and up to the present. Particular emphasis is given to drama, both representational and non-representational, of social commentary and protest. Examination of the literature is supplemented by filmic interpretations where applicable. The course is appropriate for non-majors with broad interests. Offered during Interim.

185 Literary Studies

As they read a variety of mostly contemporary literature from English-speaking countries around the world, students learn strategies of critical analysis and interpretation. They also practice and develop skills in writing and oral communication. This course is required of those beginning the English major. It is not recommended for general education students. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

200 Reading and Writing the Personal Essay

The personal essay may contain rumination, memoir, anecdote, diatribe, scholarship, fantasy, and moral philosophy. Students read and write about the personal essay from its origins to the present day as well as craft their own personal essays. Readings range from founding father Montaigne to classic practitioners Charles Lamb and Virginia Woolf; students also explore International essayists such as Wole Soyinka and American voices from Thoreau to Annie Dillard. Offered during Interim.

203 Folklore

This course focuses on verbal folklore: narratives, songs, and shorter forms such as proverbs. It explores their intrinsic qualities as literary creations and also the ways in which they operate together in combination or in dialogue. The folktale and the epic, for example, incorporate a variety of these forms, such as the proverb, the song, or the riddle, to form a complex whole. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

209 Colonialism and the Novel

The history of British colonization of America, Africa, Asia, and Australia coincides with the history of the novel's emergence as the major literary genre in English. This course examines this parallel history by considering the ways in which the colonial experience has been represented in novels from the 18th century to the present. We will read six novels, tracing this development in America, Africa, and Asia, and discuss the novels both in relationship to the development of the novel in general, and to their place in colonial or postcolonial history. Offered during Interim.

215 Fiction Down Under

Students read novels and short stories by twenty to thirty Australian and New Nealand authors, including Keri Hulme, Janet Frame, Frank Sargeson, Patricia Grace, Henry Lawson, David Malouf, Richard Flanagan, and Kim Scott. They encounter distinctive voices and strategies and discuss issues of cultural identity, natural environment, indigenous peoples, and gender. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

221 Literatures in English to 1650

Students explore poetry and prose from the earliest periods in the development of the English language and literature -- by Caedmon, the Beowulf poet, Chaucer, Julian of Norwich, Malory, Spenser, Shakespeare, Lady Mary Wroth, Donne, Milton -- and investigate how literary conventions and social history interact. From sermons to sonnets, students examine 1000 years of literary history and ultimately follow the voyage of English from Britain to the Americas. Prerequisite: Prior or simultaneous study in English 185.

222 Literatures in English 1650 to 1850

Students study literary developments from the mid-17th to the mid-19th centuries. Topics examined include the influence of the Puritan Revolution on literature; satiric modes practiced by Dryden, Pope and Swift; the rise of the novel; the Romantic movement; Transcendentalism; and the development of American identity as seen in writers such as Franklin, Fuller, and Douglass. Prerequisite: English 221.

227 King Arthur Through the Ages

A study of the Arthurian legend, from its Celtic origins through the classic medieval romances of Chrétien and Malory, to the Victorian adaptations of Tennyson and the Pre-Raphaėlites, to contemporary novels and film. The course focuses on the myth's characteristic forms and ideas: the errant knight's adventures, the grail quest, and triangulating desire and adulterous love. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

230 Literary Eras: British

These courses treat specific periods in British literature and examine the relationship between literary texts and movements and their particular cultural, political, and historical contexts. Each offering of this course examines a different literary era and emphasizes specific literary and historical issues. Students may register for the course more than once provided a different era is studied. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

The Middle Ages focuses upon Anglo-Saxon and Middle English literature, including the Beowulf poet, Chaucer, Julian of Norwich, and Malory, in the context of emerging ideas such as heroism, the role of women, and the relationship between secular society and the Church.

The Renaissance examines radical literary changes in English literature, as they occur in Spenser, Shakespeare, Lanyer, Donne, and Milton, in such contexts as the Protestant Reformation and strife over Puritanism, court politics under Elizabeth and James, and the English Civil War.

The Age of Enlightenment focuses upon neoclassical poetry and satire and the emergence of the novel. Writers such as Dryden, Behn, Swift, Pope, and Fielding are read in the context of political and social revolutions, the African slave trade, and the growth of modern capitalism.

The Romantic Period considers the outburst of literary creativity in such poets as Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats and such prose writers as Wollstonecraft, Scott, Austen, and Mary Shelley, in the context of revolutionary politics, encounters with nature and the rise of industrialized, consumer capitalism.

The Victorian Period, a time of British political and cultural dominance, examines the work of such writers as Tennyson, Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Dickens, and the Brontės, in the context of scientific, industrial and colonial growth, religious skepticism, and challenges to class and gender inequalities.

Modern British Literature focuses on the literature reflecting modern turbulence, innovation, and alienation, as in Joyce, Lawrence, Woolf, and Eliot, in the context of World War, social and economic crises, and radical artistic experimentalism.

233 Children's and Young Adult Literature

Students read and discuss children's literature from a variety of cultures and time periods. Beginning with world folklore and children's classics as background, students explore an array of picture books, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction that exemplifies the best in fantasy, science fiction, and realism for children and young adults. Special emphasis is given to two relatively new subgenres: multicultural literature and the contemporary problem novel. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

238 Historical Approaches to Literature

Students examine literary works, forms, and movements as part of a larger cultural history. Each offering of this course emphasizes a different historical issue or period. Students consider the extent to which literary texts are produced by common cultural and historical conditions and how literature shapes the historical accounts we inherit. Recent offerings include "Romanticism," "'50s Beat Literature," and "Writing America: 1620-1800." Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

For more information on this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

239 Literature of the Vietnam War/American War

The Vietnam War/American War -- the name depends on one's national perspective -- gave rise to a rich literature in both the United States and Vietnam. Students read fiction, poetry, and memoirs by both American and Vietnamese writers. They also view films, listen to music, and interview veterans to enrich their understanding of the war and its aftermath. Offered during Interim. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

240 Literary Eras: American

These courses treat specific periods in American literature and examine the relationship between literary texts and movements and their particular cultural, political, and historical contexts. Each offering of this course examines a different literary era and emphasizes specific literary and historical issues. Students may register for the course more than once provided a different era is studied. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

Early American Literature focuses upon the literature of the colonial and early national periods, as in works by Bradstreet, Edwards, Franklin, Wheatley, and Equiano, in the context of America's Puritan origins, democratic revolutions, and uneasy relations with native peoples.

19th-Century American Literature examines literary works by authors such as Whitman, Dickinson, Twain, James, Douglass, and Wharton in the context of emergence of modern individualism, industrialism and immigration, and the struggles for the rights of women and African Americans.

Modern American Literature examines literary movements and works in 20th-century America, such as those by Frost, Eliot, Cather, Faulkner, Hurston, Ginsberg, Plath, and Morrison, in such contexts as the world wars, economic depression and experiences, and alienation of different cultures and generations.

For more information on this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

245 American Racial and Multicultural Literatures

Students explore the histories, cultural patterns, religious practices, key institutions, gender issues, narrative styles, and the significant contributions to our nation of an array of racial and multicultural groups. Such diverse writers as Leslie Silko, Chaim Potok, Amy Tan, and Toni Morrison raise questions about voice and identity, both individual and collective. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

247 Post-Colonial Literatures

Students encounter the literature from former British colonies and from other countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Primary attention is given to literatures in English, but the readings may include some translations. The course examines diverse cultural expressions and the historical and cultural contexts of the works read, including the relationship between oral and written literature and between indigenous and foreign elements. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

249 Canadian Literature

Students examine selected English prose, poetry, and/or drama by Canada's three founding peoples (English, French, First Nations). This course emphasizes connections between place and identity in Canadian writing and the relationship of that writing to British and American counterparts. It also helps students to achieve an informed appreciation of the aesthetic and formal properties of Canadian literature, as well as an understanding of the place of that literature within the broader context of human life and culture. Students read authors like Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje, Leonard Cohen, Thomas King, and Jacques Poulin. Offered every 2-3 years. Prerequisite: First-Year Writing or equivalent.

252 Modern Irish Literature (abroad)

Students study modern Irish literature in four distinct Irish settings (ancient city, coastal village, urban capital, lake-country town) where this literature was written. James Joyce's Dubliners put Dublin on the map; Irish men and women, some of whom students meet on the trip, continue to write engagingly about modern life in a variety of locales. Readings, discussion, and cultural experiences (including theater, museums, and excursions by van) provide the basis for daily journal entries and several short papers. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent. Offered during Interim.

Interdisciplinary 258 Theater in London (Abroad)

Students study drama and theater through the reading of dramatic criticism and plays, attendance at approximately 20 performances, group discussions, guest lectures, and tours. London, the theatrical center of the English-speaking world, enables students to experience a wide variety of theatrical performances ranging from traditional to modern. Excursions to Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, and Canterbury offer additional theater perspectives. Offered during Interim.

270 Literature of the Eastern Caribbean (abroad)

Students will study selected writers of the Eastern Caribbean islands of Barbados, Trinidad, Saint Lucia and others. Study of literature supplemented by guest lectures and speakers. Accomodation includes stays in private homes. Field trips to sites of cultural, environmental and wild life interest. Counts toward major: English.

272 Utopias

Students explore both the literary features and the social functions of utopias. Readings include Sir Thomas More's Utopia of 1516, the work that set the genre, and a variety of utopias throughout history. As a final project, students imagine or articulate either a utopia or a critique of some existing utopia. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

274 English Language and Linguistics

Students learn about and analyze the English language, beginning with the building blocks of language: morphology, syntax, semantics, and phonetics/phonology. Students also explore the ways humans acquire language, social and geographical influences on English, and major changes during the history of the English language. The course serves as an introduction to the linguistics concentration, and fulfills the linguistics requirement of the communication Arts and Literature license. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

275 Literature and Film

Students explore the complex relationships between literature and film. How do we translate the verbal into the visual? What can novels do that films cannot and vice versa? Subject matter includes both classic and contemporary fiction and film. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

276 Literature and the Environment

Through nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, students explore the complex relations between humans and the "natural" world. Students consider questions such as: What does it mean to be connected to a landscape? What is a sense of place? Students also reflect about how they and the writers they read put landscape and experiences into language. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

280 Shakespeare and His Contemporaries

Students examine a limited number of plays (eight or nine) in order to concentrate on how to read the plays well and how to respond fully to both text and performance. Students attend live performances when possible and view productions on video. The course, designed especially for non-majors, includes some consideration of historical context and background as well as practice in how to write about the plays. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

281 Studies in Poetry

Students explore various forms of poetry, including lyric and narrative, both traditional and free verse. The selection of poetry studied and the critical emphasis vary according to instructor. The course is appropriate for non-majors with broad interests. May be repeated if topics are different. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

For more information on this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

282 Studies in Drama

Through reading and discussion of a diversity of plays and through the study of dramatic events such as play-acting and ritual, students identify the characteristics of drama as a genre within a social context and discuss the plays as literary forms, as ideas, and as performance. The course is appropriate for non-majors with broad interests. May be repeated if topics are different. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

For more information on this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

283 Studies in Prose

Students explore various forms of prose, both fiction and nonfiction. Each instructor selects different material to be studied and emphasizes various aspects of the form. Topics can range from the 19th-century novel to African American autobiography. May be repeated if topics are different. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

For more information on this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

284 Performing Arts in New York (off-campus)

This course examines aspects of theater production in New York City. Students meet artists, directors, producers, critics, and scholars skilled in the areas of performance and important to the critical reception of poetry and drama. They also tour relevant sites, developing skill at analyzing and evaluating artistic excellence. Specifically, students consider three aspects of theater: written drama, play production, and review writing. Offered in alternate years during Interim. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

286 Women's Literature

Students study individual texts as well as the development of women's literary tradition(s). How do women writers conform to and/or challenge the dominant paradigm for female identity, women's social roles and women's literary practice? Topics may include women's autobiographies, women writers and the land, contemporary women's fiction, and major women writers. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

290 Authors in English

Students explore the works of major authors writing in English from around the globe, as well as their historical, social, and geographic contexts. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

For more information on this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

330 Advanced Studies in Literary Eras: British

Students explore specific periods in British literature and examine the relationship between literary texts and movements and their particular cultural, political, and historical contexts. Each offering of this course examines a different literary era and emphasizes specific literary and historical issues. Prerequisites: English 185 plus one additional course of relevant background.

For more information on this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

340 Advanced Studies in Literary Eras: American

Students explore specific periods in American literature and examine the relationship between literary texts and movements and their particular cultural, political, and historical contexts. Each offering of this course examines a different literary era and emphasizes specific literary and historical issues. Prerequisites: English 185 plus one additional course of relevant background.

For more information on this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

345 Topics in American Racial and Multicultural Literatures

This course focuses on important issues, images, authors, and modes in an intensive study of racial and multicultural literature in the U.S. The scope of the course can include racial portraiture, sexual politics, field and factory experience, color and class status, and church and family institutions. Authors include such writers as Frederick Douglass and Maxine Hong Kingston. Prerequisites: English 185 plus one additional course of relevant background.

For more information on this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

347 Topics in Post-Colonial Literatures

Students study individuals or groups of authors, looking at themes such as the individual as cultural hybrid, the place of politics in literature, ethnocentrism and imperialism. They examine the formation of literature from the clashes of culture, and the relationship between non- traditional literary forms and traditional European aesthetics. Prerequisites: English 185 plus one additional course of relevant background. For more information about this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

360 Literary Criticism and Theory

This class focuses on defining, classifying, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and understanding literature. Students study both practical criticism (discussion of particular works or writers) and theoretical criticism (principles and criteria appropriate to literature generally). The course introduces a broad range of critical theories and provides an historical overview of the subject. Prerequisites: English 185 plus one additional course relevant background.

380 Shakespeare

Students consider in depth some of Shakespeare's most popular plays and also explore some of the less-frequently studied classics. Students examine a wide range of genres and types of plays, view videotapes, and attend performances when available. Prerequisites: English 185 plus one additional course of relevant background.

391 Major British Authors

Students examine the work of a major British author. Through attention to life experiences, cultural contexts, and the impact of history, the course offers students a rounded and complex understanding of a major author's literary achievement. Recent authors have included Milton, Dickens, George Eliot, Joyce, and Woolf. Because such study is intensive and requires background, students should have prior exposure to the author studied. May be repeated if topics are different. Prerequisite: English 185 plus one additional course of relevant background.

For more information on this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

392 Major American Authors

Students examine the work of a major American author. Through attention to the life of the author, cultural context and the impact of history, the course offers students a rounded and complex understanding of a major author's literary achievement. Recent authors have included William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and Edith Wharton. Because such study is intensive and requires background, students should have prior exposure to the author studied. May be repeated if topics are different. Prerequisite: English 185 plus one additional course of relevant background.

For more information on this course please see the following website: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/english/courses/

393 Milton and Ethics

This course examines Milton's works through the lens of ethics, using readings in ethical theory to better understand both the ethical issues and the works themselves. Students participate in a series of trials and panels designed to explore in depth issues of censorship, individual liberty, and the role of civil governments. Prerequisite: English 185 plus one course of relevant background; completion of BTS-T.

395 Chaucer from an Ethical Perspective

Students analyze from a broadly cultural view the political, religious, and intellectual debates of Chaucer's day as reflected in his greatest work, the Canterbury Tales. Students examine the Canterbury Tales through the lens of ethics, using readings in ethical theory to better understand moral questions, Chaucer's poetry, and ourselves -- as interpreters of literature and moral agents. Prerequisite: English 185 plus one course of relevant background; completion of BTS-T.

399 The Major Seminar

In the first part of this seminar, students examine, on the basis of common readings, some broad literary topic. In the second, they undertake individual research projects, share and respond to each other's work-in-progress and present their completed project to the seminar. May be repeated if topics are different. Prerequisites: English 185 plus one additional course of relevant background.

WRITING

251 Creative Nonfiction

From the intimate personal essay to more externally driven literary journalism, creative nonfiction covers a range of forms. Students learn to combine fictional techniques, personal recollections, and direct exposition in assignments that might include memoir, personal essay, cultural criticism, nature writing, book and film reviewing, and "new journalism." Contemporary nonfiction writers such as Annie Dillard, Scott Russell Sanders, Judith Ortiz Cofer, and John McPhee provide models and inspiration for writing in the course. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

254 Science Writing

Students learn to write essays on scientific and mathematical topics, aimed at a non-expert audience. Students examine diverse published examples of such writing and learn, by doing, to write about technical and scientific subjects of their own choosing. Offered in workshop format, with students sharing and critiquing each others' work. Prerequisites: FYW or equivalent and two courses in science or mathematics.

255 Journalistic Writing

Students examine critically a variety of national, metro, and local media. Students then learn to write their own news copy, including hard news, features, editorials, arts and entertainment reviews, sports, business, and travel stories. Students also learn UPI/AP style copy editing and proofreading, important skills for students applying for internships and print media jobs. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

257 Creative Writing: Fiction and Poetry

This course provides students with the opportunity to gather insights and develop skills in the writing of creative prose and poetry. Literary selections are often used as models and discussions of craft set the stage for the workshopping of student writing. Prerequisite: FYW or equivalent.

371 Advanced Poetry Writing Workshop

Students focus on poetry, deepening their understanding of the form and completing a substantial portfolio of polished work. Class sessions include discussion of models in contemporary poetry, exploration of various options within the form, and workshopping of student writing. Prerequisite: Approval of portfolio by department committee.

372 Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop

Students develop and complete individual projects in fiction, deepening and polishing their work. Class sessions are devoted to discussion of craft, examination of literary models, and workshopping of student writing. Prerequisite: Approval of portfolio by department committee.

373 Advanced Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop

Students deepen and strengthen their work in creative nonfiction. Class sessions are devoted to development of writing strategies and analysis of professional and student writing. Prerequisite: Approval of portfolio by department committee.

374 Screenwriting

Students learn the techniques of screenwriting, including how to write a treatment, to create backstories, and to break down scenes. Each student produces and revises a narrative screenplay. Prerequisite: English 251, 257, or writing equivalent.

OTHER

294 Internship

298 Independent Study

394 Internship

396 Directed Undergraduate Research: "Topic Description"

This course provides a comprehensive research opportunity, including an introduction to relevant background material, technical instruction, identification of a meaningful project, and data collection. The topic is determined by the faculty member in charge of the course and may relate to his/her research interests. Prerequisite: Determined by individual instructor. Offered based on department decision.

398 Independent Research