Humanities 101: Environmental Film. Environmental Film applies the rhetorical concepts of audience, purpose, and context to the representation of environmental issues in film. We will study a variety of films from different periods and genres and consider the significance of representations of the environment. Selected readings will augment our familiarity with environmental issues and our efforts at film analysis. Assignments encompass both written work and oral presentations, both individual effort and group work. Sample syllabus.

English 102: There Will Be Blood: A History of Horror Film. This course focuses on a selection of Anglo-American horror films produced during the last half-century. As we study the conventions, continuities, and variations within the genre, we will also attend to some of the particular techniques employed in film studies. In addition to elements of analysis familiar from narrative texts (plot, characterization, theme, figurative language), we’ll add consideration of mise-en-scene, camerawork, editing, and sound. Selected readings will address issues related to horror film as a genre or particular films that we view. Assignments encompass both written work and oral presentations, both individual and group work. Sample syllabus.

English 201: Early English Literature. English 201 surveys the writing produced in English from a time before English as we know it (Old English requires translation) to a time when the language, literature, and culture demonstrate characteristics similar to our own. This particular section of 201 begins with Anglo-Saxon poetry and ends in the early 19th century. In addition to the wide expanse of time, this section also covers a wide range of literature: history, poetry, biography, drama, and fiction. We’ll take an interest in the genres of literature and the changes that take place between and within genres. Sample syllabus.

English 335: Picaresque Narratives. From its origins in sixteenth-century Spanish literature to its adaptations in twentieth-century fiction, picaresque novels have demonstrated a peculiar interest in the lifestyles of vagabonds, criminals, or the dispossessed. This course will consider a variety of picaresque novels with attention to the characteristics of the form and the themes typically dealt with in picaresque literature. We will also be interested in the way in which the form is applied differently over time. The primary reading list will be supplemented by critical readings over the course of the semester. Sample syllabus.

English 342: English Grammar and Usage. English 342 introduces students to one way of understanding English grammar—the systematic account of rules governing the English language. As part of that effort, we will distinguish between grammar in the above sense of the term and usage, which refers both to the English language as it is written and spoken (language in use) and also to those concerns that many people have about the way in which the English language is used. This distinction allows us to see some usage conventions (avoiding split infinitives, for example) as grammatically irrelevant. English 342 crosses disciplines (the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities) and subject areas within disciplines (English, philosophy, and history). With its formulas, terminology, and notation, the study of English grammar can appear abstract and esoteric; however, one only needs to think of the use of words to devalue people to realize that this is a course in which effective discussion relies on each contributor’s tact and maturity. Sample syllabus.

English 343: History and Varieties of English. English 343 involves the study of the history of the English language in order to better understand its origins, development, and variety of forms. The course can be viewed as having four sections: an introduction to the concept of language study and language record, English sounds and words (phonology and morphology), the origins and development of English, and language variation and American varieties. Although this course does not have any prerequisites, those with prior study of English grammar and usage may find some concepts such as morphology more immediately familiar. Because of its linguistic focus, English 343 crosses disciplines (the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities) and subject areas within disciplines (English, philosophy, and history). Sample syllabus.

English 411: Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Drama. In this course, we will examine a variety of plays written and performed between 1660 and 1800 with an emphasis on comedy. The plays studied range from Etherege’s Man of Mode, to Centlivre’s Bold Stroke for a Wife, to Burney’s The Witlings. Contextual readings highlight critical debates such as those involving Dryden, Congreve, Collier, Dennis, and Steele, as well as topics addressed by Johnson and Inchbald. Since the Restoration marks the first appearance of professional female actors on the English stage, this course also takes into account performance history. Sample syllabus.