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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English

Undergraduate Courses, Fall 2021 (Lower Division)

Class meeting locations are subject to change. Consult the following page for an explanation of the class period abbreviations.

Fall 2021

Lower-Division (1000-2000) Courses

Note: Course numbers listed in the table are linked to course descriptions below.

Course # Section Class # Time(s) Room Course title Instructor
AML 2070 0211 10316 M W F 2 LIT 0211 Survey of American Literature La-Toya Scott
AML 2070 03A5 10317 M W F 8 TUR 2354 Survey of American Literature Laken Brooks
AML 2070 1625 10384 T 8-9/ R 9 MAT 0005/ MAT 0012 Survey of American Literature Thomas Johnson
AML 2070 5613 10385 T 2-3/ R 3 AND 0021 Survey of American Literature Tiffany Pennamon
AML 2410 1629 10386 M W F 8 CHE 0316 Issues Am Lit and Cult: True Crime Literature Brianna Anderson
AML 2410 3698 10387 T 2-3/ R 3 WM 0202/ Mech Aer 0234 Issues Am Lit and Cult: Reimagining Black Lives and Black Planets Kimberly Williams
AML 2410 8060 23809 M W F 6 TUR 2350 Issues Am Lit and Cult: Let’s Talk about Sex…in Children’s and Young Adult Literature Corinne Matthews
AML 2410 8974 10388 T 2-3/ R 3 AND 0032/ Mech Aer 0229 Issues Am Lit and Cult: The Environmental Memoir Luke Rodewald
CRW 1101 0218 12270 M 9-11 MAT 0002 Beginning Fiction Writing Janice Whang
CRW 1101 1648 12271 M 9-11 MAT 0108 Beginning Fiction Writing Anna Egeland
CRW 1101 1649 12272 F 6-8 LEI 0207 Beginning Fiction Writing Ara Hagopian
CRW 1101 1650 12273 T 9-11 MAT 0015 Beginning Fiction Writing Vix Guitterez
CRW 1101 1879 12274 F 6-8 TUR 2306 Beginning Fiction Writing Jason Walker
CRW 1301 1651 12300 W 9-11 CBD 0212 Beginning Poetry Writing Elizabeth Agans
CRW 1301 1652 12301 W 9-11 TUR 1101 Beginning Poetry Writing William Brown
CRW 1301 1653 12302 R 9-11 MAT 0013 Beginning Poetry Writing William Carpenter
CRW 1301 398E 12303 R 9-11 MAT 0010 Beginning Poetry Writing Edward Sambrano
CRW 1301 7622 12304 F 6-8 TUR 2305 Beginning Poetry Writing Peter Vertacnik
CRW 2100 1656 12305 M 6-8 MAT 0004 Fiction Writing Jacob Bartman
CRW 2100 2333 12306 M 9-11 TUR B310 Fiction Writing Mitch Galloway
CRW 2100 2500 12307 F 6-8 AND 0032 Fiction Writing Angie Bell
CRW 2100 37B0 12328 T 9-11 WEIL 0273 Fiction Writing Ryan Bedsaul
CRW 2100 8058 12329 T 9-11 LIT 0233 Fiction Writing Patrick Duane
CRW 2300 1658 12330 W 9-11 CBD 0210 Poetry Writing Sarina Redzinski
CRW 2300 37B8 12331 F 6-8 MCCA 3194 Poetry Writing Olivia Ivings
CRW 2300 5546 12332 R 9-11 MAT 0009 Poetry Writing John Markland
CRW 2300 (H) 9002 26491 M 9-11 CBD 0212 Honors Poetry Writing William Logan
ENC 1136 045A 19453 M W F 7 ARCH 0116 Multimodal Writing/ Digital Literacy Cara Wieland
ENC 1136 8007 21422 M W F 8 ARCH 0116 Multimodal Writing/ Digital Literacy Jacob Hawk
ENC 1136 9006 26698 M W F 3 ARCH 0116 Multimodal Writing/ Digital Literacy Alexander Slotkin
ENC 1145 3309 13073 M W F 6 TUR 2354 Topics in Composition: The Art of Self-Formation Victor Imko
ENC 1145 3312 13074 M W F 2 LIT 0233 Topics in Composition: Writing the Outbreak Narrative Suvendu Ghatak
ENC 1145 3318 13075 M W F 2 MAT 0117 Topics in Composition: Writing about Race and Genre Fiction Rachel Hartnett
ENC 1145 3337 13076 T 8-9/ R 9 MAT 0014 Topics in Composition: Writing about Masculinities Mosunmola Adeojo
ENC 2210 12A0 13077 UFO Technical Writing Ivette Rodriguez
ENC 2210 4B48 13079 T 8-9/ R 9 MCCA 3194/ MAT 0002 Technical Writing Kaley Owens
ENC 2210 4B50 13101 M W F 2 MAT 0116 Technical Writing Andrew Testa
ENC 2210 5072 20646 M W F 8 MCCA 2196 Technical Writing Maxine Donnelly
ENC 2210 9150 20872 T 2-3/ R 3 AND 0019/ WM 0202 Technical Writing Burcu Kuheylan
ENG 1131 1363 12899 M W F 4/ T 9-11 WEIL 0408A/ WEIL 0408A Writing Through Media: Film and Television in the Age of Streaming Tyler Klatt
ENG 1131 1802 12919 M W F 6/ M 9-11 ARCH 0116/ ARCH 0116 Writing Through Media: Images of Africa Cristovao Nwachukwu
ENG 1131 18C3 12920 T 4/ R 4-5/ W 9-11 WEIL 0408A/ WEIL 0408E/ ARCH 0116 Writing Through Media: Anime as Modern Epics Brandon Murakami
ENG 1131 1983 12921 M W F 5/ R 9-11 WEIL 0408E/ WEIL 0408E Writing Through Media: Writing About Fandom Mandy Moore
ENG 2300 1807 12922 M W F 3/ W 9-11 TUR 2334/ ROL 0115 Film Analysis Matthew Knudson
ENG 2300 1809 12923 M W F 4/ R 9-11 TUR 2334/ ROL 0115 Film Analysis Kevin McKenna
ENG 2300 4C45 12924 M W F 6/ W E1-E3 TUR 2334/ TUR 2334 Film Analysis Felipe Gonzales-Silva
ENG 2300 7485 12925 M W F 8/ M E1-E3 TUR 2334/ TUR 2334 Film Analysis Vincent Wing
ENG 2300 8015 22203 T 4/ R 4-5/ R E1-E3 TUR 2334/ TUR 2334/ ROL 0115 Film Analysis Nicholas Orlando
ENG 2300 8641 12755 T 5-6/ R 6/ T E1-E3 TUR 2334/ TUR 2334/ TUR 2334 Film Analysis Bryce Patton
ENL 2012 1827 12841 M W F 7 WEIM 2050 Survey of English Literature, Medieval-1750 Kathryn Hampshire
ENL 2022 1830 12842 T 2-3/ R 3 TUR 2333/ AND 0032 Survey of English Literature, 1750-Present Elizabeth Lambert
ENL 2022 8049 12843 T 8-9/ R 9 MAT 0009/ MAT 0004 Survey of English Literature, 1750-Present Ryan Webber
LIT 2000 19CC 15810 M W F 5 MAT 0115 Introduction to Literature Elijah Drzata
LIT 2000 19CD 15811 T 8-9/ R 9 MAT 0151/ MAT 0118 Introduction to Literature John Mark Robison
LIT 2000 1A24 15812 M W F 3 MAT 0051 Introduction to Literature Lillian Martinez
LIT 2000 1A28 15813 M W F 7 MAT 0051 Introduction to Literature Allyson Blinkhorn
LIT 2000 1A31 15814 M W F 4 MAT 0118 Introduction to Literature Claudia Mitchell
LIT 2000 1A35 15829 T 2-3/ R 3 MAT 0051/ MAT 0118 Introduction to Literature Erika Rothberg
LIT 2000 1A42 15830 M W F 6 MAT 0051 Introduction to Literature Elizabeth Nichols
LIT 2110 AC93 15832 M W F 8 TUR 2353 World Literature, Ancient to Renaissance Deepthi Siriwardena
LIT 2120 03A6 15833 M W F 6 BLK 0315 World Literature, 17th Century to Modern Ryan Kerr
LIT 2120 2504 15834 M W F 8 TUR 2349 World Literature, 17th Century to Modern Claire Karnap

Course Descriptions

AML 2410

Survey of American Literature: True Crime Literature
Brianna Anderson

As the adage “If it bleeds, it leads” suggests, an uneasy fascination with crime, murder, and violence preoccupies American culture and media. From the colonial era to the present day, true crime narratives have simultaneously disgusted, riveted, and terrified their (primarily female) audiences. Throughout history, critics have denounced the genre as trash culture that glorifies crime and merely seeks to titillate spectators. However, these real-life crime stories also invite readers to contemplate the psychology of people who engage in transgressive, and even evil, behavior.

This course will examine the evolution of the true crime genre throughout American history in order to explore how these narratives reveal changing attitudes about gender, mental illness, morality, and race. Throughout the semester, our analyses will center on three pressing questions: How do these gruesome narratives reveal shifting societal anxieties surrounding crime, discipline, and trauma? How does true crime perpetuate, complicate, or refute harmful stereotypes about marginalized groups, such as racial minorities? And, finally, what are the ethics of consuming sensationalized tales of real-world tragedies? Course materials will cover a range of media, including execution sermons; early trial reports; murder ballads; the graphic novels Nat Turner, My Friend Dahmer, and Torso; the novels In Cold Blood and The Stranger Beside Me; the podcast series My Favorite Murderer; and short stories like “A Jury of Her Peers.” Graded assignments will likely include co-leading a class discussion; a short critical analysis paper; two short podcast episodes; and a mockumentary project.

AML 2410

Survey of American Literature: Reimagining Black Lives and Black Planets
Kimberly Williams

This course will examine Black scholars and theorists who integrate reimagination into their praxis and literature. More specially, this includes scholar-activists and creative writers who reimagine Black life centered on healing, futurism, and love. We will examine the capacity of Black being in a state of collective afterlife that includes abolition studies, Afrofuturism studies, and healing studies. The course includes the works of writers and change-agents like Toni Morrison, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, and Adrienne Maree Brown. We will engage with multimodal practices that include oral storytelling, manifesto writing, and other multisensory pedagogy creations.

AML 2410

Survey of American Literature: Let’s Talk about Sex…in Children’s and Young Adult Literature
Corinne Matthews

According to the American Library Association, sex is the third most likely reason for a book to be banned (after violence and profanity). Why, then, is so much children’s and young adult literature about sex? As children’s literature scholar Roberta Seelinger Trites noted almost twenty years ago, “teenage characters in YA novels agonize about every aspect of human sexuality: decisions about whether to have sex, issues of sexual orientation, issues of birth control and responsibility, unwanted pregnancies, masturbation, orgasms, nocturnal emissions, sexually transmitted diseases, pornography, and prostitution.” Indeed, since Trites made that claim, sex has only become more commonplace in literature for adolescents. But what, exactly, is the sex in children’s and young adult literature telling young people about sex?

In this course, we will trace the development of depictions of sex in contemporary children’s and young adult literature over time. We will examine how sex is depicted and discussed across genre, medium, and intended audience. We will consider questions like: how does the depiction of sex and sexuality change, for example, in fiction versus nonfiction, or in realism versus fantasy? What’s the difference between reading about sex in a comic instead of in prose? How has queer sexuality been depicted for younger readers over time? You would likely give a twelve-year-old a different book about sex than you would an eighteen-year-old—but why?

Assignments may include an in-class presentation, short reading responses, a creative assignment, and two analysis papers. With each assignment, students will use close reading and analytical skills to develop critical arguments and engage with the class theme.

Potential texts include:

  • Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
  • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
  • It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robbie H. Harris and Michael Emberley
  • Doing It by Melvin Burgess
  • Fire by Kristin Cashore
  • Forever by Judy Blume
  • Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
  • My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi
  • Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
  • Losing It edited by Keith Gray (short story collection)
  • The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
  • Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth
  • Speak (graphic novel version) by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carrol
  • Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
  • This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

AML 2410

Survey of American Literature: The Environmental Memoir
Luke Rodewald

This course is a meditation on memory and place. Although memoir is rooted in the personal, its insights, ideas, and revelations naturally gravitate outward to the world. Directly embracing this clash, the environmental memoir—one of the most emergent literary genres today—explores the intersections of an individual’s interior landscape with their surrounding exterior. Braiding together personal experience, scientific research, and a deep consideration of place, the environmental memoir emphasizes the importance of storytelling in communicating the often-overlooked ties between the human and nonhuman world.

In an era engulfed by escalating ecological crises and the encroaching disasters of climate change, how can writing our stories help us make sense of what it means to belong on a drastically changing planet? This course considers this question through a myriad of methods. Together, we will examine a spectrum of environmental memoirs—spanning from the form’s foundational texts to complexifying contemporary iterations—and contemplate how their authors’ techniques and craft forge connections with a global readership and inspire notions of solidarity and activism. However, this course is also an opportunity for you to explore your own “natural history” through experimentative communication in style and voice. Throughout, we will challenge our traditional understanding of the intricate relationship between ourselves and our environment by considering the landscape and the geological, historical, anthropological, and even political influences of our world at large, contemplating what it means to contextualize our personal stories in new ways.

Possible texts of study include full and selected excerpts from recent memoirs by the following authors: Terry Tempest Williams, Annie Dillard, Rebecca Solnit, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Sarah M. Broom, Barry Lopez, Lauret Savoy, and J. Drew Lanham.

The course’s major projects involve the creation of one analytical essay, as well as two creative nonfiction pieces, written in the style of environmental memoir, which will be workshopped with the intent of producing work suitable for submission in a number of literary nonfiction publications.

The interdisciplinary nature of the course will make it of particular use to students interested in creative writing, environmental studies, research-based writing, as well as literary and cultural studies. However, given that whoever is reading this description is someone who lives on Earth—and, as such, has unique memories tied to specific places and spaces—this course is an opportunity for all to explore that identity in meaningful, profound ways. As famed environmentalist David Orr urges, “The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind.” This course allows you—in fact, urges you—to tell your story.

ENC 1145

Topics in Composition: The Art of Self-formation
Victor Imko

What makes a person? Is it a specific set of circumstances, a certain kind of temperament, or some chance interplay between the two? In this class we’ll read stories in which characters (and authors) actively reflect on the ways in which they’re formed.

We’ll begin by reading Hamlet, examining the Prince of Denmark’s claim that his melancholy is caused not by his precarious position at court but by hidden depths of feeling: “I have that within which passes show.” We’ll then study how eighteenth- and nineteenth-century authors like Goethe and Flaubert adapted this idea of “interiority” to the realist novel, a genre typically associated with social adventure and stock characters. Finally, we’ll explore the various ways in which contemporary writers like Vivian Gornick, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Jia Tolentino have integrated novelistic strategies of self-interrogation into nonfiction forms like memoir and the personal essay.

The focus of this class is equal parts academic and artistic. We will consider texts in their specific literary-historical contexts, which will sometimes require that we read supplementary scholarship. We will also pay close attention to form and style, and will experiment creatively in our own writing. Assignments will include weekly discussion preparation notes, a presentation, and a research paper or creative composition.

ENC 1145

Topics in Composition: Writing the Outbreak Narrative
Suvendu Ghatak

As we continue to grapple with the COVID-19 crisis, this course offers a portal into the depiction of health disasters in literature and cinema, across space and time. From the ravaging plagues in medieval and early modern Europe to the deadly flu outbreaks in the twentieth century, the spread of diseases has not only created panic and suffering, often disproportionately affecting vulnerable social groups, but also altered shapes of human society, language, and imagination. We will examine how the outbreak narratives expose a range of emotions: fear, grief, anxiety, as well as delirium and desire, often buried under the everyday life, bending literary genres, and even upending the barriers of gender, race, and class.

The course is structured into four clusters: titled “Plague”, “Cholera”, “Malaria”, and “Flu”. In the cluster on plague, we start with the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman’s film The Seventh Seal, set in the middle of the Black Death in Medieval Europe, and then read selections from Daniel Defoe’s The Journal of the Plague Year written in the eighteenth century, during the last outbreak of bubonic plague in London. In the cluster on cholera, we read the India born English novelist Rudyard Kipling’s short story “The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes”, and the Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel Love in the Time of Cholera. In our study of the malarial narratives, we read Vernon Lee’s short story “A Wicked Voice” set in 19th century Italy and the South African writer Nadine Gordimer’s short story, “An Emissary”. In our concluding section on flu, we read the American author Katherine Anne Porter’s short novel Pale Horse, Pale Rider set during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918, and close off the course with the 2013 Korean film Flu.

Assignments will include weekly discussion posts, two short analytical essays, one podcast, one creative project, and one final paper.

ENC 1145

Topics in Composition: Writing About Race and Genre Fiction
Rachel Hartnett

Genre Fiction is a slippery category that has different definitions depending on who you ask. Some define it as commercial or popular fiction, while others say that it is fiction that is plot-driven and formulaic. Most would agree that it contains categories not considered to be “high art” or contain true literary worth, including science fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, horror, romance, crime thrillers, detective novels, and comic books. However, the growing field of popular culture studies shows that it is exactly this popular media that has the most significant impact on the majority of the world’s population.

Furthermore, since so many of these genres have been stigmatized and derided, they have formed very strong and dedicated fan communities. This is especially true for science fiction, fantasy, and comic fans. Largely, these spaces have been controlled by white, male fans who are often defensive, protective, and hostile of people they view as “outsiders” within these spaces. Unfortunately, this has most often included women and people of color. Because of the massive appeal and success of genre fiction and the social, political, and racial issues posed by fan culture, this class will be a close analysis of the relationship between race, genre fiction, and fandom.

This class will analyze and discuss multiple examples of genre fiction, including Twilight, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, James Bond, and the works of Stephen King. This class will also examine and bring into conversation popular genre shows and films, such as Game of Thrones, Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, Candyman, and Get Out. Critical texts will include Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination by Toni Morrison and The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. Multiple short critical works will also be examined including excerpts from Helen Young’s Race and Popular Fantasy Literature: Habits of Whiteness and George Lipsitz’s The Possessive Investment in Whiteness.

Writing assignments will consist of a number of short critical responses on the day’s assigned readings, analytical papers on the texts of the course, as well as a final creative project that can focus on any piece of genre fiction chosen by the student.

ENC 1145

Topics in Composition: Writing about Masculinities
Mosunmola Adeojo

Over time, writers and artists have tried to examine the way men are represented in literature, photography, movies, and art. For example, a 19th century English critic described some men living during that period as dandies: “a Clothes-wearing Man, a Man whose trade, office, and existence consists in the wearing of Clothes.” (Carlyle, 1906). Centuries later, photographer Shantrelle Lewis would define the Dandy in context of Blackness as, “a gentleman who intentionally appropriates classical European fashion, but with an African diasporan aesthetic and sensibility,” (Dandy Lion, 8). These contrasting views show how the representations of men in literature and in popular culture differ according to cultures and historical timelines. Therefore, for the 19th century English person, a man obsessed with flamboyant dressing was considered less masculine than his peers. In the 21st century, this may not necessarily be the case due to the influence of social media. Therefore, in this course, we will examine cultural depictions of men in African literature, African films, Victorian literature, and Victorian period films. We will also examine how social media has influenced the representations of men in the 21st century. Specifically, we will discuss the social and cultural contexts that influence the way men are represented in literary works. Overall, this course seeks to answer the following questions: What does it mean to be a man in Nineteenth Century Britain and in Contemporary Africa? What similarities and differences exist between masculinities depicted in the different societies we will study and, what are the historical contexts responsible for such similarities and/or differences?

Some of the works we will discuss include movies and documentaries such as Kunle Afolayan’s October 1st (2014), Kemi Adetiba’s King of Boys (2018), The Congo Dandies (RT 2017 Documentary) and Cary Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre (2011). We will read novels like George Meredith’s The Egoist (1879) Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (1847), Alain Mabanckou’s Blue White Red (2013), and Gael Faye’s Small Country (2018). Writing assignments will consist of weekly discussion posts about the socio-cultural contexts of these texts, analysis papers about the works discussed in class, an oral presentation, and a final research paper examining how history and culture influence contemporary masculinities.

ENG 1131

Writing Through Media: Film and Television in the Age of Streaming
Tyler Klatt

What are you bingeing? Is cord-cutting right for you? ‘Wanna’ Netflix and Chill? The spread of these phrases demonstrates the skyrocketing popularity of streaming services in recent years.

This course investigates the global shift from movie theaters, DVDs, and TV networks to online streaming services, such as Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, and Prime Video. How do streaming services affect the film and TV industries? How do these changes shape what appears on the screen? How does the transformed relationship between the spectator and the new technology affect the way we understand cinema and ourselves?  In this class, students will explore the impact of streaming services from multiple perspectives, including binge-watching, multimedial viewing, changes in temporality, changes in narrative structure, the internet, algorithms, data, and shifting institutional logics of production, distribution, and exhibition. Students will view a number of films, TV shows, and web series that consciously address the evolution of film and media technology. This course will help students learn the fundamentals of film analysis while also exploring how the new technology has affected the entertainment industry, listening and viewing habits, and processes of subject formation.

In the beginning of the course, we will trace the history of the cinema and TV’s many technological transformations. Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard explores the transition from silent to sound. Hideo Nakata’s Ring interrogates the rise of home viewing technology, like VHS. Finally, Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s The Matrix addresses the advent of digital technology and filmmaking. While many scholars describe streaming as the death of cinema, these films demonstrate how technological change is a condition of film and TV. Later in the course, we will explore the rise of streaming through flagship Netflix original films and documentaries like Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, Ava Duvernay’s 13th, and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. The way these films garnered attention in international festivals and award ceremonies speaks to the growing influence of streaming giants. In addition to film, this course will explore the impact of streaming services on the TV industry. Students will compare broadcast TV shows like NBC’s The Cosby Show with the Netflix Original Dear White People to observe the changes across narrative conventions, visual aesthetics, and cultural values. Anytime, anywhere technology means that content creators can bypass theatrical release and traditional television networks. Thus, we will conclude the course by looking at landmark YouTube vloggers such as Jenny Marbles and PewdiePie.

Students will read about the advent of streaming services through media publications such as NPR and The New York Times. We will compare these insights with the work of television and film scholars, including Amanda Lotz, Marshal McLuhan, Barbara Klinger, Lev Manovich, and others. Throughout the course, students will be responsible for analyzing films, TV shows, and web series and for composing a research paper. Students will also have the opportunity to upload their own vlog on YouTube and participate in workshops on operating video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro.

ENG 1131

Writing Through Media: Images of Africa
Cristovao Nwachukwu

Rural landscapes, villages, poverty, violence, and primitive societies. International media regularly circulate these images of Africa in the 21st century. However, such reductive perceptions about the continent showcase the lingering effects of the process of colonization, which created social, cultural, and racial hierarchies between Europe and Africa to justify European control in several African regions. In this course, we will investigate stereotypes that misrepresent the continent and the diverse populations that inhabit its countries. We will analyze literature, film, music, and media produced about and by Africans to study which stereotypes still permeate Western media and how some African artists respond to them. Thus, we will attempt to find nuance between extremely negative portrayals and idealized images of Africa. Some of the questions that will guide this course are: What are the origins of these stereotypes? What has been the impact of their dissemination? How effective has the effort of African artists been to dismantle these reductive notions?

Some of the works we will possibly discuss include the novels Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, In the United States of Africa by Abdourahman Waberi, We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo, and short stories by Olumide Popoola and Happy Mwende Kinyili. We will also explore films such as Black Girl by Ousmane Sembène, Black Panther by Ryan Coogler, District 9 by Neill Blomkamp, Rafiki by Wanuri Kahiu, and a few episodes of the TV series Ramy. Lastly, we will examine songs by Phyno and Burna Boy as well as news stories and read essays to contextualize the cultural productions we will study.

Assignments will consist of weekly posts about the materials, a digital map of an African country analyzing one of the topics we will explore during the course, close reading assignments, and a final research project, which could be in the form of a video, a digital mural, a blogpost, or a podcast presenting what you learned in this course. The visual assignments will require a transcription.

ENG 1131

Writing Through Media: Anime as Modern Epics
Brandon Murakami

The genre of the epic has a long history and irrevocable hold on the literary tradition as well as contemporary forms of media like tv shows, films, and even graphic novels. Featuring fantastical and grand worlds, valorous deeds, supernatural forces, extended storylines, and legendary heroes, the epic genre continues to shape the ways we tell stories today. And though we recognize modern, iconic franchises like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and Westworld, among others, as offshoots of the epic tradition, with the rise of anime’s popularity in America, particularly due to the continued expansion of “legal” streaming services, what is an epic anime?

We will watch both iconic and highly popular anime series to answer this question as well as how the specific medium of anime, as a culturally distinctive yet widely globally circulated medium, taps into contemporary but universal themes that resonate with its audiences—those both intended and unintended. We will also explore how the generic expectations of (primarily) shōnen or shōjo series confirm, resist, or adapt “Western” conventions to reimagine the epic in an especially modern form of storytelling. With a particular emphasis on series animated within the last 30 years, this course will give students a working knowledge of the field of anime studies and its recent developments as well as insights into Japanese culture while also developing their skills in composition and academic research. Assignments will include research papers, analytical discussion posts, and other related assignments that fulfill the Composition requirement.

Series under consideration are: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Yona of the Dawn, Hunter x Hunter, Blue Exorcist, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Kill la Kill, Sword Art Online, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Samurai Champloo, Attack on Titan, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Romeo x Juliet, One Piece, Tokyo Ghoul, Ghost in the Shell, Vinland Saga, Natsume’s Book of Friends, Demon Slayer, Haikyu!!, and Promised Neverland, among others. No prior knowledge in anime, Japanese language or culture is required.

ENG 1131

Writing Through Media: Writing About Fandom
Mandy Moore

From early Jane Austen book clubs to today’s enormous conventions like San Diego ComicCon, fandom has manifested in a myriad of different ways over time. These diverse fan communities all raise questions about how fandom fits—or should fit—into our broader culture. Does fandom represent the shallowest characteristics of a consumerist society, or does it hold the potential for more empowering engagement with media? Why are some fandoms, like sports, seen as more socially acceptable than others, like Twilight or K-Pop?

This class will explore these debates between fans, scholars, critics, and content creators about the role of fandom in our culture by focusing on particular conflicts or “flashpoints” as case studies. For example, we’ll examine infamous scandals such as Anne Rice’s crusade against fanfiction, the DashCon debacle, the death of Lexa on The 100, and Gamergate. Our case studies will also highlight trends like fan campaigns to save shows from cancellation, the controversial practice of “RPF” or Real Person Fanfiction, and anxious purges of “inappropriate” fan content. We’ll look at more positive flashpoints that highlight fandom’s capabilities for activism, grassroots collaboration, and charity work. Throughout the semester, we’ll build on these moments to understand how fan communities, public perception of fans, and fandom as an academic area of study have changed over time.

Our critical texts will include the work of scholars, like Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Henry Jenkins, Rukmini Pande, and Francesca Coppa, critics and journalists from sites like Syfy Wire or The Fandomentals, and fans themselves. Students will also be asked to watch, read, listen to, and/or play various texts that have generated strong fandoms, along with fan responses (fan-created fiction, art, music, zines, videos, etc.) to those texts. Assignments may include an autoethnography, “issue” papers that describe and take a stand on particular fandom debates, a popular criticism essay, and a creative fan project.