Spring Lit and Writing Courses Cover Everything From Bats to Beatles

The UCBA Department of English and Communication is offering the following literature and creative writing courses for Spring Semester. Completion of English 1001 or its equivalent is recommended prior to enrolling in any of these courses.

Mike Roos
Engl 2002 Topics in Lit II Section 005
M: 6-8:50 p.m.
The Revolutionary Art
of Bob Dylan and the Beatles
Bob Dylan and the Beatles were unquestionably among the most influential artists of the 1960s, and their paths, though beginning from widely separated starting points (Northern Minnesota and Liverpool, England), were remarkably parallel and then inextricably intertwined. This course will explore their development as artists throughout the tumultuous decade of the 1960s and their influence on each other as well as on rock music in general.
We will focus our discussions on approximately 40 key songs representative of their greatest albums. Students will be required to purchase and/or download MP3 files of the songs for listening and study the lyrics available for free online. Four analytical essays, two each on Dylan and the Beatles, plus weekly journal entries and oral presentations will constitute the bulk of student work for the course.
English 2002 fulfills the following UC Breadth of Knowledge requirement: Humanities & Literature.

Rita Kumar
Engl 2002 Topics in Lit II
Sections 004 and 007
MWF 9:05-10 a.m. and 10:10-11:05 a.m.
Making Connections: Setting and Society in Classic Novels
This course will focus on the genre of the novel and we will study the works of three different novelists from three different countries (Canada, America and England) and three different periods of literary history (early 19th century to early 20th century). As we read these different selections, we'll place the literature within the context of the physical setting, and the relevant socio-cultural norms and historical period to examine how these factors influence the elements of a novel to make them distinctive from each other. Through our readings, class discussions and film, we will explore how the novel has evolved as a genre in three different contexts.
We will also consider the role of film in literary interpretation. Our discussions will include relevant cultural, philosophical and historical issues to enhance our understanding of the literary selections. Students will read widely, watch required films and consider their learning in discussions, and through written and oral activities. Students will get the opportunity to read classics by exploring their social, cultural, physical and literary settings.
English 2002 fulfills the following UC Breadth of Knowledge requirement: Humanities & Literature.

Cynthia Crane
Engl 2011 Intro to Creative Writing: Fiction Sections 001 and 002
MWF 1:25-2:20 p.m. and 2:30-3:25 p.m.
Do you have a knack for storytelling and writing? If you have thought about, or have dabbled in, writing fiction, or have already written stories, this creative writing course will help to develop your skills through creative exercises and prompts, and will offer a variety of strategies to develop the components of fiction, such as plot, point of view, character, scene and description, setting, and dialogue.
We will use an enjoyable and informative fiction workshop textbook that serves as a guide for the course. In addition, we will read a variety of short stories as models, and review short audio and video clips of author interviews and/or attend an author reading. We will also discuss nonfiction (memoir) as a point of comparison and contrast. The course will culminate in a final portfolio of your creative work, which will include a (short) short story or novel chapter.
English 2011 fulfills the following UC Breadth of Knowledge requirements: Fine Arts and Humanities & Literature.

Rhonda Pettit
English 2017 Intro to Poetry Writing. Sections 001 and 002
MWF 10:10-11:05 a.m.; M 6-8:50 p.m.
Calling all creative students!  Enhance your creative skills and satisfy a Humanities and a Fine Arts credit in one course by taking Creative Writing Poetry during the Spring 2013 semester -- ENGL 2017 with Professor Rhonda Pettit.  This course is designed for absolute beginners and more experienced poets.  We'll develop a tool kit of techniques and forms to increase your versatility. 
We'll participate in exercises that can lead to successful poems, and you'll also have a chance to follow your own muse in style and subject.  Best of all, you'll get feedback from your peers and from me -- and your own voice will be developed and heard!  By the end of the semester, most if not all of you will have work that is ready for publication.  The textbook for the course is Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry, 5th edition, by Mason and Nims.  Used copies should be available, but if you can find an earlier edition for a cheaper price, you can make that work. 
A copy of the textbook will be put on reserve at the UCBA Library during the semester, so you can retrieve what your earlier edition does not have.  So saddle up-Pegasus is ready to fly!
English 2017 fulfills the following UC Breadth of Knowledge requirements: Fine Arts and Humanities & Literature.

Ruth Benander
English 2021 World Literature
Sections 001 and 002
MWF 12:20-1:15 p.m. and 1:25-2:20 p.m.
International Gothic Literature
This semester we will read Gothic literature from the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and the United States. We will explore how the Gothic genre began and then changed over time and in different cultural realizations.
We will read selections for the Norton Book of Gothic Literature, selections from Japanese Gothic Literature, as well as Freud's "The Uncanny," Shelly's "Transformations," Hoffman's "The Sandman," and Gaiman's "Preludes and Nocturnes" from his Sandman series.
We will also compare Doyle's "Hound of the Baskervilles" to its modernization in the BBC's Sherlock. We will also discuss "Dark Shadows" as the quintessential 21st century American Gothic, and Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle," as the European Gothic through a Japanese filter. Activities will include essays, blogs, and presentations.
English 2021 fulfills the following UC Breadth of Knowledge requirements: Diversity & Culture and Humanities & Literature.

Sue Sipple
Engl 2080 Sections 002, 003
TR 9:30-10:50 a.m. and 11:-12:20 p.m.
U.S. Ethnic Literature
When you ask Americans where they come from, the answers will frequently be complex. In the United States, we identify ourselves by hometowns and geographical regions, as much as we do by the patchwork quilt of our personal ethnic heritages. In U.S. Ethnic Literature, we'll read works by a variety of writers-African-, Asian-, Jewish-, Latino-, and Native American among them-who write about the complexities of who we are in this vibrant, multi-ethnic nation.
Our literature will include short stories, poems, short plays, and bits of memoir that explore our country's diverse racial and ethnic histories and traditions, as well as the ways those things shape and expand our notions of American identity.
English 2080 fulfills the following UC Breadth of Knowledge requirements: Diversity & Culture and Humanities & Literature.