English 111, 211 and 212
All three of these foundation courses are open to non-majors. Majors should take these courses
by the end of sophomore year.
EN 111 (W) (I) Dr. Johnson
World Literature: Exile MWF 10:10-11:20
In reading twentieth-century texts written by African, Caribbean, Indian, and European authors,
we see how global relations are structured by colonialism and its aftermath. One of the most
prominent themes to emerge from this literature is that of exile, from Albert Camus’ philosophical
allegory to Khushwant Singh's realist portraiture of national partition and exodus. We will examine our authors’ shared theme of exile as an expression of political, historical, existential, and cultural experience.
EN 111 (W) (I) H Dr. Hurley
World Literature MW 1-2:30
An introductory course covering literature from countries other than the US and Great Britain,
including parts of Africa, Turkey, Russia, France, Iran, India and Canada. We will explore theways in which these works engage with their particular cultures and with narrative theory as
both we, and they, understand that concept. Representative works from fiction, memoir, a
graphic novel, poetry, theater and possibly film may be included..
EN 111 (W) (I) Dr. Bernardo
World Literature: Journeys and Encounters MW 2:40-4:10
We will read works by authors from Iran, China, Morocco, and India as well as some from Europe
and North and South America. Many of these narratives and poems focus on both psychological
and geographical journeys and the cultural cross currents and encounters these journeys include.
As we discuss these texts we will address questions such as: How does anyone maintain a stable,
continuous sense of self? What does the concept of “home” mean? How do people negotiate
change of place, culture and language? How much control over self-formation does any
individual have?
EN 111(W) (I) Dr. Chakravorty
World Literature TTH 2:40-4:10
TTH 4:20-5:50
This course studies representative literature from around the world, with an emphasis on authors
from outside the Anglo-European canon, viz. from Africa, South Asia, China, Japan, Middle-East,
Latin America and the Caribbean. The course provides a literary glimpse into diverse cultural
landscapes as well as studies the socio-historical and political contexts of the literary texts with a
view to reassess traditional notions and critique stereotypes. With a comparative approach the
course will explore the tropes of cultural variance as reflected in the notions of race, gender, love
and sexuality, religion, as well as political and historical events and movements that shaped the
modern world including colonialism, nationalism, and the realities of the postcolonial global
existence. We shall study an interesting and varied literary corpus including novel, short stories,
poetry, and memoirs, and analyze them within the broad theme of cultural encounters and the
construction of the self and its ‘others.’
EN 211 (W) Dr. Schotter
British Literature Survey TTH 1-2:30
TTH 2:40-4:10
This course focuses on the changing ways that authors have conceived of “Englishness” or
“Britishness” over a thousand year period during which England moved from being a small
country on the edge of Europe to the world’s dominant empire to a dwindling post-imperial
power. We will attend to changes in the British literary tradition from the perspectives of class,
gender, and national identity during this long period. Authors will include Chaucer, Shakespeare,
Milton, Swift, Wollstonecraft, Wordsworth, Austen, Joyce, and Woolf.
EN 212 (W) Dr. Hogarth
Introduction to Literary Analysis and Theory TTH 1-2:30
TTH 2:40-4:10
We will explore poetry and fiction and also work toward understanding and being able to use
various approaches to literature. By examining poems you will develop a better understanding
of the conventions of poetry and develop skill and sensitivity as readers of poetry. Fiction will
also demand that you apply your analytical abilities as you learn about the importance of
narrative voice and structure. We will work with short fiction as well as theatre and the novel.
One of your main tools for learning will be writing. As you become more experienced literary
critical thinkers, you should strive to clearly explain your ideas through writing.
Core Courses:
Core courses are also open to non-majors/minors. Majors should complete the core courses by
early in the junior year. Please note that core courses a major takes beyond fulfilling the three
categories listed below (one from each category) may count toward electives.
Pre-1800 British or European Literature
EN 303(W)
Chaucer: Canterbury Tales Dr. Schotter
MW 9:40-11:10
We will read selections from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, noting their great range of genres,
including romance, bawdy tale, and beast fable. We will attend to his satire of late medieval
English society, as it experienced challenges to the dominance by the Church and the aristocracy,
challenges embodied in Chaucer's great comic creation, the Wife of Bath. Along the way we will
experience first hand the exuberance of the Middle English language, through reading his poetry
aloud.
British Literature Post-1800
EN 224(W) Dr. Bernardo
Orphans, Poverty and Scandal in 19th TTH 11:20-12:50
Century British Literature
From Oliver Twist to Sherlock Holmes the nineteenth century highlights the trials of the poor and
the orphaned, as well as the power of public morality and the associated need to avoid scandal.
Money, class and gender all play major roles in the experiences of the characters we will meet.
As we study works by Dickens, Brontë, Carroll, Braddon, Conan Doyle, Wilde and others we
will begin to see a fuller picture of Victorian society.
EN 311(W) H Dr. Johnson
Modern English and Irish Literature MWF 11:20-12:20
The height and decline of the British Empire in the first decades of the 20th century had a profound
impact on race and gender relations, the status of the nation state, modern psychology, and literary
form. We will examine this tumultuous period through the works of such English and Irish
modernist writers as Yeats, Joyce, Forster, and Woolf, as well as looking at the transnational
nature of modernism in works by Conrad, Rhys, and Mansfield.
American Literature
EN 315(W)-ILC Dr. Sharpe
African-American Literature (D) MW 6-7:30
must also take MU 209-ILC(D) Jazz and Blues
An examination of the central texts of the African-American literary tradition, including works by
Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Nella Larsen, Zora Neale Hurston,
Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison. The course, as part of an ILC, will observe the
continuum from the oral tradition of spirituals and field hollers, dating from the days of slavery
and Reconstruction, through the blues/jazz roots of contemporary African-American writing.
Recent efforts by black scholars and literary critics to establish a ‘canon’ of African-American
writing will be considered.
EN 342(W) H Dr. Sharpe
Growin’ Up in Dixie (D) TTH 9:40-11:10
What’s it like to be young and coming up in the land of cotton and kudzu, debutantes and
rednecks, coon dogs and bass boats, instant grits and barbecue? Find out how a culture that created
jambalaya, catfish pie and Elvis could also produce the Klan—and what it would be like to grow
up there. Readings will include works by well-known major Southern authors such as William
Faulkner, Alice Walker, Carson McCullers, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Eudora Welty,
Katherine Anne Porter and Flannery O’Connor.
Electives:
Please note that as of Spring 2007 all English literature electives have a prerequisite of EN 212
or permission of instructor unless the course is part of an ILC or an exception is noted.
EN 229(W) (I) Dr. Hogarth
Introduction to Comparative Literature MW 1-2:30
This course introduces students to Comparative Literature as a discipline. Students will
examine different methods of comparative study, including the comparison of different national
literatures, different regional literatures, and literatures written in different languages.
This course will investigate the theme of place and the contribution of a sense of place
and literature to characters’ identities. When characters consider their individual identities, how do
they link their sense of place to these? What is the nature and outcome of the identities and
relationships to place that they develop? What kind of lessons are they supposed to learn about
their position within certain spaces? Does the reading of literature contribute to a re-enforcement
of their relationships to their “home” space or does it provide an “elsewhere” that allows them to
reflect more productively upon the current space(s) they inhabit? To what extent do literary
presentations of places contribute to a creation of nationalist, regionalist or other political
movements? To what extent do these literary works provide a helpful lens through which to gain
knowledge on a variety of societies? This course will consider the different uses to which the
themes of literature and space have been put in texts from differing traditions, from nineteenthcentury
France and Russia with Balzac and Gogol; through turn of the century Central Europe
onwards with Kafka and Kundera; North, West and South Africa with Camus, Bugul and
Gordimer; to the present world, with writers such as Bei Dajie, Ian McEwan and Cormac
McCarthy. (no prerequisite)
EN 291(W) Dr. Hurley
Special Topics: European Novel MW 2:40-4:10
All those great novels of the Western tradition that you came to college to read, including works
by Flaubert, Kafka, Dostoyevsky, Kundera, Nabokov and others. Lots of good reading and lively
discussion. These are the writers to whom everyone else refers, so come get acquainted with them
too. (no prerequisite)
EN 310-ILC (I) H (team taught) Dr. Urbanc
Literature in Turn-of-the-Century Paris, TTH 9:40-11:10
Vienna, Berlin, Barcelona
crosslisted as FR 310 and AH 218
A detailed reading of some of the major literary works written in fin-de-siècle Paris, Vienna,
Berlin, and Barcelona. Along with readings by authors such as Marcel Proust, Colette, Thomas
Mann,Rainer-Maria Rilke, and Arthur Rimbaud, this class also addresses the rise of
psychoanalysis, the exploration of sexuality, and café culture. Students will visit several museums
in New York City and attend a concert at Carnegie Hall.
Journalism Courses:
JR 011 Prof. Regan
Wagnerian TBA
Intern program in writing for the student newspaper. Intensive participation in the student
newspaper in the area of writing. Students will complete articles assigned by the instructor, who
will grade them. This course is highly recommended for staff members of student publications
and English majors with a minor in journalism. May be repeated.
JR 261(W) Prof. Regan
Journalism MW 6:30-8:00
An introduction to newspaper and magazine writing, including news, feature articles, and
editorials.
JR 291 (W) Prof. Regan
Special Topics: Dying to Tell the Story TH 6:00-9:00
Every day, journalists risk their lives to tell a story to the world. Many of them are killed in the
line of duty; the Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial in Washington, D.C., lists 1,913 names
from around the world. Many others are permanently injured physically and psychologically by
what they witness and record. Some even take their own lives. This course surveys work by the
valiant reporters, past and present, who put themselves in harm’s way to shed light on unrest,
tragedy and injustice.
JR 366 (W) Dr. Sharpe
Feature Writing MW 2:40-4:10
The object of the class is to prepare students for success as freelance journalists. This includes
coming up with worthwhile story ideas, researching and interviewing, writing letters of inquiry to
prospective publications, dealing with editors, revising and self-editing. We will attempt to
publish features in local or national newspapers and/or magazines, as well as contributing pieces
to the Wagnerian. Students must write for the Wagnerian in order to receive a grade for this
course.
JR 397 (1 unit) & 497 (2units)
Internship in Journalism
Part-time on-the-job experience at a New York area newspaper, magazine, television network, or
public relations outlet. May be taken for one or two units.
Note that journalism minors using an internship in journalism or publishing to fulfill the
experiential component of the Senior RFT in English (EN 400) may count that course as one of
their two units of required internship. Prerequisites: English 261, minimum 2.5 GPA in the
major, and approval of the advisor to the Journalism minor.
Writing Course:
EN 280 (W) Prof. Zanfini
Writing Intensive Tutoring (0 or 1 units) MWF 11:20-12:20
This course prepares Writing Intensive Tutors (WITs) to work in the College's Writing
Center. The class will review the theories, philosophies and pedagogies on the teaching of
writing. Students will then apply what they have learned in a 15-week practicum in the Writing
Center. Students will be eligible for, but are not guaranteed employment in the Writing Center.
