Course Descriptions
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English
6ENG 115 (I-1) English Diction
The sounds and phonation of English. Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Particular attention to the problems of singing intelligibly in English.
6ENG 118 (I-3) Creative Writing
Introduction to the creative writing process, with emphasis on poetry or short stories. Includes reading and discussion of student work.
6ENG 142 (I, II-3) Lyric Poetry
Historical survey of the lyric with particular emphasis on contemporary poetry.
6ENG 176 (II-3) The Short Story
Development of the short story through its Russian and American origins. Authors studied include Gogol, Turgenev, Poe, Hawthorne, Chekhov, Maupassant, Joyce, O'Connor, Hemingway, and others.
6ENG 209 (I, II-3) The Elizabethan Shakespeare
A survey of plays and poetry from the first half of Shakespeare's career, concentrating on the comedies and history plays. In addition to making students familiar and comfortable with the language and characters of Shakespeare's plays, this course aims to familiarize students with various historical materials as well. Contexts for the plays that are discussed include the nature and structure of Elizabethan theatres, the history of the English theatre, Elizabethan festivals, staging practices and the use of music in Renaissance playhouses, the composition of Shakespeare's audiences, attacks on and defenses of plays and play-going, political controversies in Elizabethan England alluded to by the plays, and transformations in social institutions like marriage and the family in Renaissance England.
6ENG 210 (I, II-3) The Jacobean Shakespeare
A survey of plays from the second half of Shakespeare's career, concentrating on the tragedies and romances. In addition to making students comfortable with the language and characters of Shakespeare's plays, this course aims to familiarize students with various historical materials as well. Contexts for the plays discussed include the nature and structure of the Jacobean theatres, the court masque, public vs. private theatres, shifts in the tone and subject matter of plays between the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, King James as a patron of the theatre, the ideology of kingship under King James, political controversies in Jacobean England alluded to by the plays, and Shakespeare and the origins of the English revolution.
6ENG 222 (II-3) Writing About Music
Writing about music for newspaper and periodical publications. Music criticism, record reviews, and feature articles are studied and discussed. Students prepare articles for evaluation and possible publication. Guest instructors present lectures on special topics.
6ENG 230 (I, II-3) Musicians in Literature
We examine diverse representations of musicians in literature from the Renaissance to the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. The course is driven by the following large questions. How have music's and the musician's place in western culture changed from the Renaissance to the present? How have the relations between music and the other arts shifted over the same period? We read poetry and fiction in which music and musicians figure centrally, supplemented by essays on the social history of music.
6ENG 253 (I-3) Contemporary Literature
Introduction to twentieth-century literature, concentrating on British, European, American, women's literature, black writers, science fiction, or Third World literature.
6ENG 254 (I, II-3) Contemporary American Theater
A survey of American theater and performance of the late twentieth century. Emphasis is placed on how different identities within American society (gendered, racial, and sexual identity) are represented on the stage.
6ENG 260 (I, II-3) Virginia Woolf
A study of major fiction and selected nonfiction by one of the world's great modern writers and social thinkers. Emphasis is placed on understanding her writings in relation to her life and the social, economic, and political developments of her time, especially the two World Wars. Cross-listed as WST 260.
6ENG 262 (I, II-3) Voices of Women Artists
An exploration of challenges faced by women musicians, visual artists, dancers, and writers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the creative solutions employed by women in the fine arts to these challenges. All of our readings are autobiographical, and therefore we focus on how women choose to articulate their lives as artists. Cross-listed as WST 262.
6ENG 270 (I, II-3) James Joyce
An intensive study of three of Joyce's major works of narrative fiction - Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man, and Ulysses - as well as some of his poetry, critical writings, and letters. We also seek to situate the works in various historical contexts that shed light on Joyce's fiction, including the rise of modernism, Irish nationalism, Anglo-Irish relations, English colonialism, Joyce's musical background and its relation to his fiction, and Joyce's life.
6ENG 281, 282 (I, II-3) Topics in World Literature
Topics vary from year to year. Recent topics focus on authors, periods, genre or themes such as drama, Romantic literature, or musicians in literature. May be repeated for credit.
6ENG 284 (I-3) The Novel
The novel from the beginnings through the nineteenth century. Works studied include those of Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, and Austen.
6ENG 285 (II-3) The Modern Novel
The novel in the twentieth century. Works covered include those of Hardy, Lawrence, Gide, Camus, and Kazantzakis.
6ENG 481, 482 (I,II-3) Topics in World Literaure
Cross-listed with 6ENG 281,282. This graduate-level registration is offered as needed. Please see description for
ENG 281, 282.