English

Introductory Courses: 1000-Level

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SPRING 2013 (IN SESSION)
FALL 2013
FALL/WINTER 2013-14
WINTER 2014

SPRING 2013 (IN SESSION)

ENGL-1003.3-001   (A. Barkman-Hill)   MW  12:30 - 3:30
INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH: TOPICS IN LITERATURE
Deconstructing (Post)Colonial Narratives
This course introduces students to literature written in English that engages both the cultural effects of colonization and strategies of deconstruction that bring colonial and neocolonial discourses to the fore. The course considers texts from the 19^th and 20^th centuries and introduces students to key concepts such as “colonialism”, neocolonialism”, “Eurocentrism”, “hybridity”, “interpellation”, “surveillance”, “normalization”, “modernity”, “postmodernity”, “globalization”, “structuralism”, poststructuralism” and “deconstruction”. Drawing from theorists such as Said, Bhabha, Spivak, Morrison, Derrida and Foucault, this course aims to develop student understanding of postcolonial and poststructuralist stances and deconstructive readings of text. Texts chosen represent the colonial experience, such as those written by Chinua Achebe, Jamaica Kincaid, Michael Ondaatje or Wayson Choy, and are useful to produce or illustrate postcolonial and deconstructive readings, such as those written by William Golding, Harper Lee, Thomas King or Hiromi Goto. The class will explore historically and culturally diverse representations in novels, novellas, short stories and poems, working to situate literary developments in social and cultural contexts and to understand the role of historical and cultural factors that influence the creation and reception of literary texts. Considering texts from postcolonial perspectives, the class will practice deconstructive methods of reading, keeping a focus on notions of productive power, identity formation, and citizenship, as well as on the interaction of gender, class and race within the practices of reading and writing. Through group work, discussions, lectures, research and writing, students will define literary terms, extend critical close reading skills and develop an understanding of the theory and practice of literary criticism. Students will improve research, essay writing and oral presentation skills through in-class exercises, learning to formulate rhetorically effective arguments and structurally effective written assignments.

ENGL-1005.3-001   (K. Cadieux)   TuTh   12:30- 3:30
INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE: READING TO WRITE CREATIVELY
This course introduces students to creative literature from a writerly perspective. This section of Reading to Write Creatively will examine this writerly perspective through some poetry, essays and one novel but focussing mostly on short stories. We will examine the tools and techniques of the writer’s craft as well as the mark the author leaves behind on his or her work. Students read as writers, learning to hear the nuances, cadences, and signatures of working artists. By reading, analyzing and discussing published texts we will gain an understanding of the strategies and methods writers use to write effectively. What’s more, students will practice connecting what they’ve learned in a critical/academic essay format. This course will be of special interest to students who plan on further work in Creative Writing.

FALL 2013

ENGLISH 1A: GENRES OF ENGLISH LITERATURE 
ENGL 1000(3) – 001
Professor B. Christopher
(F)     Tuesday/Thursday     2:30 – 3:45 p.m.

This course invites students to read literary works in the context of the genres in which they were written. We will discuss the conventions both of the broad generic categories by which the syllabus is organized and of subgenres of those categories. We will also examine the ways in which authors play with and subvert these conventions. Though genre will be our overarching theme in the course, we will also read the works on the syllabus with attention to the historical and cultural contexts in which they were written. After all, these genres did not develop in a vacuum. Over the course of the term, students will be introduced to a number of schools and techniques of literary criticism, and will be asked to apply some of these techniques in a variety of contexts, including group presentations, essays, workshops, and quizzes.

ENGLISH 1A: GENRES OF ENGLISH LITERATURE 
ENGL 1000(3) – 002
Professor P. Melville
(F)     Monday/Wednesday     2:30 – 3:45 p.m.

This course introduces students to the major genres of English literature, including poetry, drama, and fiction. While historical context will inform lectures and class discussion, the course will proceed, for the most part, according to the formal elements of each genre. Students will be asked to consider how form contributes to the meaning of a work of literature. With emphasis on the technical aspects of genre, the course will also encourage students to consider the socio-political conditions that likewise “structure” our own interpretations of literature. How does gender complicate the sonnet or the structure of a short story? What about race? To what extent can literary form be re-structured to produce new and unexpected significance? By engaging in thorough discussions and varied writing assignments, students will learn to become more appreciative, critical readers of literature, and expand the possibilities of their own writing.

ENGLISH 1A: GENRES OF ENGLISH LITERATURE – The Writing of Mars
ENGL 1000(3) – 050
Professor B. Pomeroy
(F)     Monday 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

The purpose of this course is to examine the many different faces of Mars in literature. Mars holds a special place in human imagination, since this close planet was at one time thought to harbour life. Likewise, Mars is important to literature because so much has been written about it and because it has a long enough tradition to show the progression of scientific knowledge and its effect on literature. When Giovanni Schiaparelli found canali in the 1870’s, and Percival Lowell in the 1890’s saw a network of canals dug in a last bid to save a planet losing its water, the public hung on every word. This fired the imagination of a series of writers, notably H. G. Wells’ (The War of the Worlds, 1898) and Olaf Stapleton’s (Last and First Men, 1930). When our understanding of Mars changed, so did the way in which Mars appeared in text. The cold malice of Stapleton and Wells’ Martians was replaced with Ray Bradbury’s dying civilization and thin air (Martian Chronicles, 1950). After the Viking probe set down on Mars in the 1970’s and sent back pictures that confirmed that such literary fantasies were factually wrong, later works using Mars were updated with the new information. This began the terraforming novels of Kim Stanley Robinson (Red Mars, 1993) and Greg Bear (Moving Mars, 1993), and as each scientific discovery has been added, our writers have kept pace. This course will rely on class discussion as well as research and non-research papers in order to come to an understanding of how texts are understood and constructed. Although we will be discussing literary concerns, as well as using the Internet, no previous or specialized knowledge is necessary, but all English 1A students are required to engage actively and thoughtfully with the assigned readings, in class writing workshops, and research papers.

ENGLISH 1A: GENRES OF ENGLISH LITERATURE 
ENGL 1000(3) – 009
Professor K. Malcolm
(F)     Tuesday/Thursday     11:30 – 12:45 p.m.

Students begin the term by reviewing essay writing. Then they apply their research skills to one of the following three novels they will be discussing. Kim focuses on the language and culture of India almost one hundred years ago. After that, students explore the worlds of Des and Kelly in the novels Whale Music and Black Water paying particular heed to stylistic choices and effects. Between each of the contemporary novels there is a week of poetry in which various stylistics devices are introduced. This will also allow students time to read the next novel. Our final unit will be on short stories. For this, students look to Urquhart’s book of short stories Storm Glass. Each unit of study will take approximately two weeks of the term. During the term you will be expected to write ONE research paper on one of the novels/ stories, a response to TWO others, and ONE poetry/ lexis assignment. Research papers are due one full week after the novel/ story has been completed in class. Responses are due one week after the novel/ story has been introduced in class. This means, the precise due dates of your research papers and responses will be determined by your choice of novel. Don’t wait too long; you will want grading feedback before the course withdrawal date.

INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH: TOPICS IN LITERATURE (FOR MAJORS) - Creature Fictions
ENGL 1003(3) – 001
Professor C. Rifkind
(F)     Tuesday/Thursday     2:30 – 3:45 p.m.

This course introduces students to the study of literature through the topic of Creature Fictions. We will study a variety of fiction (short stories, novels, comics, films) that represent a diversity of creatures (non-human, semi-human, post-human, and artificial life forms) inhabiting the human world. These texts require us to think about the boundaries between the human and non-human, which in turn raises important ethical questions about self and other, reason and instinct, nature and nurture, and equality and discrimination. As well, since these are literary works the texts also raise aesthetic questions about tradition and re-writing, realism and fantasy, language and representation, genre and narrative. In addition to the creative texts, students will read some literary and cultural theory and be introduced to a critical terminology for studying literature. Assignments will include a textual analysis, scholarly articles review, research essay, and final exam. This is a lecture and discussion based course and students are expected to participate actively.

READING LIST (in order of reading):
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. London: Penguin Classics, 2003.
Spiegelman, Art. The Complete Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. New York: Pantheon, 1996.
Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake. New York: Seal, 2004.
Plus short stories by Daphne du Maurier, Angela Carter, and Nalo Hopkinson available through Nexus and two films: The Birds (dir. Alfred Hitchcock) and Fantastic Mr. Fox (dir. Wes Anderson). Students do not need to purchase copies of the films.

INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH: TOPICS IN LITERATURE (FOR MAJORS) 
- Irony, Comedy, and Race in North American Texts
ENGL 1003(3) – 002
Professor J. Wills
(F)     Monday/Wednesday/Friday     1:30 – 2:20 p.m.

This course introduces students to English, as well as Critical and Comparative Race Studies, through various fictional and non-fictional texts that address race and raciality in humorous ways. Students will explore techniques and concepts such as parody, satire, mimicry, stereotyping, (re)appropriation, supremacy, and minstrelsy in order to explore the ways that comedy can be used to offend, to defend, and to subvert.  We will investigate a variety of forms and media, including: novels, poetry, short fiction, blogs, essays, speeches, film, graphic novels, stand-up and sketch comedy, and popular music.  We will consider the ways that class, gender, sexuality, and nationality at times intersect (and at others, do not) with issues of race and ethnicity.  Texts may include: Black No More (George Schuler), “An Auto-Obituary” (Langston Hughes), Nickel and Dime (Gary Soto), Yellow (Don Lee), Chappelle’s Show (Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan), The Love Wife (Gish Jen), True Lies (Mariko Tamaki), , Red, White, and Brown (Russell Peters), Portlandia (Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, and Jonathan Krisel), Key and Peele (Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele), and Boondocks: Because I know you Don’t Read the Newspaper (Aaron McGruder).

INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH: READING CULTURE 
ENGL 1004(3) – 002
Professor A. Burke
(F)     Monday/Wednesday     2:30 – 3:45 p.m.

This section of Reading Culture will take us from Othello to the iPhone in its effort to understand what is meant by the term “culture”. We will begin by looking at the traditional forms of literary culture (a play, a novel, and several poems) before expanding our investigations to other cultural forms and objects, from paintings and photographs to films and television. The course will conclude with an expanded understanding of culture, going beyond texts and objects to consider experiences and processes that likewise constitute cultural activity. From the curatorial process of updating your iPod to the experience of shopping in a designed and branded world, we will examine how we consume culture, but also how culture consumes us.

FALL/WINTER 2013-2014

ENGLISH 1: FOR MAJORS
ENGL-1001(6) – 001
Professor K. Venema/D.Redzepovic
(F/W)     Tuesday/Thursday     10:00 – 11:15 a.m.

Course description T.B.A.

ENGLISH 1: FOR MAJORS
ENGL-1001(6) – 002
Professor K. Ready
(F/W)     Tuesday/Thursday     11:30 – 12:45 p.m.

This course offers a full introduction to university-level literary study, including the reading of creative literature (poetry, fiction, and drama); the theory and practice of literary criticism; the role of historical and cultural factors influencing literary texts; and research skills. Students’ writing also receives significant attention.  This particular section of English 1 selectively surveys the history of poetic and dramatic forms, as well as short fiction and the novel, in order to give students a sense of important developments in the history of each, and of the rich intertextual dialogue between creative writers past and present. Discussion draws on a variety of critical terms, critical theory, background on writers, and cultural context to enrich an understanding of and critical engagement with the readings. Additional special consideration is given to issues related to the literary canon. Assignments will consist of quizzes, essays, and examinations. The amount of expected course preparation will conform to the guidelines set out by Student Services. Workload will vary according to the due dates for particular assignments.

WINTER 2014

ENGLISH 1A: GENRES OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
ENGL 1000(3) – 008
Professor Z. Izydorczyk
(W)     Tuesday/Thursday     2:30 – 3:45 p.m.

This course introduces students to a variety of creative literature (poetry, drama, and/or fiction) through the lens of a particular theme, genre, nationality, or period.  Each section is a uniquely designed introduction to university-level literary study.

INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH: TOPICS IN LITERATURE (FOR MAJORS) - The Art, Craft, and Theory of Short Fiction
ENGL 1003(3) – 003
Professor P. DePasquale
(W)     Monday/Wednesday   2:30 – 3:45 p.m.

In this course we will read, discuss, and write about short stories that range widely in historical period, nationality, and style. We will consider these short stories as products both of their authors’ talents/imaginations and of authors’ historical, literary, and cultural contexts. This course will provide instruction in the writing, research, and documentation skills required to write effective essays in English courses at the university level, and will include an introduction to literary criticism and theory. Classes combine brief lectures, class and small group discussions, and group presentations.

INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH: READING CULTURE
ENGL 1004(3) - 050
Professor B. Cornellier
(W)     Tuesday    6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
 
In this section of the course, we shall explore the changing roles of representation and cultural production in our mass-mediated societies. By introducing some of the key concepts in cultural theory, this course shall provide students with an opportunity to expand their understanding of different textual practices and modes of cultural production, ranging from Oscar Wilde’s theater and British Punk subculture, to cinema, consumer culture and the new digital and web media. Our focus will be on the complex chains of production linking texts, cultural contexts, and audiences/readers together. As a result, students will be invited to challenge some of their more deeply ingrained understandings of what readers and creators do with culture.

INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH: READING CULTURE
ENGL 1004(3) - 002
Professor M. Evans
(W)     Tuesday/Thursday     11:30 – 12:45 p.m.

This course explores the role that culture, as a set of practices encompassing a range of texts, events, experiences, and social institutions, plays in everyday lives. Students interpret a sampling of cultural forms and practices from the following: written texts, film, television, visual and performance art, music, print, and electronic media, as well as the institutions that shape them. This course may be of special interest to students who plan on pursuing further work in Cultural Studies. This section of the course will focus on written and film zombie texts and on C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books, the Narnia films, and spin-off online texts and communities. Classes will proceed by class discussion and mini-lecture.

INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE: READING TO WRITE CREATIVELY
ENGL 1005(3) - 004
Professor M. Sweatman
(W)     Tuesday/Thursday     1:00 – 2:15 p.m.

This course introduces students to a variety of creative literature (poetry, drama, short fiction) from a writerly perspective. Students explore and analyze the methods writers use to build imaginary constructs. Topics will include poetic and dramatic structure, narrative techniques, and the material production of texts. Classes will be comprised of short lectures followed by discussion. The first task of any creative writer is to learn how to read intensively and well. Students will write in class and will also prepare formal research essays about the literature on the reading list. There will be one creative assignment (either short fiction or poetry) and a final exam. 
NOTE: The prerequisite for upper-level English courses is 6 credit hours of First-Year English, including either ENGL-1001(6) or ENGL-1000(3). There are two ways to fulfill this requirement: by taking ENGL-1001(6), or by taking 1000(3) plus 3 other credit hours of English at the first-year level. Students planning to continue in English should take English 1A (ENGL-1000) in addition to this course.