English Courses
An introduction to literary study, focusing on poetry, drama and fiction. Students will learn basic literary terms and practice textual analysis through writing and discussion. Emphasis will be on the formal features of literary works, as well as on the cultural and historical contexts that inform them. English majors only. Offered every semester.
An interesting introduction to a topic in the field of English.
Laboratory course in magazine editing and production that uses the Ignatian literary magazine as its' vehicle. Offered every year.
This course is an exploration of literature from the Western tradition. It will help in the development of critical and analytical thinking and writing skills as students peruse the authors of classical or timeless works.
The purpose of this course is to explore the major developments, themes, and works of African American literature from its eighteenth century beginnings to the dawning of the twentieth century. Beginning with an exploration of early eighteenth century African American song, sermon, speech and poetry, the course moves forward through the nineteenth century abolitionist and women's movement to the period of Reconstruction, featuring both major and minor writers.
This course is the second half of the introductory survey of the literature of African Americans. Starting in 1915 at the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance, the course moves forward through the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s to the Women's Movement of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, featuring both major and minor writers.
An introduction to American Indian experiences and cultures from the perspective of oral, written, and visual texts produced by Native North American Indians. The course will focus on various texts representative of emerging Native American literary and cinematic traditions beginning with early oral and ethnographic texts, culminating with a concentration on contemporary American Indian prose, poetry, and film.
Stories of transformation and metamorphosis have captivated cultures and writers for centuries. In this course, students read, think about and interpret both kinds of transformations: the changes that happen in stories, and the literary changes that happen to stories. Through reading and discussion, students practice written literary analysis and acquire familiarity with such literary matters as plot and character development, connotative and figural language, and the basic elements of poetry.
Introductory survey of some landmark fiction written in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. Likely authors include Hawthorne, Twain, Chopin, Wharton, Faulkner and Fitzgerald. The course will explore and analyze the development and the continuities and discontinuities of the American novel.
This course studies the traditions of literature by women to the early nineteenth century. Through readings of poems, short fiction, novels, and non-fiction prose, the courses explores how women from diverse ethnic, racial, religious, and class background articulated the female experience. Special attention is paid to women's understanding and representation of creative authority as well as to the historical, cultural, and literary contexts in which writing by women is produced.
This course examines a diverse body of works from the 19th and 20th centuries. We will read novels, poetry, plays, short stories, and essays with a particular focus on how women writers break and restructure traditional genre forms.
This class studies seven of Shakespeare's plays, the Early Modern period, and Shakespeare's relationship to this period. The course examines the literary, historical, social and cultural influences on Shakespeare's plays along with the moral judgments Shakespeare leads his readers to formulate on disparate topics.
This course introduces students to Asian American experiences through writings and films by Asians in America (including Chinese, Filipino/a, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian, South Asian, and Pacific Islanders--both immigrants and U.S.-born), from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Students analyze the evolution of Asian American consciousness expressed through their writings, raising historical and political issues such as acculturation processes, intergroup relations, media representation, race, culture, gender, sexuality, identity and Third World politics.
This course introduces Chicano/a and Latino/a literary and cultural production in its various genres, including poetry, novels, short stories, plays, essay writing, performance and film.
An introduction to American poetry written after 1945, this class looks at major figures and movements that have shaped not just American literature but American culture. This class looks at poetry as an extension of historical and cultural contexts while also paying attention to the history and the craft of poetry. Authors include Charles Wright, Billy Collins, Allen Ginsburg, Jorie Graham, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, Terrance Hayes, W. S. Merwin, Susan Howe and many others.
In Creative Writing, students will be required to read and respond to (in writing and discussion) various short stories and poems, by both published and student writers, and to produce a portfolio of new and original fiction and poetry, including some revision.
Through an exploration of ways that authors have written about gender and sexualities and have gendered and sexualized their writing, students will learn that gender and sexuality operate as analytic categories which inform not only the representation of characters and behaviors, but also textuality itself: the construction of plots, the mobility of syntax, tropes, and schemas, and the designs of language on the reader.
A survey of poetry, fiction and nonfiction across centuries and cultures. We will examine the philosophies that underpin ideas of nature, culture and 'the wild'; and examine the nature and place of creative literature in addressing environmental issues.
This course builds on the analytical and critical skills developed in English 190 and 191 through examination of the major methodologies of Twentieth Century literary theories. Offered every Fall.
Reading and discussion of major literary works from the Medieval period through the Renaissance, including those in the popular tradition. Topic changes regularly. Offered every semester.
This course will explore the social, spiritual, and aesthetic elements in Medieval writings that speak to the intellectual, moral, and spiritual responses of individual faith and society at large. Our readings will allow us to discuss how Medieval writers, especially women writers, express spirituality, hope, compassion, self-sacrifice, and justice. We will examine the elements of spirituality in the following general themes: mysticism, history, gender, and literary conventions. The course will end with explorations into the ways writers and filmmakers represent and appropriate Medieval faith in our contemporary world.
Reading and discussion of major literary works of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, including those in the popular tradition. Topic changes regularly. Offered every semester.
This class provides both linguistic and literary approaches to the history and development of the English language. By examining fragments and excerpts from literature of each phase in the development of English, students will become aware of language change and the interrelationship between English and other languages. In addition, students will develop an understanding of the relationship of language to literature, including the influence of culture and history on both. This is a Writing Intensive course and fulfills the Core A2 requirement for qualified transfer students.
Using USF's undergraduate journal Writing for a Real World as its vehicle, this course emphasizes the essential skills of copy editing (i.e., mastery of grammar, style, citation, querying, and developing strong habits of verifying information). Working with real deadlines, students will learn layout and production essentials (InDesign basics will be emphasized). • Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor.
Reading and discussion of major literary works of the twentieth century, including those in the popular tradition. Topic changes regularly. Offered every semester.
An introduction to a variety of feminist theories and approaches with emphasis on the arts, philosophy, politics, and media. Offered every Spring.
Examination of principal plays in the light of recent and contemporary criticism. Offered every semester.
An examination of the craft of writing as an artistic activity that links writers and readers with social issues and civic goals. Focusing on the confluence of rhetoric and semiotics, this class examines traditional notions of rhetoric and persuasion within a contemporary context. An advanced writing course, students research and write on issues of social and personal import in which they offer arguments into topics such as gender, law, race, environmental issues, popular culture, and other aspects of contemporary culture. Offered every Fall.
The genre of "nonfiction" is named for what it isn't--it's not fiction. Which tells us only that it isn't made up. Which doesn't tell us very much at all. In this seminar then, we will draw from the rich tradition of nonfiction in order to appreciate the power and versatility of the genre. By studying contemporary examples of essays alongside historical ones, our primary course goal will be to understand and define "nonfiction" more specifically and generously, and the reading list will include "classic" essayists as well as examples of the lyric essay, literary journalism, and other work more difficult to categorize. Student writing--exercises and creative essays--will be an equally important part of the endeavor.
What makes literary fiction "fiction"? What makes it "literary"? Why do we read and write it? What are our expectations of it? In this course, we will focus on an exploration of the various technical, stylistic, aesthetic, ethical, and formal aspects of literary short fiction, novellas, and novels. Students wil read a diverse range of short and long fiction, which may include writings by Woolf, Duras, Doctorow, Wideman, Chekhov, Wharton, and Carver, and will respond to the writings both critically and creatively.
An introduction to Poetry as a Genre. Students will be required to read classic examples of narrative, dramatic and lyric poetry, as well as poems from the Romantic period to present day. This course examines the development of poetry and explores issues of rhetorical structures, closed and open forms, prosody, diction and audience. requirements will include writing assignments of both the creative and analytical varieties, as well as exams.
A history of the development of Drama as a Genre, from antiquity to present day. Students will be required to read examples from a range of dramatic periods and styles, which might include Greek Tragedy, Elizabethan Comedy, French Farce, Restoration Comedy, Realistic Dramas, Social Dramas, Absurdist Theatre and Experimental Theatre. Requirements will include writing assignments of both the creative and analytical varieties, as well as exams.
This course focuses on the political and social questions surrounding writing and publishing. Students study issues of censorship, racism, sexism, and social responsibility both within the publishing world and recent literatures. The course looks at how novels, poems, essays, and columns have altered and influenced contemporary culture, exploring the responsibility of the writer to his or her audience.
Offered every semester.
Advanced seminar in writing that requires students to produce writing suitable for publication. A close attention will be paid to issues of style, rhetorical strategies and audience. Recent topics include Writing and Popular Culture, Gender and Sexuality and Writing and Social Change. Course may be taken more than once with a different topic.
As the culmination of the certificate program in Asian American studies, this course requires students to integrate the content and models of core and elective courses into a coherent grid of analysis and agenda for social action. A primary component of this course will be service-learning activities in collaboration with local and regional Asian Pacific American community agencies. Students will be required to submit a capstone portfolio, including a thesis paper, at the end of the semester that integrates their service-learning experiences with their academic foundation. Offered Spring 2003.
A varying series of topics examined by means of critical theory and research methods. Offered every year.
A workshop designed to give students a stronger understanding of fiction writing and revision processes. Exit requirement is a portfolio of new, original, and revised work. Non-majors welcome with the permission of the instructor.
A workshop designed to give students a stronger understanding of poetry writing and revision processes. Exit requirement is a portfolio of new, original, and revised work.
A workshop designed to give students a stronger understanding of nonfiction writing and revision processes. Exit requirement is a portfolio of new, original, and revised work. Offered every Spring.
Internships introduce and acclimate students to professional opportunities in writing. May be directed toward professional work or service. Offered every Spring.
A course which integrates the knowledge and skills derived from previous work in a significant research project. Work is submitted to both the instructor and an outside reader. Offered every Spring.
A course which integrates the knowledge and skills derived from previous work in a significant creative writing portfolio or research project. Work is submitted to both the instructor of record and an outside reader. Offered every Spring.
