Online Registration Starts March 8 for Summer & March 22 for Fall.
English Majors — If you are an English major, you should meet with Wayne Berninger in the English Department as early as possible BEFORE you register. Please plan to register as early as possible so courses fill up. As you know, if the Dean cancels courses for under-enrollment, you’ll have to scramble to find replacement courses at the last minute. This brochure includes descriptions of the courses we’re offering in Summer 2010 & Fall 2010. Consult the English Department website to determine which courses you still need for your particular concentration (i.e., Creative Writing, Literature, or Writing & Rhetoric), and then contact Wayne (phone 718-780-4328 or e-mail him at wayne.berninger@liu.edu).
Non-English Majors — Advanced English courses aren’t only for English majors! The writing and analytical skills that students gain in English classes are very useful in a variety of professional careers. Even if you are not majoring in English, you can still take upper-division English courses—as long as you have completed the prerequisites (i.e., ENG 16 and two courses from ENG 61-62-63-64). If you really want to build up your transcript, consider an English Minor, which consists of any four English courses numbered 100 or above. Note: According to the Brooklyn Campus Undergraduate Bulletin, “Any minor satisfies the distribution requirement.” This is true no matter what division your major is in! If you’d like more information about minoring in English—or if you think you might like to major in English— contact Wayne Berninger in the English Department (phone 718-780-4328 or e-mail him at wayne.berninger@liu.edu).
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT WEBSITE
www.brooklyn.liu.edu/depts/english
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Advanced English Courses
Summer I 2010 (May 17-June 28)
English 180—Genre Studies: Utopian and Futuristic Literature (Class ID# 1374)
Professor Donald McCrary
Tuesdays & Thursdays 2:00-4:50 PM
This course will satisfy an English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. It can also satisfy a literature requirement in the Creative Writing concentration or in the Writing & Rhetoric concentration.
For centuries, authors have imagined the world as it should or will be. Contemplating the world as it should be, authors have imagined society, present or future, as a utopia, a society in which everyone is productive and fulfilled. Contemplating the world as it will be, authors have imagined where our present historical course is taking us, resulting in a utopian or dystopian future, or a combination of the two. These utopian and futuristic novels are interesting because they inform and challenge us about who we are and what we might become. For example, in B.F. Skinner’s Walden Two, the utopian society eradicates the traditional family, replacing it with communal parenting. In Aldous Huxley’s futuristic Brave New World, the family is replaced with genetic and behavioral engineering, the society controlling social position, employment, and sexuality. In Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time, the family, ostensibly, is retained, but children are born through artificial wombs and parenting, including breastfeeding, is shared equally by men and women. These texts, and others like them, compel us to look at our personal and societal beliefs, attitudes, and practices more critically, interrogating what we often ignore or take for granted.
In this course, students will read and write about utopian and futuristic novels and short fiction that examine political, social, cultural, and personal systems of beliefs and practices such as law, labor, gender, and government. Possible course texts include those by the aforementioned Skinner, Huxley, and Piercy, as well as Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven, Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland, and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. The course will include the viewing of several films such as Gattaca, A Clockwork Orange, and Children of Men. Students will write journal entries and at least two critical essays in response to the course texts and films.
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Advanced English Courses
Fall 2010
English 101 Introduction to English Studies (Class ID# 2426)
Professor Patricia Stephens
Mondays & Wednesdays 4:30-5:45 pm
This course is required for English majors in all three concentrations (Literature, Creative Writing, Writing & Rhetoric). You must take it at some point within the first two semesters after completing the core English courses (i.e., ENG 16 and two courses from ENG 61-62-63-64). If you are at this stage and you don’t take ENG 101 in Fall 2010, then you must take it in Spring 2011. Yes, you may take other advanced ENG courses at the same time as ENG 101.
This theme-based course introduces students to English as a field of study and offers an in-depth exploration of the English major and minor at the Brooklyn Campus of LIU. We will learn strategies for close readings of texts and for analytical writing about these texts. Throughout the semester, we will read from various genres (novels, drama, poetry, and film), framing our discussions with readings on literary and rhetorical criticism. While we will experiment with many forms of writing (reader responses, analytical, creative), all of our work during the semester will culminate in a final research paper due at the end of the semester. During the semester, we will attend events relative to our course of study, and we will explore the many career opportunities available for English majors.
English 128 Early British Literatures: Making of English Literary Traditions (Class ID# 2040)
Professor Jonathan Haynes
Tuesdays & Thursdays 4:30-5:45 pm
THIS COURSE WAS CANCELLED.
For English majors, this course is required in the Literature concentration. It can also satisfy a literature requirement in the Creative Writing concentration or in the Writing & Rhetoric concentration.
In this course we will read the authors most responsible for founding the traditions of British literature: Geoffrey Chaucer, Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, John Donne, and John Milton. We will plunge into the worlds created by their powerful imaginations, which in part means understanding what they do with the genres of chivalric romance, epic, comedy, and lyric poetry. We will also pay steady attention to the relations of their created worlds to the unfolding history of English society. Gender relations and the role of the outsider will be recurring themes.
English 158 Early Literatures of the U.S.—The American Renaissance (Class ID# 1794)
Professor Patrick Horrigan
Tuesdays 6-8:30 pm
For English majors, this course is required in the Literature concentration. It can also satisfy a literature requirement in the Creative Writing concentration or in the Writing & Rhetoric concentration.
Between the War of 1812 and the Civil War, the United States witnessed one of its greatest periods of artistic achievement, sometimes known as the “American Renaissance.” The course will examine representative works by the major writers of this period, including Washington Irving, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson, as well as some of the earlier colonial and revolutionary-era works that inspired them.
Readings will include fiction, poetry, philosophy, sermons, political manifestos, captivity and freedom narratives, and criticism. In addition to on-going class discussion, students will write a series of short essays in response to the readings and one longer critical essay or creative term project.
English 164 Explorations in Creative Writing (Class ID# 5730)
Professor Lewis Warsh
Wednesdays 6-8:30 pm
For English majors, this course is required in the Creative Writing concentration. It can also satisfy an English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. Any student (no matter what major or concentration) may take this class two times for credit.
The goal of the workshop is to expand our ideas of “what is a poem” and “what is a work of fiction.” Are poetry and fiction exclusive or related genres? Weekly assignments will question preconceived notions of form, content and gender, with emphasis on the best ways of transcribing thought processes and experiences into writing. We will also attempt to engage the present moment--the issues of our time, if any, that influence our writing. Is it possible to write in a vacuum while ignoring the rest of the world? What is the writer’s responsibility? Can writing change the world? We will read as models the work of Maugerite Duras, Lydia Davis, William Carlos Williams, Amiri Barka, Frank O’Hara, Andre Breton, Ted Berrigan, Elizabeth Bishop, John Ashbery, Junot Díaz, and Ernest Hemingway, among others. Much of the workshop time will be spent reading and discussing each other’s writing.
English 165 Poetry Workshop: How to Get There (Class ID# 1902)
Professor Lewis Warsh
Mondays 6-8:30
For English majors, this course will satisfy a creative-writing elective in the Creative Writing concentration. It can also satisfy an English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. English majors concentrating in Creative Writing may take this class two times for credit.
Our ideas about poetry are often instilled in us at a very young age--and often those ideas are based on a narrow concept, as if poetry was just one thing written in one way. Our goal is to expand the definition of poetry--to see what’s possible, both as writers and readers. We’ll do this by exploring the traditions of poetry and the various forms of poetry (among them the sonnet, the sestina, the villanelle) and by paying close attention to the way that poetry changes through time and how much great poetry is a reflection of the age in which it was written. We’ll also discuss the act of writing poetry as one of risk-taking and investigation, and how nothing ever changes unless you experiment or try something new. Is all great writing, for instance, experimental writing? In what way is writing poetry similar to scientific discovery or invention? We’ll discuss, at length, what “experiment” means in relation to poetry. Most important, we’ll try to trace the relationship between poetry and daily life.
Among the poets we’ll look at closely are William Carlos Williams, Charles Reznikoff, Ted Berrigan, Anne Waldman, Diane di Prima, Robert Creeley, Bernadette Mayer, Amiri Baraka, Jack Spicer, Gary Snyder, Gregory Corso, Kenneth Koch, Frank O’Hara and Allen Ginsberg.
A final portfolio, consisting of all our written work, is due at the end of the semester.
English 169 Non-Western or Post-Colonial Literature: Modern China in Films & Novels (Class ID# 5733)
Professor Xiao-Ming Li
Thursdays 6-8:30
THIS COURSE WAS CANCELLED.
For English majors, this course is required in the Literature concentration. It can also satisfy a literature requirement in the Creative Writing concentration or in the Writing & Rhetoric concentration.
The course will examine a selection of Chinese movies and novels, all set between the Republic Revolution (1912) and the so-called “Cultural Revolution” (1966-1976). These creative works are selected as much for their socio-political relevance as for their remarkable artistic achievement and immense popularity.
The films and novels will be studied in four clusters, each linking one or two movies with a novel. The viewing sessions will thus be followed by discussions of both the film and literature. We will explore themes such as the interlocking of political systems and private lives, the role of female gender, the relationship between Confucianism and Maoism. When the film is the adaptation of the novel, we will also look at the complex interplay between film and literature: the problems in translating novels into films, and the possibilities and limitation of each medium. In the process, the participants should develop some degree of fluency with the languages of both film and literature criticisms.
The movies and novels to be examined include: Raise the Red Lantern (movie), Xiaoxiao (novel), Girl from Hunan (movie adaptation of Xiaoxiao); To Live (novel and its movie adaptation); Farewell My Concubine (movie), Waiting (novel); Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (novel and movie). Selected chapters from Understanding Contemporary China by Robert Gamer and How to Read a Film by James Monaco will also be assigned.
All participants will keep a viewing/reading journal, from which three entries will be developed into longer response papers of 4-5 pages. A research paper of 10 pages that explores one common theme in multiple texts in both media is due at the end of the course. Short quizzes will be given in class periodically.
English 171 Introduction to Classical Rhetoric (Class ID# 5731)
Professor John Killoran
Mondays 6-8:30
For English majors, this course is required in the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. It can also satisfy an English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. This course is designed not only for English majors but also for students from disciplines such as Political Science, Education, Business, Journalism, and Media Arts who seek to develop their skills as critical readers and persuasive writers.
Students have been studying classical rhetoric for more than 2400 years, starting with the ancient Greeks, so why study it in 2010? Classical rhetoric offers us guidelines for how to be persuasive. In ancient times, rhetoric played a key role in the birth of our traditions of democratic politics and law. In modern times, classical rhetoric has been revived to guide us in analyzing the persuasive messages around us and to make our own writing more persuasive.
In this course, students will learn concepts from classical rhetoric and apply them to analyze contemporary writing, speaking, and multimedia communication in . . .
* politics and law;
* advertising, marketing, and public relations;
* traditional media and new digital media;
* our personal lives and communities.
By the end of the course, students will better recognize how language persuades us of what we believe and whom we believe. Students will also have developed their sensitivity to the power in others’ use of language and will become more empowered in their own use of language.
English 173 Writing in the Community (Class ID# 11787)
Professor Deborah Mutnick
Tuesdays & Thursdays 4:30-5:45 pm
THIS COURSE WAS CANCELLED.
For English majors, this course will satisfy a writing-and-rhetoric elective in the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. It can also satisfy an English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. English majors concentrating in Writing & Rhetoric may take this class two times for credit.
This course is designed to acquaint you with writing about, in, and for communities and organizations—neighborhoods, schools, work-places, museums, non-profits, and other social spaces. Although our main focus will be on writing in and for communities, we will first consider how and why they form, develop, thrive, decay, and sometimes “come back.” We will examine their histories, everyday practices, and rules, asking how boundaries are drawn, policy decisions made, and individuals classified as insiders or outsiders, players or spectators. Second, we will investigate and practice the kinds of writing done in communities, such as neighborhood blogs, grant proposals, organizational fliers and brochures, and museum exhibition texts. And third, we will write for a community—a flier, brochure, proposal, report, or other type of document—and possibly also facilitate writing within a community, for example, working with local organizers, elders, or high school youth to enable them to develop their own writing projects. In addition to encouraging experimentation with multimodal, digital and print essays, the class will create a blog based on the writing produced by you and community members.
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FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (AND MINORS)
IN THE HONORS PROGRAM—
The following Honors elective (taught by a member of the English Department faculty) will satisfy an English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. It can also satisfy a literature requirement in the Creative Writing concentration or the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. Non-English majors can also apply this course toward a minor in English. Please discuss your situation with Wayne Berninger in the English Department before you register for this course. You may only register for this course if you are in the Honors Program.
HSM 109 British Slave Narratives (Class ID# 3396), Professor Srividhya Swaminathan, M 3-5:30
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STUDY ABROAD AND EARN CREDIT THAT CAN BE APPLIED TOWARD YOUR MAJOR
The Global College Program of Long Island University invites English majors to study abroad for a semester or a year at one of our centers—Costa Rica, Japan, China, or India. Not only will you have the opportunity to study and travel in a foreign country while earning credit towards your major, but you will also become immersed in another culture, develop your global awareness and cross-cultural communication skills, and be provided with a variety of internship and service learning opportunities. At all centers, students are encouraged to engage in independent-study projects relevant to their academic interests.
The Costa Rica Program in Heredia offers home stays with Costa Rican families, internships throughout the region, and courses in writing, Latin American studies, cross-cultural research methods, Latin American literature, Spanish language, global health and traditional healing, peace and reconciliation studies, environmental studies, and an introduction to experiential education.
The India Program in Bangalore enables students to explore the country’s religious and cultural diversity, the caste system, travel writing, environmental issues, the situation of Tibetan refugees, and the status of women. Students also have the opportunity to study India’s art forms, dance, and music.
The China Program in Hangzhou allows students to study a wide range of topics including the history of China, religious life in China, traditional Chinese medicine, poetry, women’s issues, calligraphy, taiji, Mandarin Chinese language and modernization and economic development.
The Comparative Religion and Culture Program enables students to engage in intensive study of the teachings, rituals, and spiritual practices of the world’s major religions while exploring cross-cultural issues such as identity, human rights, peace and reconciliation, and world citizenship. During the fall semester, students travel in Taiwan and Thailand, and during the spring semester, students travel throughout India and Turkey while they immerse themselves in the religions and cultures of these countries. The courses offered in the fall include: Comparison: Theory and Method, Religions and Modernity in Taiwan, Culture and Society of Taiwan, and Religions and Modernity in Thailand. The following courses are offered in the spring: Comparison: Practice and Critique, Religions and Modernity in India, History and Society in India, and Religions and Modernity in Turkey.
The Australia Program in Byron Bay is offered only during the spring semester. Students explore the relationships between people and their environment from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students travel throughout Australia and take courses that focus on indigenous peoples, the natural history, ecological diversity and related social and cultural contexts of Australia through seminars, field trips, service learning and internships.
Long Island University Financial Aid can be applied to all Global College overseas programs. For more information call 718 488 3409 or e-mail globalcollege@liu.edu.
A number of $5000 scholarships may be available to study in Global College programs.
English Majors who are interested in Global College should see the next page for the English Department’s Guidelines for English Majors Studying Abroad in the Global College Program—please do not register for Global College without meeting with Wayne Berninger first! Contact Wayne Berninger (718-780-4328 or wayne.berninger@liu.edu).
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT GUIDELINES
FOR ENGLISH MAJORS STUDYING ABROAD
IN THE GLOBAL COLLEGE PROGRAM
The following are guidelines for undergraduate English majors who wish to study abroad through the Global College Program and apply the credits earned toward their upper-division English major requirements.
* Student must receive permission from Undergraduate Registration Advisor (Wayne Berninger) and Chair of English to enroll in Global College. See Wayne Berninger FIRST, before you do anything else.
* Before going abroad, student must have completed ENG 16, COS 50, and six credits from ENG 61-62-63-64.
* A maximum of 12 Global College credits may be applied toward upper-division English major requirements.
* During any semester abroad, student must take 6 credits (or equivalent) in English. Independent study may be arranged, in consultation with Undergraduate Advisor and Chair of English.
Notes
* Tuition, fees, and room & board abroad is about the same as tuition, fees, and room & board at the Brooklyn Campus.
* University financial aid and scholarships are transferable to Global College. However, students should be aware that there are no work-study opportunities abroad. Also, athletes who receive free room and board at the Brooklyn Campus are not automatically eligible for same while abroad. Department of Athletics may agree to provide athletes with a stipend to cover Global College room & board fees. Students are urged to discuss this possibility with the Department of Athletics before they decide to study abroad.
* Global College has additional sources of scholarships for students studying abroad.
The Speakers 