ENG 610: Genre Development Lyric: Forms of Poetry
Jacqueline Jones LaMon (Spring)
This course will examine the containers which hold the poem—the fluid, the braided, the staccato—and the theories behind their use. In addition to exploring traditional and contemporary poetic forms, students will create and defend (both creatively and theoretically) a form of their own creation. Students will prepare a critical paper suitable for conference presentation. Emphasis will be on close readings and in-class discussion.

ENG 613: Genre Development: Satire
Martha Cooley
This course will investigate the nature of literary satire, with an emphasis on contemporary American short stories, novels, and poems. In general, satirical literature is designed to expose and mock—gently or harshly—the affectations, foolishness, stupidity, and vices of individuals, social groups, and governing bodies. Satire takes a rich variety of forms, including parodies, lampoons, and dystopian and apocalyptic tales. Our aim in this course will be to investigate how contemporary literary satires function—and in what new directions the genre may be proceeding. We will read work by such authors as Jim Shepard, Stanley Elkin, Rick Moody, Amy Gerstler, and Donald Antrim.

Eng 631: American Literature Seminar
“Literature and Popular Culture in Mid-Nineteenth-Century America”
Peter West
In this class we will consider many of the major authors of the so-called "American Renaissance" (Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry David Thoreau, and others) against the dynamic backdrop of antebellum culture. The 1830s, 40s, and 50s saw the rise of an astonishing range of mass cultural forms, such as P.T. Barnum's American Museum, the moving panorama, and an early form of photography called daguerreotype. Together we will read some of the major literature of this era, look at a few examples of popular fiction, and explore the emergent cultural practices that make the antebellum period such a vibrant and relevant moment in American history. Students will be asked to keep up with the reading, write short reaction papers, and complete two to three more formal writing assignments.

ENG 638: Teaching Writing: Theory and Practice
Jacqueline Jones Lamon
This course is a practical study of the teaching of creative writing and composition, and will focus on teaching methods and exercises suitable for beginning and intermediate university writing classes. We will discuss the assumptions that underlie the writing classroom, consider classroom management strategies, look at some exercises for beginning students, invent our own exercises, critique recent creative writing handbooks, and do some practice teaching. Students will lead discussions, give several short reports, teach a lesson to the class and design a one-semester writing course, which will include a syllabus, a set of exercises, a grading policy, and a detailed rationale.

ENG 640: Fiction Workshop
Vince Passaro, Martha Cooley
This fiction-writing workshop will focus on essential elements of craft, with particular emphasis on the shaping and pacing of narratives, the development of strong voices, and the creation of memorable characters. Our aim will be to examine and experiment with effective ways and means of creating vivid scenes and characters, well-made plots, and credible dialogue. Revision is an essential component; students are expected to offer detailed critiques of one another’s short stories, and to make use of critiques during their own revisions. We will also do close readings of published short stories by distinguished authors. Finally, we will undertake in-class writing exercises throughout the term.

ENG 641: Writing Poetry Workshop
Jacqueline Jones LaMon, Judith Baumel
This workshop aims to create a community of dedicated writers and readers who challenge themselves and support each other. Students will produce substantial new drafts of independent work weekly, develop close editing skills, analyze late twentieth century and contemporary poetry in written and oral presentations, read and discuss essays on poetics, and engage in that ancient communal experience of memorizing and reciting poetry. Students will develop the necessary writing and critical skills to serve them in professional writing careers. Students will consider thoughtful and practical approaches to the life of the artist and the creative process, will articulate and extend their craft—poetics, voice, prosody, etc. and will also look to understanding audience and setting professional goals. This is an advanced poetry workshop intended for graduate and upper level undergraduate students with some experience in the writing of poetry.

ENG 642: Playwriting Workshop
Phil Atlatkson, Kermit Frazier
Though we will study writing from the perspectives of both craft and inspiration, the focus of this workshop is on the foundations of storytelling. The course will start with the question of how one creates a journey and then will track the evolution of dramatic journeys from Aristotle through the present day, analyzing the prevailing models and styles of each structural movement in Western text-based theatre. Students will create conceptual plays based on each model, finally writing both a ten minute play and a full length play. While primarily concerned with plot development, the course will study dialogue construction and character creation, as well.

ENG 650: History & Theory of Translation
Lahney Preston
This course is divided into two parts: an investigation of the theory of translation during the first half of the course, followed by analysis of actual translations done during different time periods. Translation is a part of our every day life, but we rarely spend any time thinking about the art or theoretical apparati behind translation, which makes another world available to us. We will think about the underlying theoretical and practical issues of translation and also look at some of the texts that it makes possible for us to read.

ENG 661: Antiquity & Modernity
Adam McKeown
Mythology and Modern Storytelling.
The mythologies of Greece and Rome have been the most enduring influence on English literature since the Renaissance. Whereas knowledge of the Greek and Roman “classics” is no longer expected of all educated people, authors continue to revisit and revise but also challenge these old stories. In this class we are going to consider how modern writers, artists, and filmmakers have used Greek and Roman mythology in the production of their own art. The course includes an extensive review of classical mythology from original and contemporary sources as well as writings by Rainer Maria, Roberto Calasso, and, Mary Zimmerman, among others.

ENG 663: Development of the Narrator in Fiction
Igor Webb
This course traces the development of the narrator in the major fictions of the English nineteenth century, the great age of the English novel. By focusing on the development of the narrator, the course intends to study some of the era's major work from the point of view of the writer. Topics covered will include theories of literary convention, narratology, and of the "reader"; the sociology of reading and writing in the nineteenth century; the "authority" of the narrator; the development of the first person narrator; the use of indirect narration and narrative frames; and the use of limited perspective and the unreliable narrator. Authors studied will include Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, and Ford Madox Ford.

English 791: Practicum Colloquium
Judith Baumel
A weekly practicum designed to help MFA students develop thoughtful and practical approaches to the life of the artist and the creative process. Through weekly conversations with various members of the arts community, students can make professional connections with mentors, publishers, producers, granting institutions, etc. Students will learn how to identify and pursue career paths available to creative writers by considering job opportunities, networking, mentoring, publishing and long term career management.

ENG 799: Thesis Colloquium
Judith Baumel, Kermit Frazier
This course is the capstone experience for the MFA students and will serve as a bridge between their university and professional lives. It will create a forum in which students present ongoing drafts of the MFA thesis to a colloquium of peers who will critique and offer practical advice. The thesis, in parts and as a whole, will undergo the workshop process. Additionally, students will analyze the published work of major figures in their genre and develop critiques of the work of colleagues as they learn to read and respond to the work of others.