Departments and Courses:  English

Faculty

Judith A. Lockyer, chair and professor.
B.A., 1971, M.A., 1980, University of Kentucky; Ph.D., 1984, University of Michigan. Appointed 1985.

Andrew D. Bethune, assistant professor.
B.A., 1993, M.A., 1994, University of Ottawa; Ph.D., 2001, University of Toronto. Appointed 2000.

Mary L. Collar, professor.
B.A., 1969, The University of Wisconsin; M.A., 1972, Ph.D., 1977, Pennsylvania State University. Appointed 1977.

Charles W. Crupi, professor.
B.A., 1961, Harvard University; M.A., 1963, University of California; Ph.D., 1967, Princeton University. Appointed 1974.

James K. Diedrick, Howard L. McGregor, Jr., Professor of the Humanities.
B.A., 1973, Western Washington University; M.A., 1975, Ph.D., 1978, University of Washington. Appointed 1980.

Sarah Jordan, associate professor.
B.A., 1980, Salem College; Ph.D., 1994, Brandeis University. Appointed 1994.

Ian F. MacInnes, assistant professor.
B.A., 1987, Swarthmore College; M.A., 1990, Ph.D., 1995, University of Virginia. Appointed 1994.

Daryl J. Murphy, assistant professor.
B.A., 1982, Western Michigan University; M.F.A., 1985, University of Iowa. Appointed 1999.

Hal H. Wyss, professor.
B.A., 1962, Wesleyan University; M.A., 1964, Ph.D., 1971, Ohio State University. Appointed 1970.

Introduction
The Albion College English curriculum is designed to provide training in literary analysis and written communication. The major prepares students to read critically, to evaluate information and to express ideas with clarity and grace. The department offers courses in English and American literatures and traditions, film and literature, some non-English literatures in translation, and critical theory. The curriculum includes the intensive study of the works of major writers, major periods of literary history and the development of literary types. Upper division courses provide experience in critical approaches to literature; many explore certain theoretical considerations implicit in literary study, such as the question of canon formation and the impact of gender, race and ethnicity, and class on the creation and reception of literary works. Courses in writing and language are designed to develop students' mastery of their language and and their capacity for rigorous analysis. The writing curriculum includes basic and advanced work in expository and creative writing as well as journalism.

Career Opportunities
In addition to preparing students for the advanced study of language and literature, majoring in English is excellent preparation for professional study in law, linguistics, library science, higher education administration, and other areas. Trained to read carefully and write clearly, students go on to a wide variety of careers in which language plays an important role, including journalism, public service, and elementary and secondary teaching. Moreover, many students have chosen English as a second major in recent years, using it to extend and strengthen their preparation for medicine, business and a variety of other fields.

Special Features
English majors enjoy a rich variety of research, writing and internship opportunities both on and off campus. Writing and editorial positions on the weekly student newspaper and the annual literary magazine are available, and the department helps place students in off-campus programs in Great Britain, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. In the past several years, majors have completed off-campus internships with the MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour, CNN and Rolling Stone magazine.

The department encourages qualified and interested majors to consider writing an honors thesis in English during their senior year. Successful completion of the thesis results in graduation with departmental honors in English.

Outstanding English majors are invited to join the Joseph J. Irwin Society, the English Department honorary.

The English Department sponsors a series of programs each year which bring distinguished writers and critics to campus for readings, lectures and meetings with classes. Campus visitors have included Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks, Allen Ginsberg, Galway Kinnell, Gary Snyder, Joy Harjo and Li Young Lee.

Requirements for Major

Nine units in English, including any three of the following: 253, 255, 257, 258, 261, plus one of the following: 203, 205, 207, 308, 321, 322, 323.

At least four units in English courses numbered above 300 (only one may be a writing course). English 348 is required for certification in secondary teaching.

The nine units used to fulfill major requirements must be taken for a numerical grade and may include a directed study only with special permission.

Requirements for Major With Creative Writing Emphasis

Nine units in English including: 205; one unit from 321, 322, 323; one unit from 378, 379; one additional writing course from 203, 207, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 321, 322, 323, 378, 379 (note: 203 is required for students in secondary education); one unit from 253, 255, 257, 258, 261; four additional literature courses including at least two numbered above 300 and at least one focusing on the twentieth century. In addition, students working toward certification in elementary or secondary education must take English 348.

The nine units used to fulfill major requirements must be taken for a numerical grade and may include a directed study only with special permission.

Requirements for Minor in English

This minor is constructed to accommodate any literature emphasis, whether broadly or specifically defined. The minor can provide a general overview, or it can be tailored to provide a specific focus as a complement for majors in history, American political thought, art history or other fields.

Five units in English, including: 203, plus two from 151, 253, 255, 258, 261 and two at the 300-level (excluding writing courses).

All courses for the minor must be taken for a numerical grade, except those offered only on a credit/no credit basis.

Requirements for Minor in Journalism

This minor is intended for students who wish to pursue journalism. It may be completed in addition to an English major.

Five units, including: English 207, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, plus one unit of internship credit in journalism (typically fulfilled in an off-campus program, such as the New York Arts Program).

All courses for the minor must be taken for a numerical grade, except those offered only on a credit/no credit basis.

Requirements for Major or Minor With Education Certification

Elementary Major—Eight units of English, including three units from 151, 253, 255, 257, 258 and 261; three units in literature, all of which must be at the 300-level or above; and two units of electives in writing or literature at the 200-level or above, except 203 and 348, which are also required as part of the Elementary Education Planned Program.

Secondary Major—Major course requirements same as for the English major, except that English 348 must be included in the four 300-level courses.

Secondary Minor—Five units of English, including two units from 151, 253, 255, 257, 258, 261; one unit from 203, 205, 207, 308, 321; and two units numbered 300 or above, including 348 and one literature course. The five units must be taken for a numerical grade and may include a directed study only with special permission.

Completion of all other requirements for teacher certification.

Writing and Language

100  Writing Essentials  (1)  Fall
Fundamentals of written communication, with particular emphasis upon individual deficiencies in grammatical forms and rhetorical structure. Admission by placement only. (Not counted toward the major.)  Staff.

101  English Composition  (1)  Fall, Spring
Encompasses the entire writing process, from generating ideas to polishing the final draft. Students will learn to develop a significant, focused and clear thesis; construct unified, coherent and well-organized paragraphs; and produce concise, active, forceful prose. The course initiates students into the traditions and conventions of formal argument and instructs them in the practice of editing and revising. At the same time, it introduces students to the conventions of scholarship by teaching them to use sources effectively and acknowledge those sources appropriately. Students in English 101 will write frequently, producing a minimum of 6,000 words during the semester, and they will receive careful and regular commentary on their writing. (Not counted toward the major.)  Staff.

101H  Honors Composition   (1)  Fall
An honors level version of English 101 for students with superior writing skills. Admission by placement only. (Not counted toward the major.)  Staff.

203  Advanced Expository Writing  (1)  Fall, Spring
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or above and one of the following: completion of English 101 or 101H with a grade of 2.0 or better, recommendation of student's instructor in English 100, placement during SOAR or advanced placement in English. Required of students obtaining elementary teacher certification.
Expository writing beyond the 101-level, with emphasis on writing for specific audiences, techniques of argumentation, and stylistic choices available to writers. Collar, Jordan, Lockyer, MacInnes.

205  Introductory Creative Writing  (1)  Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: Completion of English 101 or 101H with a grade of 2.0 or better, recommendation of student's instructor in English 100, advanced placement in English or permission of instructor.
Practice in writing fiction and poetry, combined with a critical study of selected authors.  Murphy, Staff.

207  News and Feature Writing  (1)  Fall
Prerequisite: Completion of English 101 or 101H with a grade of 2.0 or better, recommendation of student's instructor in English 100, advanced placement in English or permission of instructor.
Information gathering, news reporting and feature writing for the contemporary newspaper, with background on the origins and functions of the American press.  Staff.

209  Responding to Student Writing: Consulting Theory and Practice  (1/2)
Prerequisite: English 101, 101H or equivalent writing and learning experience.
An introduction to the theory and practice of writing consulting, as preparation for the individual or small group consulting that occurs in writing centers and professional consulting settings. Includes study and writing in multiple genres (e.g., autobiography, journal, ethnography, academic research). Hendrix.

288, 289  Selected Topics  (1/2, 1) 
Staff.

308  Advanced News and Feature Writing  (1/2, 1)  Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: English 207 or permission of instructor.
Further work in news and feature writing; supervised experience reporting and writing for the weekly campus newspaper, The Pleiad; introduction to newspaper production.  Staff.

309, 310  News Editing I  (1/2, 1)  Fall, Spring
Prerequisites: English 207, 308 or permission of instructor.
Supervised experience in planning, editing, making up pages of the weekly student newspaper, The Pleiad. Weekly newspaper analysis and policy discussion. Staff.

311, 312  News Editing II   (1/2, 1)  Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: English 309 or 310.
Advanced application of principles learned in English 309 or 310.  Staff.

321  Advanced Creative Writing (Poetry)  (1)  Fall
Prerequisite: English 205 or permission of instructor.
Study and practice in the writing of poetry. Staff.

322  Advanced Creative Writing (Fiction)  (1)  Spring
Prerequisite: English 205 or permission of instructor.
Study and practice in the writing of fiction.  Murphy.

323  Creative Nonfiction Writing  (1)
A study of literary nonfiction including the memoir, travel writing, nature writing and other forms. Discussion of the ways in which this ``fourth genre'' differs from journalistic writing and the ways in which it employs fiction-writing techniques. Students will write their own creative nonfiction, combined with a critical study of selected literature. Authors may include both classic and contemporary writers such as Henry David Thoreau, George Orwell, James Baldwin, Annie Dilliard, Joan Didion, Paul Theroux, Maxine Hong Kingston and Tobias Wolfe.  Murphy, Staff.

348  English Language  (1)  Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing or permission of instructor.
History, structure and usage of the oral and written English language. Required of students obtaining elementary teacher certification.  Bethune, Hendrix, Wyss.

356  Visual Poetry  (1)
Combines the creation of poetry with presentation in printed form. Intended for writers and visual artists alike, this course teaches the fundamentals of writing poetry and letterpress printing. Using movable type and hand-operated printing presses, participants will write, set and print their own broadsides and artists' books. Same as Art 356.  McCauley, Staff.

378  Creative Writing Workshop (Fiction)  (1)  Fall
Prerequisite: English 322, 323 or permission of instructor.
A workshop for advanced fiction writers. Student writers will typically produce about 10,000 words and will present selections of their in-progress work an average of three times by the end of the semester. To become familiar with current trends in fiction, students will develop a personal reading list of current writers and fiction magazines. Stories will be submitted for publication. Students may emphasize creative nonfiction writing with the instructor's permission. Murphy.

379  Creative Writing Workshop (Poetry)   (1)  Spring
Prerequisite: English 321.
A workshop for advanced poets focusing on producing and critiquing student writing. Students will produce a body of polished poems, several of which will be critiqued by the entire class. Students should have a thorough understanding of poetic forms and devices. Students will be expected to develop their own style and interests, and to revise their work significantly. Includes discussion of publishing and of contemporary literary trends.  Staff.

388, 389  Selected Topics  (1/2, 1)
Staff.

391, 392, 394  Internship  (1/2, 1, 2)  Fall, Spring
Opportunities in journalism, editing, publishing and other fields. Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Staff.

Literature

151  Introduction to the Study of Literature  (1)  Fall, Spring
Strategies for the close readings of literary texts and for the development of informed written analysis. Readings will be drawn from a variety of genres. Staff.

234  African American Literature  (1)
A survey of African American writing from 1770 to 1970, including poetry, novels, short stories and drama by such writers as Wheatley, Dunbar, Dubois, Chestnutt, Hughes, Baldwin, Wright, Baraka and Morrison. Lockyer, Murphy.

237  Hemingway and Fitzgerald  (1)
Readings in major novels and short stories, with emphasis on relationships between the authors' lives and works. Offered in alternate years. Wyss.

239  Twain and Faulkner  (1)  Spring
Readings in major novels and short stories, with emphasis on relationships between the authors' lives and works. Offered in alternate years.  Wyss.

243  Women and Literature  (1)  Fall
A study of the portrayal of women by British and American authors selected to represent a variety of attitudes, historical perspectives and artistic techniques. Lockyer.

248  Children's Literature  (1)
Directed at English majors and teacher certification candidates, but open to anyone interested in children's literature from the seventeenth century to the present. Emphasis on critical discussion of this literature as literature and on teaching techniques for bringing children in touch with books. Offered in alternate years. Staff.

249  Native American Literature  (1)  Spring
Focuses on contemporary poetry and prose by Native American writers. Also includes a discussion of traditional narratives and songs and discussion of the cultural and historical contests of the literature. Staff.

253  British Literature I   (1)  Fall, Spring
Representative works of English literature from Beowulf to the eighteenth century. Authors typically include Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Sidney, Donne, Wroth, Philips, Milton, and others. Bethune, Crupi, MacInnes.

255  British Literature II  (1)  Fall, Spring
Representative works of English literature from the eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Authors typically include Swift, Pope, Fielding, Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Austen, Dickens, Eliot, Tennyson, Woolf and others. (English 253 is not a prerequisite.) Diedrick, Jordan.

257  American Literature I   (1)  Fall, Spring
Representative works of American literature from the colonial period through the mid-nineteenth century. Authors typically include Edwards, Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson, Fuller, Thoreau, Stowe, Whitman, Dickinson and others.  Lockyer, Wyss.

258  American Literature II  (1)  Fall, Spring
Representative works of American literature from the Civil War through the mid-twentieth century. Authors typically include Twain, James, Chopin, Wharton, Frost, Eliot, Faulkner, Morrison and others. (English 257 is not a prerequisite.) Collar, Lockyer, Wyss.

261 Greek and Roman Literature  (1)  Fall
A survey of classical writers in translation, including Homer, the tragic dramatists, Virgil and others. Discussion topics include the cultural contexts of ancient literature (Greek religion, the Athenian polis, Roman imperialism, etc.) and the role of "the classics" in constructions of a western European "tradition." Crupi.

271  Strategies in Twentieth Century Drama  (1)
Same as Theatre 271.  Oosting.

285  Gay and Lesbian Literature  (1)
Examines lesbian and gay literature written in Great Britain and America from the Renaissance through the twentieth century, including works by Shakespeare, Byron, Whitman, Melville, Dickinson, Wilde, Cather, Woolf, Baldwin and Lorde. Considers such questions as: What makes a text "gay"? How does the cultural oppression of homosexuals shape the literary texts they produce? Do these works form any sort of literary tradition and, if so, how do they build on and influence each other? What is their place in the larger literary canon? Jordan.

330  British Fiction Before 1850  (1)
The development of the novel in England from the beginnings to the time of Dickens. Offered in alternate years. Jordan.

331  British Fiction After 1850  (1)
The development of the novel in England from the time of Dickens to the present. Offered in alternate years. Diedrick.

337  Victorian Sexualities  (1)  Fall
Integrates the study of literature and social history by examining how the Victorians thought and wrote about sexuality and gender. George Eliot, Christina Rossetti and Oscar Wilde are considered, alongside writings on prostitution, sexual difference and women's rights. Offered in alternate years. Diedrick.

338  Eighteenth-Century Culture Shocks  (1)
An examination of the categories of race, class and gender in 18th-century Britain and its colonies, emphasizing writing by people of color, working-class writers and women. Included are literary works by well-known writers (Behn, Defoe, Swift, Austen, etc.) and by less canonical ones. Extra-literary works are also considered (travel narratives, economic tracts, conduct books, etc.). Offered in alternate years. Jordan.

339  The British Romantics  (1)  Fall
Studies in early nineteenth century writers, including Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats and others. Offered in alternate years. Jordan.

340  Twentieth Century British Literature  (1)  Fall
A study of British writers of the first half of the twentieth century, including works by Joyce, Lawrence, Woolf, Beckett and others. Offered in alternate years. Collar.

341  Contemporary Literature  (1)  Spring
A study of British and American writers whose major work has been done since 1945.  Collar.

342  Modern Poetry  (1)
A study of the major modern poets: Eliot, Yeats, Frost, Stevens and others. Offered in alternate years. Collar.

344  Sixteenth-Century Literature and Culture  (1)  Fall
A variety of sixteenth-century works are examined in a study of the relation of literature to cultural context. Offered in alternate years. MacInnes.

345 Medieval and Renaissance Women's Writing  (1)  Spring
A study of letters, memoirs, fiction and poetry by women who wrote in the medieval and Renaissance periods, including Margery Kempe, Mary Sidney, Queen Elizabeth, Lady Mary Wroth, Katherine Philips, Aphra Behn and others. Offered in alternate years.  MacInnes.

347  The Age of Satire  (1)  Spring
Integrates the study of eighteenth-century British literature and history by examining such topics as capitalism, gender and social class in both literary and non-literary works. Pope, Swift, Mary Wortley Montagu, Finch and other figures are considered, as well as conduct books and pertinent historians on such topics as crime, capital punishment and marriage.  Jordan.

350  The American Novel  (1)
A study of the novel as a reflection of American literary and social issues from the early nineteenth century to the present. Offered in alternate years. Lockyer.

351  Four American Poets   (1)
A study of the poetry of four major American poets, particularly as discourse about such topics as the idea of America, its history and the role of poetry in its culture. Offered in alternate years. Lockyer.

355  Chaucer  (1)
A comprehensive study of the writings of Chaucer, including The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde and selected minor works, as they reflect both the man and his times. Offered in alternate years. Bethune.

357  Stereotypes in American Fiction  (1)
An examination of the use of gender, ethnic and other stereotypes in selected works of American fiction, from James Fenimore Cooper to the present. Wyss.

360  The Problem of Race in American Literature  (1)
An examination of the problem of black/white racial conflict in important American texts. The course examines representations of blackness and whiteness, and situates them within historical moments that have defined surges in writing about race: the coming of the Civil War, the failure of Reconstruction and the establishment of the color line, and the rise of Pan-Africanism as a matrix for the development of an autonomous African-American cultural consciousness. Offered in alternate years. Lockyer.

363  Literary Theory  (1)  Fall
A study of key theoretical concepts (like "intention" and "discourse") and theoretical orientations (for example, new criticism, deconstruction, feminist criticism, and the new historicism). Assignments range from applying a theoretical approach to developing a response to a theoretical question. Collar.

370  Medieval Romance: The Non-Arthurian Tradition  (1)
Examines selected non-Arthurian romances and challenges the validity of stereotypical views of the genre. Also considers how chivalric tropes influence gender relations today. Readings include chivalric conduct books, poetry and historical works from late medieval France and England. Bethune.

374   Theater and Society in Early Modern England  (1)
Examines the drama of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in its theatrical, social and political contexts. Offered in alternate years. Crupi.

375  Shakespeare I  (1)  Fall
A study of plays Shakespeare wrote before 1600, including at least two tragedies, five comedies and four chronicle plays. The plays are examined individually as particular theatrical experiences, with special attention given to conditions of production in Shakespeare's own theater. Other topics include the representation of gender, the history of critical response and the role of Shakespeare in constructions of literary culture. Crupi.

376  Shakespeare II   (1)  Spring
A study of Shakepeare's plays after 1600 with special attention to the major tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra. The plays are examined individually as particular theatrical experiences, but attention is also given to social and political contexts, the representation of gender, the history of critical response and the role of Shakespeare in constructions of literary culture (English 375 is not a prerequisite.) Crupi.

401, 402  English Seminar  (1/2, 1)  Fall, Spring
Selected subjects in English and American literature or language. Typical topics include African-American women writers, Restoration drama, Melville, etc. Staff.

411, 412  Directed Study   (1/2, 1)  Fall, Spring
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and permission of instructor.
(Permission of department required to be counted toward the major.) Staff.

English Colloquia
In addition to the listings above, the English Department offers a number of courses under a flexible program called "Colloquia." These courses are scheduled to enrich the curriculum and to meet the evolving needs and interests of students and teachers. Colloquia such as these are regularly scheduled:

242  Science Fiction  (1)
A study of the types and forms of modern fantasy fiction.  Wyss.

246  Immigration in Literature  (1)
The representation of immigration and immigrant life in North America, especially in texts written by people who are themselves immigrants or the children of immigrants. Topics considered include working class experience, the psychic upheaval caused by drastic relocation, the special tensions that arise between children and parents as life is made in a new world and the formation of ethnic/racial identity through contact with those already resident in North America. Collar.

329  Writing Our Own Lives: Poetry by Women of Color  (1)
Examines contemporary U.S. poetry by African American, Native American, Asian American and Latina women. Includes established poets such as Rita Dove, Lucille Clifton and Sandra Cisneros, as well as the work of less well-known poets such as nila northsun, Lorna D. Cervantes and Cathy Song. Considers ways in which women from different racially marked backgrounds share common experiences but also ways in which they differ. Can poetry be said to be "raced" or "gendered"? Is this poetry different from that written by white poets? How does it fit into the literary canon? Does such new poetry demand a new critical approach? Staff.

336  Dickens and London  (1)
A study of Charles Dickens' treatment of the city in his journalism and fiction, with special attention to the following novels: Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend. Diedrick.

346  Milton  (1)
A study of Milton's works, with particular emphasis on Paradise Lost, and of his developing sense of himself as a Renaissance poet. The effect of the English civil war on Milton's career will also be considered. MacInnes.

349  Elizabethan Drama  (1)
An exploration of the drama of Shakespeare's era and its theatrical, social and political contexts.  Crupi.

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