ENGL 200
Literature in English
TTh 10:00 to 11:15 Ring
This course introduces students to the reading of literature in the English language. Through close attention to the practice of reading, students are invited to consider some of the characteristic forms and functions imaginative literature has taken, together with some of the changes that have taken place in what and how readers read.
ENGL 203–100
Introduction to Creative Writing
TTh 11:30 to 12:45 Schaer
A course exploring basic issues and techniques of writing narrative prose and verse through exercises, analysis, and experiment. For students who wish to try their abilities across a spectrum of genres.
ENGL 203–101
Introduction to Creative Writing
TTh 10:00 to 11:15 Schaer
A course exploring basic issues and techniques of writing narrative prose and verse through exercises, analysis, and experiment. For students who wish to try their abilities across a spectrum of genres.
ENGL 204
Introduction to Journalism
TTh 10:00 to 11:15 Staff
Students will learn the basics of reporting and writing news stories, but also the traditions behind the craft and the evolving role of journalism in society. Instruction will include interviewing skills, fact-checking, word choice and story structure–all framed by guidance on making ethically sound decisions. Assignments could include stories from a variety of beats (business, entertainment, government, science), along with deadline stories and breaking news Web updates, profiles and obituaries.
ENGL 213
Introduction to Fiction Writing
M 3:20 to 5:50 Umrigar
You will be introduced to the basic elements of craft that go into writing a successful short story–character development, plot development, establishing a sense of place, dialogue writing etc. You will be assigned weekly readings from an anthology of contemporary short fiction, which will help you learn to develop a critical vocabulary to discuss the readings. The class will be conducted as a writing workshop, which means you will read and critique stories submitted by your classmates. Apart from writing two, full-length short stories, you will write shorter pieces each week and post these to Canvas.
NOTE: Regular attendance and the ability to meet deadlines is mandatory, given that this is a writing workshop.
ENGL 214
Introduction to Poetry Writing
TTh 2:30 to 3:45 Turner
This introductory poetry workshop will take us back to the fundamentals of poetry writing: the image, the line, the heart, and the world. We’ll discuss student poems, make time for generative writing, and work through several collections of contemporary poetry from a diverse range of authors. Requirements include active workshop participation and community-mindedness, engaged reading, a final portfolio, and a sense of openness and sensitivity to the world at hand.
ENGL 257A
Reading Fiction
MW 12:45 to 2:00 Ericson
In this section of 257A, we will examine the novel as a distinct form of literary production that often focuses around the domestic sphere. We will think about the novel’s development over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. In doing so, we will ask how the novel, as a particular mode of thinking, relates itself to the domestic, the intimate, and the personal. One of the goals of the course will be to establish, amongst ourselves, what constitutes the ‘novel’ in particular – is it length? Is it structure? Is it voice? We will ask what constitutes the ‘home’ as well – is it within the self? The loved one? The nation? Through examining writing by Shirley Jackson, Virginia Woolf, Kazuo Ishiguro, and others, we will re-examine our understanding of the novel as our exposure to it increases.
Each semester, more detailed course descriptions will be available on the English department website (https://english.case.edu/undergraduate/courses/).
Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar or SAGES First Seminar. Fulfills UGER Communication-Intensive Course Requirement.
ENGL 257B
Reading Poetry
TTh 11:30 to 12:45 Kidd
Introductory readings in poetry. May be organized chronologically or thematically. Attention to the formal qualities of poetry in relation to meaning, expressivity, etc. Fulfills UGER Communication-Intensive Course Requirement.
ENGL 258
Science Fiction
TTh 11:30 to 12: 45 Clune
Science fiction and fantasy are art forms dedicated to creating imaginary worlds, and to exploring the possibilities of human transformation and deformation. Critical questions will include the relation between real and imagined worlds, the transformations of faith and belief, the image of the alien, the relation of fantasy fiction to gaming culture, and the status of science fiction as the contemporary literature of prophecy. Authors include H.G. Wells, H.P Lovecraft, Mervyn Peake, Phillip K. Dick, Octavia Butler, and Cixin Liu. Written work includes two short papers and informal response papers. Fulfills UGER Communication-Intensive Course Requirement.
ENGL 280
The Politics of Beauty and Literature
MWF 11:40 to 12:30 Jewell
Does a tattoo hurt your chances of getting a job? Does wearing lipstick make you look less intelligent? Why is it so important to have a good hair day? These are some questions taken up by the authors we are reading in this course. And, perhaps surprisingly, the answers to these questions require a complex consideration of one’s social position in terms of gender, race, social class, sexual identity, and ability. In this communication-intensive course, we will examine how literary authors engage with the politics of beauty and appearance in their works to call attention to important issues of equality and access to opportunity. We will read the works of poets, short story writers, and novelists, alongside those of cultural critics, philosophers, and filmmakers who call attention to the specifically-political nature of body size, hair, skin tone, and modes of dress, among other issues. Students will complete sequenced writing assignments, a 6-8 page researched essay, a presentation, and a final short reflection paper to be included in the Experience Portfolio. Fulfills UGER Communication-Intensive Course Requirement.
ENGL 286
Literature, Gender, and Sexuality
MWF 9:30 to 10:20 Jewell
This course focuses on how writers engage with the complex subjects of gender and sexuality in their works. We will read works by novelists, short story writers, playwrights, and poets, focusing on gender’s multiple intersections with sexual identity, race, social class, and abilities. Throughout the course, we will keep in mind the following questions: What techniques do writers use to engage with the issues of gender identity and sexuality in their works? How do writers protest against — or participate in — the reproduction of gender ideologies? How might literary works provide unique spaces of resistance for reimagining gender roles and identities? How is literary authorship itself gendered and how might authors employ innovative strategies to write beyond binary roles? Students will complete five critical responses, write a midterm essay, and complete multimedia final projects accompanied by a critical essay, and a final short reflection paper to be included in the Experience Portfolio. Recommended preparation: Passing grade in an Academic Inquiry Seminar or a SAGES First Seminar.
Offered as ENGL 286 and WGST 286. Fulfills UGER Communication-Intensive Course Requirement.
ENGL 367/467
Introduction to Film
TTh 1:00 to 2:15 Spadoni
An introduction to the art of film. Each week we’ll take an aspect of film form (editing, cinematography, sound, and so on) and ask how filmmakers work with it to produce effects. Most weeks, students will watch a film on their own that we’ll discuss in light of the week’s focus. Films will include masterworks of the silent era, foreign films, Hollywood studio-era classics, and more recent films.
Undergrads (ENGL 367) take a scheduled quiz, occasional unscheduled ones, and a midterm and final exam, and they write two essays (5-6 and 8-10 pages). Grad students (ENGL 467) satisfy the same requirements, but their final essay is an extended research project, in connection with which they submit a partial draft and other related assignments.
Engl 367 has no prerequisites and welcomes first-year students.
ENGL 368/368C/468
Topics in Film
Horror Films
TTh 10:00 to 11:15 Spadoni
Cinema has unique qualities that give it special power to elicit horrific and other unhinging sensations. How do the films do this? What means do filmmakers have at their disposal to engender fear that sets horror films apart from scary works in other media? And when a movie scares us, what fears is it tapping into? We’ll ask these and other questions as we discuss classic and contemporary works of the genre, from silent masterpieces to more recent films. The emphasis will be on close analysis as we explore how film style and narrative—and most basically, the medium of cinema itself—contribute to the power of these films to shock, unbalance, and haunt us.
Undergrads registered for ENGL 368 write two essays (5-6 and 8-10 pages), take part in a group presentation, hand in reading study guides, and write occasional in-class exercises/quizzes (lowest study guide/writing exercise/quiz is dropped). Capstone (Engl 368C) and Grad students (ENGL 467) satisfy the same requirements as ENGL 368 students, but their final essay is an extended research project, in connection with which they submit a partial draft and other related documents.