Queens Campus
E. 2200: Introduction to English
Studies
MWF 9:05-10:00 a.m. (74190)
MWF 12:20-1:15 p.m. (74172)
Dr. Joanne Neff
What does it take to prepare for the English major? We need
an attitude towards texts, understanding that we can conquer them
and enjoy them, that we can profit enormously by bringing our own
individual insights to them. We will also hone our technical
skills in critical writing and research. By examining poetry,
fiction, and non-fiction, we become ready to face the world of
literature in all of its myriad forms. In class, we use a
variety of strategies for learning: group work, dramatic
presentations, game-making, and role-playing, as well as the more
standard lecture-and-participation format that most students are
familiar with. This class aims to be academically rigorous
and fun.
E. 2300: Introduction to Literary
Criticism & Theory (74174)
TR 10:45-12:10 p.m.
Dr. Stephen Sicari
Apparently we are now “after theory,” but that does not let us off
the hook: we need to understand what is meant by “theory,” what it
replaced, how it came to dominate literary studies for the past
forty years, and then maybe we can get a sense of what it means to
be “after” it. In this course we will begin with formalism and the
New Criticism, and then work hard to understand the impact of the
“linguistic turn,” that almost revolutionary movement in literary
studies that began with structuralism and that came to the U.S. in
1966, at a symposium at Johns Hopkins where we found out that we
were already after structuralism. What does it mean for an
interpretative methodology to be called “post-structuralist”? What
various methodologies are lumped under that heading? How do they
relate to one another? How do they come out of that “linguistic
turn” begun by Saussure? And what does it mean to now be “after
theory”? Lots of questions, and maybe some answers.
E. 2300: Introduction to Literary
Criticism & Theory (74180)
MWF 2:30-3:25 p.m.
Dr. Gregory Maertz
An introduction to theory and criticism on literature and art
through reading and discussion of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Shelley,
Emerson, Marx, Nietzche, Freud, Wittgenstein, Benjamin, Adorno,
Foucault, and Derrida.
E. 3000: Medieval Romance
(74191)
TR 10:45-12:10 p.m.
Dr. Margaret Kim
This course is an exploration of the world of knights, ladies,
their loves, and their adventures in medieval texts. It takes
us beyond the modern Hollywood representation to the medieval
originals, such as Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan, Wolfram von
Eschenbach’s Parzival, and Malory’s Morte D’Arthur. While
these medieval romances present a fantastic world of magic, love,
and adventure, they also make us ponder the nature of erotic love,
heroism, personal identity, and history. What is a
hero? What is the relation of the hero to his community, his
lord, and his love? What is the role of the woman in the
political community? The role of the peasant, if any?
Such questions raised in medieval romance underline the issues of
gender, social class, and political order that we will examine in
this course. Rare modern films of medieval romance, such as
Rohmer’s Perceval and Bresson’s Lancelot du Lak will be shown in
comparison with the readings.
E. 3130: Shakespeare: Elizabethan Plays (73117)
TR 9:10-10:35 a.m.
Dr. Steven Mentz
Shakespeare and English Nationalism
This course examines plays from the first half of Shakespeare’s
career that explore growing nationalist consciousness in
sixteenth-century England. This period saw the emergence of
English national identity out of the tangled loyalties of guild,
church, and locality. We’ll read the two historical
tetralogies that helped make Shakespeare’s name during the last
decade of Elizabeth’s rule: a four-play cycle that begins with the
abdication of an anointed king (Richard II) and continues with the
education of an imperial monarch (1-2 Henry IV, Henry V), and then
another four-play cycle that begins with civil war during the reign
of Henry V’s young son (1-3 Henry VI) and culminates with the reign
of terror of the last Plantagenet, Richard III. We’ll explore
national, regional, and religious identity, the education of a
monarch, the social function of the public theater, and the
emerging cultural force of the Shakespearean stage.
E. 3250: Victorian Literature (74186)
TR 3:05-4:30 p.m.
Dr. Amy King
The Victorian age (1837-1901) in England is defined by the
stability of a sixty-three year reign by Queen Victoria, but the
period was anything but monotonous: it is marked by enormous social
change, technological innovation, imperial rule and
urbanization. Our own middle-class, economic, mobile, complex
and interwoven world, increasingly urbanized and organized, was
first described and mapped in this period; we will read the
increasingly middle-class literature of the period, and its ideas
of domesticity, intimacy, normality, and gender, as well as engage
the intellectual contexts of the Victorian age (Malthus, Darwin,
Marx, and others). Our largest intellectual task will be to
explore the ways in which these texts mark the complex inauguration
of our own modern consciousness: this will be our theme, tracked
through the central literary genres—the novel, poetry, and
non-fiction prose—of the Victorian age in Britain.
E. 3290: Special Topics in Eighteenth/Nineteenth Century
English Literature (74177)
MWF 10:10-11:05 a.m.
Dr. Kathleen Lubey
The Sexy Eighteenth Century
Why do writers narrate sex? Just because it’s…sexy?
We’ll seek a more complex understanding of this question by
examining a period of literary history—the first half of the
eighteenth century in Britain—that boasts a particularly strong
concentration of texts that concern themselves with sexual
morality, romantic scandal, prostitution, and erotic
narration. While we’ll read across genres, including poetry,
the novel, and non-fiction prose, we’ll find that writers of all
moral positions find themselves telling stories about sex.
Our task will be to consider why stories of sexual escapades are so
useful to writers of this period. Authors will include Aphra
Behn, the Earl of Rochester, Eliza Haywood, Joseph Addison, Samuel
Richardson, Henry Fielding, and John Cleland, among many
others. Evaluation will be based on attendance, frequent
reading, quizzes, three papers, and a final exam.
E. 3340: American Realism & Naturalism
(74780)
TR 9:10-10:35 a.m.
Prof. Brian Quinn
This class will examine the realist and naturalist tradition in
American literature from two perspectives: the treatment of subject
matter and voice of the narrator. A novel such as The Red
Badge of Courage is an example of realistic subject matter, while
The Maltese Falcon depends on the “eye-witness” recounting of its
first-person narrator for its realism. While exploring the
notion of mimesis, or art imitating life, we will discuss whether
close observation and careful retelling is a useful standard for
judging the worth of a piece of fiction. The question of just
how “naturalistic” most naturalist novels are will be
examined. Is naturalism in the 19th Century the same as 20th
Century naturalism? Our discussions will center around the
theme of good versus evil, in continually complex ways, as
presented in naturalistic fiction. Finally, we will explore
the notion of non-fiction realism by looking at autobiographies and
memoirs. We will read and discuss (list tentative) The
Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne; Shane, by Jack Shaeffer; The
Ox-Bow Incident, Walter Van Tilburg Clark; The Red Badge of
Courage, Stephen Crane; Fools Crow, James Welch; Dancing at the
Rascal Fair, Ivan Doig; The Living, Annie Dillard; The Maltese
Falcon, Dashiell Hammett; Little Foxes, Lillian Hellman (drama);
Passing, Nella Larson; Billy Budd, Herman Melville; and A
Heart-Breaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers.
E. 3350: American Women Writers
(74178)
MWF 11:15-12:10 p.m.
Dr. Jennifer Travis
This course will investigate the constructions as well as the
challenges to the “Cult of True Womanhood”: the cult of purity,
piety, submissiveness, and domesticity that largely defined the
acceptable boundaries of female behavior from the nineteenth into
the early twentieth centuries. The sentimental novel, written
primarily by women in the mid-nineteenth century, sought to train
readers how to be good Christians; obedient daughters; selfless;
yet, self reliant; as well as good consumers in a growing American
marketplace. Yet, domestic ideology and the literary
conventions that expressed that ideology often excluded working
women and women of color from the very definition of woman.
The essayist Margaret Fuller argues this case in her book Woman in
the Nineteenth Century (1845): “Those who think the physical
circumstances of Woman would make a part in the affairs of national
government unsuitable are by no means those who think it impossible
for negresses to endure field work, even during pregnancy.”
Fuller offers insights into the contradictions of womanhood in
antebellum America; we will carry the questions she raises into our
reading of the sentimental tradition (and we will look back to its
precursor; the seduction novel) as well as the residual responses
in the early twentieth century of several women writers of
color. Our authors will include: Hannah Webster Foster, Fanny
Fern, Harriet Wilson, Zitkala-Sa, Kate Chopin, Zora Neal Hurston,
and Nella Larsen.
E. 3460: Contemporary Drama
(74182)
MWF 10:10-11:05 a.m.
Dr. Angela Belli
An exploration of works by major dramatists in the contemporary
theater. The focus is on those playwrights who have so
transformed the stage as to enable it to transmit the culture of
our time. Playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco,
John Osborne, Edward Albee, and David Mamet will be studied.
Dramatists whose works are currently being produced on Broadway
will be highlighted. Significant movements of the time such
as the Theater of the Absurd will receive particular
attention.
E. 3500 (CLS 3500): Classical Literature
(74188)
MWF 9:05-10:00 a.m.
Dr. Robert Forman
The course, designed for students majoring in English as well as
for classical studies minors and those interested in the literature
of Greece and Rome, emphasizes works that have significantly
influenced later literatures. It includes selections from
Homer, Hesiod’s Theogony, the tragedians, Vergil, Petronius, and
Apuleius. Of particular interest are the parallels in works
of major British, British colonial and American authors as diverse
as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, James Joyce, Washington
Irving, Joel Barlow, John Gardner, and Derek Walcott.
E. 3550: Short Fiction
(74176)
TR 4:40-6:05 p.m.
Prof. Gabriel Brownstein
Some people will tell you that the short story is dead in the
United States. They’ll say that no one much reads short
stories anymore, and that no one much publishes them. It’s
true that the short story has declined in popularity, but this
class will argue that wonderful short stories are still being
written in the U.S. and that the form is in a constant state of
reinvention. We’ll study some works by major writers of the
twentieth century, such as Zora Neale Hurston, William Faulkner,
Flannery O’Connor, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and then we will read
stories by living writers, including Joan Silber, Edward P. Jones,
and Lydia Davis. We’ll look at ways in which short fiction is
always being discovered and rediscovered and made new.
E. 3560: American Ethnic Literatures
(74189)
TR 1:30-2:55 p.m.
Dr. John Lowney
This course is an introduction to twentieth-century ethnic
literatures of the United States, emphasizing African American,
Asian American, Native American, and Latino/a cultural
traditions. Beginning with the New Negro Renaissance as a
paradigmatic cultural movement, the course then examines subsequent
cultural nationalist movements, immigrant writing, and recent
intercultural writing. Readings include poetry, fiction, and
literary nonfiction by Langston Hughes, Abraham Cahan, Paule
Marshall, Chang-rae Lee, Maxine Hong Kingston, N. Scott Momaday,
Sandra Cisneros, and Victor Hernandez Cruz. The approach of
the class is comparative and exploratory, as we will examine the
relationship of literature to issues of race, gender, class,
nationality, and postcolonialism.
E. 3580: Postcolonial Literature (74185)
TR 10:45-12:10 p.m.
Dr. Dohra Ahmad
This class provides a general introduction to formidably large
category of Anglophone literature from Africa, Asia, Ireland and
the Caribbean. Reading widely in poetry, fiction and drama,
we will consider each text as a product of its historical
circumstances, while also paying close attention to literary
style. The category of writing called “Postcolonial
Literature,” after all, came into being through the process of
English colonialism; therefore the periods of colonization,
independence and postcolonialism will provide a rough guideline for
situating the aesthetic choices faced by our authors.
However, a central goal of the course will be to challenge the
evolutionary paradigm that such a schema may seem to imply.
E. 3720: Introduction to Creative Writing
(73124)
W. 3:35-6:20 p.m.
Prof. Thomas Philipose
This introductory writing workshop will focus on your writing and
your thoughts (that means you will be writing a lot). We will
explore the creative aspects of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and
playwriting. We will use texts from various genres/media as
guides for discovery of what your writing voice/style can be.
You will be expected to attend public readings and performances
(off campus and on your own time). We will not rely on the
thoughts/styles/critiques of others to help us become careful
readers and diligent writers. An experimental and
non-traditional approach will be encouraged to help elicit fresh,
unique work that reflects the individual writers in our
workshop. The majority of our classwork will entail reading
and discussing your writing (you will read and write in—and outside
of—every class every week).
E. 3730: Poetry Workshop (74175)
MWF 12:20-1:15 p.m.
Prof. Lee Ann Brown
This Poetry Writing workshop will cover both traditional and new,
“experimental” forms for poetic practice, as well as responses to
others’ poetry both read and listened to in performance.
Written work will include daily notebook entries, specific poetic
assignments, critical response papers and in-class
presentations. Grades will be based on portfolio manuscripts
presented throughout the semester as well as participation in
collective workshopping, and attendance at on and off campus
events. No prior poetry experience necessary but be prepared
for an intensive writing and reading experience.
E. 3740: Creative Writing: Fiction (74183)
TR 1:30-2:55 p.m.
Prof. Gabriel Brownstein
This is an introduction to fiction writing, focusing mainly on the
short story. Students will write regular exercises, playing
with notions like point of view, detail, character, conflict, and
dialogue; these exercises will lead to the writing of original
short stories. We’ll read some great writers as we work on
our own fiction—including Anton Chekhov, Raymond Carver, Grace
Paley and Jamaica Kincaid—and we’ll try to figure out how to tell
our own stories in engaging and exciting ways.
E. 4991: Seminar in British Literature (74179)
TR 1:30-2:55 p.m.
Dr. Margaret Kim
In this course we will explore British travel literature from the
later Middle Ages through the early modern period. From
“travel fiction” such as the 15th-century Travels of Sir John
Mandeville to the works of Hakluyt and Raleigh, we will examine the
discourse of the Other—the foreign, and the exotic, the East, the
Americas—in the context of the expansion of the English nation in
the early modern era. Individual and group research will be
required, and we will share our work on this subject
throughout.
E. 4992: Seminar in American Literature
(74181)
MWF 1:25-2:20 p.m.
Dr. Jennifer Travis
Separate Spheres? Gender and the Making of American
Literature
The identification of men with the public sphere and women with the
private sphere posed an artificial divide on American culture in
the nineteenth century: polarizing men and women, male spaces and
female spaces, romantic literature and domestic literature.
Nina Baym famously described this separation of the literary
landscape as the “melodrama of beset manhood”: the hypothesis that
American literature dramatized by definition man’s escape from the
feminine sphere of sentiment and intimacy. Together we will
complicate this framework. We will examine American writers
(male and female) who command us to rethink the boundaries of
“separate spheres.” Authors will include: Nathaniel
Hawthorne, Fanny Fern, Frederick Douglass, Hannah Foster, and
more.