Fall 2011 Baruch English Department Themes

FALL 2011 BARUCH ENGLISH DEPARTMENT THEMES

2100/2100T/2150/2150T

As of May 19, 2011

ENG2100GMWA

ENTES, JUDITH

Can you Pick your Family?

What does family mean? We will examine different definitions of family. We will read nonfiction where there is discussion about this important and powerful unit. In addition, we will investigate what are the components of the family. By the end of the semester, after reading and writing about the family, each student should be able to answer the question. In addition, students will attend a Broadway, Off-Broadway, or Off-Off- Broadway show where there will be an examination of the family.

ENG2100GMWB

LUBIN, BRADLEY

The Compost of Composition

Fending off charges of plagiarism, 17-year old award-winning German author Helene Hegemann told reporters, “There’s no such thing as originality anyway, just authenticity.” We often hear that “All art is theft” or some variation of this popular wisdom. But how do we tell the good theft from the bad? This course will examine works of art whose materials are (1) the plundered fragments of other media and (2) requisitioned artifacts from the American junk heap. Though our primary concern will be the virtues of creative appropriation, we will also pay close attention throughout to the fine line that distinguishes such artistic practice from plagiarism. We will think deeply about the variety of ways these works challenge our assumptions about originality, authenticity, creativity, property, and how, as writers, our attitudes towards cultural dumpster diving might just govern our own approach to composition.

We will read Jonathan Lethem’s “The Ecstasy of Influence,” short stories by Borges and the artist collective Wu Ming, excerpts from A.R. Ammons book length poem Garbage and Harryete Mullen’s Recylopedia, and film criticism on camp, sci-fi, and trash by Pauline Kael and Susan Sontag. We will also consider a flurry of essays on aesthetic theories of re-use in Dadaism, Surrealism, and Pop Art; view several films including Todd Haynes I’m Not There (a rhapsody on the many lives of Bob Dylan) and Agnes Varda’s documentary The Gleaners and I; survey the musical landscapes of mash-up artists like Danger Mouse and Girl Talk; and finally, evaluate several multimedia works (Heidelberg Project, Sears Roebuck Catalog of 1897) that defy the boundaries of traditional forms and genre. In addition to a rigorous writing component, students will be asked to assemble their own “composition” made up of entirely found media.

ENG2100GMWC

VECCHIO, MONICA

Defining Our Heroes, Defining Ourselves

Who are your heroes? Heroes and heroines, real or imaginary, are everywhere, from a New York stadium to Gotham City or the Himalayas. They have been honored and imitated, but are they still? How do our perceptions shift from childhood, to youth, to maturity? What do we know about the heroism within us? Using Dr. Carol Pearson's analysis, The Hero Within, and selections from drama, fiction and poetry, we will explore this phenomenon and examine how the aspects of heroism can help us to understand ourselves, others and the world in which we live. Coursework will include writing about these questions and researching the topics in sources like on line videos, art, photography, fashion, sports columns, current events, scientific discovery and famous speeches.

First and foremost, however, this will be a course in written composition. The primary purpose of this course will be to enhance students’ writing skills and rhetorical sophistication, particularly with regard to argumentative prose. The goal is to prepare students not only for success in academic writing but also for effective participation in and critical understanding of the public and professional discourses of the "real" world beyond school.

ENG2100GMWD

RUSSELL, CATHERINE

How to Think Better: Critical Thought Skills in the Modern World

One of the most valuable tools you need is college is the ability to think critically. This course will develop your critical thought skills and help you to become a more articulate, thoughtful and opinionated thinker and writer. Each student will be required to:

•write a weekly summary and response to a current newspaper or magazine article and then present it to the class;

•read any novel he/she chooses and then discuss it with me in an individual conference;

•write a series of essays at home and in class, including a biographical narrative, an analytical description, a well formulated argument on a controversial topic, a gender-based comparison/contrast essay exploring some of the social, physical and intellectual differences between the sexes, and an interview with a professional in the field of business the student hopes to pursue;

•as a research assignment, choose a prominent business figure and write a biography analyzing the factors contributing to his/her success;

•work on proofreading, editing and improving all written work

Expect heated discussion and lots of class participation; thinking critically should be engaging and fun! Readings may include passages from the following:

Justice by Michael J. Sandel

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Americans Talk About Love by John Bowe

Working by Studs Terkel

ENG2100GTRA

VECCHIO, MONICA

Defining Our Heroes, Defining Ourselves

ENG2100GTRB

DEMING, JOHN

21st Century Lyrics

In this course, we will study trends in poetry and lyricism that have developed over the last decade. Students will expand their writing, critical thinking and argumentation skills by analyzing, discussing and composing essays about established contemporary American poets such as Rae Armantrout, John Ashbery, Louise Glück, W.S. Merwin, Charles Simic and Dean Young in addition to prominent younger poets, including Thomas Sayers Ellis, Ben Lerner, Wayne Miller, Laura Sims and Kevin Young. We will also consider the role of lyricism in popular culture as it extends to contemporary songwriters and hip-hop artists, and will assess what patterns and trends exist in the 21st century lyric, including some discussion of the differences between poem and song. Students will read essays about the role of poetry, music and literature in American life and study the ways that socio-political changes after 9/11 have informed the work of poets, writers and songwriters across the country.

List of possible readings:

poems from Versed, Rae Armantrout

“Chinese Whispers,” John Ashbery

essays from Close Calls With Nonsense, Stephen Burt

“The Dollar Signs of Autumn,” Thomas Sayers Ellis

A Village Life, Louise Glück

“Didactic Elegy,” Ben Lerner

The Shadow of Sirius, W.S. Merwin

poems from The Book of Props, Wayne Miller

American Poets in the 21st Century, Editors Claudia Rankine & Lisa Sewell

Musicophilia, Walter Sacks

poems from The Voice at 3 AM, Charles Simic

Stranger, Laura Sims

Elegy on Toy Piano, Dean Young

poems from Jelly Roll: A Blues, Kevin Young

ENG2100GTRC

RUSSELL, CATHERINE

How to Think Better: Critical Thought Skills in the Modern World

•write a weekly summary and response to a current newspaper or magazine article and then present it to the class;

•read any novel he/she chooses and then discuss it with me in an individual conference;

•as a research assignment, choose a prominent business figure and write a biography analyzing the factors contributing to his/her success;

•work on proofreading, editing and improving all written work

Expect heated discussion and lots of class participation; thinking critically should be engaging and fun! Readings may include passages from the following:

Justice by Michael J. Sandel

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Americans Talk About Love by John Bowe

Working by Studs Terkel

ENG2100GTRD

PENAZ, MARY LOUISE

Tell me you didn’t just say that! The Snark, The Gossip, The Liar

In this course, we will consider the rights and responsibilities of upholding free speech. With increased speed and efficiency—especially with the internet and social networks available—human beings are able to speak their minds. But when and where do we draw the line? When we say that something is in bad taste, what exactly do we mean? Is all gossip bad? What is truthiness? Does it matter when advertisement bends the truth? These are only a few of the questions we will ponder in this class.

First and foremost, however, this will be a course in written composition. The goal is to prepare students not only for success in academic writing but also for effective participation in and critical understanding of the public and professional discourses of the "real" world beyond school.

Potential Booklist:

Snark by David Denby

The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet by Daniel J. Solove

All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin

Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos and Ernst Downson

Persuasion by Jane Austen

ENG2100HMWA

RILEY, CHARLES

This will be a course in written composition. The primary purpose of this course will be to enhance students’ writing skills and rhetorical sophistication, particularly with regard to argumentative prose. The goal is to prepare students not only for success in academic writing but also for effective participation in and critical understanding of the public and professional discourses of the “real” world beyond school.

ENG2100HMWB

ENTES, JUDITH

Can you Pick your Family?

ENG2100HMWC

STAUFFER-MERLE, JEANNE

A Funhouse of Mirrors: Doppelgangers, Evil Twins, and Other Nightmares

The archetype of the “double” is quite popular in literature and also has been the subject of much discussion, especially in the social sciences. From the concept of the mysterious “lookalike” to the belief in the alter ego, from Aristophanes’ satirical hypothesis of our lives being an endless search for the perfect partner—our soul mate—to anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss’ examination of the human need to balance life by juggling, ironically, the series of opposites that he believes make up our psyche, the idea of the elusive other has intrigued centuries of writers and thinkers. In this course we will explore various kinds of literary texts, both traditional and innovative, which might well include, but are not limited to, The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, Aura, by Carlos Fuentes, Rhinoceros, by Eugène Ionesco, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, and the comical “persona” poems of Fernando Pessoa. Other likely resources we might use: short works of magical realism and critical essays that challenge our expectations of both fiction and reality. Two films, to be announced, will help to broaden our understanding, as will various examples of modern art, photography and music. Finally, each student will have fun exploring his or her own “double” or alternate sense of self.

The primary purpose of this course will be to enhance students’ writing skills and rhetorical sophistication. Along with a fair amount of reading, you will need, of course, to be prepared to do a good deal of writing, which will be comprised of formal argumentative essays, shorter in-class responses to the readings, peer editing and evaluating, as well as several energizing and creative exercises. You will also be expected to participate actively and meaningfully during each class session.

ENG2100HMWD

TOWNS, SAUNDRA

Engagement

The course aims to introduce student writers to the conventions of academic writing and to develop those critical reading and thinking skills that will be called for in academic, civic, and professional life. Primary attention is given to writing as a process, from formulating a thesis, to outlining, drafting, and revision, to writing the research paper. Essays by both contemporary and "classic" writers will be read and analyzed as they speak to both rhetorical and cultural issues of concern.

ENG2100HMWE

McCLELLAN, WILLIAM

(Not yet submitted)

ENG2100HMWF

CORWIN, WALTER

Human Rights

English 2100 focuses on how prominent writers and journalists treat the subject of human rights. The course covers all kinds of themes from personal experiences to political and cultural issues. In this writing class, we analyze the challenges the authors face and the narrative choices they made in representing diverse, complex and often volatile subjects. The texts illustrate examples of good essay construction (Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “How to Write with Style”) and include as well issues as diverse as women’s rights (Mary Wollstonecraft’s “from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” and Virginia Woolf’s “If Shakespeare Had Had a Sister”) and environmental problems (Al Gore’s “Remarks to Climate Change Conference”). These varied and compelling essays serve as models for our own writing, including short essays on a play and art exhibition that the students attend and a research paper for which students chose their own topics.

Samples of reading to include:

“Introduction to Frankenstein,” by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

“If Shakespeare Had Had a Sister,” by Virginia Woolf

“How to Write with Style,” by Kurt Vonnegut

“Address,” Chief Seattle

“Remarks to Climate Change Conference,” by Al Gore

“From A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” by Mary Wollstonecraft

“Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton

“A Modest Proposal,” by Jonathan Swift

“Running for President,” by Mark Twain

ENG2100HMWG

MILLER, MICHAEL

Identity and Culture in America

American culture is a stew in which the various parts retain something of their own identity and flavor as they rub up against and influence each other, affecting the flavor of the whole without necessarily losing our own original cultural identity in the mixture. Much of the challenge of becoming good citizens in an increasingly complex world is to hold onto the parts of our culture that make us feel comfortable and at the same time to be part of the greater whole. As a writing course, each student will begin to explore his or her individual culture, where each comes from, and gradually move out into the challenges of understanding American culture and the problems we face.

We will examine the Freshman Text extensively. In the course of the semester we will also read and write in journals about such writers as Richard Rodriquez, Maya Angelou, Thomas Jefferson, Langston Hughes, George Orwell and many others, and discuss in groups within the class their writings from a cultural perspective. Writing assignments will move from the very personal recollections of the culture of the family and neighborhood into broader and more complex questions of the kind of world students want to create for ourselves.