Allegheny College: English Catalogue

Professors Miller, C. Bakken, K. Bakken, Bomberger, Bulman, Caballero, D'Amico, Hellwarth, A. Lockridge, Michaels, Nesset, Quinn, Slote, Casey

Allegheny's English Department offers a wide range of courses in literature and in creative and expository writing. The study of literature provides our students with a variety of interpretive methods and perspectives, increases their awareness of the range of creative expression, and introduces them to cultural values that deepen and challenge their own. Our writing classes seek to improve students' ability to express their own best ideas in a variety of forms. By mastering modes of analytical reading, critical explication, coherent argument, and creative thinking, students acquire those skills required to succeed in many professional fields. By studying a variety of literatures in English, they learn to recognize the ideas and perspectives that shape their own and earlier times; and by cultivating a sensitivity to and healthy skepticism about the subtlety and power of language, they become educated in the fullest sense.

The Major

English majors are required to have a GPA of at least 2.0 in English at graduation. All English courses taken at Allegheny on a letter basis other than English 100 are included in the calculation, with the exception of repeated courses, for which only the most recent grade counts. At least 10 courses, including the Junior Seminar and Senior Project, must be taken on the letter grade basis; additional courses may be taken Credit/No Credit, though the department recommends that the number of such courses be kept to a minimum.

A major in English leads to the degree of Bachelor of Arts and requires the following:

Requirements for the English Major:
1. 40-48 semester credit hours in English.
2. English 200 or FS ENG 201. This course is a prerequisite for all literature courses above the 200 level and for creative writing courses at all levels.
3. English 201, plus at least two of the following: 202, 203, 204. One course from the 201-204 group is a prerequisite for all literature courses at the 400-level or above.
4. At least one English course at the 300-level and one at the 400-level.
5. At least two courses in literature after 1800 and at least one (in addition to English 201) in literature prior to 1800. Courses that satisfy the pre-1800 requirement include English 212, 311, 385, 415, 425, 426, and 435. Other appropriate topics, courses or seminars may satisfy the requirement, subject to approval by the advisor and the department chair.
6. A Junior Seminar (English 55-).
7. A Senior Project (English 60-).

Requirements for the English Major: Technical/Professional Writing Track
1. All of the standard requirements for the English major as indicated above, plus the following (courses may double count when appropriate):
2. English 208.
3. Two of the following courses: English 205, 206, 207, 210, 400, 401, 402, or 403.
4. English 502.
5. A Senior Project in technical/professional writing.

Requirements for the English Major: Journalism Writing Track
1. All of the standard requirements for the English major as indicated above, plus the following (courses may double count when appropriate):
2. English 207.
3. English 205, 305 or 403.
4. English 402.
5. At least four courses of the following courses: English 208, Communication Arts 120, 240 or 255, 365, 375, 455. Other Communication Arts courses or appropriate courses in other departments may be substituted for one or more of the above, with permission of the English department chair.
6. At least four semesters of contributing to The Campus. The student's submissions to The Campus must be collected in a portfolio to be reviewed by the English department chair or a designated member of the department.
7. A Senior Project in Journalism (English 602) in place of English 600.

It is recommended that students pursuing the journalism track also participate in appropriate internships, to be identified in consultation with the student's faculty advisor.

Requirements for the English Major: Environmental Writing Track
1. All of the standard requirements for the English major as indicated above, plus the following (courses may double count when appropriate):
2. English 209, 210, and 403.
3. Environmental Science 110, 270, and one more ES course of the student's choosing. Other courses outside English that deepen the student's understanding of the environment or environmental issues may be substituted for one or more of the above courses, with permission of the English department chair.
4. A Senior Project in environmental writing (English 603) in place of English 600.

It is recommended that the student pursuing the environmental writing track take additional courses in writing, such as English 207 and 208, as well as participate in appropriate internships to be identified in consultation with the student's faculty advisor.

Requirements for the English Major: Creative Writing Track
1. All of the standard requirements of the English major as indicated above, plus the following (courses may double count when appropriate):
2. English 205 and 206.
3. One of the following courses: English 207, 208, or 210.
4. Two of the following: English 301, 302, 303, 305.
5. At least one of the following courses: English 400, 401, or 403.
6. A Senior Project in creative writing.

Students will seek approval for either an original creative project or a critical study of a significant aspect of craft, genre, prosody, poetics, etc. (to be identified in consultation with members of the English department).

The Minor in English

Students who wish to fulfill the minor field program in English must successfully complete the following:
1. English 200 or FS ENG 201.
2. Any two of the 200-level studies courses: Studies in Early British Literature, Studies in Later British Literature, Studies in American Literature, Studies in Alternative Traditions in Literature.
3. Three other electives, one of which must be at the 300-level or above, and another of which must be a 400-level course or a junior seminar.

The Minor in Writing

The Department of English also offers a minor in writing that requires the successful completion of the following:
1. English 200 or FS ENG 201.
2. Any two of the following courses: Writing Fiction (205), Writing Poetry (206), News Writing (207), Technical and Professional Writing (208), Writing about the Environment (210).
3. Any one of the following courses: Advanced Fiction Writing, Advanced Poetry Writing, Topics in Journalism, Advanced Nonfiction Writing Workshop.
4. Any two electives in English, one of which may be in writing.
Note: Students who major in English cannot also minor in writing.

All six courses (24 semester credit hours) presented for the minor must be taken on the letter grade basis. Under exceptional circumstances, one course taken Credit/No Credit may be presented for the minor with permission of the chair of the department. Typically, this exception is made when a student has taken English 200 C/NC before declaring the English minor.

The Minor in Environmental Writing

The Department of English also offers a minor in environmental writing that requires the successful completion of the following courses:
1. English 200 or FS ENG 201.
2. Literature about the Environment (English 209).
3. Writing about the Environment (English 210).
4. Any one of the following courses: Writing Fiction (205), Writing Poetry (206), News Writing (207), or Technical and Professional Writing (208).
5. Advanced Nonfiction Writing Workshop (403).
6. Two corequisite courses. Students minoring in Environmental Writing must also take at least two courses outside the English department that deepen their understanding of the natural environment or of environmental issues. These courses can be among those courses taken for a student's graduation major or for another minor (that is, they can be "double counted"). We strongly recommend that one of these courses be Environmental Science 110: Introduction to Environmental Science. Other courses to choose from include the following:
Art 156 - Introduction to Studio Art: Art and the Environment
Bio 040 - Plants and Society
Bio 050 - Basic Ecology
Bio 077 - Principles of Biology
Bio 078 - Biology of Behavior
Bio 220 - Organismal Physiology and Ecology
Bio 330 - Ecology
Bio 335 - Conservation Biology
Bio 346 - Wetlands
Econ 108 - Introduction to Environmental Economics
Econ 231 - Environmental and Resources Management
Environmental Science - any course
Geology - any course
Phil 340 - Environmental Philosophies
Poli Sci 195 - Ecofeminism
Poli Sci 343 - Environmental Politics in the United States
Poli Sci 347 - Environmental Regulation and the State
Poli Sci 431 - Global Environmental Politics
Poli Sci 491 - Environmental Law

Other appropriate courses may be used as corequisites, subject to the approval of the Chair of the English Department, in consultation with members of the other relevant department.

A course in the close reading of literary texts. Through the study of a limited number of works of fiction, poetry, and drama, students develop their ability to read carefully and to understand the relations between literary texts and a range of historical and/or literary contexts. The course also introduces students to some of the terms, critical approaches, and research methodologies necessary for further literary study.

A course that will focus on British literary history written prior to 1800. Emphasis will be on the relations among literary works produced during the same historical period, on the interactions between literature and culture during a historical period, and on the changes and developments that establish the boundaries between one period in literary history and another. Sample topics: Self and Society in the Middle Ages, Early Modern Travel Narratives, From Renaissance to Restoration Comedy.

A course that will focus on British literary history after 1800. Emphasis will be on the relations among literary works produced during the same historical period, on the interactions between literature and culture during a historical period, and on the changes and developments that establish the boundaries between one period in literary history and another. Sample topics: From Romantic to Victorian Literature, From Victorian Literature to Modernism, British Literature of the Two World Wars.

A course that will focus on American literary history. Emphasis will be on the relations among literary works produced during the same historical period, on the interactions between literature and culture during a historical period, and on the changes and developments that establish the boundaries between one period in literary history and another. Sample topics: American Literature and War, Sentimentalism and Realism, The Puritan Tradition.

An introduction to literatures in English that exist alongside the dominant Euro-American tradition. African American, Asian American, Hispanic, and Native American literatures, as well as certain texts that depart from mainstream values for reasons other than race, may be considered within the context of cultural diversity.

Study of the craft of fiction through the critical examination of both professional and student work. Emphasis is on the creative process through the exploration of plot structure, language, voice, setting and characterization. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

Study of the craft of poetry through the reading and writing of poems and through critical examination of both professional and student work. Emphasis is on the creative process through the exploration of structure, language, and quality of observation. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

A beginning level journalism class, with emphasis on the writing and gathering of news in an objective manner. Work often simulates the intense life of the news reporter—writing under short deadlines with extensive research requirements. Study also stresses fundamental writing skills, such as developing concise language and learning to copy-edit and re-write.

An introduction to the fundamentals and types of technical and professional writing. Students critically examine professional samples of such writing, develop their own writing projects, and respond to each other’s writing in a workshop setting. Emphasis is on defining specific audiences and purposes for writing and on communicating technical information clearly. Required of all students who pursue the Technical/Professional Writing Track and recommended for all students who pursue the Environmental Writing Track.

A comparative study of the environmental imagination as expressed in literature. Of primary concern are questions of style, narrative, and representation in light of larger social, ethical, and political concerns about the natural world. In contrast to environmental philosophy or policy, the emphasis in this course is on the form of expression as well as the ideas presented. Authors studied may include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Dogen, John Muir, W.E.B. DuBois, Rainer Maria Rilke, Mary Austin, Wang Wei, Annie Dillard, Jack Kerouac, and Alice Walker. Required for all students who pursue the Environmental Writing Track. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

An introduction to nonfiction writing that incorporates environmental knowledge from a range of disciplines. Students develop their own writing projects, and respond to each other’s writing in a workshop setting. Emphasis is on matters of style, on defining audience and purpose, and on incorporating source material. Required for all students who pursue the Environmental Writing Track. Prerequisite: English 209 or permission of the instructor.

An introduction to literature by women and/or representing women’s experience. This course also explores feminist approaches to literature and provides critical and historical perspective on the relationships between women and literature. Specific genres and time periods studied may vary. Authors considered may include Amelia Lanyer, Aphra Behn, Jane Austen, the Brontes, Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf and Toni Morrison. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201, or WS 100, or permission of the instructor.

A study of selected comedies, histories, and tragedies, with some emphasis on their cultural context and performance possibilities. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

A course devoted to the close study of some form or forms of prose fiction. Specific topics vary and may include the following: The Short Story, Arthurian Romance, The Novel of Development, Realist Fiction. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

A course devoted to the close study of some form or forms of poetry. Specific topics vary and may include the following: The Epic Tradition, Forms of the Lyric, Confessional Poetry. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

A course devoted to the close study of some form or forms of drama. Specific topics vary and may include the following: Early English Theatre, Modern Drama, Forms of Tragedy. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

A study of the historical development and aesthetic concerns of the modern cinema. Emphasis on the role of the director, the creation of distinctive genres, and the influence of various approaches to film criticism; coverage includes American and foreign films. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

A course devoted to the close study of some form or forms of literary nonfiction. Specific topics vary and may include the following: Autobiography, Travel Literature, Creative Nonfiction, Traditions of the Essay. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

A study of the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer, including The Canterbury Tales and possibly including Troilus and Criseyde and shorter works. The course examines Chaucer’s responses to the literary, social, and religious conventions of the 14th century. Recommended: English 201. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

A course devoted exclusively to the study of works by a single major British, American, or other Anglophone author. The focus of the course will vary with each offering; John Milton, William Faulkner, Toni Morrison, and Nadine Gordimer are representative of the kind of figure who might be selected for study. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

A concentrated exploration of a literature in English or translation that exists alongside the dominant Euro-American tradition. Topics change each semester to focus on a particular literary/cultural tradition and may range from Native American literature to the working class novel to Latin American magic realism. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

A concentrated exploration of a particular period, genre, or theme in the African American literary tradition. Topics range from Slave Narrative to the Harlem Renaissance to Black Arts Poetry and Drama. Prerequisite: English 200, FS ENG 201 or permission of the instructor.

A study of children’s literature, with focus on its cultural and theoretical underpinnings. Among the concerns addressed may be
the definitions of “childhood” and “adolescence” the genre helps construct or undermine; the impact children’s literature can have on notions of gendered, ethnic, class, and national identity; the formal variations of archetypal tales; the genre’s role in authors’ careers. Specific topics may include fairy tales (their cultural history and contemporary transformations); multicultural children’s literature; the contemporary young adult novel; and children’s verse. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201 or permission of the instructor.

An inquiry into the nature of the English language, its origins and evolution with an emphasis on the social, political, and cultural dynamics involved in language change. Prerequisite: English 200 or FS ENG 201.

An examination of 20th-century theories of literature and criticism organized around essays from the fields of literary criticism, critical theory, and cultural studies. Critical “schools” studied might include Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, Reader-Response Criticism, New Historicism, Marxist Criticism, and Feminist Criticism. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201 and at least three additional English courses or permission of the instructor.

A team-taught course that examines the intersection of politics and literature in a given situation. While the specific topic may change from year to year, the course seeks to transcend the disciplinary borders between Political Science and English by exploring the vital connections between “system” and “story” at a given historical moment. The course may be taken for credit in either Political Science or English. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructors.

An advanced study of the craft of fiction through the reading and writing of short stories and/or novellas and novels. Attention focuses on the writing, re-writing and criticism of longer works. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, English 205, a writing sample, and permission of the instructor.

An advanced study of the craft of poetry through writing, reading and responding to poems. Emphasis is on prosody, on developing voice and subject through an examination of poetic devices, and on creating thematic unity both in individual poems and in the group of poems each student is expected to produce by the semester’s end. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, English 206, a writing sample, and permission of the instructor.

An advanced study of particular issues in journalism such as investigative reporting, editorial writing, journalistic ethics, and new journalism. Topics vary from year to year, but the course may be taken only once for credit. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, English 207, and permission of the instructor.

An advanced, intensive writing workshop for students with a genuine interest in crafting prose. Emphasis is placed on the crucial elements of creative nonfiction—storytelling, description, dialogue, voice, reportage—as well as the opportunity to do extended original work in essay writing. Workshop sessions engage participants as both writers and critical readers. Required for all students who pursue the Environmental Writing Track. Prerequistes: Permission of the instructor.

A study of the literature of the Middle Ages as it shapes and responds to literary, social, and religious traditions. Topics vary from year to year and may include Arthurian romance, the literature of courtly love, religious and mystical literature, and medieval drama. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, one of English 201-204 (English 201 recommended).

A study of literature in the context of a rapidly changing Renaissance society. Focus may be on an author (Spenser, Jonson, Milton), a school (Metaphysical poets, Jacobean dramatists), a genre (epic, love lyric, prose), or some larger topic such as literature as an instrument of political power. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, one of English 201-204.

An exploration of particular questions raised by Shakespeare’s works. Such questions may include Shakespeare’s interpretation of history, the genre of the “problem” comedies, or the impact of feminist, psychoanalytic, and political criticism on the interpretation of the plays. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, one of English 201-204.

An exploration of the literature of an age often praised as “The Enlightenment” but condemned as morally corrupt. Topics may include Restoration comedy (Congreve, Wycherley), Augustan satire (Pope, Swift), the revival of classicism (Johnson, Burke), the rise of the novel (Defoe, Richardson, Fielding), and the advent of print culture. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, one of English 201-204.

A study of the literature, context, and influence of British Romanticism. Topics studied may include the re-definition of the artist, comparative Romanticism, the importance of landscape, and the rise of the Gothic; authors studied may include Blake, Radcliffe, Wordsworth, Keats and Mary Shelley. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, one of English 201-204.

An exploration of a significant topic that characterizes the literature of Victorian Britain (1837-1901). The focus may be on a major theme such as power and gender, a figure such as that of the outcast, or a controversial debate such as that which occurred between science and religion. Authors discussed may include Tennyson, Christina Rossetti, Dickens, the Brontës and Hardy. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, one of English 201-204.

A study of any of the literatures that emerge in postcolonial sites and that address issues of colonial literary, linguistic, and cultural legacies as well as the challenges of literary self-determination and re-invention. Examples might be the literature of India after 1948 or the literature of various African nations after 1960. Contem-porary theories about the process of decolonization are also explored. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, one of English 201-204.

A study of American literature as it reflects and participates in a particular period of the 19th century. Topics vary from year to year and may include the American Gothic, American Romanticism, the Literature of Reconstruction and Post-Reconstruction, the Rise of Realism and Regional Fiction. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, one of English 201-204.

A study of American literature as it reflects and participates in a particular period of the 20th century. Topics vary from year to year and may include Literary Naturalism, the Southern Renaissance, the Beat Generation and Fiction of the Vietnam War era. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201 and one of English 201-204.

A study of the literature and culture of the modernist and/or postmodernist periods. Topics are likely to span a variety of genres and cultures and may venture into media other than literature, such as painting and film. Authors studied typically include Mann, Eliot, Yeats, Stein, Joyce, Woolf, Gide, Barth, and Pynchon. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, and one of English 201-204.

An extensive examination of a particular aspect of film art such as a national cinema, a movie genre, an individual director, or a specific critical methodology. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, English 304 or permission of the instructor.

Undergraduate Internships

Liaison: Ms. Quinn
Students are trained as regular beginning reporters, working on either day or night shift. Initially the student reporter will probably write obituaries and other announcements; later the intern covers assignments with members of the regular reporting staff. If reliability justifies it, the student reporter may be asked to cover a special assignment and write feature stories. The intern may also do copy editing and proofreading, as well as help with layout, in order to gain experience in the production areas of newspaper work. There can be two interns each semester, one in standard reporting and one in sports writing. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201 and 207, one or two semesters minimum of writing for The Campus, and approval of the liaison person and the managing editor of The Meadville Tribune.

Liaison: Ms. Heuchert
A service-learning internship conducted jointly by the English department and the Crawford County Literacy Council (also known as the READ Program). Students spend a minimum of 40 hours in service to adult learners through the READ Program in Meadville in supervised situations. Students also fulfill a series of academic requirements that include reading a series of texts about literacy, submitting weekly descriptions of tutoring activities, developing a focus area for independent research, and producing a research paper. Must be taken on a letter-grade basis. May be taken only once for credit. Prerequisite: Completion of the READ tutor training program.

An internship with a local non-profit organization designed to give students experience writing professional documents for a variety of audiences. Students write brochures, grant proposals, memoranda, instructions, and/or websites, depending on the particular needs of the organization. In the past, students have been placed at the Center for Family Services, the Mind/Body Wellness Center, and Women’s Services; placement at other non-profits may be possible. Credit: Two or four semester hours. Prerequisite: English 208.

Individual research projects and frequent discussions in a small class setting. The seminar is required for English majors in the junior year. Majors may take more than one seminar, and seminars are open to non-majors with permission of instructor. Topics for 2006-2007 are given below. Prerequisites: English 200 or FS ENG 201, one of English 201-204.
550: Female Heroes and Anti-Heroes in Renaissance Drama
551: The Bronte Novels and the Creating of the Brontes
552: Shakespeare and His Contemporaries
553: Jewish American Fiction

A one-semester, independently researched project in literary studies written under the supervision of an English department faculty member.

A one-semester, independently researched project in professional or technical writing, written under the supervision of an English department faculty member.

A one-semester project either about journalism or consisting of journalistic writing, written under the supervision of an English department faculty member.

A one-semester project either about environmental writing or consisting of such writing, written under the supervision of an English department faculty member.

A one-semester project in creative writing (poetry, fiction, or creative non-fiction), written under the supervision of an English department faculty member.

A seminar alternative to English 600 for students interested in doing a senior project in the context of a literature seminar. The course is organized around a theme (the city in literature, poetry and race, etc.), genre (parody, the bildungsroman, etc.), or some other literary category of the instructor’s choosing. Course work includes reading and discussing a short sequence of literary texts, literary criticism, and other secondary source material. Students also undertake independent reading and research related to the course topic, and this independent work culminates in a critical essay of approximately 30 pages. At the end of the semester, students discuss their senior seminar essay with the course instructor and one other English department instructor, and each essay is bound and placed in the departmental senior project archive. Prerequisites: English 200 or FSEng 201; and an English junior seminar (English 55-).

Sophomore Seminar

Writing and Speaking About Literature
An introduction to writing, speaking, and research in the discipline of English. Students apply a variety of critical approaches to a small number of literary texts, develop research and interpretive skills, and present their work in oral and written forms. This section focuses on literature in historical and cultural contexts. Works are chosen from various periods.