Spring 2016 Course Descriptions

100-Level
100-Level | 200-Level | 300-Level | 400-Level

150.001: Study of Literature

TR 8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.  
Amy Gore, gorea@unm.edu

Why does literature matter? Is reading literature different from reading other texts, and why? What does reading literature involve? Questioning the ways in which authors and critics construct literature helps us to see the ways we, and our worlds, are also constructed and interpreted. It can challenge us intellectually, and it can provoke us into acting differently in the world. It can expand our appreciation for quality and the experience of our short lives, jarring us out of the normal existence of the status quo. It can also provide a more satisfying relationship to the community around us. Consequently, the study of literature seeks to make potentially powerful and moving texts into ones that we can also understand and explain. This class intends to develop in students an appreciation for the study of literature, both in terms of its intellectual challenges and its aesthetic and imagination qualities, and it will do so by introducing students to the different components involved in the study of literature: close reading, critical thinking, analysis, interpretation and argument, and research.

150.003: Study of Literature

MWF 2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. 
Leandra Binder, lbinder@unm.edu

English 150 is intended to introduce non-English majors to literature. In this class, we will be reading examples of poetry, drama, short stories and the novel across a variety of cultures and eras. Students will learn about the techniques employed by different writers; further, we will discuss how knowledge of these techniques increases a reader’s enjoyment of literature. Students will also learn to analyze literary texts and to discuss literary conventions over time and in multiple genres. Three analytical papers (4-6 pages), short weekly reading journals, and a midterm and a final exam will be required.

200-Level
100-Level | 200-Level | 300-Level | 400-Level

219.022: Professional and Technical Writing

Online - 
Julianne Newmark, newmark@unm.edu

The purpose of this course is to introduce the different types of writing situations found in the workplace and to give you the chance to practice responding to them. This class is practical and practice-oriented. You will learn to analyze and understand your readers’ needs in order to develop a coherent structure, a clear style, and appropriate multimodal elements for each project. These projects, which range from one-page memos to presentations and PSAs, will familiarize you with various methods of composing effectively in a professional setting.

220.001: Expository Writing

MWF 08:00 a.m. - 08:50 a.m.  
Charles Wormhoudt, cwormhoudt@unm.edu

Myths of the American West: Cowboys, Conservation, and the Counter Culture. In this course we will explore several core myths of the western United States: The West as ruggedly individualist frontier, as Edenic garden, as land of opportunity, and as Utopia. We will explore these myths as incarnated in a variety of cultural and historical contexts: the Wild West, waves of immigration past and present, the conservation movement, the hippie counterculture, Hollywood, and the cults of technology and progress of Silicon Valley. Course texts will include books such as Grapes of Wrath, The Tortilla Curtain, and the Solace of Open Spaces, and films by John Ford, Paul Thomas Anderson and others. 

220.002: Novels As Linked Stories

MWF 10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. 
Celia Laskey, claskey@unm.edu

This class will examine novels that are comprised of linked short stories. We’ll focus on four main texts: 1) A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 2) Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout 3) The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman, and 4) In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniel Mueenuddin. Discussion will be focused on what elements link the stories in each collection: Place? Family? Plot? Workplace? One central character? Connections between many different characters? Theme? Throughout the course of the semester, we will ask questions like: How strong is the connection between all the stories in each book? What degree of linkage is necessary for a book of short stories to be considered a novel? To what degree does publishing and marketing factor into the decision to publish a novel or a book of short stories? What advantages do linked stories have over the traditional novel, and what advantages does a traditional novel have over a book of linked stories? 

220.003: Hip Hop: The Intersection of Poetry, Storytelling and History

MWF 11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. 
Jason Thayer, thayerj@unm.edu

Can we categorize hip-hop as an offshoot of poetry?  Or is it more akin to narrative?  If so, should we evaluate it as fiction or as memoir?  The best hip-hop employs elements of all three genres.  As a result, when analyzing hip-hop, we must borrow strategies used to dissect poetry, fiction, and memoir.  In this class, students will begin by analyzing the poetic devices used in various hip-hop songs.  Next, they will describe the narrative arcs, themes, and characters that inhabit specific songs and albums.  Finally, students will research the historical context “the distinct environment and moment in history that birthed the work” and speculate on the influence that a rapper’s unique life experience has played in the construction of his or her art.  We’ll look at how the 90s crack epidemic influenced the story the Notorious B.I.G. tells in his 1993 album, Ready to Die.  We’ll investigate how Detroit’s economic apocalypse resulted in Danny Brown’s 2011 magnum opus, XXX. We'll explore the role that Compton’s gang violence, coupled with the escalation of police brutality and murder of unarmed black men, plays in propelling the potent narratives in Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 epic, To Pimp a Butterfly.  Texts like Jay Z's Decoded will help us understand how art imitates life in hip hop as we consider the work of rappers both mainstream and underground, spanning more than 30 years.  

220.004: Gothic Horror: Gender Construction Rhetoric in Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

MWF 1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. 
Katherine Alexander, kalex@unm.edu

This multimodal English 220 course will explore several works in the genre of Gothic Horror under the lens of rhetoric. The purpose is to look at the rhetoric of gender constructions in several formats. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s iconic work of 1818 begins the exploration.  The first edition of Frankenstein was heavily edited by Percy Bysshe Shelley.  Finally, in 1831, Mary Shelley’s version was published.  In this unit, students will compare the masculinist version edited by Percy to Mary’s version as they compare the rhetoric of the husband and wife. To enhance the experience, students will view excerpts from the 1931 film starring Boris Karloff to be followed by the Kenneth Branagh version of 1994.  These will be followed by Mel Brooks’Young Frankenstein. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a novella depicting the absolute binaries of good and evil is the subject of the second unit.  Film excerpts include the 1931 film starring Frederic March and the 1941 version starring Spencer Tracey.  Film works well for students of this era because they are visual.  The third unit involves the study of Bram Stoker’s Dracula of 1897.  This novel is important because it features the “new woman” who can work for a living as a typist. Stoker’s rhetoric attempts to find words for the anxieties facing late era Victorians. Film presentations include the Bela Lugosi production of 1931 and the Frank Langella product of 1979 as well as Mel Brooks’ Dead and Loving It starring Leslie Nielsen.  Supplementing the novels and films will be readings from M. Jimmie Killingsworth’ Appeals in Modern Rhetoric and lectures from the instructor.

220.005: The Deaf Experience

MWF 12:00 p.m. -12:50 p.m.  
Deborah Wager, dwager@unm.edu

Deaf identity refers to more than just a lack of hearing. It encompasses linguistic, educational, and social perspectives and resources unique to the Deaf culture. Changes in education and technology over the last 200 years have influenced a culture of diverse individuals with common experiences. In this course we will explore the lived experiences and media representations of Deaf individuals from the 19th century to contemporary times, in the United States and other countries. Topics to be covered include language, education, media representations, and cultural norms and expectations of the Deaf community.

220.007:  Expository Writing

MWF 1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. 
Lauren Perry, perryl@unm.edu

This is an introductory course that focuses on learning to critically read, contextualize, analyze, and respond to graphic novels as literary texts. Students will sample graphic novels of several styles & subgenres, ranging from autobiographical, historical, fantasy, science fiction, superheroes, and more. Supplemental texts and films will be used to help students understand the evolution of graphic novels as literature. This course will provide the history of 20th Century (primarily) American graphic novels in terms of printed material, content, and evolution in narratives and style. Students will explore comic theory, transitions, layouts, reader participation, language used in graphic novels, and how varying levels of thematic material are successfully conveyed through graphic narratives. Students will develop advanced writing and composition skills through performing critical analysis of texts that are comprised of both images and language, while challenging themselves to consider the advanced potential of graphic narratives to convey complex meaning. The course will define and contextualize terms such as high/low art, camp iconography, semiotics, printing press technologies, the psychological processes involved in reading graphic texts.

220.008: Expository Writing: Irony, Cynicism and Popular Culture

TR 5:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.  
Will Barnes, whb100@unm.edu

This course will examine the concepts of irony and cynicism in contemporary popular culture including television, literature, music, fashion, movies, and academic writing “asking the questions: does the prevalence of cynicism in popular culture indicate an increasingly cynical worldview in general? And if so, what consequences may there be for the cynical generation? We will analyze the hero motif in American cinema, the evolution of the zombie myth, materialism in hip hop music, and political protest in punk, as well as hipster irony in sequence 1, cynicism in visual art and literature in the French enlightenment and European romanticism in sequence 2, and philosophical analyses and proposed solutions to cynicism in sequence 3. We will develop deep and nuanced responses and answers to our research question articulated in multi-modal and genre diverse media from blogs, PSA radio broadcasts and podcasts, screenplays, social media posts, professional pitches, group PowerPoint presentations and websites, culminating in a an in-depth academic research paper. No exams, significant student autonomy, issues directly applied to real life. 

220.009: The Politicization of Trauma: Mourning, Violence, Politics

TR 8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. 
Abigail Robertson, agrobertson@unm.edu

This course aims to look at various representations of violence and mourning in documentary and literature from the time of the Crusades through 9/11 with a simple question in mind: what is the rhetoric of mourning and violence and how is it politicized? Rather than interested in any political affiliation, this course is instead centered around understanding the methods by which violence and trauma are represented and how those representations influence our understanding of historical and contemporary events. By analyzing the texts, students will gain a more enriched understanding of the way that different forms of expository writing (both visual and aural) impact audiences of diverse demographics and how this has changed over time.  The way the Holocaust was represented at the end of World War II differs greatly from 9/11 and our current conception. Looking at these events of violence and tragedy, this course aims to promote discourse that questions the efficacy of new media forms in comparison to those in the past and raises questions about the objectives of each of these forms. To do this, students will read both contemporary fictionalized accounts of recent events, primary sources of historical ones, and view recently-produced documentaries that conceptualize the past in order to answer questions such as: how does this source influence our understanding of the past? what is the rhetorical role of this genre? how are violence and trauma politicized (or not) in these texts? Students will also compare fictionalized accounts of real events with reporting on those events by the news media in order analyze the ways in which form, genre, and structure inform audience.

220.011: Expository Writing: The Cultural Hero

TR 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.  
Mark Caughey, mcaughey@unm.edu

This course will explore not only how cultures construct their heroes but also how heroes construct a sense of cultural identity. We will consider both the hero’s ancient origins and its transformation over time and across cultures -- from the epic hero to its latter-day counterpart: the superhero. To that end, we will examine such texts as The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Saga of the Volsungs and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Along the way, we will develop a framework that will help us understand how some characteristics of the hero remain constant while others arise from specific cultural beliefs and values.  Students will hone their writing and research skills through assignments that include reviews, comparative analyses and annotated bibliographies.  

220.012: Identity: From Poetry to Selfies

TR 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. 
Kyle Fiore, kfiore@unm.edu

Identity: Ourselves and Others – “I contain multitudes" wrote poet Walt Whitman, referring to the many ways we see ourselves. From poetry and memoirs to art and selfies, we struggle with the question of, "Who am I?"  We also struggle to understand “Who are you?”  These two questions have joined and separated us from one another since the beginning of language. How do we see ourselves and how do others see us? How do we make our mark and how do we translate the marks of others?  In this course, we will study identity by considering how we have defined ourselves and other people in the past and the present, through art, writing, and activism. We will consider customs and rituals that bring us together and cultural differences that separate us. We will look at the actions people take to make their voices heard. Students will keep a journal, write a memoir, and research a biographic article. Short papers and multimedia pieces will culminate in a final semester project. Authors, artists, and activists we will study include: Tracy Chapman, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Emily Dickenson, Frederico Garcia Lorca, Frida Kahlo, Kee and Peele, Herman Melville, Janelle Monae, Tim O’Brien, Walt Whitman, Adele and others.

220.021: Expository Writing: The Monsters Within

-Online
Dalicia Raymond, dalicia@unm.edu

What makes a monster? What makes us human? This course will examine monsters in literature and pop culture and examine what these creatures tell us and teach us about being human, both on a societal and personal level.  Monsters such as werewolves and vampires have persisted from medieval and gothic literature into today’s pop culture, establishing, reinforcing, and reworking monster archetypes.  Using examples from canonical literature, popular fiction, television, and film, we will explore monster archetypes and work to define what makes a character a monster and how monsters complicate and clarify our humanity. This will construct the foundation for the final semester project in which students will select a type of monster for which they will research the history and analyze the function of this monster in a particular text.  

220.022: Expository Writing: Coming of Age in America

-Online
Jo Anna Phillips, jmphi@unm.edu

In this course, we will examine the coming of age motif under the lens of what it means to grow up American by comparing and contrasting stories which detail the different experiences and struggles that go hand-in-hand with growing up. Arching themes include race, gender, sexual and cultural identities, discrimination and violence in American society, and what constitutes the end of childhood. 

220.023: Expository Writing: Science Fiction and Social Justice

Online - 
Matthew Irwin, matthewji@unm.edu

In this course, subtitled "Science Fiction and Social Justice, we will consider science fiction as a tool not merely for describing social conditions, but also to instigate social change. Using Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movementsas a jumping off point, we will read short stories and excerpts from noted sci-fi authors such as Ursula Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Robert Heinlein and Stephen Graham Jones. Well also screen episodes of television series such as Black MirrorBattlestar GalacticaFirefly, and Dune, and we will watch films such as Advantageous and Alex RiveraSleep Dealer. We will dedicate a large portion of the class to discussing social justice issues such as police violence, Black Lives Matter, Native American mascots, Indigenous Peoples’s Day, and Indigenous sovereignty, in relation to science fiction, while giving attention to the ways in which sci-fi has also participated in regimes of oppression. The assignments related to this course include a literary analysis of Octavia’s Brood and other texts, a report on ongoing social justice issues, and research paper that in some way engages the notion of science fiction as a path to social justice.

220.031: Identity: From Poetry to Selfies

TR 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. 
Kyle Fiore, kfiore@unm.edu

Identity: Ourselves and Others - "I contain multitudes," wrote poet Walt Whitman, referring to the many ways we see ourselves. From poetry and memoirs to art and selfies, we struggle with the question of, "Who am I?" We also struggle to understand “Who are you?”  These two questions have joined and separated us from one another since the beginning of language. How do we see ourselves and how do others see us. How do we make our mark and how do we translate the marks of others?  In this course, we will study identity by considering how we have defined ourselves and others in the past and the present, through art, writing, and activism. We will consider customs and rituals that bring us together and cultural differences that separate us. We will look at the actions people take to make their voices heard. Students will keep a journal, write a memoir and research a biographic article.  Short papers and multimedia pieces will culminate in a final semester project. Authors, artists, and activists we will study will include: Tracy Chapman, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Emily Dickenson, Frederico Garcia Lorca, Kee and Peele, Herman Melville, Janelle Monae, Tim O’Brien, Walt Whitman, Amy Winehouse, Adele and others.

220.032: Eco-poetry: Writing About the Natural World

TR 2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. 
Lawrence Reeder, lreeder@unm.edu

“These woods are one of my great lies.  I pretend, oh I have always pretended, they were mine”, W.S. Merwin. In this class, we will explore how the natural world is represented in poetry. Specifically, we will be focusing on a western history of “nature writing”, how poets project their emotional landscapes onto the natural world and the effects thereof, and how it has evolved into poetry that is socially and environmentally concerned. We will assess how eco-poets aim to answer questions such as: How do we define nature? Who am I in this relationship with the natural world? And how is that relationship damaged? What should Eco-Poetry accomplish? Our goal in this class is allow this genre of poetry to facilitate a deeper understanding of the natural world and the human condition.

220.035: The Good, The Bad, and The Beautiful:

MWF 1:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.  
Ana June, anajune@unm.edu

University of New Mexico alum Edward Abbey, well-known author and defender of wilderness, said: “There is beauty, heartbreaking beauty, everywhere”.  The beauty Abbey describes has inspired countless people to defend and celebrate the environment through various forms of writing and art. In this class, we will start from that point of inspiration and ask what it is about our Earth that moves us. We will read and discuss environmental literature and explore nature-based art to get to the heart of this inspiration. We will look closely at the various ways this inspiration has been expressed by others over time, and learn more about environmental threats both past and present, with an emphasis on issues specific to the desert Southwest. We will also discuss activism in defense of the environment, and talk about what it means to defend our natural spaces and resources. This multimodal class is appropriate for both writers and visual artists, and will culminate in a solid digital portfolio of your best environmental work. All students will be required write a professional level research paper with an environmental theme. 

220.036: Expository Writing - Reading the City: An Exploration of Urban Scrawl

TR 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.  
Ty Cronkhite, tcronkhite@unm.edu

In this online class we will explore writing as it occurs in the city, both in literature and on the walls. Albuquerque itself provides many opportunities to experience unique urban narratives, from the Petroglyph National Monument to the rainbow dripping down from the Anasazi Building at Sixth and Central. We will read essays and literature about the city in addition to reading the city itself as it is written on walls (graffiti), billboards, street signs, cardboard signs, help wanted signs, monuments, people (tattoos), etc. The words and images in the city, wherever they may be found, tell a story. We will learn to make sense of this story by performing a rhetorical analysis of a local artifact, by writing a personal narrative describing the city similar to Walter Benjamin's "Hashish in Marseilles" (preferably without the hashish) and George Orwell's "Down and Out in Paris" (preferably without becoming down and out), and we will synthesize this work into a larger final project on the topic of the city and urban space. Ideally, we will leave the class with a more profound sense of our relationship to the city, the social issues that define the city, and a vital competence in reading, composing, and participating in the urban public sphere.

224.001: Intro to Creative Writing

MWF 10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. 
Ana June, anajune@unm.edu

There are thousands of inspiring quotes about writing, but my personal favorite is one I stumbled across on Facebook: "Why I write: Because kidnapping people and forcing them to act out your interesting make-believe worlds is technically illegal." Of course, it's more than *technically* illegal, but the irreverence of this sentiment spoke to me. In fact, it sounds like a great premise for a short story. If you like to explore strange alternate worlds composed of your own words, you must take Intro to Creative Writing. In this class you will read, study, and write in three different genres: Poetry, Literary Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction. You'll engage in fun and inspirational activities designed to get your ideas flowing, and you'll put many words to the page. So don't be a criminal--enroll in Intro to Creative Writing!   

224.003: Introduction to Creative Writing

TR 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. 
Lawrence Reeder, lreeder@unm.edu

Hello, future writers! In this introduction to creative writing course we will focus our study in the genres of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. This course involves intensive reading and writing assignments for the purpose of examining the craft elements in each of the three genres. Additionally, as writers ourselves, we will practice implementing those elements to make our writing more vivid, energetic, and effective. Some of the elements that we will discuss are: image, language, character, voice, setting, story and revision. Come join in! This is going to be an exciting time to explore the possibilities of being a creative writer! 

224.004: Introduction to Creative Writing

MW 5:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.  
Jason Thayer, thayerj@unm.edu

Over the course of the semester, we will read and discuss short fiction, memoir, and contemporary poetry that aim to illuminate the poign ant moments that comprise life, ranging from the excruciating to the ecstatic.  We will use these stories to investigate how voice, character, rising action, setting, and image contribute to a successful piece of writing.  In addition, we will compose our own work in each of these genres, attempting to emulate the craft elements studied.  Finally, students will be given the opportunity to workshop their creative pieces, in attempt to make their work stronger.

224.005: Introduction to Creative Writing

MWF 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. 
Catherine Hubka, chubka@unm.edu

This course is an introduction to the basic craft elements, discipline, and terminology of Creative Writing. Students will practice the craft by reading, writing and critically engaging with their own and other work in the primary genres of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Students will establish writing goals and create a disciplined approach to their writing.

224.006: Introduction to Creative Writing

TR 9:30-10:45 
Brenna Gomez, bng@unm.edu

In this class we will write about ourselves and our world in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We’ll read stories, essays, and poems that will push and challenge us. Genres and topics that will be explored include: magical realism, flash fiction, the lyric essay, race and gender, social justice, social media’s connection to creative writing, and more. Through our intensive reading and writing projects we’ll explore craft elements such as imagery, language, voice, setting, character, and more. This is a class for students who want to improve their

240.002: Traditional Grammar

MWF 10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. 
Bethany Davila, bdavila@unm.edu

Most native speakers use English every day without having to think about the rules. In fact, people who have learned English as a foreign language often know the grammatical rules better than native speakers. However, as non-native speakers know well, English is a rule-governed system that changes over time. In this course, we will uncover the many levels of structure that make up the English language; we will investigate language changes; and we will examine common language attitudes and their effect on grammar. Course work will consist of frequent short assignments, short papers, a midterm, and a final.

248.001: The Medieval Side of Horror

MWF 2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. 
Jessica Troy, jtroy01@unm.edu

While vampires, zombies, magical beasts, and supernatural creatures are typical in horror films and literature, they are not always creations from the imaginations of modern writers and directors. Many horror stories have a medieval context and background which are often overlooked. In this class, students will analyze contemporary horror and discuss how medievalism plays a part in their creation as well as the ways in which the true medieval history has been altered, reworked, or obliterated for the modern audience’s enjoyment. Additionally, students will find their own examples of medieval-based horror, research the historical or literary context from which the film/book/show extracts its content, and investigate how the cinematic or literary piece affects the contemporary view of the medieval world. Titles to be used in class include, but are not limited to, Bram Stoker’s DraculaKnight of the DeadBlack Death, and Army of Darkness.

249.001: Introduction to Studies in English

T 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.  
Sharon Warner, swarner@unm.edu

English 249 is a one-credit, 8 week class that brings together students, all of whom are majoring in English. This is a required course and must be taken before embarking on the major coursework. Students are introduced to the subfields of rhetoric and professional writing; creative writing; literary studies; and critical theory and cultural studies. Students will be introduced to the life of the department through class visits with faculty members; attendance at Departmental events; and a variety of readings and discussions. The final task will be to craft a letter of intent documenting their intended course of study.

249.002: Introduction to Studies in English

W 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.  
Sharon Warner, swarner@unm.edu

English 249 is a one-credit, 8 week class that brings together students, all of whom are majoring in English. This is a required course and must be taken before embarking on the major coursework. Students are introduced to the subfields of rhetoric and professional writing; creative writing; literary studies; and critical theory and cultural studies. Students will be introduced to the life of the department through class visits with faculty members; attendance at Departmental events; and a variety of readings and discussions. The final task will be to craft a letter of intent documenting their intended course of study.

250.001: Literary Analysis

MWF 10:00 a.m. - 10:50 p.m.  
Feroza Jussawalla, fjussawa@unm.edu

This is a course in analyzing literature and studying the approaches to literary criticism. We will examine literary critical approaches past and present. In order to do so, we will use Stephen Bonnycastle’s In Search of Authority, a guide to the newer critical methods of race, class and gender, deconstruction and other contemporary critical methodologies. We will be using a Norton Anthology of English Literature (to be determined yet) volume that contains Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, and other Postcolonial works, in order to prepare us to read Zadie Smith’s White Teethas the longer, last novel. I am hoping and planning on taking students to hear Zadie Smith at the Lensic, in Santa Fe. This course should be of great interest to students interested in cross- cultural literary depictions. We will write short reaction response papers and a longer research paper. There will be fun in class reading quizzes to make sure we are all on the same page. Come enjoy the pleasure of reading literature.

250.003: Intro to Literary Analysis

MWF 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. 
Melina Vizcaino-Aleman, mviz@unm.edu

This course introduces the practice of literary analysis and the various methods, terms, conventions, and theories that guide scholars as they approach texts. Students read from a variety of genres, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, film, and a novel. Readings consist of both creative and critical works that together form the vocabulary, theoretical methods, and literary tools students will utilize in oral and written assignments.

250.004: Analysis of Literature

TR 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.  
Kathleen Washburn, washburn@unm.edu

This course provides an introduction to the dynamic field of literary studies. Drawing on the broad rubric of missing persons, we will trace how literary texts explore the phenomenon of absence as the experience of loss, a welcome escape, an occasion for political protest, or a catalyst for transformation. From captivity and removal in the Americas to contemporary global migrations, we will investigate how literary texts employ familiar conventions while also producing new stories and new forms of meaning. We will take up poetry, fiction, drama, and film from various cultural and historical contexts; in addition, we will address significant movements in literary criticism and the effects of such interpretive frameworks on “how and perhaps why” we read literature. Finally, we will focus on how to design and execute literary analysis by refining key writing skills such as crafting an engaging and effective thesis, selecting and integrating textual evidence, and revising for clarity and precision. Course materials will include works by Sherman Alexie, Rebecca Harding Davis, Elizabeth Alexander, Cherrie Moraga, John Okada, and Luis Alberto Urrea. Course requirements include short response papers, a group presentation, active class participation, and a research project.

290.002: Introduction to Professional Writing

MWF 1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.
Julianne Newmark, newmark@unm.edu

This class will introduce you to methods of effectively communicating technical, professional, and business information to multiple audiences, in multiple modes. You will develop an understanding of theories of technical communication and will practice technical communication in many forms. With an eye constantly focused on audience needs and expectations, we will plan, organize, draft, revise, and edit documents and multimedia texts. We will learn that the content and appearance of each written document must be appropriate to the intended audience. This course introduces strategies of expository writing style, persuasive communication, and multimodal document design. You will also learn about ethical considerations in the workplace that impact technical and business communicators and the public. Assignments in this course will represent the most common genres of workplace writing, including resumes, informational graphics and data visualization, usability studies, memoranda, business letters, technical reports, proposals, and instructions. These projects are designed to help you create some initial materials for a portfolio you can use when looking for an internship or employment in the field.

292.001: Ancient World Literature

MWF 11 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.  
Doaa Omran, Domran@unm.edu

Beginning with the earliest literatures of the Ancient World, working up through the Medieval Period and moving into the Early Modern period, this course will explore some of the key works of the world’s literatures through the seventeenth century.  Placing memorable plays, poems, and works of fiction in their cultural and historical contexts, we will not only gain a greater understanding of the development of literature and literary traditions in China, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Japan, Persia, Arabia, Europe, India, and the Americas, but we will gain a sense of history and a sense of the differences and similarities that shape the varieties of human experience across time and cultures.  As we marvel at powerful tales about love and war, heroic journeys, spiritual pilgrimages, courtly intrigue, and colonial contact we will be alert to the varying degrees that these works display the globalizing tendencies that have culminated in the richly diverse tapestry of the modern world.  Readings will include all or parts of such works as the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, The Ramayana, The Aeneid, The Inferno, and The Tale of Genji; selections from the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, Bhagavad Gita, and Quran; plays by Aeschylus, Kalidasa, and Shakespeare; poetry by Sappho, Catullus, Li Bai, Ono no Komachi, Petrarch, Ibn Hazm, and Farid ud-dun Attar; as well essays, letters and memoirs by Macchiavelli, Ibn Khaldun, Montaigne, and Columbus.  Requirements will include several short papers, quizzes, and a midterm and final examination.  

292.002: World Lit-Ancient Through 16 C

TR 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. 
Justin Larsen, jlarsen1@unm.edu

This course invites students to experience a small sample of the world's very best literature, from its earliest beginnings through the end of the 1500s. We will examine the role of literature in the cultures of Northern Africa and Middle East, Asia, Europe, and even the Americas, and we see those cultures reflected in the literature, as well. Through these readings, we will then trace the increasing globalization of these cultures as they begin to interact with and influence one another, setting the stage for the interconnected and interwoven world culture that we see around us today. Students will be responsible for a moderate reading load and will submit three shorter papers, a presentation, and a midterm and final examination.

293.001: World Literatures: 17th Century through the Present

MWF 9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. 
Deborah Weagel, dweagel@unm.edu

This survey of world literature introduces students to some of the most influential literary works of the world from 1650 to the present. By following a chronological approach, students recognize interrelationships among peoples, nations, and cultures. Although they find universal themes among cultures from all over the globe, they also see that many communities have unique traditions and customs that give them a sense of individuality. Students learn the historical and cultural contexts of the international readings and engage in critical discussions regarding a variety of issues. They also analyze the readings in terms of literary themes, motifs, styles, and structures. Ideally, students better understand their own place, as well as that of others, in the global community.  In this course, students write five 3-page response papers, take three exams, have pop quizzes, and give two oral presentations. Please note that this is a reading-and writing-intensive course designed to help students think critically about and deeply engage with the assigned texts.  

293.002: World Literature 17C through Present

TR 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.  
Sarah L. Townsend, sltownse@unm.edu

In 1921, the English novelist E.M. Forster wrote, "The nations must understand one another, and quickly for the shrinkage of the globe is throwing them into one another's arms." In English 293, we will chart the longer history of Forster's claim by tracing global literature from the 17th century to the present. Our readings will traverse the world: we will read fiction, drama, poetry, and nonfiction from Europe and the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Arabic world, focusing particularly on moments of contact and exchange. The course will be organized into a sequence of units that focus on major historical transformations: late feudalism and early capitalism; exploration and colonization; the Enlightenment; industrial revolutions; and global modernisms. By tracing through literature the global circulation of people, ideas, goods, money, institutions, and even feelings, we will gain a better sense of how literature provides desperately needed channels of understanding and diplomacy--in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, in Forster's time, and in our own.

295.001 Survey of Later English Literature

TR 09:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.  
Sarah L. Townsend, sltownse@unm.edu

This course will examine British literature from the 19th century to the present. We will take a surveyor's approach to the period, focusing on several transformative events in literary and cultural history and tracing their effects. Surveying (from the medieval Latin word supervidere, "oversee") will also form an object of our literary study as we follow British writing through the French Revolution, the Napoleonic wars, the late industrial revolution, and the rise and fall of the British Empire. We will see monarchs, statesmen, colonialists, and writers employ modes of surveying to map the nation and to define the modern self. We will also watch those on the margins borrow or resist such surveying in order to make their voices heard. English 295 will cover the major movements in 19th, 20th, and 21st-century British literature, from Romanticism to postcolonialism. The course will incorporate literature written in England, as well as many texts from Britain's colonies and former colonies that reimagine the shape, scope, and priorities of the modern British nation.

295.003 Survey of Later English Literature

TR 09:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.  
Sinae King, sinaekg@unm.edu

This course will examine British literature from the 19th century to the present. We will take a surveyor's approach to the period, focusing on several transformative events in literary and cultural history and tracing their effects. Surveying (from the medieval Latin word supervidere, "oversee") will also form an object of our literary study as we follow British writing through the French Revolution, the Napoleonic wars, the late industrial revolution, and the rise and fall of the British Empire. We will see monarchs, statesmen, colonialists, and writers employ modes of surveying to map the nation and to define the modern self. We will also watch those on the margins borrow or resist such surveying in order to make their voices heard. English 295 will cover the major movements in 19th, 20th, and 21st-century British literature, from Romanticism to postcolonialism. The course will incorporate literature written in England, as well as many texts from Britain's colonies and former colonies that reimagine the shape, scope, and priorities of the modern British nation.

296.001: Earlier American Literature

MWF 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.  
Kathryn Wichelns, wichelns@unm.edu

In this course we will read key texts tracing the emergence of early notions of American personal and collective identity. Beginning with accounts from the seventeenth century, we will focus on ideas about class, race, sexuality and gender as articulated primarily through the divergent expectations and experiences of Europeans and the Native peoples of the Americas. These accounts, both by Native people and by English, French, and Spanish colonizers, reveal traces of the critical challenge that Native America presented to European notions of selfhood. Indian captivity narratives written by women living in Puritan New England, remind us of the complexity behind contemporary American ideas of national origin. Mary Prince's and Oloudah Equiano's accounts of their enslavement emphasize the global influences on emerging North American ideas about race, commerce, and human identity. Hannah Foster’s The Coquette, a bestseller when it was first published in 1797, suggests that post-Revolutionary American notions of nationality, sexual deviancy, and gender depend upon period-specific assumptions about race and class. Our course culminates in close readings of two of the most canonical works of popular fiction to emerge from this era. Washington Irving’s The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent and James Fenimore Cooper’sThe Last of the Mohicans articulate ambivalent responses to shifting mores. An emphasis on historical and political context will enable us to explore the extraordinary differences among these textual representations, and will allow us better to understand the ways that this tumultuous time inaugurates the ideological struggles of the nineteenth century.

297.001: Later American Literature

-Online
Daniel Worden, dworden@unm.edu

This course surveys U.S. literary history from 1865 to the present. Over the course of the semester, we will study works from major styles, movements, and forms in American literature, including regionalism, realism, naturalism, modernism, the Harlem Renaissance, confessional poetry, the Beat movement, postmodernism, and contemporary writing. American literary history is a contested terrain, and accordingly, this course is designed to foreground the central themes, problems, and concerns of American literature. We will devote particular attention to the question of the "individual" in American literature and the relation of literature to economics, politics, and society. This course is fully online. Requirements include 2 short essays, regular discussion board posts, and annotation assignments.

297.002: Later American Literature

MWF 1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. 
Bernadine Hernandez, berna18@unm.edu

In this course, we will survey the development of U.S. literary history from the end of the civil war (1865) to the present as we examine a diverse scope of authors and major literary movements, styles, and forms in the development of the nation. We will be looking at the major literary movements and consider texts in the context of realism, naturalism, regionalism, modernism, the Harlem Renaissance postmodernism, and the contemporary novel. Simultaneously, as we attempt to understand the characteristic and importance of each movement, we will also examine that many authors and texts resist easy categorization and what literary innovations they use to comment and respond to a changing nation. Additionally, we will look at how processes of differentiation, such as race, class, gender, and sexuality manifested throughout American history. Over the course of the semester, we will be supplementing and complementing our readings and discussions of later American literature in two ways: first, to think about this literature within a larger cultural context, we will look at it alongside other media from the period, including film, music, and art. Additionally, we will incorporate digital tools for literary and cultural study as a way of interpreting American literature of this period. Requirements: active participation and attendance, two short essays, a midterm and a final exam.

300-Level
100-Level | 200-Level | 300-Level | 400-Level

304.001: The Bible as Literature

TR 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.  
Janet Gaines, jhgaines@unm.edu

The Bible contains some of the most powerful stories of all time. This course will explore the literary/critical possibilities for reading biblical sagas of love and war, faith and doubt, salvation and degradation. We will examine literary elements of biblical tales, determine how these narratives have shaped our culture, and study what they reveal about our world. Units of study include heroic narratives, history of the Davidic monarchy, wisdom literature and poetry, prophetic literature, the letter as literature, and apocalyptic literature. Mid-term, final, and one analytical or creative seven-page paper.

305.001: Mythology

MWF 1:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.  
Nicholas Schwartz, nschwar@unm.edu

This course is designed to introduce students to a variety of mythological traditions that are most necessary to learn and recognize for the study of American and British literature and culture. As such, our focus will be “primarily but not only” on the Western mythologies which most often exerted a major influence on these literatures and cultures. This does not mean, however, that we will spend all of our time reading those myths which feature prominently in Ancient Greek and Roman Literatures. The scope of this course is broad, both geographically and temporally speaking. We will start with the Ancient Sumerian Gilgamesh. From there we will touch base with the Judeo-Christian Bible, Ancient Greece and Rome, and Medieval England, amongst others. Students will not only develop a valuable familiarity with these various mythological traditions, but they will also be exposed to a number of different ways of reading and analyzing them.

308.001: The Jewish Experience in America

TR 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.  
Janet Gaines, jhgaines@unm.edu

This course examines works by the most thought-provoking American Jewish writers, including Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners Isaac Singer, Bernard Malamud, Saul Bellow, Art Spiegelman, Woody Allen, and others. Units of study include American Views on European Roots, the Immigrant Experience, the Holocaust, and Post-WWII America. Required readings includes short stories, novels, and a graphic novel. Mid-term, final, one seven-page paper.

315.001: Comics & Graphic Novels

-Online
Daniel Worden, dworden@unm.edu

Comics are a major form of storytelling in modern culture, from early strips like The Yellow Kid and Little Orphan Annie to contemporary, award-winning works such as Alison Bechdel's Fun Home and Art Spiegelman's Maus. In this course, we will study the history of comics, from newspapers strips and superhero books to the canonization of the contemporary "graphic novel," as well as the unique structure and style of the comics form. Along with comics themselves, we will read critical essays from the emerging field of comics studies that seek to develop unique methods for the interpretation of comics as a literary and visual form. Over the course of the semester, we will explore how to read, interpret, and contextualize comics. More particularly, we will focus on comics history and the comics form in the first half of the semester, and in the second half of the semester, we will read a number of contemporary graphic narratives and develop our own accounts of contemporary comics art and culture. Readings will include graphic narratives such as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, Joe Sacco's Palestine, Eleanor Davis's How to Be Happy, and Art Spiegelman's Maus, as well as selections from ongoing comics series, including The Avengers, Batgirl, Hellboy, Ms. Marvel, Pretty Deadly, Sex Criminals, Spider-Man, Superman, and The Uncanny X-Men. This course is fully online. Requirements include an online presentation, regular discussion board posts, 2 short essays, and one final essay.

315.004: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Literature: The Outlaw and the Outlawed in American Literature

-Online
Ying Xu, yingxu@unm.edu

Course Description: The course examines the nature, function, and context of the outlaw and the outlawed (people, spaces, and practices) and their literary representations in American literature. With a brief introduction to early outlawry in American history, the course focuses mainly on nineteenth-century and twentieth-century texts and writers. We will study the transcultural, transgendered and interdisciplinary manifestations and the different literary, political, socio-historical, and media contexts in which the outlawed may be encountered and represented. Topics covered include western stories, frontier conflicts, male subjectivity, sexuality, homosexuality, immigration acts, bodies of law and the outlawed bodies, and passing and identity negotiation. On completing the course, the student will have learned to do literary analyses by applying multiple approaches and will be able to read and write about the outlaws and the representations of the outlaws critically and analytically, demonstrating an understanding of the authors and their work covered in the course in their cultural, historical, and biographical contexts. Requirements include two 6-7-page major papers (typed, double space, no larger than 12 font and usual margins); five short essays; discussion assignments; and a final exam.

320.001: Advanced Expository Writing

TR 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.  
Michelle Kells, mkells@unm.edu

Writing Across Academic and Public Cultures English 320 is an advanced introduction to composition from a rhetorical perspective. The course will focus on the writing process, organization, style, revision, editing, communication strategies, and the use of ethnographic, library, and electronic sources of information. The course is designed to promote the cultivation of a network of relationships conducive to the development of emerging writers (through digital literacy, ethnographic, bibliographic, and other literacy sponsorship practices). The aim of ENG 320 is to actively engage you in writing and publishing for diverse audiences by helping you analyze rhetorical situations, construct interpretations of texts, and generate writing samples in a variety of genres. This course will explore the distinguishing features of genre as well as examine how the boundaries of genre become blurred in academic and public culture. During the semester, you will have extensive practice in writing, editing, and presenting your work. To support the emphasis on the writing process, multiple drafts of major projects are required as well as pre-writing and in-class assignments designed to develop critical thinking skills. Group work, writing circles, conferences, peer review, reader response journal writing, film viewing, and field exercises, and oral presentations are integral features of the course. Production of writing samples suitable for submission for publication and/or presentation in academic, popular, or public on-line venues will represent the capstone project of this course. The first half of the course will concentrate on the formation of the writer by exploring multiple voices and genres of writing. You will produce: Reader Response Journal; Literacy Narrative. The second half of the course will focus on generating texts for different readers by: Writing and Publishing for Academic Culture; Writing and Publishing for Public Culture. Required Texts The Norton Field Guide to Writing, Richard Bullock. Field Working: Reading and Writing Research. Bonnie Stone Sunstein and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater. This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. Eds. Jay Allison and Dan Gediman. Library E-Reserve Materials To assist you with the projects and exercises assigned over the course of the semester, the following items will be available on reserve at the Zimmerman Library E-Reserves: Films: How Smart Can We Get? Off the Map The Milagro Bean Field Wars Good Night and Good Luck Learning Outcomes Course readings, assignments, exercises, and class discussions are designed to promote the following learning outcomes: cultivate rhetorical resourcefulness and stylistic alacrity; become a conscious user of language; negotiate diverse discourse communities through oral and written communication; generate appropriate writing products for target audiences; manipulate different genres; offer productive critique to other writers; analyze the linguistic, contextual, and ethical dimensions of rhetorical situations; use the writing process as recursive stages (from invention to editing) for various writing tasks; explore the diverse genres of academic and professional writing; use appropriate research methods for writing projects; form alliances with colleagues and work collaboratively toward common goals; paraphrase and summarize, fairly and accurately, the ideas of others; apply the principles of rhetorical purpose and audience adaptation; revise texts in response to comments from others so that improvement is evident to readers; understand the connection between thought and language, the concepts that govern usage, and the various criteria for determining correctness or appropriateness of language in a given rhetorical situation; evaluate and argue, reinforcing logical habits of mind; understand the importance of scholastic honesty and the ethics of communication; write correctly and coherently under time pressure; develop a writerly identity and effective work habits (able to produce written products both independently and collaboratively).

321.001: Intermediate Creative Writing - Fiction

MW 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.  
Jack Trujillo, jacktru@unm.edu

This is a craft-based class in short literary fiction. The focus of our work is one the specific elements of craft that writers (that’s you) use to construct stories and an examination, using your own writing and the writing of others, of how those craft elements can be manipulated to achieve different narrative ends. The first half of the semester is spent attacking in multiple ways the first short story you write: changing point of view, starting the story at an entirely new place, or removing back story, for example. The second half of the semester is spent workshopping a second story written for the class. Both stories have specific limitations and rules. Class requires much writing, much reading, two complete stories, a live reading review, a craft review of a collection of short fiction and written critiques of each of your fellow student’s stories. Texts are Deepening Fiction by Sarah Stone and Ron Nyren and a collection of short fiction drawn from a short list.  

321.002: Intermediate Creative Writing Fiction

TR 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. 
Jack Trujillo, jacktru@unm.edu

This is a craft-based class in short literary fiction. The focus of our work is one the specific elements of craft that writers (that’s you) use to construct stories and an examination, using your own writing and the writing of others, of how those craft elements can be manipulated to achieve different narrative ends. The first half of the semester is spent attacking in multiple ways the first short story you write: changing point of view, starting the story at an entirely new place, or removing back story, for example. The second half of the semester is spent workshopping a second story written for the class. Both stories have specific limitations and rules. Class requires much writing, much reading, two complete stories, a live reading review, a craft review of a collection of short fiction and written critiques of each of your fellow student’s stories. Texts are Deepening Fiction by Sarah Stone and Ron Nyren and a collection of short fiction drawn from a short list.

322.001: Intermediate Creative Writing Poetry

TR 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.  
Michelle Brooks, mbrooksteaching@gmail.com

We will read contemporary poetry. Students will be expected to submit their poetry for workshop.

323.002: Intermediate Creative Writing Nonfiction

TR 3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.  
Lisa Chavez, ldchavez@unm.edu

This is an intermediate level creative writing class in creative nonfiction, a wide-ranging genre that includes memoir, personal essay, literary journalism and the lyric essay, among others.  Though we will likely focus on memoir, you will be introduced to a variety of different types of essays, and you will learn how to craft compelling scenes and reflection, as well as learn some of the unique ethical challenges of writing and discussing this genre.   In addition to writing, we will read a lot, both work by established writers and work generated in the class.

323.003: Intermediate Creative Writing--Nonfiction

TR 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. 
Andrew Bourelle, abourelle@unm.edu

In this course, you will study creative nonfiction, learning about the genre both as a reader and a writer. You will read numerous nonfiction essays and excerpts from books, covering a wide variety of nonfiction subgenres: memoir, personal essay, literary journalism, nature writing, and more. You will also write nonfiction and participate in peer workshops where you read and respond to your classmates’ writing. From this class, you should develop a clear understanding of the genre of nonfiction, as well as develop skills of thinking critically about both your own and others’ writing. 

324.003: Introduction to Screenwriting

T 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. 
Matthew McDuffie, mcduffie@unm.edu

An introduction to the art and craft of narrative screenwriting.

347.001: Viking Mythology

TR 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.  
Nicholas Schwartz, nschwar@unm.edu

This course is designed to comprehensively introduce students to Viking Mythology. It will cover Norse ideas about the creation of the world, the end of the world, and pretty much everything in between. Students should expect to read about Odin, Thor, Loki, and a host of other characters not so well-known today. In addition these important mythological features, we will read accounts of important events, like the conversion to Christianity. Texts include, but are not limited to, The Elder Edda, Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, and The Saga of the Volsungs. All primary sources will be read in English translation. Additionally, students will learn about the culture(s) that produced these wonderful stories and their specific literary conventions. This course will foster a valuable familiarity with an important mythological tradition and expose students to a variety of methods of reading its stories. 

349.001: From Beowulf to Arthur

MWF 9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.  
Lisa Myers, myersl@unm.edu

This course is designed as an introductory survey to the literary works produced in England in the Middle Ages, c. 700-1500. While most texts will be read in Modern English translations, class lectures will provide some background on the development of the English language. The class will focus on both the specialized terminology and literary devices particular to medieval English texts as well as the cultural, social and political factors that influenced the development of English literature. Readings will introduce students to a wide variety of medieval genres and will include epic, lyric poetry, romance, mystical revelation and outlaw tale as illustrated in such works as Beowulf, The Dream of the Rood, Sir Orfeo, The Showings of Julian of Norwich and the Rhymes of Robin Hood.

351.001: Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales

MWF 10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.  
Nicholas Schwartz, nschwar@unm.edu

This course focuses on The Canterbury Tales, the final work and masterpiece of Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the greatest and most important writers in English. A mix of the bawdy and the chaste, the sacred and the profane, the high- and the low-class, amongst other dichotomies, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is a work that provides its readers with a host of personalities, literary conventions, styles, and much, much more. All primary texts will be read in Chaucer’s Middle English, though students do not need to have any experience with the language in order to take this course. Chaucer wrote during the fourteenth century, a time of great tumult, including famine, plague, political uprising, and religious rebellion. We will consider the Canterbury Talesin light of this complicated historical context while also paying attention to the long and rich history of scholarly criticism on the Tales. Coursework and assignments designed to develop knowledge of the conventions of medieval English poetry, a competence in Middle English, and to recognize Chaucer’s contributions to English language and literature.

352.001: Early Shakespeare

MWF 12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m.  
Lisa Myers, myersl@unm.edu

This course covers the Elizabethan-era drama and poetry of William Shakespeare who is considered to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, writer in the English language. In addition to focused discussions of plays and poetry, the course will also examine the literary and cultural background of Early Modern England and the ways in which this climate influenced Shakespeare’s development as a dramatist and poet. Assignments will include two papers and a multi-modal project. Texts to be read include: The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tragedy of Richard III, The Life of King Henry V, Venus and Adonis, Hamlet, Titus Andronicus and Selected Sonnets.

352.010: Early Shakespeare

-Online
Karra Shimabukuro, kshimabukuro@unm.edu

This online class is a survey of Shakespeare’s Elizabethan-era drama and poetry (up through 1603 when she died, and it became the Jacobean period when James became king). This includes such works as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Titus Andronicus, and The Merchant of Venice as well as supplemental works where appropriate and secondary sources that explain and explore commonly discussed themes. Throughout the course then you will learn to identify and describe dramatic structure, characterization, poetics and a variety of themes in their historical context. We will focus not only on analyzing the texts, but understanding the historical and cultural moments they represent. This is an online course which operates asynchronously, which means we will not all be only at the same time, but we will all work off of the weekly schedule. Online courses require your attention and participation, as well as careful reading of all the materials in the course.

353.001: Later Shakespeare

TR 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. 
Yulia Ryzhik, yryzhik@unm.edu

In this course we will read eight plays from the second half of Shakespeare's career as a playwright, roughly from 1603 to 1611. We will encounter Shakespeare at the height of his artistic powers, yet constantly challenging himself to grow and learn from one play to the next, whether by setting up new formal problems or by exploring new psychological depths and heights. Beginning with Twelfth Night, the last of Shakespeare's "festive" comedies, we will delve into the troubled world of Measure for Measure and Troilus and Cressida, with their pervasive sense of malaise in the state and its people, and of the great tragedies such as OthelloKing Lear, and Macbeth, which elevate fundamentally human disasters to a cosmic scale, before concluding with the haunting romances The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. The main goals of this course are for students to become familiar with each of the plays individually, to learn to appreciate complex dramatic structures and the rich interplay between language and performed action, to understand the plays' literary, historical, and material contexts, and to grapple passionately and analytically with recurring issues such as individual consciousness and conscience, family and relationships, good and bad government, war and violence, sexuality and race, magic and imagination. Part of achieving these goals is a thorough commitment to learning various methods of literary analysis and improving critical reading and writing skills.

353.002: Later Shakespeare

TR 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Gerard Lavin, glavin@unm.edu

In this course we will read eight plays from the second half of Shakespeare's career as a playwright, roughly from 1603 to 1611. We will encounter Shakespeare at the height of his artistic powers, yet constantly challenging himself to grow and learn from one play to the next, whether by setting up new formal problems or by exploring new psychological depths and heights. Beginning with Twelfth Night, the last of Shakespeare's "festive" comedies, we will delve into the troubled world of Measure for Measure and Troilus and Cressida, with their pervasive sense of malaise in the state and its people, and of the great tragedies such as OthelloKing Lear, and Macbeth, which elevate fundamentally human disasters to a cosmic scale, before concluding with the haunting romances The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. The main goals of this course are for students to become familiar with each of the plays individually, to learn to appreciate complex dramatic structures and the rich interplay between language and performed action, to understand the plays' literary, historical, and material contexts, and to grapple passionately and analytically with recurring issues such as individual consciousness and conscience, family and relationships, good and bad government, war and violence, sexuality and race, magic and imagination. Part of achieving these goals is a thorough commitment to learning various methods of literary analysis and improving critical reading and writing skills.

355.001: Survey of Enlightenment

TR 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.  
Carolyn Woodward, writecjw@gmail.com

The Enlightenment: Wondrous things upon the earth? With microscope and telescope, in drops of water, across oceans, and in the expanse of the heavens, people marveled at a plurality of revealed worlds. Shocking ideas were formulated and published during this time, sometimes at people’s peril as they challenged not only received opinion but sometimes church and government authorities in philosophical treatises, clandestine literature, visual narrative, travel writing, newspapers, dictionaries and encyclopedias, and the novel. Major figures include John Locke, Mary Wortley Montagu, the naturalist Gilbert White, Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. We’ll read selections from writers of African origins living in London, North America, and the Caribbean, as well. The semester will close with Jane Austen’s extended thought experiment on reason and passion in her novel Sense & Sensibility.

360.001: Salman Rushdie

MWF 2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.  
Feroza Jussawalla, fjussawa@unm.edu

This course is in honor of the publication of Salman Rushdie’s newest fairy tale novel, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights. It seems that by setting his story in the land of djinns, Rushdie is using Magic Realism to tell the story of his exile as he did in Haroun and the Sea of Stories. It also recalls his first book Grimus. We will read these three books together at the beginning of the course and then move on to the most controversial book of the century, The Satanic Verses. This book was the cause of the “fatwa” or ban against Rushdie and tells the story of a fictionalized Prophet Mohammed in a magic realistic manner. After this we will read Rushdie’s Midnights’ Children, a political satire of the history of India. Students will be asked to write short 500 word essays on each novel and one long research paper at the end of the semester. Graduate students are invited to take this class as an independent study, attend sessions with the undergraduates and write a longer, more extended research paper. This is a course that offers you the opportunity to read and enjoy the works of one of the greatest English language writers of the century.

360.002: The Shelleys and Byron

TR 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. 
Gary Harrison, garyh@unm.edu

In the summer of 1816, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley, and Mary’s half-sister Claire Clairmont visited Lord Byron who was leasing the Villa Diodati overlooking Lake Geneva. It was at there in June 1816 that Mary Shelley penned her myth-making novel about the pale student of unhallowed arts Victor Frankenstein and his creature. Sensationalized in films such as Ivan Passer’s Haunted Summer (1988) and Ken Russell’s Gothic (1986), this notorious coterie of literary rebels inspired each other with late night readings of German ghost stories, heady conversations about the Prometheus myth and classic Greek tragedy, and speculative reflections upon revolutionary politics and the new electro-chemistry of Humphrey Davy and Luigi Galvani. As Mary Shelley began Frankenstein, Byron was finishing Canto 3 of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, and Percy was working on his brilliant Hymn to Intellectual Beauty, an encomium to an unseen force he calls the Spirit of Beauty. In this course we’ll weave together the biographical, intellectual, and poetic filaments that spurred the radical imagination of these writers ensconced near Lake Geneva in what became known as the year without a summer caused by a number of volcanic eruptions around the world. In addition to the works named above, readings will include other key works by the Shelleys and Byron, including MathildaThe Cenci, Prometheus Unbound, and Manfred.

388.002: SW Literature and Culture

MWF 9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. 
Melina Vizcaino-Aleman, mviz@unm.edu

New Mexico and the greater Southwest has long been a contested region, and southwestern literature, film, and art provide rich accounts of the beauty, borders, communities, and violence that have given the Southwest such a unique history and arts culture. In this course, we will explore how New Mexico and the greater Southwest have played prominent roles in 20th-century art, literature, and film. The course will also make use of some of the University of New Mexico’s unique collections of art and literature at the Center for Southwest Research and the University Art Museum, and we will develop ways to think about the Southwest through the region’s long history, rich resources, and its contemporary urban, suburban, and rural environments.

400-Level
100-Level | 200-Level | 300-Level | 400-Level

413.001: Science, Medical, & Environmental Writing

T 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. 
Michelle Kells, mkells@unm.edu

ENGL 413/513 - This course will examine writing across academic, public, and professional spheres to promote the circulation of knowledge toward environmental justice, public health, and community wellbeing. We will apply the theoretical frame of Rhetorical Studies to Technical/Professional Writing as a field of practice to apply, analyze, evaluate, and engage diverse genres and media for a broad spectrum of document users (and stakeholders) within Science, Medical, and Environmental Studies. Course projects include: Selecting a research topic (an environmental issue in and beyond the borders of the Americas) and writing and revising an intellectual project for academic, public, and professional audiences for publication. Capstone Project: Multi-Modal Working Group project researching (using field research and bibliographic inquiry methods) toward the production of digital articles on public health, environmental justice, and community wellbeing for digital publication in Writing Communities. Required Books: Albrecht, Glenn. Solastalgia: A New Concept in Human Health and Philosophy.  Philosophy, Activism, Nature (PAN) 1.3 (2005): 41-55. Cooperrider, David. L. et al. eds. Appreciative Inquiry: Rethinking Human Organization Toward a Positive Theory of Change. Farmer, Paul. Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor. Kidder, Tracy. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World. Killingsworth, M. Jimmie and Jacqueline S. Palmer. Eco Speak: Rhetoric and Environmental Politics in America. McMillan, Victoria E. Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences. 3rd ed. Miriam F. Williams and Octavio Pimentel, eds. Communicating Race, Ethnicity, and Identity in Technical Communication. Edward O. Wilson Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. Course Projects: Multi-Modal Capstone Team Project; Field Research Exercises; Bibliographic Research (Annotated Bibliography); Student Selected Supplementary Reading. WACommunities Digital Resources:https://sites.google.com/site/resourcewac/ (Fall 2015) http://gates-open.blogspot.com/ (Fall 2012)http://unmenvirorhetoric.blogspot.com/ (Fall 2010) http://unmchicanoecology.blogspot.com/ (Spring 2014) Learning Outcomes Course readings, assignments, exercises, and class discussions are designed to promote the following learning outcomes: cultivate rhetorical resourcefulness and stylistic alacrity;  become a conscious user of language; negotiate diverse discourse communities through oral and written communication; generate appropriate writing products for target audiences in science, medical, and environmental studies; manipulate different genres and media for diverse users and stakeholders; engage in collaborative projects and offer productive critique to other writers; analyze the linguistic, contextual, and ethical dimensions of rhetorical situations; use the writing process as recursive stages (from invention to editing) for various writing tasks; use appropriate research methods for writing projects; form alliances with colleagues and work collaboratively toward common goals; paraphrase and summarize, fairly and accurately, the ideas of others; apply the principles of rhetorical purpose and audience adaptation.

414.001: Documentation

MWF 2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.  
Julianne Newmark, newmark@unm.edu

This course in advanced technical communication will serve a particular client this semester - “the Xchanges electronic journal” and the documents you will produce will relate to the review, revision, correspondence, and production of two issues of the journal. This course will prepare you to write technical documents in professional and organizational contexts (business, government, nonprofit agencies), and your work with the Xchanges journal will model the document-creation practices common in technical writing careers. Before embarking on work related to our specific journal, the first part of the semester will be dedicated to learning what technical writers and editors do and what skills they need. We will also learn about other tasks in the content development process, such as creating visual content, production editing, and indexing. The course will require students to create activity reports, to learn to use a Content Management System (CMS), to analyze and edit web content, to create procedures manuals, and to design and write manuals, tutorials, and white papers. Additional activities will includes participating in Skype workshops with online journal editors from other universities, researching best practices in ejournal production, and creating documentation for future students and Xchanges ejournal stakeholders. 

415.001: Publishing

T 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
David Dunaway, dunaway@unm.edu

This course in creative nonfiction introduces students to the publishing industry, in the U.S. and internationally, from the multiple perspectives of the author, the editor, the agent, and the publisher. Our primary goal is to provide a successful strategy for publishing your work in journals, magazines, books, and on the internet. Our secondary goal is to prepare an informed community of writers, able to understand contracts, industry procedures, and publishing’s cultural significance.

The class begins with a survey of current trends, then moves to a history of publishing in the U.S.; followed by an overview of ownership and control in the modern era. We discuss procedures and standards for submissions of articles and book proposals to publishers of literary, scholarly, technical, and trade (general-adult) materials. We examine in detail the roles of editors and agents in manuscripts—with an emphasis on the increasing digitization (e-books) and globalization of publishing/media activities. Any writer interested in these topics is welcome to join us. There are no exams. 

417.001: Editing

MWF 1:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.  
Stephen Benz, sbenz@unm.edu

This course focuses on editing as a professional skill. Along with practicing advanced copyediting skills, you will learn about "information design": the creation of documents that are complete, accurate, correct, comprehensible, usable, and appropriate for readers. Because editors must often be responsible for a document from its inception to its presentation as a finished product, you will also learn about layout and document design, as well as contemporary production processes. Successful completion of this course will provide you with the foundation necessary for a future career in the field.

418.001: World Changing Proposals

MWF 12:00 p.m. – 12:50 p.m. 
Dianne Bechtel, di4srv@unm.edu

This course is developed to work with the Innovation Academy’s mission to inspire and cultivate creativity and entrepreneurship. The course targets the critical thinking, problem-solving, and writing skills needed to create a viable business plan and proposal or grant proposal. The topic of the semester-long project will be identified at the beginning of the term. Students will identify and define a problem in the community, study its causes and effects, do a quantitative study, and work on a real world solution to the problem. This entails establishing credibility through background research on beneficiaries and possible funders. Learning opportunities include seminar style discussions to locate and critique innovative ideas, examinations of case studies, guest speakers, and in-class writing and reviews of peer proposals. Though a partnership with a real business or funding entity is desired, the ultimate goal is to have a well-constructed and fully functional document that the student can take to a bank, business, or funder for immediate consideration. 

420.002: Stylistics Analysis

TR 8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.  
Jerome Shea, jshea@unm.edu

Stylistic Analysis is a wide ranging course that tries to find out what makes for good prose (and what makes for wretched prose). We will study periodic and running sentences, noun style and verb style, parataxis and hypotaxis. We will ponder such questions as "What do we mean by 'voice'?"; "What assumptions do we bring to prose that we don't bring to poetry?"; and "What do we mean by 'high style' and 'low style'?" We will question whether prose is transparent or opaque, and what the ramifications of that are. Five or six short papers, no exams.

420.003: Craft of Literary Journalism

MWF 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.  
Stephen Benz, sbenz@unm.edu

This special topics course focuses on the craft of literary journalism. We will study the work of literary journalists such as Joan Didion, Tom Wolfe, and Susan Orlean. We will also read interviews and essays in which accomplished literary journalists discuss the work that they do and how they do it. Finally, through short exercises and longer writing assignments, we will work on writing our own pieces of literary journalism. The goal of the course is to explore the genre of literary journalism, its history, its precursors, its conventions, and its practitioners. We’ll learn about the origins of literary journalism, what it tries to do, and what forms it takes. Most important of all, we will learn how to write magazine-style articles using the storytelling techniques that make literary journalism such an appealing genre for readers and writers.

421.002: Advanced Creative Writing Fiction

TR 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.  
Michelle Brooks, mbrooksteaching@gmail.com

We will focus on reading and writing contemporary fiction. Students will be expected to present short stories for workshop.

421.010: Advanced Fiction

Online - 
Julie Shigekuni, jshig@unm.edu

Strong content arises out of identifying and carefully nurturing each layer of a story. In this advanced fiction workshop you will identify, isolate, and combine elements of craft used to generate story. I’m particularly interested in how the observed life combines with imagination in fiction. It's a given that what we experience affects our stories, but how to engage the imagination? Participants will critique stories written by workshop participants and read and analyze the work of a range of contemporary authors.

423.001: Advanced Creative Writing - Nonfiction

TR 5:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. 
Lisa Chavez, ldchavez@unm.edu

This is an advanced creative writing workshop in creative nonfiction.  This class presupposes a certain understanding of the genre: i.e. at least a basic understanding of the use scene and dialogue and reflection.  Our goals in this course will be to hone craft skills, try out new techniques in exercises, and practice revision skills.  While we will read the work of published authors and explore the variety of types of essays that fall into the category of creative nonfiction, we will primarily focus on workshopping student work.

424.001: Creative Writing Workshop - Scriptwriting

R 5:00 p.m. - 8:00:p.m. 
Matthew McDuffie, mcduffie@unm.edu

Advanced screenwriting. A workshop for short and long form narrative film writing.

441.001: English Grammars

MWF 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.  
Bethany Davila, bdavila@unm.edu

Studying grammar doesn‘t have to be boring! This course helps students approach the study of grammar from different perspectives, all while attending to language politics, language attitudes, and language use. Projects include analyzing parts of speech, phrases, and constituents by representing sentences in phrase trees and sentence diagrams, considering language in use as well as the rules that govern our use, and examining our own and others’ academic writing using corpus linguistics.

444.002: Tutoring Practicum

MWF 9:00 a.m. – 9:50 p.m. 
Erin Lebacqz, lebacqze@unm.edu

Tutoring Practicum students learn to provide effective feedback to newer writers and develop their own skill set as tutors and potentially as future teachers, writers, or professional communicators. The class readings focus on education and the writing process, helping us think about how students draft their papers and what we can do to support their development of their writing and their education. English 444 students are placed in an online English 110 or 120 class, in which they provide revision support to 110 and 120 students. The course requires a final portfolio showcasing the student's work as a tutor and analytic thinker.

448.001: Beowulf & Other Topics

TR 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.  
Jonathan Davis-Secord, jwds@unm.edu

Beowulf is the most celebrated and studied Old English poem, yet it remains ambiguous and contested. Modern scholars continue to scrutinize difficult points in the text and wrestle over approaches to the poem. This course will be devoted to a close reading of Beowulf in the original Old English, coupled with pertinent scholarship on specific points in the poem along the way. We will explore the roles of women in the text, the meanings of the monsters, the patterns of gift-giving, the linguistic intricacies of the text, and many other topics. Students will prepare translations of the poem, read secondary literature, and write a critical research paper for the semester. Prerequisite: ENGL 447/547 or the equivalent.

451.001: T: Medieval Latin

TR 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.  
Jonathan Davis-Secord, jwds@unm.edu

The phrase medieval Latin covers an amazingly wide array of time periods, genres, and geographical locations. It applies to philosophical treatises written in Italy in the fifth century, letters written in northern Europe in the ninth century, and saints’ lives written in England in the fifteenth century. As a result of this abundance, this course will touch upon only a small number of important texts and authors from the medieval period. We will concentrate on short sections of these texts, spending several weeks with each in order for students to become familiar with major texts and authors of Medieval Latin and increase their facility with Latin generally and their knowledge of the distinguishing features of Medieval Latin specifically. Prerequisite: LATN 102 or equivalent.

457.001: Fragmentation: Dickens, the Guillotine, and Film

TR 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.  
Gail Houston, ghouston@unm.edu

A metonym for the French Revolution (FR), the guillotine caused a cut in history reflected in the later creation of film. Fragmentation is at the heart of filmmaking (editing) and the FR (physical and mental fragmentation of consciousness and self). Dickens intuits these cuts aesthetically and theoretically by illustrating identity, history, and consciousness as fragmented. First used in 1792, the guillotine and the horrific and heroic events it signified were central to magic lantern shows and phantasmagorias that preceded and led to filmmaking. Scholarship has made the connection between representations of the French Revolution and the guillotine in the new popular entertainments of the magic lantern, panorama, and phantasmagorias, all of which used developing scientific principles on optics (Sophie Thomas). Scholarship has also noted Dickens’ aesthetic filmic qualities (writing that is similar to the screenplay form and parallel storytelling) (Grahame Smith, Sergei Eisenstein, D. W. Griffith). No scholarship has linked the magic lantern, the fragmented optics these produce, and the fragmented subjectivity created by the French Revolution with Dickens’ tendency to use the imagery of cut heads and fragmented, schizophrenic selves in his novels, in particular in Tale of Two Cities. By bringing these seemingly disparate historical, aesthetic, political threads together, I demonstrate that the new democratic understanding of individual identity as autonomous, agentic, and free (as opposed to the hierarchical trajectory of monarchy that only recognized the individual identity of the king) is ironically based on the cutting of the head from the body. I further demonstrate that this subjectivity was necessary and inherent to the development of the new artistic and industrial medium of film. We will examine phantasmagorias, magic lanterns, and the basics of film production, optics and fragmentation. We will also read Thomas Carlyle's The French Revolution, upon which Tale of Two Cities is based and other Dickens novels and film versions.

461.001: American Romanticism

MWF 2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.  
Jesse Aleman, jman@unm.edu

This course understands the American renaissance broadly as a historical moment during the mid-nineteenth-century that saw radical changes in everything from literature and print culture to domesticity and democracy. It was a time teeming with excitement and energy for the United States, as it developed into a national power and self-consciously struggled to generate its own national literature. Normally, we associate this era with canonical authors, such as Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, and Whitman, but the writings of marginal authors, such as Douglass, Fuller, Poe, and Lippard, demonstrate the diversity of American literature that boomed between the 1830s to the 1850s. This course will thus survey and analyze the key texts and authors of mid-nineteenth-century American literature. It will focus on major movements such as transcendentalism and romanticism; major literary forms such as essays and novels; and major socio-historical factors such as Indian removal, slavery, domesticity, and the rise of market capitalism and industry, but we’ll also read and discuss lesser-known writings and authors to experience the variety of texts that the American renaissance fostered and fueled in the years preceding the U.S. Civil War.

464.001: 20th Century Indigenous Literature

TR 2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.  
Kathleen Washburn, washburn@unm.edu

In this course, we will investigate Native American and First Nations poetry, nonfiction, and fiction from the early twentieth century alongside contemporary novels and films that invoke the so-called assimilation era. We will encounter Native soldiers from World War I, students from Indian boarding schools, allotment agents, and characters from Hollywood westerns in texts that chart the creative possibilities and critical stakes for representing modern indigenous communities. In turn, by tracing the ways in which discourses about sovereign territory and citizenship rights from the early twentieth century continue to inflect Native American literature and film today, we will engage in debates about literary adaptation and innovation, indigenous intellectual history, and the ethics and aesthetics of cultural production. Course materials will include E. Pauline Johnson’sTekahionwake, Laura Cornelius Kellogg’s Our Democracy, Gerald Vizenor’s Blue Ravens, Louise Erdrich’s Tracks, and Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water

465.002: Chicano/a Literature

MWF 10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.  
Bernadine Hernandez, berna18@unm.edu

This advanced study of Chicano/a literature will chart the emergence and aftermath of the literature that historically evolved out of the Civil Rights movement, a time classified as solidifying a Chicano/a cultural consciousness.  However, we will be troubling this historical construction with examination of recovered texts from the nineteenth and early twentieth-centuries that explore early definitions, literary techniques, and genres of Chicano/a literature.  This course will focus on form (experimental and other), literary technique, and genre as a method to think through discursive and material crisis and categorization of Chicanos/as.  Ending with the contemporary Chicana postmodern novel and sci-fi, you will come to have a robust understanding of the particular innovative literary strategies in relation to overall aesthetics, culture, and voice of the literature.  Some of the text we will be reading will be Oscar Zeta Acosta’s Revolt of the Cockroach People, Ron Arias’ Road to Tamazunchale, Cherr­e Moraga’s Hero and Saints, Rudolfo Anaya’s Alburquerque, Ana Castillo’s Give It to Me, and Rosaura Sanchez’s and Beatrice Pita’s Lunar Braceros.   We will also examine the literature alongside film, visual culture, and theory to get a better understanding of the texts.  Requirements: attendance and participation, two essays, a midterm, and a final exam. 

466.001: African American Literature

TR 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.  
Finnie Coleman, coleman@unm.edu

In this course we will conduct a broad survey of African American literature from the poetry and slave narratives in Colonial and Antebellum America to short fiction and novels produced since the close of the Black Arts Movement. Along the way we will pay close attention to the periodization of African American literature and the literary conventions and rhetorical strategies that bind these periods together to form such a vibrant literary tradition. When possible we will explore cinematic representations and stage productions of the literature that we are reading. We will close our course with an exploration of Toni Morrison’s most recent fiction.

473.001: Postmodernism

TR 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.  
Scarlett Higgins, shiggins@unm.edu

This course will serve as an introduction to the literature (and films) of postmodernity. We will look at the concept of postmodernism from three different perspectives: as a chronological era, as a set of formal innovations in literary and aesthetic technique, and as a state in which the traditional social supports such as the family have eroded or disappeared, leaving individuals free to find their own way in society. This unmooring of the traditional family creates new opportunities for the exploration of identity.  Required Texts:  Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, Don DeLillo’s White Noise, Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, Art Spiegelman’s  Maus, Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionists, Jeanette Winterson’s Written on the Body. Films:  Ridley Scott’s  Blade Runner, Wachowski Brothers’ The Matrix, David Fincher’s Fight Club, and Christopher Nolan’sMemento. Course Requirements: Bi-weekly response on LEARN, 5 in-class quizzes, one final research paper (or take home final), and one in-class research presentation with accompanying annotated bibliography. 

480.001: Literature and the Environment: Imagining the Earth

TR 3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.  
Gary Harrison, garyh@unm.edu

For Ursula Heise and other critics, ecocriticism, “the study of the relationship between (in our case) literature and the environment” has been stubbornly mired in a premodern, romantic sense of place that cannot address the global challenges and planetary entanglements of human and nonhuman forces that characterize the 21st century. Examining some influential literary, philosophical and critical works from the 19th century to the present, we will ask how such works mediate the relationship between human consciousness and the physical world, and we will discuss whether or not these works hold any value for ecological thought and practice in the present. The first part of the course will emphasize the work of 19th-century writers, such as the Wordsworths, John Clare, Mary Shelley, Henry David Thoreau, John Ruskin, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Susan Fenimore Cooper, and Walt Whitman. Depending upon the direction our discussion leads, the second part of the course may move to more intensive focus upon two or three of those writers, or we may turn to the work of John Muir, Mary Austin, Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, and/or Wendell Berry, to name a few of the possibilities. 

487.001: The Poetics of Imagination

W 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
N. Scott Momaday, natachee@unm.edu

This course will offer a study of the way(s) in which imagination informs literature and serves to inspire and accomplish creativity.  

Department of English Language and Literature
Humanities Building, Second Floor
MSC03 2170
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001

Phone: (505) 277-6347
Fax: (505) 277-0021

english@unm.edu