English and Theater Courses
--From the 2008-2009 Lafayette College
Catalog.
For courses being offered in Fall 2009, click here.
Instructor assignments may have changed. For current
information, contact the department head, Professor Suzanne Westfall.
ENG
110 College Writing
Writing as an intellectual act
and a recursive process; ways of reading complex texts. The English Department
will distribute descriptions of individual topics for each sectin of College
Writing before the registration period each semester. The course is normally
taken in the second or third semester; it complements and extends the writing
experience of the First-Year Seminar. Required of all
students except those exempted by the English Department for reasons such as
success in an advanced placement program.
Prerequisite: First- Year
Seminar
Staff
ENG
116 Film and Literature
Through a comparative study of
films based on highly regarded plays and novels, as well as a number of
autonomous films, the course seeks to define both the affinities and the
distinctive capacities of the two art forms.
Staff
ENG
119 Literary Women
This course examines writings
and films by women. Topics vary and have included courses on women poets, women
science fiction writers, coming of age narratives, novels by contemporary
Middle Eastern and Asian women, and texts that explore the connections between
race, class and gender.
Byrd
ENG
120 Satire and the Comic Absurd
An
exploration of comic and satiric traditions from the earliest times to the
present, with some emphasis on modern and contemporary texts and on authors
influenced by the Theater of the Absurd.
Woolley
ENG
123 Plays in Performance: Stage and Film
This course compares stage and
screen productions of selected plays. Students read scripts and, through in-
and out-of-class screenings and live performances, examine different
realizations of each script. This performance approach addresses questions of
interpretation and adaptation in the context of historical circumstances and
the artistic demands of literature, stage, and screen.
O'Neill
ENG
128 American-Jewish Literature
A course exploring
American-Jewish literature’s roots in Eastern European and Sephardic
traditions, its place in the American literary canon, and its relation to
international Jewish writings.
Staff
ENG
135 Literature and Human Experience
An examination of a significant
social or cultural problem as reflected in literary texts. Topics vary from
semester to semester and will be announced during the registration period. May be taken more than once with different content.
Staff
ENG
140 Introduction to Film
An introductory course designed
to help students develop useful analytical skills for the study of film. Our
goals are to gain familiarity with cinematic techniques and to acquire an
understanding of the historical evolution of film. We will learn to employ the
technical vocabulary of film studies and will view films representing a variety
of styles, genres, periods, and filmmakers.
A. Smith
ENG
146 Black Writers
An introduction to black
American writers, the course exposes students to a variety of genres, to
diverse reading strategies, to the social and historical roots of
African-American experience, and to the interplay between classic texts and
popular media.
ENG
205 Literary Questions
This course provides students
with an introduction to the theory and methodology of literary study by
focusing on three questions: What is a literary text? How do we read a literary
text? How do we write about a literary text? By considering the rhetorical,
aesthetic, and ideological issues that determine literary value, students
examine their assumptions about literature. Required of all
English majors and minors.
Staff
ENG
206 Literary History
How is literary history
constructed? What is the canon of “great works,” and how is it formed? This
course inquires into the specific cultural practices that construct
“literature,” engaging students in an exploration of canon formation, marginalization,
intertextuality, and influence.
Falbo,
ENG
207 Theatre History
Theatre is perhaps our most
ancient art, beginning with religious rituals like the Abydos Passion Play in
ancient
Westfall, O'Neill
ENG
210 English Literature I
A survey of literature from
Beowulf to
Staff
ENG
211 English Literature II
A survey of literature, chiefly
poetry, from the Restoration through the nineteenth century; major writers,
movements, and forms are viewed in their historical contexts. Normally closed to seniors.
Staff
ENG
212 American Literature I: Origins to Civil War
A study of
American prose and poetry from the colonial period to 1870. Normally closed to seniors.
Phillips
ENG
213 American Literature II: The Gilded Age to the
Present
This course introduces students
to poetry and prose by representative writers of the late 19th and early 20th
century. Normally closed to seniors.
Staff
ENG 217 Psychoanalysis and Literature
This course focuses on the
relationship between literature and psychoanalysis and on different ways of
understanding that relationship.
Prerequisite: ENG 110
Cefalu, Donahue
ENG
218 Literature for Children
This course looks at how
children's texts "socialize" their readers by confirming, or in some
cases, resisting and undermining cultural norms and values. Course texts
include a range of "classic" and "popular" printed books
for children as well as selected films and TV shows. As part of the course,
students write and illustrate their own children's books.
Prerequisite: ENG 110
Falbo
ENG
225 Contemporary Literature
An encounter with fiction of
the last decade and with social, philosophical, and literary questions raised both by the texts themselves and by the activity of
reading.
Prerequisite: ENG 110
Belletto,
ENG
227 Introduction to Theater
Using analytical and hands-on
approaches, this course introduces students to significant dramatic texts and
to the principal craft areas in theater.
Staff
ENG
231 Journalistic Writing
An
introduction to the practice of writing news and feature stories for magazines
and the daily press. Attention is
paid to writing, revising, evaluating, and publishing work. The course also
examines audience, style, and the role of the journalist in society. [W]
Prerequisite: English 110 or
equivalent
Staff
ENG
232 The Short Story
This course explores the short
story across a broad variety of writers, cultures, and modes from the
nineteenth century to the present, examining genres such as detective and
science fiction as well as artistic movements from realism to postmodernism.
Prerequisite: English 110
Ohlin
ENG
240 Film Theory and Practice
This is an intermediate course
in film studies, designed to give students understanding of the complex art of
international cinema. We will screen, analyze, discuss and write about film, as
well as read primary source documents in the theory of film. We will extend our
knowledge of various concepts such as cinematography, sound, editing, and
mise-en-scene by combining critical study with creative practice. Students will
learn the basics of digital film editing and produce short films.
Prerequisite: English 140
A. Smith
ENG
245 International Literature
This course looks beyond the
traditional British and American texts that have populated English studies to
challenge the once elite dominance of English as the authorized language of
"first-world" mastery. The concept of "literatures in
English" speaks, therefore, to an evolving international dialogue that is
sensitive to the formation of personal and political identities in a new global
economy. Texts represent diverse national regions such as the Caribbean, Africa,
Prerequisste: ENG 110
I. Smith
ENG
250 Writing Genres
Writing Genres introduces
students to the expectations and purposes of a particular written genre and
offers them intensive practice composing texts that function within the
conventions and boundaries of this genre. Students will compose multiple texts
in drafts, participate in workshops and discussions, and produce critical
analyses and reviews. Sample genres include: the essay, autobiography,
hypertext and electronic media, travel writing, and science writing. The
English Department will distribute a description of the specific gnere(s) under
consideration before the registration period each semester. [W]
Prerequisite: Eng 110
Staff
ENG 251 Screenwriting
This course introduces students
to the basic elements of screenwriting: developing characters, writing
dialogue, plotting scenes, and structuring narrative. Writing assignments build
from initial treatments to individual scenes and story outlines with emphasis on
drafting and revision. By viewing films, reading screenplays, and critiquing
the work of peers, students learn about the role of the screenwriter in the
collaborative process of filmmaking, and work towards a final portfolio that
will include a polished script of their own.[W] Permission of Instructor
required.
Prerequisite: ENG 110
Ohlin
ENG
255 Creative Writing
Intensive
workshops in the writing of poetry and fiction. Writing exercises and allied readings. Permission of
instructor
Prerequisite: ENG 110
Ohlin,
ENG
272, 273 Internship
Practical
experience in fields such as journalism, broadcasting, publishing, public
relations, and advertising, in which writing is a central activity. Written reports are required of the student, as is an
evaluation of the student by the supervising agency. Advance approval of the
departmental internships coordinator required.
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History
Byrd
ENG
300 Chaucer
A study of The
Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde and an introduction to the
language and culture of medieval
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor.
Van Dyke
ENG
301 Shakespeare
An introduction to
Shakespeare--a study of representative plays and nondramatic works in the light
of knowledge of Elizabethan life and thought.[W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor
I. Smith, Westfall
ENG
303 British Writers
A study of
one, two, or three British or Irish writers in some depth (for instance,
Yeats/Joyce, Keats/Shelley, Dickens/Woolf). [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor.
Staff
ENG
304 American Writers
A study of
one, two, or three American writers in some depth (for instance,
Hemingway/Faulkner, Twain/James).
[W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in LIterary History or permission of the instructor
Staff
ENG
313 The Irish Literary Renaissance
This course examines poems,
essays, plays, fiction, and folklore produced by Irish writers in the years
1880-1925. Particular attention is given to the ways in which the writings of
Joyce, Yeats, O’Casey, Synge, and Lady Gregory are informed by such events as
the Gaelic revival, the founding of the Abbey Theatre, Ireland's struggle for political
independence from
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor.
Byrd, O'Neill
ENG
320 The English Language
An
introduction to linguistics, with a focus on English and its development from
the beginning to the present. [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor.
Van Dyke
ENG
323 The Age of Satire
Wit, irony, satire, burlesque,
and farce from Dryden to Byron, seen against their contexts in
eighteenth-century social, political, and literary controversy. Readings such
as Gulliver’s Travels and “A Modest Proposal” by Swift, Pope’s “The Rape
of the Lock,” Gay’s Beggar’s Opera, various burlesques and farces,
Hogarth’s satiric engravings, and portions of Byron’s Don Juan.
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor.
Woolley
ENG
324 Eighteenth-Century Fiction
Comic,
sentimental, and gothic novels from an age whose pursuit of happiness is marked
by growing psychological awareness and by changing views on sex, passion, and
marriage. Within such social
contexts, the course assesses the tensions between the early novel’s richly
comic realism, its serious indulgence in the cult of feeling, and its romantic
flirtation with the supernatural thriller. [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in LIterary History or permission of the instructor.
Woolley
ENG
325
Eighteenth-century
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor.
Woolley
ENG
326 The Romantics
A study of
British writers, especially poets, of the period 1780-1830. The course examines how writings of the era reflect
and helped to shape discourse on poverty, slavery, women's rights,
urbanization, and the cultural role of art and artists.
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor
Byrd
ENG
327 The Victorians
A study of
British writers, especially poets, of the period 1830-1900. The course examines how writers of the era responded
to the industrial revolution, British imperialism, theories
of human evolution, debates about gender and sexuality, and aesthetic movements
like those of the Pre-Raphaelites, the Symbolists, and the Decadents.
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor
Byrd, Falbo
ENG
328 The American Renaissance
An intensive
study of American literature, 1840-1860. The course examines a range of forms of American writing dealing with
issues such as nationalism, romanticism, slavery, expansion, gender relations,
and the place of literature in the young nation.
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor.
Staff
ENG
329, 330 American Decades
An intensive investigation of a
single decade in American life, exploring the relationships between and within
the several areas of the American experience as expressed in its literature and
history.
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor. ENG
332 Inventing A study of
selected works in American literature before 1820. Specific texts depend on the thematic focus, which
varies from year to year. Prerequisite::
English 205, and a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor Phillips ENG
334 Studies in Medieval Literature A study of
selected works written between 700 and 1500, with an emphasis on those written
in Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor. Westfall, Van Dyke ENG
335 Studies in Renaissance Literature The Renaissance is commonly
regarded as the height of Western aesthetic achievement. This course looks
at—and problematizes —the “rebirth” of knowledge by examining early modern
English literature and culture, with attention to the effects of humanism,
discovery, class, race, the Reformation, a female monarch, and civil war.
Topics vary and are announced during registration. [W] Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor. Donahue, ENG
336 Studies in Seventeenth-Century Literature The seventeenth century saw
unprecedented growth and change in Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of the instructor. Staff ENG
337 Course covers Paradise Lost and
selections from Prerequisite: English 205 and a
course in Literary History or permission of the instructor. Cefalu ENG 338 Metaphysical Poetry Metaphysical poems are witty,
cerebral poems that use elaborate metaphors or "conceits" to comment
on a range of elusive "big topics" including the nature of love,
death, evil, and God. Form, style, and imagery are considered as well as the historical
contexts in which this poetry emerged in Prerequisite: English 205 and a
course in Literary History or permission of instructor Cefalu, Donahue ENG 339 Revenge and Restoration Drama Seventeenth-century drama
reflects one of the more tumultuous eras in British history--a king beheaded,
public theaters closed, a bloody civil war, and the restoration of the
monarchy. During this period, symmetrical forms replaced mixed genres, women
supplanted boys on stage, and comedy trumped tragedy. Students read Jacobean
revenge tragedies and some Restoration comedies to explore how issues of class,
gender, and politics played themselves out during this era. Prerequisite: English 205 and a
course in Literary History or permission of instructor Westfall ENG
340 Topics in Film A focused
investigation of film topics. This
course allows students to shape and articulate critical interpretations of the
form, history, style, ideology, rhetorical power, and artistry of cinema.
Topics may include: documentary film, independent film, film theory, national
cinemas,
ENG
341 The Nineteenth-Century English Novel
A study of
the main tendencies of major examples in English fiction from Shelley to Hardy. [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of instructor
Staff
ENG
342 Modern British Literature
This course investigates
various literary and cultural crises during the British modernist period. The
fragmentation of traditional narrative and poetic style, a shift toward psychic
interiority, and the alienation of the artist are all considered hallmarks of
modernist literature. We wil contextualize such changges by asking how they are
connected to the social and political crises of the age. Among our
considerations will be how science and technology, evolutionary theory, the New
Woman, and colonialism challenge traditional notions of what it means to be
hman at the turn of the twentieth century. We will investigate these changes in
texts by writers such as Joseph Conrad, E.M Forster, James Joyce, D.H.
Lawrence, and Virginia Woolf.
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of instructor
Rohman
ENG
343 The American Novel to 1900
A study of the American novel
through the romantic and realistic periods, including Cooper, Poe, Hawthorne,
Melville, Howells, James, Twain, and Norris. The relationship of the popular
novel to major American themes is examined to provide a historical context for
the genre. [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of instructor
Staff
ENG
344 The Modern American Novel
The modern novel from Dreiser
to the present including Anderson, Dos Passos, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner,
Bellow, Barth, and others. [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of instructor
Belletto, Johnson
ENG
345 Foundations of Modern Drama
An introduction to the critical
analysis of drama, using chiefly European plays 1880-1920, by Ibsen, Chekhov,
Strindberg, Shaw, O’Neill, and others. [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of instructor
Staff
ENG
346 Modern and Contemporary Drama
A study of
British, American, European, and other plays from approximately 1920 to the
present, with attention to both text and performance. [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of instructor
Staff
ENG
347 Modern and Contemporary Poetry
A study of the aesthetics and
ideologies of some of the most significant modern and contemporary poets
writing in English, with special focus on theories and practices related to
experimental poetries. [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of instructor
ENG
349 Postcolonial Literature
An introduction to selected
writers from Africa,
Prerequisite: English 205,and a course in Literary History or permission of
instructor
I. Smith
ENG
350 Studies in Writing and Rhetoric
Exploration
of topics in writing, literacy, language use, and argument from a range of
theoretical and practical perspectives. The course examines how humans use written language to communicate
ideas, to argue points, to create identities, to educate each other, and to
maintain social structures. Students learn to think about such uses in sophisticated
ways and gain a better understanding of their own experiences with written
language. [W]
Prerequisite: ENG 205 and a
course in Literary History or permission of the instructor
Donahue, Falbo
ENG
351 Environmental Writing
This course is designed to
engage students in advanced writing about nature and the environment. A central
focus of the course will be an examination of the language and rhetoric used
to describe these crucial issues in various popular, government, and scholarly
contexts.
Prerequisite: Eng 205, a
200-level writing course, or permission of instructor
Ohlin
ENG
352 Special Topics in Black Literature
A study of a
special area of literature by black writers. Among the topics considered are autobiography,
theater, contemporary writing, modern African novels, and such major writers as
Baldwin and Wright. The choice of topics varies from year to year. [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History, or permission of instructor
I.
ENG
355 Race Theory
This course provides an
introduction to theories and representations of race and racism as applied to
the analysis of literature and culture. The aim of the course is to trace the
protean uses of race in history and to place contemporary debates on race into
historical context.
Prerequisite: ENG 205 and a
course in Literary History or permission of the instructor
ENG
360 Advanced Creative Writing
The course extends upon the
writing skills that students developed in introductory courses in imaginative
writing. Students engage in regular intensive workshops in which their creative
writing is critiqued. The course requires completion of advanced exercises in
structure and style and the composition of a final portfolio of imaginative
writing.
Prerequisite: ENG 205, 250,
251, or 255, Permission of instructor required
Ohlin,
ENG
365 Seminar in Literary Criticism
An advanced
introduction to the history of literary criticism and its dominant theoretical
practices. Students read
representative texts from various schools of criticism—formalism, structuralism,
deconstruction, Marxism, psychoanalysis, gender studies, cultural studies—and
apply them to several literary works. Recommended for
students seeking honors in English or considering graduate study in literature.
[W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of instructor
Donahue
ENG
369 Writers in Focus
The study of
one, two, or three writers in depth.
Topics vary from semester to semester and will be announced during registration
period. May be taken more than once with different content.
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of instructor
Staff
ENG
370, 371, 374-379 Special Topics
A seminar on
a topic selected by an instructor.
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History or permission of instructor
Staff
ENG 387 Nineteenth Century American Poetry
Intensive
study of poems, poets, and poetic forms in the
Prerequisite: ENG 205 and a
course in Literary History or permission of the instructor.
Phillips
ENG
390, 391 Independent Study
A program of tutorial study, initiated by the student and pursued independently
under the guidance of an instructor from whom the student has gained approval
and acceptance. [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History. Permission of the Associate Department Head
required.
Staff
ENG
395 Problems and Possibilities
Literary
research, like all research, entails both discovering answers and, more
interestingly perhaps, discovering questions--finding uses for
already-available evidence. We
will do research in both these senses of the word. This course is an
opportunity to find out what researces exist, what they are good for, and how
to incorporate research into readable and lively papers. Seminar members will
provide an interested and inquisitive audience for each others' projects. These projects, culminating in a substantial
research-based essay, will be on topics chosen from a wide range of possible
inquiries into literature and language. The course is designed for anyone
interested in research and should be of particular value to present or
prospective independent study and honors students and to those contemplating
graduate or professional study.
Prerequisite: ENG 205 and a
course in Literary History or permission of the instructor
Woolley
ENG
495, 496 Thesis
Tutorial sessions related to
the student’s investigation of the area chosen for his or her honors essay.
Open only to candidates for departmental honors. [W]
Prerequisite: English 205, and
a course in Literary History. Permission of the Associate Department Head
required
Staff
THTR
120 Theater Practicum
Available to designated cast
and crew members of a faculty-directed College
Theater
production. May
be repeated up to four times for credit.
Prerequisite: Permission of the
Director of Theater, 0.25 credit.
Staff
THTR
123 Plays in Performance: Stage and Film
This course compares stage and
screen productions of selected plays. Students read scripts and, through in-
and out-of-class screenings and live performances, examine different
realizations of each script. This performance approach addresses questions of
interpretation and adaptation in the context of historical circumstances and
the artistic demands of literature, stage, and screen.
O'Neill
THTR 201 Public Speaking
A survey of
the fundamentals of speech with regular drill in platform speaking.
Staff
THTR
215 Acting I: Acting and Improvisation
This workshop style course will
introduce students to various fundamental techniques of acting and
improvisation, with special emphasis on sensory awareness, observation,
concentration, body movement and vocal development. Students will develop their
imaginations and creative processes through performance situations involving
improvisation, scene study and monologue work. Second semester seniors must
have permission of the instructor to take the course.
Lodge
THTR
216 Acting II: Scene Study
This workshop style course
offers an intermediate level study of acting. Students will study the work of
master teachers of acting like Constantine Stanislavski and Sanford Meisner, then apply their methodologies to a range of performance
projects with material drawn from Early Modernism through the present.
Prerequisite: Theater 215 or
instructor permission.
Lodge
THTR 221 Basic Stagecraft: Introduction to Technical
Theater
An
introduction to the history, theory, and practice of technical theater,
focusing upon construction, painting, rigging, and electrical practices. Laboratory sessions in the theater shop and backstage
assignments ensure hands-on exposure to topics discussed in class. Normally closed to seniors.
Staff
THTR
227 Introduction to Theater
Using analytical and hands-on
approaches, this course introduces students to significant dramatic texts and
to the principal craft areas in theater.
Staff
THTR
290, 291 Topics in Theater
A detailed
study in either a workshop or classroom setting of a particular aspect of
theatrical endeavor. Usually offered in conjunction with visiting artists or theater
residencies.
Prerequisite: Theater 227 or
permission of instructor.
Staff
THTR
314 Stage Direction
A basic
course in the director’s art and responsibility in theatrical production
including casting, rehearsal, and organizational procedures from script
analysis to performance.
Discussion and practice in the principles of composition, picturization,
movement, dramatic tempo, and ensemble, with attention to the special problems
in proscenium and central staging. Students may stage scenes in laboratory or
plays for public performance.
Prerequisite: a 200-level THTR
course or permission of the instructor
O'Neill
THTR
330 Theatrical Styles
This workshop style course
offers advanced study of acting, with special emphasis on exploring and
enacting the theatrical styles and performance conventions from a wide range of
time periods, genres and cultures.† Students will perform in projects drawn
from diverse pieces that may include the plays of the Ancient Greeks,
Shakespeare and Moliere. Topics change and will be announced during
registration; may be repeated for credit when offered on different topics.
Prerequisite: THTR 215 or
instructor permission.
Staff
THTR
370, 371 Advanced Topics in Theater
Advanced study in either a
workshop or classroom setting of a particular aspect of theatrical endeavor. May be repeated for credit when offered on different topics.
Prerequisite: a 200-level
course in THTR or permission of the instructor.
Staff
THTR
372, 373 Internship
Practical
experience in a professional theater or theater organization. Written reports are required of the student, as is an
evaluation of the student by the supervising agency. Although a student may take
two theater internships, normally in the junior and senior years, only one may
be counted toward the drama/ theater concentration within the English major.
Advance approval of the Director of Theater required.
O'Neill
THTR
390, 391 Independent Study
Tutorial study in theater practice, initiated by the student and pursued independently
under the guidance of an instructor from whom the student has gained approval
and acceptance.
Prerequisite: English 227 or
Theater 221, and permission of instructor.
Staff