Graduate Courses
Spring 2024 Graduate Courses
EH 501 - Introduction to Critical Theory | Vrana
R 6:00-8:30
EH 501 provides an introduction to some of the most essential debates within and approaches to critical theory and literary criticism. We will read excerpts by important theorists grouped topically and focus on effective methods of bringing these wide-ranging lenses to two primary texts of contemporary African American literature. Discussion, written responses, presentations and two papers will develop students' facility and comfort with engaging theory going forward, regardless of the particular object of analysis.
EH 508 - Workplace Writing Contexts | Amare
W 6:00-8:30
Students in EH 508 will examine theories, practices, and historical foundations of professional writing within modern AI contexts.* We will
- trace the historical development of professional writing from classical rhetoric to current workplace practices
- explore AI in contemporary professional writing: automated content generation, chatbots, and relevant AI-driven applications
- assess critically the impact and ethical concerns of AI on content creation and distribution.
*This course description was developed with chat.openai.com.
EH 570 - Studies in Medieval Literature | Halbrooks
W 2:30-5:00
This course will focus on Medieval Ecologies from Beowulf to Tolkien. We will study literary representations of travel, landscape, and ecology from the Middle Ages of northwestern Europe (primarily the British Isles, Scandinavia, and Iceland), as well as how these representations have interacted with modern literature and ideas. In addition to our medieval and modern primary texts, we will read from the growing body of medievalist ecocriticism.
EH 573 - Contemporary Fiction | St. Clair
M 6:00-8:30
By popular demand, the syllabus has been shortened! Less reading! More fun! Maybe even a few YA novels! [Okay, I'm kidding about that last part. No YA novels. I haven't taken leave of my senses.] Readings will include John Fowles's The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969), Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus (1984), Julian Barnes's A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (1989), Ali Smith's How to Be Both (2014), and Salman Rushdie's Quichotte (2019).
EH 588 - Writing and Diversity | Johnson
T 6:00-8:30
This course will interrogate a lack of diversity at the core of published fiction in America, as well as how we teach and write stories in academic settings. After all, as Matthew Salesses says in his book Craft in the Real World, "When we write fiction, we write the world." Students in this course will be expected to engage in conversations about appropriation and representation from a craft-based perspective. In doing so, they will form personal ethics and aesthetics to inform decisions they make on the page.
EH 591 - Screenwriting for Film | Prince
R 6:00-8:30
This class focuses on the fundamentals of screenwriting for film. We will study character development, conflict, structure, formatting, and so on as we explore how to write screenplays. Our focus will be as expansive as possible, covering drama, comedy, and action genres. Students will write at least one close analysis of a screenplay in addition to extensive work in beginning two original screenplays. Screenplays will be workshopped in class and revised accordingly.
