Communications
Special Classes

HUM 2020: “Child Soldiers: The Abandoned Generation”
Fall 2009, C8 Session, reference no. 305776
Professor: Margaret Clark

This course will investigate the role child soldiers have played in world history from ancient Sparta to present-day Africa, South America, and the Middle East.  “Child soldiers” is generally an all-encompassing term that includes the concept of both boys and girls performing diverse and multiple roles, only one of which is fighting.  Because thousands of children are and have been recruited forcefully and voluntarily to serve in very disturbing ways that often entail physical, psychological and emotional violence and exploitation, some of the assigned readings can be very troubling and unsettling.  This is not a course for the faint of heart.  The purpose of the course is two-fold:  (1) to raise awareness of the need to find effective interventions for child soldiers; and (2) to design such interventions within the format and guidelines adopted by the United Nations  and to discuss how such interventions can be successfully implemented in the short and long run. 

 

LIT 2930: “Ghost Stories”
Fall 2009, reference no. 306951
Professor: Tim Gilmore

Most of us would say we’re too logical to believe in ghosts, but chances are, you either know people with their own personal ghost stories, or you have one yourself.

Is the past more with us than we usually realize? And what is it about the past that can make the hair on our arms stand up to meet it? In this course, we will explore these kinds of questions and apply them to the kinds of demons we find haunting contemporary American and British novels. We will look at how culture itself can be understood as a large, old house possessed by innumerable ghosts.

 

ENL 2012: British Literature (beginnings to 1750)
Every Fall
Professor: Laura Jeffries

Prerequisite: ENC 1101 with a grade of "C" or better. This course introduces the main literary traditions from Beowulf through the Restoration and the 18th century. It provides a study of the most characteristic writings of these periods. This course serves to meet the Gordon Rule writing requirement.

ENL 2022: British Literature (after 1750) – every Spring

This course introduces the main literary traditions from the Romantic and Victorian periods to the present. It provides a study of the best and most characteristic writings of these periods, including exemplary men and women authors.
Prerequisites: ENC 1101 with a grade of “C” or better.

CRW 2001
Professor: Matt Lany

We examine the entrails of fiction and poetry—plot, pace, characterization, dialogue, setting, theme, rhythm, sound, meter, and other accoutrements that mark a well-crafted work.  We also explore the writing process.  And we write.  And we revise.  The majority of class is devoted to the creation and polishing of works of fiction or poetry, which are critiqued by members of the class in a workshop environment.

ENG 1100
Professor: Matt Lany

The course serves as an introduction to film.  We examine the particulars of editing, sound, lighting, theme and subject selection, characterization, narrative structure, mis-en-scene, camera placement and movement, all the while chronologically tracking the development of the motion picture as a universal art form.  To this end, we watch feature length films and analyze them, paralleling a director’s intent with the cinematic techniques used and our own reactions to these particular films.    

 

LIT 2330: “Introduction to Children’s Literature”
Professor: Heidi Marshall

This course presents a critical introduction to the study and appreciation of children's literature, surveying picture books, fiction for young readers, mythology, poetry, and fairy tales. Topics covered include: genre, literary value, gender, ethnicity, family dynamics, book awards, pedagogy, and censorship. These topics will be addressed in class discussion, essays, and projects.


LIT 2370: “The Bible as Literature”
Professor: Chris Twiggs

Prerequisite: ENC 1101 with a grade of "C" or better. This course is a study of the development of the Bible and its influence on literature and humanity.

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