Course Descriptions English Department Spring 2022

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                                         Course Descriptions
                                   English Department Spring 2022

First Year Writing (FYW) 110: Preparation for College Writing
Deborah Sundmacher
A writing class designed for non-native speakers of English to prepare them take FYW 150. Instruction
in fundamentals of various modes of written expression, including English grammar, sentence structure,
understanding the importance of audience, editing and revision. Readings are selected from both non-
fiction and fiction prose. Students are required to use the Writing Center, staffed by trained peer-tutors.
Preparation course for FYW 150

First Year Writing (FYW) 150: First Year Writing
Various Professors
Fulfills the core curriculum requirement in lower-division written literacy for students entering USD in or
after the Fall of 2017. Develops skills in reading and critical analysis of multiple discourses. Develops
writing within multiple discourses, and the transfer of those writing skills to multiple disciplines and
occasions. Students practice the entire process for writing, from initial conception, through drafts, to
revision and editing. Students are encouraged to use the Writing Center, staffed and trained by peer-
tutors.
Must be taken in the first year. (CFYI)

English 215-01: Children’s Literature
Lisa Smith, MWF 1:25-2:20PM
Literary and popular texts produced for children. Emphasis on analysis of how children’s texts construct
gender, sex, race, class, family structure, power relations, and violence, for example. Includes phonemic
awareness, word analysis, and field experience. Reserved for students in credential programs.
For Liberal Studies majors. (ELTI)

English 220-01: Film and Fiction: Comparative Adaptations
Dennis Clausen, M 2:30-5:20PM
English 220 (“Film & Fiction: Comparative Adaptations”) will analyze the relationships between literary
works that were adapted into films and/or inspired other films with similar stories. The course will
analyze both the technical and thematic similarities and differences between the cinematic treatments of
the same story. Special attention will be devoted to the elements of screenwriting and storytelling that
were altered or modified in the film adaptations of the literary works. The technical elements of
screenwriting as a form of storytelling will be explored in detail. The question that will be asked
throughout the course is, “Do the technical alterations in film adaptations of a literary text, or the film
imitations that followed, compromise, enhance, or even undermine the original story?”
English 220 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards the English major or
minor.

English 220-02: Visions of the Wild
Halina Duraj, TR 7:45-9:05AM
This course will explore the intersection of language and the concept of “wilderness” in American fiction
and non-fiction narratives. We’ll briefly survey the history of nature writing, but we’ll focus on
contemporary wilderness narratives, including those by indigenous, Black, and LGBT writers. We will
ask key questions such as what is “wilderness,” for whom was it designed, and how do different

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populations engage with it—and represent that engagement differently through language and form?
Students will read extensively and write numerous essays—several literary arguments and one place-
based personal narrative.
English 220 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards the English major or
minor.

English 220-03: Lives of Good Women
Stacie Vos, TR 5:30-6:50PM
This course explores the genre of life writing in English, reading in the traditions of hagiography, spiritual
autobiography, journal writing, and the novel in order to trace the development of female virtue
throughout the history of British and American literature. Readings will include the Book of Margery Kempe,
the journals of Dorothy Wordsworth, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and novels by Virginia Woolf and
Nella Larsen.
English 220 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards the English major or
minor.

English 220-04 & -05: Theatre Histories
Abe Stoll, MW 2:30-3:50PM & 4:00-5:20PM
Readings in a type of literature, ranging through periods and nationalities. May include drama, narrative,
epic, tragedy, comedy, biography, autobiography, or others.
English 220 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards the English major or
minor.

English 220-80: Monstrosity, Humanity, and Otherness
Sara Hasselbach, MW 4:00-5:20PM
An overarching theme we will be exploring in this course is what it means to be human. Using speculative
fiction, novels, essays, poetry, television, and film, we will think about how subjectivity and
representation relate to alternative constructions, depictions, and experiences of human reality. “We
never see other people anyway,” writes Colson Whitehead, “only the monsters we make of them.” How
do portrayals of imagined creatures—aliens, sentient robots, monsters, fairies, anthropomorphized
animals—help us to “see other people” (to use Whitehead’s phrase) or to better understand ourselves?
How might expressions of the other unveil anxieties about the self? Course authors and media may
include: Isaac Asimov, Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, Brent Staples,
Bram Stoker, The Twilight Zone, The Babadook, Get Out, and Over the Garden Wall.
Section 80 is LLC only. English 220 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards
the English major or minor.

English 220-81: Modernists to Music-Makers: 20th Century American Poetry
Deniz Perin-Coombs, MWF 1:25-2:20PM
Poetry is finely woven into the fabric of our lives, whether we realize it or not. From prayer to song, and
in between, it is often through poetry that we grow into and come to terms with life’s many trials and
rewards. This course will explore the work of 20th century American poets, as well as some
contemporary artists. We will read and discuss a wide range of works, starting with the Modernists at
the beginning of the 20th century, through to subsequent literary movements and artists spanning the
last 100 years, including those who make use of oral forms, such as spoken word poets and musicians.
This course is tied to the “Advocate” LLC, and as such, we will discuss and respond to a number of
these artists as advocates. Writing includes analytical, personal, and creative responses to the material.
Section 81 is LLC only. English 220 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards
the English major or minor.

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English 222-01: Intro to Poetry
Malachi Black, MW 5:30-6:50PM
“I, too, dislike it,” Marianne Moore, writing of “Poetry” itself, famously declared; “there are things that
are important beyond all this fiddle. / Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one discovers
that there is in / it after all, a place for the genuine.” Well beyond—but by no means excluding—the
constructs of the “genuine,” this introductory course will operate under the happy assumptions that (1)
there is much more to lyric poetry than its semantic “content,” and (2) that its parts, patterns, and
procedures are the stuff of inexhaustible richness and reward for the careful, committed
reader. Focusing on the lyric poetry produced in the United States from 1855 forward, with particular
emphasis on the 20th century, this course will at once cultivate and depend upon the multiple exertions
of critical and creative thinking, social and aesthetic sensitivity, embrace of ambiguity, and evidence-
based analysis and argumentation. Students will steep in literary terminology, and they will leave with an
enriched understanding of an array of poetic phenomena and their effects.
English 220 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards the English major or
minor.

English 226-01: The Dawn of Cinema
Joseph McGowan, MWF 10:10-11:05AM
This course will trace the development of the “new” medium of film from the earliest short
documentaries through the Silent Era to the Talkies and Technicolor eras. Throughout there will be an
emphasis on film as a narrative medium – a visual medium to be sure, but one in which the story is
central (“If you haven’t got the story, you haven’t got the picture”). The immense and immediate
popularity of the medium led to a rush in production of titles, which in turn led to a scramble for subjects
for treatment (thus the convention of optioning novels, plays, biographies, memoirs, etc.). Besides the
great technological advances and developments in acting, there was too, with the dawn of the “talking
picture,” the developing role of the human voice and dialogue. Many of the names from the era are still
familiar, others sadly neglected: D.W. Griffith, Raoul Walsh, King Vidor, Lillian Gish, Anna May Wong,
Ramon Novarro, Lupe Vélez, Robert Siodmak, Maurice and Jacques Tourneur, Ida Lupino, Delmer
Daves, John Alton. Films to be considered may include: Cabiria (1914), The Ten Commandments (1923),
Beau Geste (1926), The Crowd (1928), The Last Command (1928), Pandora’s Box (1929), Scarface (1931), 42nd
Street (1933), A Night at the Opera (1935), La grande illusion (1937), The Wizard of Oz (1939).
English 226 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards the English major or
minor.

English 226-02 & -03: The Ghost Story
Ivan Ortiz, TR 2:30-3:50PM & 4:00-5:20PM
What are ghost stories for? Why do we take pleasure in hearing and telling them? Why do we continue
enjoying them in our modern age, which is apparently free of ghosts? This course will survey some of
the most iconic ghost stories in the English and American literary tradition. That tradition often goes by
the name of Gothic literature, a genre that explores narratives of terror, romance, and the supernatural. We
will trace the evolution of the Gothic genre from its origins in the European Enlightenment through the
21st century. We will pay special attention to the supernatural in the context of technological and media
modernity. As we will see, the supernatural doesn’t disappear in the modern world, it merely takes new
forms in science fiction, new media, modern psychology, and cinema. By the end of the semester we will
think rigorously about why the supernatural is such an adaptable and persistent element in modern
literature and art. Disclaimer: While the material for this course is exciting, it does demand a commitment
to reading long fiction (~100-200 pages per week, sometimes more, sometimes less). Readers of Gothic
stories devoured them quickly and I expect you to do the same.
English 226 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards the English major or
minor.

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English 226-04: Graphic Novels
Jason Crum, MWF 10:10-11:05AM
The course is a survey of the emerging genre of graphic novels. We will analyze the ways in which graphic
novelists use and manipulate historical and contemporary social issues in their literature, and we will
trace the rise of the graphic novel from its early use to its current manifestations. Our readings will be
grounded in such theoretical perspectives as cultural studies, visual culture theory, poststructuralism, and
postmodernism. Students will work critically and creatively with the material to consider the oftentimes
contradictory ways in which popular culture struggles with difference, class, race, ethnicity, nationality,
gender, & sexuality. We will read such works as Alan Moore’s Watchmen, Grant Morrison’s Arkham
Asylum, Marjane Satrapi’s Perespolis, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, Alison
Bechdel’s Fun Home, Art Spiegelman’s Maus, Craig Thompson’s Blankets, Joe Sacco’s Safe Area Gorazde,
Rutu Modan’s Exit Wounds, Tsugumi Ohba’s Death Note (manga & anime), and Charles Burns’ Black
Hole. Additionally, we will read substantial critical and theoretical material, including works from Mikhail
Bakhtin, Michel Foucault, Scott McCloud, Fredric Jameson, Adrienne Rich, Judith Jack Halberstam, and
Raymond Williams. Assignments will include both critical essays and creative collaborations.
English 226 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards the English major or
minor.

English 230-01: Studies in U.S. Literature
Vivienne MacAdam, MWF 8:00-8:55AM
Readings in some period or aspect of the literature of the United States, including that of
underrepresented groups
Fulfills Diversity, Inclusion, Social Justice. English 230 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new
core and counts towards the English major or minor.

English 236-01 & 02: Japanese Anime and Manga
Koonyong Kim, T 2:30-5:20PM & W 2:30-5:20PM
This course serves as an introduction to Japanese animations and comics. As the global popularity of
Sailor Moon, Naruto, One Piece, Attack on Titan, and Studio Ghibli’s films testifies, anime and manga have
emerged as some of the most important and influential cultural forms in contemporary society. Thus,
this course explores critically-acclaimed and representative anime and manga in the context of historical,
social, and cultural developments in the world today. To that end, as we closely analyze anime and manga
with special emphasis on their distinctive characteristics, we will reflect on a wide range of issues and
topics pertaining to our contemporary world and its future, such as globalization and cultural hybridity;
humanity and nature; reality and computer simulation; war and apocalypse; and flexible national/gender
identity, among others.
English 236 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards the English major or
minor.

English 236-03: Global Literature and Perspectives
Vivienne MacAdam, MWF 9:05-10:00AM
Readings in some period or aspect of literature outside England and the United States. Works not
originally in English will be read in translation.
English 236 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards the English major or
minor.

English 240-01 & -02: Shakespeare
Stefan Vander Elst, TR 9:15-10:35AM & 10:45AM-12:05PM
This course will explore some of the most important dramatic works of William Shakespeare, arguably the

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greatest English playwright of all time. We will explore the language of each play individually and discuss
major themes, stakes and metaphors that connect the plays to each other. Finally, we will look at the
greater historical, political and intellectual circumstances of Elizabethan England in order to
contextualize Shakespeare and his works.
This course will satisfy the Shakespeare requirement in the old Major, and count as a lower division elective in the new
Major. English 240 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards the English
major or minor.

English 240-80: Shakespeare
Jeanie Grant Moore, MWF 10:10-11:05AM
Shakespeare 240 is part of the LLC Collaborate theme, which focuses on civic engagement. The event
of a play actually creates civic engagement, since in a public gathering theatre may do much more than
entertain: it often presents relevant cultural concerns and challenges the status quo of the dominant
society. Shakespeare’s plays, comic or tragic, nearly always stage social issues that remain significant
problems in present-day society. For example, in Much Ado About Nothing, the false accusation of one
young woman affects her, her relationship, her family, and her whole community. We will ask the
question, “To what extent does placing unwarranted blame on a female still exist today, in what forms,
and to what effect on our society as a whole”? Also, Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice presents a view
of a prejudiced social order that ghettoized Jews and sometimes demonized them. The anti-Semitism
that some characters in the play voice and practice still exists today. Looking at these and other plays in
their own historical context will therefore not only provide insight into Shakespeare’s world, but will also
reveal parallels with our present-day social order.
Section 80 is LLC only. This course will satisfy the Shakespeare requirement in the old Major, and count as a lower
division elective in the new Major. English 240 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and
counts towards the English major or minor.

English 250-01: Literary Foundations
Jeanie Grant Moore, MW 2:30-3:50PM
Are you ready to embark on ten centuries of literature? It is an immense span of time for one semester, but
we will sweep through the years, attempting to achieve some depth as well as breadth, progressing from
the Old English Beowulf through the medieval and Renaissance periods, moving on through the
Restoration, and finishing with “The Age of Reason,” the 18th Century. We will pay particular attention
to the historical, political, and social contexts of the works we read, explore our personal relationship to
them, and consider various modern approaches to literature as we think critically about these texts.
Note: This course is required for the new major, but students continuing in the old major are welcome to take it as a
lower-division elective. English 250 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards
the English major or minor.

English 250-02: Literary Foundations
Sara Hasselbach, MW 5:30-6:50PM
In this course, we will explore foundational English-language literature and hone skills in sensitive
reading, critical thinking, and persuasive writing. We will focus on authors who were pioneers of form
and content and who contributed to the formation of literary traditions. Why are metaphysical poets
such fitting bedfellows with Modernists? What’s the literary trajectory from the Bible to William Blake’s
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell? How does Shakespeare adapt Chaucer, and why does Milton’s Paradise
Lost appear throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein? How does Olaudah Equiano’s Interesting Narrative
participate in multiple genres, setting the stage for Toni Morrison’s Sula? We will use the narratives that
we read to generate a greater narrative of literary history.
Note: This course is required for the new major, but students continuing in the old major are welcome to take it as a
lower-division elective. English 250 meets the core literature requirement in both the old and new core and counts towards

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the English major or minor.

English 260-01 & 02: Critical Reading
Carlton Floyd, TR 4:00-5:20PM & 5:30-6:50PM
Focuses on developing skills essential to the major or minor, including close reading, contextualized
study via basic criticism and theory, literary devices and genres (at least 2), and fundamentals of literary
research.
Enrollment restricted to English majors and minors only. Required for new major. Counts as lower division elective in the old
major.

English 292: Southeast San Diego Tutoring Project
Timothy Randell
This is a ten-week course/internship during which you will tutor children in a local elementary or middle
school in basic reading, writing, and math (depending on your assigned teacher/class). You will work at
the school to which you are assigned with a teacher who will structure your activities with the children.
Each week you will write a short journal to reflect on your experiences concerning a specific element of
the school, your pupils, and other experiences concerning lesson plans or the learning environment (see
the attached journal assignment sheet for specific topics). You will turn in the journal assignments
periodically throughout the semester (not once a week or all at once at the end of the semester) to ensure
accurate, unhurried, and thoughtful reflection. Tutors may commit to 3, 6, or 9 hours of tutoring per
week (for 1, 2, or 3 academic credits per semester, respectively), and the course may be taken more than
once (as often as tutors wish) to accommodate academic needs and time schedules.
The course counts for English elective credit. Lower Division students register for English 292, and Upper Division
students register for English 492.

English 301-01: Intro to Creative Writing
Deniz Perin-Coombs, MWF 10:10-11:05AM
This course is geared to a disciplined learning and honing of the writing craft. To that end, students will
read, write, revise, and think deeply about many works of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. There are four
main components to the course: reading, writing, workshop, and revision. 1) Students read published
works, giving them sincere thought, and preparing to discuss them in class. 2) Students write several
poems, at least one memoir, and one or more fictional work(s), as well as keep a daily “observatory,” or
observations journal and do several prompted writings. 3) This course is also a workshop: students
thoughtfully read the work of peers, offering helpful, detailed. 4) An essential part of the writing process
is to revise. At the end of the semester, final portfolios are to include revisions of every workshopped
piece. Last but not least, students are expected to attend the Cropper Memorial Writers Series
readings/events that take place on campus this semester. This course runs on the understanding that
every registered student has a sincere desire to be a creative writer—or to explore the craft in new ways—
and is dedicated to the work and time necessary to move toward that goal.
Required course for Emphasis in Creative Writing and may be taken for English upper-division elective units.

English 301-02: Intro to Creative Writing
Halina Duraj, TR 9:15-10:35AM
This multi-genre creative writing workshop will introduce students to the art and craft of fiction,
nonfiction, and poetry, as well as the basics of the workshop method to improve work-in-progress.
Short, exploratory weekly writing opportunities will lead students to a final portfolio containing revised
stories, personal essays, and poems. We will read published works closely with the goal of gleaning from
each text something we can use in our creative explorations.
Required course for Emphasis in Creative Writing and may be taken for English upper-division elective units.

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English 304-01: Adv Comp: Writing in Various Genres
Timothy Randell, MWF 9:05-10:00AM
Advanced Composition offers intensive practice in active reading, critical thinking, and close analyses of
texts and writing within various rhetorical situations, genres, and discourse communities. The course
highlights academic skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. It emphasizes an understanding of
what Wayne Booth calls “the rhetorical stance,” which includes “discovering and maintaining in any
writing situation a proper balance” among three aspects of the communicative process: “the available
arguments about the subject itself; the interests and peculiarities of the audience; and the voice (the
implied character) of the speaker.” This course asks students to consider how different audiences and
contexts shape the rhetorical situation. We will analyze texts from popular culture in class to explore ideas
related to the assignments, and you will research examples of popular culture on your own as part of
your writing projects.
Fulfills core requirement for Advanced Writing only for non-English majors. May be taken by English majors for upper
division elective credits.

English 304-02: Adv Comp: Texts and Genres in Academic and Professional Writing
Megan Little, MWF 1:25-2:20PM
English 304 is “a workshop course in the writing of expository, descriptive, and critical prose… designed
to fulfill the upper division written literacy requirement for non-English majors.” In this version of E304,
students will begin by studying and practicing advanced discourse conventions in selected disciplines
(including their own). With the goal of achieving mastery in research and writing skills in their discipline,
students will explore the work of academics and researchers, industry experts, scientists, and professional
writers. Students will also learn how to investigate academic and non-academic writing genres to emulate
their moves, producing examples of advanced academic essays as well as a portfolio of professional
writing that demonstrates their expertise in a chosen research area.
Fulfills core requirement for Advanced Writing only for non-English majors. May be taken by English majors for upper
division elective credits.

English 304-03: Adv Comp: Studies in Non-Fiction Writing
Vivienne MacAdam, MWF 1:15-2:20PM
This course is a workshop course in the writing of expository, descriptive and critical prose. Texts may
include: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Of Love and Other Demons; Nadine Gordimer, Jump and Other Stories;
Michael Ondaatje, Running in the Family; J.M. Coetzee, Foe; and Haruiki Murakami, Hard Boiled
Wonderland and the End of the World.
Fulfills core requirement for Advanced Writing only for non-English majors. May be taken by English majors for upper
division elective credits.

English 304-04: Adv Comp: Writing the Self
Lisa Smith, MWF 10:10-11:05AM
A workshop course in the writing of expository, descriptive, and critical prose. This course is designed
to fulfill the upper division written literacy requirement for non-English majors; it will fulfill an upper
division elective for English majors.
Fulfills core requirement for Advanced Writing only for non-English majors. May be taken by English majors for upper
division elective credits.

English 311-01: Chaucer and 14th Century Europe
Stefan Vander Elst, TR 2:30-3:50PM
The medieval English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (1343—1400) is widely credited with reviving English as

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a literary language after a long period of Latin and French domination, and he compiled an extensive
and varied body of works that greatly influenced later English authors such as Edmund Spenser and
William Shakespeare. In much of his work, Chaucer engages with the ideas and writings of others – most
famously with those of Boccaccio and Dante, but also with those of Guillaume de Machaut and John
Gower. We will discuss both Chaucer’s sources – ranging from the Divine Comedy to the Teseida and the
Dits Amoureux – and Chaucer’s most important poetic works such as the House of Fame, the Canterbury
Tales and the Book of the Duchess, to investigate literary culture in a century of both terrible destruction
and remarkable progress. All works will be read in contemporary English translation.
Satisfies the Literary Histories requirement of the new English major. Fulfills 1660-1900 requirement in the old major.
May be taken for upper-division elective units in the English major.

English 319-01: U.S. Literature from 1900 to 1940
Dennis Clausen, T 6:00-8:50PM
English 319, “U. S. Literature from 1900-1940,” will focus primarily on the development of American
fiction, drama, and poetry from approximately 1900 to 1940. The emphasis will be on short stories,
novels, plays, and poems from this time period, although films and essays will also be used to reinforce
major themes and issues in the course. Interdisciplinary approaches from history, philosophy, and art
will provide a broader context for the required readings. The course will also address the innovative
storytelling techniques that helped to shape American literature in the early decades of the twentieth
century.
Satisfies the Literary Histories requirement of the new English major. Fulfills 1660-1900 requirement in the old major.
May be taken for upper-division elective units in the English major.

English 321-01: Race & Representation: U.S. BIPOC Drama and Performance Culture
Maura Giles Watson, TR 10:45AM-12:05PM
This course studies the impact of theatre, performance, and spectacle as vehicles for liberation for
BIPOC peoples in the U.S. from the 19th century to today. Particular attention will be paid to the
enactment of the liberation struggles of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx peoples, as well as those of
oppressed refugee-immigrants. We will thus explore pressing questions of race and representation in the
U.S. through the perspectives of BIPOC playwrights and performer-activists. In the process, participants
will also interrogate the ongoing performance and effects of white supremacy in the U.S., and engage
with contemporary performance theory and practice, including the groundbreaking work of Augusto
Boal in Theatre of the Oppressed.
Satisfies the Literary Cultures and Theories requirement of the new English major. Fulfills 1900 to Present requirement
in the old major. Counts as an upper-division elective for the old & new major.

English 323-01: U.S. Ethnic Literature
Carlton Floyd, W 6:00-8:50PM
Focuses on ways of understanding society in the United States, as formed by cultural and literary texts.
Attention to the dynamics of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, and other critical forms of
diversity.
Satisfies the Literary Cultures and Theories requirement of the new English major. Fulfills 1900 to Present requirement
in the old major. Counts as an upper-division elective for the old & new major.

English 335-01: Comedy and Class
Maura Giles Watson, TR 2:30-3:50PM
This course analyzes and critiques the reception and re-use of social class as an enduring comic trope from
Roman antiquity through the Renaissance and into the Restoration period in England and the
Neoclassical period in France. Participants will read, study, and perform scenes from comic dramas by

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playwrights including Plautus, J. Heywood, Udall, Shakespeare, Jonson, Sheridan, and Molière. We will
also study theories of comedy and laughter as we examine class-determined power relations enacted in
the plays.
Counts as an upper-division elective in both the old and new major.

INST 350-02 Queer Cinema and Theory
Ivan Ortiz/Martin G Repinecz, W 4:00-6:50PM
This course will introduce students to queer cinema and theory in an international context. We
will place foundational texts of queer theory in dialogue with a variety of historical and
contemporary queer films in order to illuminate the reciprocal relationships between these two
bodies of knowledge. Films and theoretical texts will represent a range of global perspectives in
order to highlight the diversity of queer experiences in different historical moments and
geographies. Such a scope will allow us to analyze the intersections between sexuality and race,
gender, class, and nationality. At the same time, special attention will be given to the formal
attributes of cinema as windows into queer representation. Major issues to be covered include:
camp, affect, psychoanalysis, feminism, trans studies, genre studies, and critical race theory,
among others.
This course satisfies core curriculum requirements for: Literary Inquiry; Diversity/Inclusion/Social Justice
(Level 2-Global); Honors; and Advanced Integration.

English 358-70: Contemporary U.S. Ethnic Dystopias
Jason Crum, MWF 11:15AM-12:10PM
This course will examine late 20th & early 21st Century Ethnic Dystopian fiction and popular culture in
the United States. Our sources for this cultural studies course will be varied and will include recent trends
in literature, film, digital storytelling, graphic novels, & video games. We will trace the development of
imaginings and re-imaginings of utopia, their exclusions and gaps, and seek to examine how ethnic and
racial minorities in the United States have contested such ideas as utopia/dystopia, class, race, gender, &
sexuality. Readings will include works such as Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, NK Jemisin’s The Fifth
Season, Chang-Rae Lee’s On Such a Full Sea, Samuel Delany’s Trouble on Triton, Nedi Okorafor’s Lagoon,
Cynthia Khodata’s In the Heart of the Valley of Love. We will also turn to and look analytically at the political,
social, and economic climate that allows for the portrayal of ethnicity in recent pop culture titles such as
Alex Rivera’s Sleep Dealer and Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men and video game productions such as
Bioshock: Infinite.
Section 70 is TLC (Transfer Students) only. Literary inquiry; Domestic Diversity level 1; Counts as an upper-division
elective in both the old and new major.

English 364-01: Cyborgs “Я” Us: Technology and Our Future
Koonyong Kim, R 2:30-5:20PM
As is shown by the recent rise of Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and other virtual assistants, we’re
increasingly surrounded by more and more technological beings. As a way to better understand our
current and futuristic world, this course examines influential cyborg stories in film, fiction, anime, manga,
and other genres and media. Building upon recent discourses on digital technology, new media,
cyberspace, virtual reality, network society, and (post)humanism, we will reflect on the way in which
various cyborg narratives can help us radically reconsider our conventional ideas pertaining to reality,
human identity, love, gender, communication, family, community, and nation, among others. Special
emphasis will be placed on how digital technology and cyberspace transform humanity; what the rise of
the cyborg can teach us about our rapidly evolving global society and its future; and how our digitized
reality inspires innovative forms of communication and storytelling. Primary course materials include
The Matrix, Her, Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, Ex Machina, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Ghost in

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the Shell (Japanese animation), and Astro Boy.
Literary Inquiry; Global diversity level 2

English 372-01: Film Noir
Joseph McGowan, MW 2:30-3:50PM
One of the most enduring genres of film-making, the film noir was named for its famed b/w
cinematography that emphasized the use of shadow, blocking devices, nighttime and dimly lit shots and
the mood these devices conjured up. And ‘mood’ is the operative term – the genre is typically associated
with the crime drama or mystery, but it came to include all aspects of life in the wake of WWII as a
creeping sense of malaise entered film-making and literary culture. Many of the directors of Hollywood-
produced noir dramas were “imports” who had fled wars and increasing totalitarianism abroad, or had
been enticed by better pay and more opportunities to direct (Otto Preminger; Edgar Ulmer). The
interchange of ideas and influence of artistic movements shaped the genre, as did the work of some of
the great cinematographers of the era such as John Alton (from Hungary) and Nicholas Musuraca (Italy).
We will see some of the staples of Hollywood film noir as well as films made outside Hollywood that
influenced or were influenced by the “classics.” Particular emphasis will be placed upon the literary and
other artistic influences that shaped the filmmaking, and the lasting legacy of the genre (the “neo-noir”
of recent decades). Films to be considered may include: They Drive by Night (1940), The Maltese Falcon
(1941), Double Indemnity (1944), Laura (1944), Detour (1945), The Big Sleep (1946), The Killers (1946), Leave
Her to Heaven (1946), The Third Man (1949), The Big Heat (1953), The Big Combo (1955), Kiss Me Deadly
(1955) Touch of Evil (1958).

English 377-01: Development of the English Language
Joseph McGowan, MWF 11:15AM-12:10PM
This course will trace the origins and historical development of the English language from its Indo-
European roots to contemporary dialects of American English and varieties of World English. By the
end of the course students will have mastered the fundamentals of language analysis and introductory
linguistics and developed the ability to describe and analyze language and language varieties. Particular
emphasis will be placed upon the phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics of current American
English, with additional emphases upon dialectology, language change, and theories of language
acquisition.
Counts as an upper-division elective in both the old and new major. Required for Liberal Studies.

English 385-01: Screenwriting
Dennis Clausen, M 6:00-8:50PM
The primary task of English 385 is to teach students the fundamentals and more advanced techniques
of screenwriting. Students are taught how to format and present a story using the conventions of
screenwriting as they are employed in software programs such as Final Draft, Movie Magic, and other
screenwriting standards. These techniques include the professionally acceptable way of developing
scenes, sequences, dialogue, cuts, and other screenplay techniques. To the screenwriter, structure,
foreshadowing, plot, sub-plot, dialogue, character development, dramatic conflict and many other
techniques are also indispensable tools the writer must master to create a compelling storyline that holds
the viewer’s interest. Structural issues, especially, are paramount concerns for any successful
screenwriter. Indeed, many screenwriters insist that the 3 most important elements in a screenplay are
STRUCTURE, STRUCTURE, and STRUCTURE!
Students will be expected to participate fully in our discussions of the art of storytelling as it pertains to
screenwriting. There will be oral reports and other assignments, but the major requirement will be for
each student to produce a 60 page motion picture screenplay (the first 30-pages and last 30-pages of the
screenplay). The body of the screenplay can later be expanded into a 100-110 page screenplay to submit
to film contests, graduate film schools, and/or film producers.

10/26/2021

Counts as an upper-division elective in both the old and new major. Although there are some exceptions, the class will be
primarily limited to English majors who have completed English 301 Intro to Creative Writing (formerly 375). Instructor
Approval required.

English 401-01: Advanced Poetry Writing
Malachi Black, R 4:00-6:50PM
This advanced three-hour workshop will be chiefly invested in the generation and consideration of new
work by class members, but these aims will be both complemented and informed by two related
engagements: (1) a small survey of recently published poetry collections alternating with several
significant volumes from the last 50 years, and (2) weekly accompanying readings from poet-critic James
Longenbach’s collection of inventive craft meditations, The Virtues of Poetry (Graywolf, 2013). In
addition to much reading, writing, and revision, this course will require that students deliver two in-
depth presentations: a critical introduction to one of the assigned poetry collections and an analytical
introduction to an independently discovered literary journal. A memorization will round out the
abundance of our vivid lives in verse.
Prerequisite: Engl 381 Intermediate Poetry Writing. Counts as an upper-division elective in both the old and new major.

English 402-01: Advanced Fiction Writing
Halina Duraj, W 2:30-5:20PM
This three-hour, once-a-week workshop emphasizes the fiction writing process (draft, workshop,
revision) in an introduction to a graduate-style workshop. Students will write and submit for workshop
two short stories and at least one revision. Students will also lead craft-focused class discussion of
published stories and will prepare for a public reading of their own work. When time allows, we’ll also
do in-class writing experiments and discuss the professional aspects of fiction writing, including
publication, the pros and cons of M.F.A programs, the M.F.A. application process, and writing outside
of the academy.
Prerequisite: Engl 382 Intermediate Fiction Writing. Counts as an upper-division elective in both the old and new major.

English 403-01: Advanced Creative Nonfiction Writing
Joseph Babcock, MW 7:00-8:20PM
Do you exist in the world? Do you have thoughts or opinions or experiences or curiosities about that
existence that you would like to explore? What's a story that only you can tell? What's a perspective on
a particular issue that only you can provide?
These are some of the questions we will explore in this advanced creative nonfiction writing workshop.
Students will be encouraged to use the tools of creative writing to investigate their lives and the world
around them. They'll be encouraged to break out of the "campus bubble" and explore the issues and
stories and communities of Southern California.
Over the course of the semester, students will work on one major piece of creative nonfiction, while
reading and discussing professionally published work from within the genre once defined as "True
stories well told." As a group of writers/artists, we will borrow methods and strategies of research and
storytelling from a diverse field of disciplines--including creative writing, science, journalism, critical and
literary theory, and ethnic studies. Interested students who may not meet the prerequisite requirements
may contact the instructor for permission to enroll in the class.
Prerequisite: Engl 383 Intermediate Creative Nonfiction Writing. Counts as an upper-division elective in both the old and
new major.

10/26/2021

English 410-01: Advanced Writing in English Major: Victorian Studies
Sr. Mary Hotz, MWF 11:15AM-12:10PM
We will explore the literary history of the Victorian era as an expression of (and participant in) broader
political, cultural, and intellectual developments of this crucial period. Drawing on readings from a wide
range of forms, genres and disciplines, we will examine several quintessentially Victorian issues and
describe the ways these issues make themselves felt within literary texts. In particular, the relationship of
Victorian culture to social relations will be a primary focus for the course. In addition, we will analyze
and write about Victorian literature through a variety of aesthetic, ideological and theoretical approaches.
Analyses of literary criticism invite students both to formulate and assess the arguments of others and
to present their own questions and answers about the literature under discussion. This is also an
Advanced Writing course, fulfilling your Core requirement (and required for all English majors). We will
be working on the process of writing an advanced literary essay. This involves developing organizational
skills and research skills, as well as engaging with Victorian literature through criticism.
English 410 counts for the departmental Advanced Writing requirement in both the old and new majors as well as for
Advanced Writing in the Core. Minors and Humanities majors are welcome. CADW

English 492: Southeast San Diego Tutoring Program
Timothy Randell
This is a ten-week course/internship during which you will tutor children in a local elementary or middle
school in basic reading, writing, and math (depending on your assigned teacher/class). You will work at
the school to which you are assigned with a teacher who will structure your activities with the children.
Each week you will write a short journal to reflect on your experiences concerning a specific element of
the school, your pupils, and other experiences concerning lesson plans or the learning environment (see
the attached journal assignment sheet for specific topics). You will turn in the journal assignments
periodically throughout the semester (not once a week or all at once at the end of the semester) to ensure
accurate, unhurried, and thoughtful reflection. Tutors may commit to 3, 6, or 9 hours of tutoring per
week (for 1, 2, or 3 academic credits per semester, respectively), and the course may be taken more than
once (as often as tutors wish) to accommodate academic needs and time schedules.
The course counts for English elective credit. Lower Division students register for English 292, and Upper Division
students register for English 492. Instructor Approval required.

English 493: Writing Center Tutors
Deborah Sundmacher
Theory and practice for Writing Center tutors. Consent of Writing Center director required.
Instructor Approval required.

English 496-01: Alcalá Review
Halina Duraj
Reserved for active members of the editorial staff of the Alcalá Review only, this course serves as a
practicum in literary magazine editing, concentrating on the strategies, activities, and procedures
associated with all facets of managing, planning, and publishing a literary periodical.
1-Unit Internship; Instructor Approval required.

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