Summer 2022 | Undergraduate Courses

1030-1245 (Bryan 310)
Lisa Woolfork

Marvel’s depiction of the conflict between Professor X and Magneto has been read as an allegory for assimilation versus separatism for marginalized people. Specifically, Professor X has been compared to MLK and while Magneto is said to represent Malcolm X. What happens when the allegory is removed? What is possible when we examine blackness directly within the genres of superhero and speculative fiction? What can we learn from the manufactured outrage around critical race theory that has led to Spiderman (as Miles Morales) being banned alongside and other “divisive” literature?  This course examines representations of Black superlatives in select literature, film, and television. We will consider the varied roles that Blackness plays as an asset and liability for characterization, plot, theme, and the cultural influence of these creative works.

Core Questions

• What are the limits of Blackness? Who draws those limits? 
• What is imagined as possible for Black characters in the superhero, speculative, fantasy genres? Are black people allowed to transcend the boundaries of space, time, reason.
• Can black superheroes dismantle the greatest villain of all: the systems of power that rely upon dominance and violence as tools of extraction? 
• Do such fictions and fantasies connect to the real world liberation of black people, if so how? If not, why not?

This course satisfies the Artistic, Interpretive & Philosophical Inquiry requirement.

100-315 (Shannon 108)
Heidi Nobles

This course satisfies the Second Writing Requirement, as well as the Artistic, Interpretive, and Philosophical Inquiry requirement.

1030-1245 (Bryan 310)
Charity Fowler

100-315 (Bryan 310)
Keith Driver

Develops an understanding of the wide range of stylistic moves in prose writing, their uses, and implications. Students build a rich vocabulary for describing stylistic decisions, imitate and analyze exemplary writing, and discuss each others writing in a workshop setting.

This course satisfies the Second Writing Requirement, as well as the Artistic, Interpretive & Philosophical Inquiry requirement.

1030-1245 (Online Synchronous)
Kevin Smith

The Promises and Perils of Digital Publics examines what it means to “speak” to a “public” in the digital age. Students will engage in the production and analysis of digital forms of public speaking and forums for address. These will include, but not be limited to, vlogs, Zoom presentations, podcasts, videos, and social media posts. We will collectively ask where and how digital publics are addressed, to what ends, and in what forms. We will develop rhetorical frameworks for analyzing and preparing forms of digital public address and reflect on how these frameworks might prepare us for public speaking IRL.

This course satisfies the Second Writing Requirement, as well as the Artistic, Interpretive & Philosophical Inquiry requirement.

100-315 (Bryan 310)
Emelye Keyser

The winter of our discontent, the Ides of March, a midsummer’s dream, and a melancholy autumn. There is a Shakespeare play for every season, every mood, every student. In this class we’ll sample each of Shakespeare’s major genres--history (English and Roman), comedy, tragedy, and romance—in order to come to as full an understanding of his oeuvre as we can in four short weeks. And we’ll also think about Shakespeare’s endurance (how well he’s weathered centuries) and why he might be as important to read now as ever. Texts may include Richard III, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear and The Winter’s Tale. Close reading will be our priority, with particular attention paid to the weather, the wind and water, time, aging, and genre conventions.

This course satisfies the pre-1700 literature requirement for the English major, as well as the "Artistic, Interpretive & Philosophical Inquiry" and "Historical Perspectives" requirements for the College.

1030-1245 (Bryan 310)
Jessica Walker

In this section of ENWR-1510, we will be writing about money, mobility and the American Dream. This is not a finance or economics course. You need no knowledge of supply and demand, commodities, derivatives or interest rates. Instead, you will be expected to examine and analyze the way money intersects with society, culture and the human condition. Each week we will engage with writing and materials that reflect how money influences the world we live in. You will be expected to generate responses to the assigned topics, engage in discourse with your peers, then use this process to better your writing.

We will collectively take up questions such as--What is the role of money in American culture? Does material wealth make us happier? Is financial gain a necessary part of the American Dream? What does it mean to be a sell out? What happens when creativity and money collide? What do popular narratives and films say about the culture of making money in America? About wealth, inequity and upward mobility? What financial and monetary trends can we identify as unique to Gen Z? How do social media trends--such as influencers and flexing--reflect attitudes about money in contemporary culture? We will examine money’s moral, cultural and social complexity in order to better understand the power of the Almighty Dollar.

This course satisfies the First Writing Requirement.

1030-1245
Piers Gelly