This course examines selected works of literature of a single genre or several genres. The conventions of the genre(s), as well as the techniques and devices employed by authors to effect meaning, will be the focus of classroom activities. Students will continue to practice writing critical essays.
To pass English 102 at Dawson College, students must be able to do the following:
|
| 603-102-MQ |
20th Century American Poetry |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
20th Century Novel: A Time and a Place |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course, students will read three novels that launched the careers of their respective authors: Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) and Alan Sillitoe (1928-2010). These novels have little in common �' thematically, stylistically or otherwise. They are the stories of three very different, but equally memorable characters in very different places at very specific points in the twentieth century: Paris in the 20s, various locales across the USA in the 40s and 50s, and an English industrial town in the early 60s. Students and the instructor shall explore their reactions to these works through readings, classroom discussion, recordings and video, and attempt to give clear expression to these reactions in our in-class and homework assignments. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
A Critical Reading of Technology in |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Adapting Literature into Film |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Adventures in Fiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
Adventure is central to many forms of literature: fairy tale, epic, bildungsroman and the quest. Students will be introduced to traditional devices and structures within adventure narratives, and students will analyze more modern forms of these traditional tales. To do so, students will engage in close readings from various critical perspectives. Moreover, students will identify and examine the elements necessary for adventure, the roles afforded male and female protagonists, and the role of the child or young adult within adventure. Students will also analyze how and why writers use or subvert conventions of adventure narratives. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
African-American Literature |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
American Literature |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course we study American literature from the end of the nineteenth century to the present. While the main focus of the course is on primary texts by authors such as Jewett, Crane, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Parker, Faulkner, and Williams, we distinguish the main characteristics of the shifts in sensibility from realism through modernism to contemporary literature. We also discuss the historical, philosophical, and literary background out of which the texts arise, examining, where relevant, gender-related issues. We read prose fiction and drama. The course includes lectures, class and group discussions, quizzes, and, occasionally, the presentation of audio-visual material. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
American Prose and Drama |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course we study American literature from the end of the nineteenth century until the present. While the main focus of the course is on prose fiction and drama by authors such as Jewett, Crane, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Parker, Faulkner, and Williams, we distinguish the main characteristics of the shifts in sensibility from realism through modernism to contemporary literature. We also discuss the historical, philosophical, and literary background out of which the texts arise, examining, where relevant, gender-related issues. The course includes a close look at the idea of the American dream. There will be lectures, class and group discussions, quizzes, and, occasionally, the presentation of audio-visual material. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Arthurian Literature |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
How did an obscure sixth-Century Welsh chieftain named Arthur, hero of the even more obscure Battle of Badon, become one of the most enduring figures of Western literature? Attempting to answer this question, the course will examine the earliest literary and historical sources of the Arthurian legend. Variants on the adventures of Arthur, the sorcerer Merlin, the wayward Queen Guinevere and her paramour Sir Lancelot, along with other Avalonian characters will be enjoyed. The class will explore how Arthurian literature grew from sketchy historical chronicles into the literary genre called Medieval Romance. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Arthurian Romance |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
How did an obscure 6th Century Welsh chieftain named Arthur, hero of the even more obscure Battle of Badon, become one of the most enduring figures of Western literature? Attempting to answer this question, the course will examine the earliest literary and historical sources of the Arthurian legend. Variants on the adventures of Arthur, the sorcerer Merlin, the wayward Queen Guinevere and her paramour Sir Lancelot, along with other Avalonian characters will be enjoyed. We will trace how Arthurian literature grew from sketchy historical chronicles into the literary genre called Medieval Romance. Some of the genre characteristics to be looking for are (1) A hero-knight superior to others (2) Courtly Love; a knight’s Love Service to his Lady (3) Imaginary, vague settings (4) Supernatural elements: enchanted weapons & animals, ogres, faeries, druids (5) Disguised identities & kept secrets (6) Faithfulness and courage in adversity & especially on quests, etc. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Chekhov, Carver and Munro: Masters of the Short Story |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course, students will learn about the genre of the short story by looking at three remarkable short story writers. Starting with Russian Anton Chekhov, who was writing in the late 19th, and moving on to American Raymond Carver, who was influenced greatly by Chekhov, to the sometimes subtle but accessible Canadian, Alice Munro, students will observe the development of the short story both historically and stylistically. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Children's Literature |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course, we will read a wide range of texts, from Aesop's fables and fairy tales to contemporary children's literary texts. In addition, through discussion and writing, students will develop skills in 1) thinking about and responding to children's literature; 2) articulating their personal views and values, and 3) making a formal analysis of literary texts. Students will also have the opportunity to experiment with writing their own children's stories. A variety of methods will be used to engage students in critical reading, discussion and writing. Included among these methods will be short lectures, video presentations and discussion, small group and class discussions of readings, and individual and group writing projects and oral presentations. Students should be prepared to work frequently in small groups. Some writing assignments will be completed during class time. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Classical Myth and the Modern Imagination |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
Though the culture that produced them is long gone, classical myths have enjoyed a rich afterlife, surviving and even thriving to this day. But why do we turn to these old stories—endlessly transplanting and adapting them to our own times? What roles do these myths play for us? How can we explain their continued popularity and resonance? This course will give students the opportunity to explore the nature and function of mythic narratives, both for the ancients and for ourselves. We will begin with a brief overview of ancient Greek culture, to better understand the role these myths played for those who originally produced them. Then, we will examine a number of classic myths: reading them first as they were told in the ancient world and then analyzing some of the many creative retellings we find in contemporary literature and popular culture. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Comedy |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
Comedy is a survey course of the narrative genre of Comedy. Therefore, this course will follow Comedy from its origins in Greek New Comedy all the way up to modern examples of the genre. Students will sample different periods in which Comedy reaches heights of prominence, focusing on how the genre has stayed the same and how it has evolved. At the center of Comedy, however, are the social norms, presented as obstacles, that initially keep two lovers apart and which, usually, are removed for the lovers to be together. The humor of comedy results from the efforts made by the lovers to overcome these obstacles. Narrative Comedy delves into the ways in which two people might try to find love against a backdrop of social norms that may keep them from being together. Since narrative Comedy tends to focus on social conventions of behavior and/or manners, our task will be to understand how these social norms are presented, interrogated, and eventually brought to a balance. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Contemporary American Drama |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
Race, class, gender, illness, faith, national security, xenophobia, broken families and broken people — these are just some of the areas of exploration our plays will take us to. The chosen plays are all Pulitzer Prize winners from recent years and will give us a sense of what America’s most celebrated playwrights are thinking in terms of their country and fellow citizens. Drama tends to be cutting edge in its concerns so we should get a good finger on the nation’s pulse by the end of the course. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Contemporary American Fiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course, we will read one novel and several short stories by American authors published within the last ten years. These pieces of fiction all feel very true to this time and place both in their subject matter and their innovative use of genre and form. We will consider how these artists are attempting to create new idioms in order to accurately paint a picture of contemporary American life. One recurring theme we will explore is how present-day forms of social connection can often lead to a sense of disconnection and isolation. We will read one near-future dystopian novel by Gary Shteyngart, as well as short stories by George Saunders, Wells Tower, Miranda July, Dave Eggers, Michael Chabon, Tobias Wolff, Jonathan Ames, Lorrie Moore, and other frequently funny, quirky, weird, heartbreaking, and breathtaking pieces. In spite of their diversity, most of these pieces revolve around sensitive characters attempting to make sense of their own places inside a constantly evolving world. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Contemporary Canadian Novels |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course is an introduction to the contemporary Canadian novel. All three of the novels studied have been published in the past 30 years, but their settings together cover a time span from approximately 1930 to 2000. They all feature adolescent or pre-adolescent protagonists coming to terms with their identities and surrounding environments. The protagonists come of age in times of great flux, whether it be turmoil in their families, in the community and nation in which they live, or both. Themes involving growing up, identity, family, community, and nationhood will be among those of primary interest to us in this course. The common subject matter will enable us to better explore the differences in form and content of the three works studied toward a better understanding of the genre of the novel. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Contemporary Drama |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Contemporary Irish Literature |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
Contemporary Irish Literature puts a lens over the new issues Ireland has faced since its rise to economic prosperity in the first years of the 21st century and the subsequent bust, as well as the old issues the country has always faced. The course's focus on short fiction and drama will allow students to see such things as how a people who had for centuries said good bye to family members looking for better lives abroad adapted to people from all over the world coming to their shores. Students will also learn how those newcomers themselves make their way in a predominantly white and Catholic country not accustomed to new blood. Old internal tensions continue to be explored in contemporary literature, and students will meet characters whose decisions during The Troubles have followed them through the years, perhaps coming back to haunt them. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Contemporary Short Fiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this genre course, we will study the short story in general, contemporary short stories in particular. We will begin by tracing the history and development of the short story and exploring the elements and techniques short story writers use. Then we will apply this knowledge to a collection of contemporary short stories published in various magazines and journals in the past 15 years. Classes will consist of lectures, grammar/vocabulary/reading quizzes, discussions, group and individual work. Writing and grammar will be done both in and out of class and will take the following forms: e-journals, grammar exercises, short writing assignments, a process written essay, a mid-term in-class essay and a final formal critical essay. Students will also give a group oral presentation. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Contemporary Short Story |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course is perfect for students new to comparative literature who are interested in relating fiction to contemporary world events and the modern forces that shape our fluid and unfolding global culture as it emerges. Identity is forged through a dialogue between self and world, and is a reflection of how we have resolved the dilemmas in our lives. Students will try to situate our writers in both social and political contexts. Examining short stories from a wide range of international writers should convey the incredible spectrum of possibilities over which the short story genre can unfold. The course will employ a participatory, hands-on approach to learning about the formal aspects of short stories and familiarizing students with the conventions of literary criticism. Emphasis is placed on essay structure and argumentation. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Creative Nonfiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course explores the genre of creative nonfiction. We will study a wide variety of material, including auto/biography, memoir, graphics, literary journalism, reviews, interviews, profiles, travel writing and personal essays. Students will examine how experience of the “true” frames the production and interpretation of this kind of expression. Course work will be grounded in literary analysis technique and practice. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Crime Fiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
Is the crime novel simply a “whodunit”? This familiar term for the genre implies that such novels are simply plot-driven. Is there more to the genre than resolving a mystery, finding the culprit and bringing him to justice? This course offers examples of the crime novel that show both the diversity and the depth of this genre, including hard-boiled detective fiction (and noir aesthetics in general), novels of the Golden Age with literary pretensions, and the thriller. At the same time, the question of social commentary arises in each subgenre of crime fiction. Required readings in this course include Dorothy L. Sayers' The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, Chester Himes' Cotton Comes to Harlem, and Deon Meyer's Dead Before Dying. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Cyberpunk Fiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Detective Fiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course examines detective fiction through the analysis of a range of detective stories from the genre's emergence to more contemporary examples. Through reading these stories, students will come to understand the key features of the detective genre and how different authors have engaged with them. Discussion of these stories will rely on close-reading skills that involve the analysis of literary techniques such as plot, setting, characterization, symbolism and metaphor. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Disaster Narratives |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In 1949, German philosopher Theodore Adorno wrote that “to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric,” suggesting that literature both cannot and should not represent unthinkable tragedies such as the Holocaust. Nonetheless, disasters, both natural and man-made, continue to be the subjects of artistic representations. This course will examine the representation of disasters such as hurricanes, wars, and other conflicts in diverse genres, including short stories, memoirs, novels, films, and creative non-fiction. Students will learn the features of each genre, and examine the possibilities and limitations of each genre for the representation of disasters while performing cross-genre comparisons. Class will consist of close reading of texts and examination of the features of different genres. Students will write literary analysis essays and also work on elements of writing through workshops, responses, and quizzes. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Drama |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course students will explore the language of drama, analyzing the complex of theatrical signs--language, movement, gesture, setting, music, etc.--that dramatists use to create and tell stories. Students will learn to identify, compare and contrast the dramatic conventions of different periods and societies with particular reference to the origins of ritual drama in ancient Greece and to the theatre of Shakespeare. And we will survey Western drama up until the twentieth century. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Fairy Tales Then and Now |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course will examine classic fairy tales by Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen, as well as modern and contemporary reworkings of some of these tales by writers and creators such as Angela Carter, James Thurber, Anne Sexton, and the Disney studios. We will begin by examining the fairy tale's conventions and components, and will also discuss the tales' recurring themes in the form of rites of passage such as childhood, adolescence, the discovery of sexuality, leaving one’s parents’ home, the choosing of a life partner, marriage, motherhood, aging, and death. Related themes such as the importance of gender, trauma, and, most importantly, transformation, will also be covered. Students will also review good writing practices and write intelligent, well-structured and grammatically correct college-level essays. Students can expect frequent reading quizzes, group work and a final, comprehensive exam (taking good notes is therefore essential in this class). |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Fiction of the 1920s |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
First Peoples Storytelling |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
From the Page to the Stage |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course will introduce students to several writers of dramatic literature, and will explore a wide range of styles and voices, including the work of Canadian playwrights Joan Macleod and Wajdi Mouawad, South African Athol Fugard, and American Tony Kushner, whose work demonstrates a diversity of technique, convention and theme, and who continue to influence and transform the art of the theatre. As we examine the work of these dramatists, we will seek to understand them in their historical and cultural context, will examine the theatrical conventions they experimented with and developed, and their place in the theatrical world. The students will also learn about the work on and off the page, by exploring the demands and challenges of theatrical production. Special attention is paid to how these plays make the transition from the page to the stage, which includes their interpretation in film as well. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Global Englishes: Postcolonial Literature |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
David Crystal, a leading scholar of the English language, claims that English is the global language. In large part, English has become a common language internationally because it was imposed by centuries of British imperial expansion. Literature written by formerly subjugated colonies is called “postcolonial” literature: a genre that registers the problems, preoccupations and themes of formerly colonized cultures. This course will examine literature that focuses on the post-colonial, immigrant, and global experiences of our contemporary world. We will explore relevant topics, such as cultural identity, assimilation, racism, and language as power. We will also pay attention to the richness of the English language in its global context by focusing on the rhythms and flavours of the various English dialects we encounter. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Hamlet, Before and After |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Hardboiled Detective Fiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Humour in Literature |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Ibsen and Strindberg |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Innocence and Experience |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course begins with the Book of Genesis and follows man's search for paradise into our own time. We will read selections from the Bible, novels and poems and examine several ways in which humankind marks its inevitable passage from innocence to experience, child to adult, virgin to lover. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
International Short Story |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course we will focus on the short story as a literary genre that travels across borders throughout the world. We will read primarily 20th century and contemporary fiction from Italy, France, Algeria, Nigeria, Kenya, India, China, Columbia, Brazil, Haiti, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. As we explore a range of writers from different countries, we will also consider a variety of modes of fiction including realism, modernism, postmodernism, and magic realism. This class will combine short lectures with large- and small-group discussions as well as occasional in-class writing assignments. Students must prepare for class by reading assigned stories in advance and noting questions and comments to contribute to class discussion. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Introduction to African-American Literature |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This will be an introductory course to African-American Literature. We will trace early roots in songs, poetry, and essays before moving on to short stories and novels. In addition to historical and cultural contexts, we will analyze literary elements such as character, tone, point of view, structure, imagery, symbolism, underlying themes, etc. The format of the course will include lectures, individual and group work, class discussion, individual writing in class, reading tests, and three essays. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Introduction to Drama |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course, students examine the elements of drama beginning with an examination of the roots of western theatre, specifically Greek tragedy. The class then explores the ways modern and contemporary theatre have challenged and reshaped these ideas. In some ways the course is a traditional lecture/discussion class, examining the elements of a written text and exploring how a play is built. The course includes lectures, discussions and group work and examines ways in which text is brought to life and how it is transformed into performance. Students, although not required, will have the opportunity to present excerpts of the texts in class and will attend two plays in order to witness a practical application of dramatic texts. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Introduction to Modern Drama |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Introduction to the Short Story |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
The class will study a dozen or more short stories during the term, usually reading and discussing one story each week. Students will regularly work in groups with one of the class groups assigned each week to present its own thoughts and analysis of the story being read that week. Each group will present its responses and perceptions of the assigned story’s themes and effects before opening up the wider, overall class discussions and analysis. Generally, students will learn about typical techniques of this genre and become familiar with basic elements of fiction, such as plot, narrative point of view, characterization, and structures. The class will also do a “close reading” of each story’s themes, structures, “intentions”, and patterns of imagery, especially metaphorical references which often express and help us to understand a story’s “deeper” and less literal meaning and purposes. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Introduction to Tragedy |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course will introduce students to the genre of Tragedy, while reading classic works from three different historical periods: the Ancient World, The Renaissance, and the 20th century. The works studied will be Aeschylus's The Oresteia, Shakespeare's Hamlet, and Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Some critical perspectives on tragedy will be presented, especially the ideas of Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Literary Genres with New School |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Literature and the Sea |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Literature in Conversation: The Other Side of the Story |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Literature into Film |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Literature Through Letters |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Lyrical Ballads |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
603-102-MQ Literary Genres: Lyrical Ballads Shalon Noble (section 16, originally attributed to P. Dubé) This course is an intensive study of Lyrical Ballads, the landmark collection of poetry published in 1798 as a collaboration by two friends, the famous British Romantic poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Students will use this work to consider the form of poetry and the various genres of poetry that comprise Lyrical Ballads. The class will also study Lyrical Ballads itself, both its importance in the context of its own time and its influence upon our own. By the end of the course, each student will be able to read poetry closely, recognize its different forms, theorize the forms’ histories and importance, and demonstrate these abilities both in a 1000-word term paper and a creative class presentation. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Masters of the Short Story |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Medieval Literature in Translation |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Medieval Poetry in Translation |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course will focus on the earliest English poetry (or poetry which influenced Medieval English poetry), that of the Middle Ages. Ranging from Beowulf through Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, to the Age of Chaucer, we will examine the poetic sensibilities and considerations of form that sparked the earliest English poetry and served as a template for works to come. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Moby-Dick and the Romantic Tradition |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
The core of this paired course is an examination of Herman Melville’s 1851 masterpiece of dark romanticism, Moby-Dick; or The Whale. Melville’s novel has been called many things: transgressive, experimental, flawed, overwrought, Transcendentalist, anti-Transcendentalist, realist, naturalist, Gothic, epic, Shakespearean, and proto-modernist. The varied responses are a testament to the work’s power as an exploration of America’s (and humanity’s) deepest and most conflicted desires and fears. We will study Melville’s novel intensively, along with several related works—from Euripides’s play The Bacchae, which anticipated some of the issues raised by Romanticism, to works from Melville’s time, to a famous work of contemporary cinema—that will help to place Moby-Dick in the context of the Romantic Tradition. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Modern American and British Fiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course students will develop the ability to do close reading as a method of analyzing and responding to literature. They will use frameworks to analyze, evaluate, and place in context short fiction by Modern British and American writers. By the end of the course, students will be able to communicate an understanding of literary criticism so they can demonstrate personal and intellectual engagement in responding to literary works. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Modern and Contemporary Drama |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course is designed to introduce the student of drama to various plays from the modern and contemporary periods. The five plays that are studied vary each term and are chosen for their challenging topics, innovative structures and compelling language. This course is meant to encourage the reading of plays out loud in the classroom as well as a group presentation of a scene in lieu of an oral. The student will develop a deeper understanding and respect for the genre and hopefully develop a continued interest in theatregoing. The attendance at a play and its written review are mandatory. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Modern Drama |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
The aim of this course is to develop an appreciation for modern and contemporary drama for the student who has had little to no exposure to theatre. This course is designed to introduce students of drama to various plays from the modern period and expose them to a live performance. The class will review the history of theatre and learn relevant terminology before studying a witty and astute comedy by Oscar Wilde and comparing it to a 21st century film adaptation. We will then analyze a modern drama by Ibsen or Chekhov and write an essay examining its literary techniques such as characterization or symbolism. We shall attend a production of a modern drama at the Dawson Theatre and write a play review of it. Attendance at one play is mandatory. Next, we will analyze the lyrical and expressionistic play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and view its ground-breaking film version by Elia Kazan. The study of a contemporary play is also part of the course. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Modern Poetry |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This class has two primary goals: to help students develop their reading, writing, and analytical skills, and to introduce them to some of the major figures and trends in modern British and American poetry. Classes will be discussion-based, but there will also be lectures, a significant amount of collaborative work, and frequent individual writing activities. While the course will emphasize close reading, we will also be exploring the historical, cultural, and political contexts in which the poetry was produced. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Modernist Literature |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Modernist Poetry |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This class will introduce you to some of the major figures and ideas in Modernist British and American poetry and will improve your reading, writing, and analytical skills. Classes will be discussion-based, but there will also be lectures, a significant amount of collaborative work, and frequent individual writing activities. In addition, while the course will emphasize close-reading, we will also be exploring the historical, cultural, and political contexts in which the poetry was produced. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Modernist Short Story and Poetry |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Newspaper Writing I |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Poetry |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course, an introduction to poetry, will develop students’ understanding and appreciation of poetic genres, forms, movements, devices, and strategies. The study of prosody, rhyme, and figurative language will be featured. We will practice close reading, learning to recognize devices and structures, with the aim of writing clearly and thoughtfully about poetry in a critical essay. Learning activities may include reading or reciting poetry aloud, completing poetry-writing exercises, listening and responding to lectures and class discussions, participating in group discussions, and writing informal or formal (analytical) responses to poems. Numerous literary terms will be introduced or reviewed to help students gain some of the vocabulary of critical writing and improve their comprehension and analysis of poetry. Students will produce and present a Favourite Poem Video, commenting on their favourite poem and may be asked to attend a poetry reading during the course of the term. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Poetry Face Off: Eliot and Larkin |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course, we will explore the basic elements of the poetic literary genre. We will start with the general question of what poetry is and how it is different from other literary genres, and then focus on the language and form of poetry by studying the works of two major poets from the world of English literature. Both T.S. Eliot and Philip Larkin wrote in the 20th century, but represent two very different poetic traditions: Eliot’s work is the key example of Modernist experimentation in poetry in the first half of the century, while Larkin’s poems revive an older poetic approach but within a new post-war England, and a post-Modernist literary context. By looking at such divergent writing traditions side by side, we are hoping to get a more comprehensive idea of poetry in general, its different manifestations, and specific social and cultural environments around them. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Poetry from Planet Earth |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course, we explore the world's poetry - from 50,000 years ago to now - hearing it, reading it, and writing back to it - to find out how human beings have made into language what's mattered to them most. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Poetry Now |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course aims at introducing students to the study and appreciation of poerry, in this case the most recent poetry by today's celebrated poets, both Canadian and international, in both English and translation. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Portraits of the Mind |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
We typically think of portraiture as a genre of painting, and of the mind as an abstract system of neurological processes. One of the reasons that fiction—and in particular, the novel—is so special, is that it allows artists to transcend this boundary between the concrete and the abstract and depict how the mind, in all its complexity, actually works. In this course, we will focus on works of fiction that portray, in prose, the mind’s inner workings, culminating in essays that use theoretical ideas from the fields of psychology and philosophy to analyze the minds of literary characters. Authors we will focus on include Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, James Joyce, Thomas Mann, Graham Greene, Muriel Spark, Patricia Highsmith and Joan Didion. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Real Life Stories |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
What is the meaning of a life? Why would someone attempt to write a narrative of his experiences for others? We value truth above invention, but how can we judge the truth of the most subjective and biased literary forms? This survey course reads works of autobiography, memoir and journal: from confessions to stories of faith and conversion, slave narratives, memoirs of war, to satanic panics, alien abduction narratives and recent scandals over bestselling fake memoirs. We will also screen a few biographical documentaries based on interviews, found footage and reenactments which raise similar questions about identity and the sources of the self. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Russian Novellas |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Science Fiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Shakespeare |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
The class will read three Shakespeare plays: Henry IV, Part 1 (a history), Twelfth Night (a comedy), and Hamlet (a tragedy). In the course of the semester, students will be asked to do the following: 1. participate in class discussion of the plays studied, having read the material scheduled for each class, making notes while reading and answering reading questions when these are assigned. 2. complete three essays, one on each of the plays studied (at least one will be written in class). 3. participate in a group presentation (most likely on the tragedy). 4. complete either a play review or a creative assignment (due in the last class). |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Shakespeare and Modernist Theatre |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Shakespeare Mystery |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
“The Shakespeare Mystery” examines three major works by Shakespeare and usually they are three very different kinds of plays. The classes focus on a clear understanding of the text and a comprehension of Shakespeare’s dramaturgy. Shakespeare was a man of the theatre, and the dramatic elements of the plays are all-important: entrances, exits, effects, the challenges set for the actors. The class examines as much of these questions as possible. Also, the students build an idea of each play through a succession of exposures to the work: their own reading; class discussion; notes prepared by the teacher; and a film version of the play they are reading. Considerable emphasis is placed on the surprising dynamics of the text and the deliberate fluidity of meaning created by them. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Shakespeare's Comedies |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Shakespeare's Dramatic Art |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
The course will explore the genre of dramatic comedy through an examination of three influential Shakespeare plays: As You Like It, Twelfth Night and The Winter’s Tale. We will study the plays in the historical context of their production/staging and with a view to understanding their enduring appeal. Historical background texts and other useful sources will be made available online. In this course we will read and discuss literature critically, closely, and sensitively and learn to develop effective spoken and written arguments. The course will include instruction in the revision and editing of texts. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Short Fiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course examines short fiction from different parts of the world. Most of the works on the syllabus were originally published in English; a few are translations. While paying attention to the formal characteristics of the genre of the short story, students do close-readings, reflect on different writing styles, consider cultural and historical contexts, and evaluate critical responses. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Short Fiction and Poetry |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Short Stories of Alice Munro |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course students will read and examine six to eight short stories by Alice Munro. Students will do so with a view to understanding the unique universe her characters occupy—typically rural Ontario and typically, if unexpectedly, fascinating. The class will use various methods of literary analysis, depending on the demands of each story. Our studies will be supported by secondary texts, films, discussion and in-class assignments. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Short Stories Without Borders |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
The short story is a genre because it fulfills certain formal expectations. These expectations come from writers; others from readers. At times, however, writers rebel or refrain from fulfilling critics’ or readers’ hopes, both in order to invoke their right to creative expression, to innovate or push the limits of the genre. In this course we will look at these issues while reading stories from the United States, the West Indies, France, Russia, Japan, and Mexico. Students will acquire a vocabulary and analytical tools to define and identify the major conventions of the genre. We will then read and talk about short stories that reflect or resist those conventions. The cultural, social, or political context of the stories will be discussed. The course will unfold chronologically, but also generically.The class begins with the foundational, realist stories of the 19th century, moves on to the Gothic genre, and then explores the modernist and postmodernist works of the 20th century. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Short Story |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
Crime! Fantasy! Horror! Mystery! In this course students will explore the various forms of short fiction, and familiarize themselves with the critical concepts, and with the vocabulary and history of the genre, from the growth of genre fiction in the mid-nineteenth century and the emergence of short story theory with Edgar Allan Poe, to Alice Munro’s upsetting of these conventions. We will study a selection of short stories from world literature with emphasis on North American writers, from the 19th century until today, spanning literary movements with which the students will become familiar -- Romanticism, Realism, Modernism, the Harlem Renaissance, Postcolonialism, and Postmodernism. Through close analysis of these works, students will learn to recognize the formal and stylistic elements of short fiction and to communicate their observations, understanding, and analysis of short fiction in a well-constructed, well-expressed, and well-documented 1000-word essay. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Short Story Cycle |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
Through lectures, in-class work and discussion, students will learn to further appreciate literature by analyzing the short story cycle as a genre. Short story cycles or composites are neither short stories nor novels; rather, they intertwine conventions from both. We will discover how fiction writers use plot, character, setting, theme, and point of view to unify their short stories collections, creating reference and resonance in their narratives, thus transforming or elevating a collection to a novel type. This course will contribute to your success in your other courses, current and future, by helping you to read college-level texts critically and to research and write college-level essays effectively. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Short Story: From Poe to Postcards |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Speculative Fiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Studies in Auto/Biography |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Studies in Autobiography: Graphic W |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Studies in Nonfiction |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course explores the genre of creative nonfiction. We will study a wide variety of material, including auto/biography, memoir, graphics, literary journalism, reviews, interviews, profiles, travel writing and personal essays. Students will examine how experience of the “true” frames the production and interpretation of this kind of expression. Course work will be grounded in literary analysis technique and practice. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Survey of Drama |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course is an introduction to drama and the process of reading, discussing, rereading and composing a college-level essay in response. The principal objective is to provide you with an introduction to theatre history and to some of the important plays of various historical epochs. Our emphasis will be upon the critical and literary analysis of the plays themselves, and recognizing the essential differences between drama and other literary genres, i.e., poetry or fiction. We will recognize the elements of drama and learn to situate plays within their historical and literary contexts. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The American Gothic Short Story |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The American Novel |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
The basic methodology of this course consists of an organized combination of activities: textual analysis, discussion of literary genres and themes, lectures about historical context, in-class essays, quizzing on reading, two at-home expository essays, revision, and a final exam. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The American Short Story |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course we will study a wide range of short stories written by American authors from the nineteenth through the twenty-first centuries. We will consider the authors' different approaches to portraying this universal human experience, and students will compare two of these stories for the first essay of the course. We will then turn to some earlier stories, beginning with Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle," that address issues of American identity and origins. For the remainder of the course we will examine various stories from the last hundred years, considering various perspectives, subjects and styles. Throughout the course we will discuss the elements of fiction, such as theme, character, plot and point of view. Our primary goals will be to improve critical reading, thinking and writing skills, and to develop the appreciation and understanding of serious literature. Students will continue to learn to write a formal essay of literary criticism. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Autobiography/Memoir |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Canterbury Tales in Translation |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Castaway Narrative |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Contemporary Canadian Novel |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course is an introduction to the contemporary Canadian novel. All three of the novels studied have been published in the past 30 years, but their settings together cover a time span from approximately 1930 to 2000. They all feature adolescent or pre-adolescent protagonists coming to terms with their identities and surrounding environments. The protagonists come of age in times of great flux, whether it be turmoil in their families, in the community and nation in which they live, or both. Themes involving growing up, identity, family, community, and nationhood will be among those of primary interest to us in this course. The common subject matter will enable us to better explore the differences in form and content of the three works studied toward a better understanding of the genre of the novel. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Gothic & The Fantastic in American Popular Culture |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Memoir |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In Talking about the Memoir, William Zinsser suggests that “no other form of fiction goes so deeply to the roots of personal experience.” In recent years, the memoir or confessional autobiography has experienced a resurgence within the publishing industry and today is one of the most popular forms of nonfiction writing. Its success as a genre is not surprising given that the urge to ‘confess’ is deeply rooted in the human psyche. In this course, students will explore the personal and social ramifications of this form of writing. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Novel |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course we will be looking at the development of the novel since its beginnings, and we will be reading three novels, each from a different period and part of the world. Discussions will focus on the elements of literature and how each writer has adapted the elements of literature in his/her work. By the end of the term, students will have an understanding of the way novelists react to and recreate what has come before. In addition to the reading, students will have opportunities to improve their writing and style. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Novella |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
Novellas are works of prose fiction of intermediate length, shorter than novels but (by most definitions) longer than short stories. In English the word novella has come to denote longer stories of the type that enjoyed a boom in nineteenth-century Europe. Novellas offer a more sustained exploration of character and theme than do short stories, but with a unity and focus usually not found in full-length novels (described by Henry James as “large loose baggy monsters, with their queer elements of the accidental and the arbitrary”). As Judith Leibowitz puts it, "Whereas the short story limits material and the novel extends it, the novella does both in such a way that a special kind of narrative structure results, one which produces a generically distinct effect: the double effect of intensity and expansion.” Students will read some major novellas from the last hundred years and will discuss the cultural and historical contexts of these works, their formal features, and their themes. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Postcard Poem |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Short Stories of Alice Munro |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course students will read and examine several short stories by Alice Munro with a view to understanding the unique universe her characters occupy—typically rural Ontario. We will also examine her stories with a view to understanding how to interpret short stories generally. To that end, the instructor will use various methods of literary analysis. The studies will be supported by secondary texts, films, discussion and in-class assignments. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Short Story |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course we will study short stories written by contemporary North American authors, with a particular focus on the Work of Alice Munro. The first unit will address a number of recent stories that deal with the theme of grief. We will consider the authors’ different approaches to portraying this universal human experience, and students will compare two of these stories for the first essay of the course. We will then turn to Munro’s work, considering representative stories from throughout her career. The unit will include an in-class group project in which students will prepare a short presentation on an assigned story. Munro’s work will be the subject of the term paper. Finally, we will return to the American short story volume and discuss a range of stories with different subjects, settings, styles and themes. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
The Twentieth-Century Novel -- A Time and a Place |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course, students will read three novels that launched the careers of their respective authors: Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) and Alan Sillitoe (1928-2010). These novels have little in common �' thematically, stylistically or otherwise. They are the stories of three very different, but equally memorable characters in very different places at very specific points in the twentieth century: Paris in the 20s, various locales across the USA in the 40s and 50s, and an English industrial town in the early 60s. Students and the instructor shall explore their reactions to these works through readings, classroom discussion, recordings and video, and attempt to give clear expression to these reactions in our in-class and homework assignments. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
TheWeirdTradition:Worldview, Aesthe |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Tragedy |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
Tragedy explores the often subtle relationship between an individual and the societal rules that govern everyday life. For many reasons, the tragedic protagonist finds such rules restricting and acts against them. It becomes a question of whose values/ideas/practices are right—those the tragedic protagonist rejects or those he/she embraces. The answer to that question brings about tragedy’s most analyzed generic convention: catharsis. Catharsis is the process by which the emotions elicited by the tragedic protagonist are purged—the initial sympathy for protagonist as well as the later fear of the change that the protagonist represents. Throughout the semester we will read a number of tragedic texts, focusing not only on the narrative form of tragedy, but also the typical conventions involved in a tragedy. We will examine both classical examples or tragedy as well as more modern examples to see how the genre addresses social issues relevant to contemporary audiences. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
True Stories |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Victorian Sampler |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
This course is an introduction to the literature and world-view of the English Victorian Period (c. 1837-1901). The 19th Century was one of the greatest creative eras in English literary history, beginning with the Romantics and the “Regency” novelists (notably Jane Austen), then continuing into the Victorian Era – which is considered the greatest period of the English Novel, a period which produced, by far, the majority of the masterpieces we still possess in this genre. The course will read and study two Victorian novels, as well as a sampling of shorter works of poetry and prose. A main intention is to introduce the student to a firmer imaginative sense of the life and times of this important period. In addition to the literary works to be read, the class will view many film adaptations of Victorian novels and some documentary films so students can better understand and imagine the life and times of this era. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Writing For Children |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Description for Course: |
In this course, students will read a wide range of texts, from Aesop’s fables and fairy tales to contemporary children’s literary texts. In addition, through discussion and writing, students will develop skills in 1) thinking about and responding to children’s literature; 2) articulating their personal views and values, and 3) making a formal analysis of literary texts. Students will also have the opportunity to experiment with writing their own children’s stories. |
|
| 603-102-MQ |
Writing from Experience: The Value of Contemporary Memoir |
2 - 2 - 3 |
60 |
|
| Descriptions for Course: |
The description for this course is not available at this time.
Please check with the Program Coordinator. |
|
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