Undergraduate Literature Course Offerings for Fall 2006
1923.001-4 Great Works of Literature (H) – 12611, 12612, 12613, 12614 Fitz While we’re never going to agree what makes a “great book,” we’ll be reading classic and enjoyable works ranging from Greek tragedy to the twentieth century novel, each of which captures the spirit of the time in which it was written. Three tests; one research paper. MW 2:30-3:20, discussion sessions various times
2413.001-10,701,2 Introduction to Literature (H) – 12615, 12616, 12617, 12618, 12619 Various Faculty
An introduction to poetry, drama, fiction, and film. English majors and non-majors will develop their abilities to think critically and write analytically about literature. Both papers and essay exams. Various Times
2543.001Survey of British Literature I - 12641 Pesta
An embarrassment of riches and a travesty of coverage. One thousand years of the world’s greatest literature, including such giants as Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton. The real tragedy is realizing what we will not have time to read. But our grief will be offset by studying (besides the greats listed above), such luminaries as Mallory, Spenser, Donne, Marlowe, Webster, Swift, and Behn. This course is essential and foundational for all subsequent literary study. MWF 12:30-1:20
2653.001 Survey of British Literature II - 12642 Wallen
England ’s literary tradition after 1798. Read works by Wordsworth, Keats, Browning, Yeats, Lawrence, and others. TR 3:30-4:45
2773.001 Survey of American Literature I – 12643 Walker
La Longue Carabine? The Belle of Amherst? The Solitary Singer? Who is the real Leatherstocking? The real Emily Dickinson? The real Walt Whitman? Why were storytellers obsessed with questions of identity (personal, national, sexual) in early America, and how did they use these questions to give shape and direction to America’s literary and cultural tradition? Why wait until it’s too late? Find out now. MWF 11:30-12:20
2883.001 Survey of American Literature II – 12644 Smith
How did “these United States” become “the United States?” Why are the last 100 years called “the American century?” We’ll ask, and tentatively answer, such questions as we explore American literature and culture from 1865 to present. Three short papers, a presentation, and two exams. TR 9:00-10:15
3153.001 Literature by Women - 17715 Leavell
“Remember everything,” a writer advised Alice Sebold, a recent rape victim. How do memory and history restore power to the oppressed and victimized? Recent fiction, memoir, biography, and poetry by Toni Morrison, Sylvia Plath, Adrienne Rich, Sebold, and other American women. Two papers, two exams. MWF 1:30-2:20
3163.001, 701 World Literature (H)- 12648 Price, M
A selective and thematic study of the classics of Western Literature. Representative authors might include Homer, Dante, Ibsen, and Kafka. Three essays and weekly reading quizzes. Various times
3170.001 Visual Arts and Modernism - 17721 Leavell
Modernism in Literature and the Visual Arts. A century ago American painters, photographers, and poets gathered in Paris and New York to chart radical new directions for themselves. What were those new directions? How did they translate into visual and verbal media? Major figures will include Alfred Stieglitz and Marcel Duchamp, William Carlos Williams and Gertrude Stein. 2 papers, 2 exams. MWF 2:30-3:20
3193.001 African-American Literature (H)– 12649 Decker
Readings will range from the pre-Civil war period to the present. Reading journal, midterms and final exam. TR 12:30-1:45
3240.351 Literary Criticism – 12652 Mayer
The class will read the ancients (Plato, Aristotle), then treat key poet- critics (and novelist-critics) in the British (and American) tradition such as Sidney, Pope, Wordsworth, and Eliot (and read some poetry at the same time), and then turn to the main line of critical theory from the eighteenth century to our own day (Kant to postmodernism). We'll end by talking about "Everyday Theory" - critical theory related to television, shopping, and so forth. Two midterms & a final; two papers; quizzes; one class report. MWF 9:30-10:20
3333.001 Short Story (H) – 12679 Smith
This course will consider the origins, development, and contemporary examples of this popular genre. Selections include tales of betrayal, obsession, and madness. Two exams, two papers. TR 12:30-1:45
3353.001 Film as Literature (H) – 12680 Rollins
After some training in film language and film techniques, we will study adaptations of stories and novels to the silver screen. The American Short Story series for PBS and The Grapes of Wrath will be featured. What is a “good adaptation” and what is a “bad one?” Take this class and find out.
R 6:45-9:30pm
3383.001 Readings in Narrative - 17725 Fitz
We will read and analyze examples of short narratives of different types (parable, fable, fairy tale, fantastic, horror, detective, Modern, and Post-Modern) and longer narrative (epic, novel). Some of the authors we will read: Boccaccio, Maupassant, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Katherine Ann Porter, Eudora Welty, Borges, Julia Alvarez, and Don de Lillo. There will be some readings in narrative theory. Two research papers and two essay examinations.
MWF 12:30-1:20
3410.001 Popular Fiction: Sci-fi Subgenre Alt. History (H)-12682 Eldevik
A favorite device of science fiction writers is to send people from the modern era back in time, resulting in drastic changes to The World As We Know It, and also -- for readers -- resulting in much thought-provoking entertainment. Our course will explore what various writers (chiefly L. Sprague De Camp, Poul Anderson, Eric Flint, and S.M. Stirling) have achieved in novels and short stories of this kind. Midterm and final exams; several take-home writing assignments. TR 2:00-3:15
3933.001-004 Shakespeare (H)– 12686-12689 Jones
Shakespeare’s tragedies and histories offer profound insights into mortality and probe the depths of human nature. Plays like Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Timon of Athens, and Richard III strip the veil of human consciousness to reveal deep and painful truths about the human condition. Careful engagement with these plays is essential for any educated person. MF 11:30-12:20, discussion sessions vary
4100.001 Medieval British Literature - 17727 Price, M
Selected works from the later British Middle Ages, excluding those of Chaucer but including Welsh and Middle English drama, lyrics, and romances. Two short papers and a research paper. TR 3:30-4:45
4160.001 19 th Century British Literature – 17728 Austin
A wide survey of poetry from about 1833 through the turn of the century, with attention to major themes and to the handling of form. The work of Tennyson, Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Matthew Arnold, and Christina Rossetti will be examined in detail. Poetic forms include the dramatic monologue, the ballad, the nursery rhyme, nonsense verse, and the elegy. Two essays, one final exam, and scansion exercises. Vigorous discussion a must.
MWF 11:30-12:20
4170.001 20 th Century British Literature – 17229 Walkiewicz
An idealist turned madman, the madwoman in the attic, a young psychopath obsessed with religion-these are among the characters you will encounter as we discuss works of fiction by Joseph Conrad, Jean Rhys, Graham Greene, Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence and others. In addition to examining formal and technical aspects of the texts, we will be concentrating on their authors’ attitudes toward order, their approaches to the past, and their treatment of British culture, including matters involving class, gender, and colonialism. Two papers and two exams. MWF 1:30-2:20
4200.001 Early American Literature - 17730 Walker
Characterized by journeys into New Worlds (defined by gender, race, politics, and class), the history and literature of early America are rife with unique stories of men and women who seek liberties and freedoms from the dangers of their old world and adventures in their new one. Travel with a host of adventurers as they explore new worlds and do battle with seducers, seditionists, savages, and scalawags. MWF 9:30-10:20
4220.001 20 th Century American Literature – 17731 Decker
Travelers and Strangers: the Literature of Migration: Mary Antin, Willa Cather, Ralph Ellison, James Welch, Gish Jen, Eva Hoffman. Three papers, final exam. TR 9:00-10:15
4223.001 Introduction to Old English - 17732 Eldevik
This is both a language course and a literature course, giving students the reading comprehension skills needed in order to understand and appreciate works of English literature from the Anglo-Saxon period as they were originally written. The autumn course is confined to short works such as ‘The Dream of the Rood” and “The Wanderer,” but by the end of the semester students who wish to continue in the follow-up course will have the skills to read Beowulf in the spring. Quizzes, midterm and final exams, one paper. TR 10:30-11:45
4310.001 Modernism - 17733 Walkiewicz
We will be exploring the ways in which critics have brought into question the once widely-accepted history of literary Modernism as we look back at the co-existent and often competing modernisms in the first half of the twentieth century. Along the way we’ll be studying several other “isms” as well as works by T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, H.D., Mina Loy, Virginia Woolf, and others. Two papers and two essay exams. MWF 10:30-11:20
4400.801 Regional Literature – 18159 Miller
Literature and Film of the American West -We'll look at a variety of literature (and film) from the American West, fiction and nonfiction. Readings may include Abbey, The Monkey Wrench Gang; Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, Wallace Stegner, Irving's Captain Bonneville; and more. Films such as The Milagro Beanfield Wars and Giant. We'll also look at Hispanic and Native American contributions. R 4:30-7:10pm
4710.001 Dostoevsky, God and the Devil (H) – 17738 Pesta
A study of Dostoevsky’s novels. . MWF 10:30-11:20
English Department
College of Arts & Sciences
Oklahoma State University
205 Morrill Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-9474
For Information about English Programs: english.information@okstate.edu
Webmaster: engweb@okstate.edu
