English 101 - The Discovery of Adulthood in American Fiction: How Adolescent Experiences Shape the Human Psyche

 

This course will examine, through short stories, novels, and nonfiction articles, the complicated transition from adolescence to adulthood. More specifically, we will examine the ways in which parents, friends, significant others, and environmental conditions assist or hinder an adolescent’s ability to successfully pass from one stage to the next. Students will consider the fragility of friendship, hatred for authority figures, sibling rivalries, teenage recklessness, sexual exploration, addiction, codependency, and the power of pop culture. Students will also contemplate the differences between flawed parenting and healthy parenting. In essence, we will aim to determine how these factors contribute, for better or worse, to one’s self-perception, conduct, and views of the world as an adult. At the same time, we will reflect on our own lives to identify pivotal moments that ultimately shaped (or might come to shape) who we are. While this course is thematically driven, we will spend a significant portion of our time developing and refining the skills that are absolutely necessary for succeeding in a college class, particularly in terms of reading, writing, research, and time management.

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Course readings: the primary readings for this course consist of two novels and a number of short stories. The novels are On the Come Up by Angie Thomas and Junot Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize winning, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Some of the short stories include “The Time, The Place, The Loved One” by Susan Welch, “The Referee” by James Carlos Blake, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” by Richard Wright, and “Incoming Tide” by Elizabeth Strout.

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Major course requirements: there will be two critical essays. The first essay will be exactly three pages in length; the second essay, which will involve a research component, will be no less than five pages long. Both papers must be double-spaced and typed in 12. Pt. Times New Roman font. Each student will also be required to participate in one class symposium (I’ll explain more about this in class). There will be a total of four tests (two per novel). Please understand that your success on each test is contingent with your willingness to adhere to the reading schedule. Conversely, to produce acceptable essays, you will need to dedicate a substantial amount of time to the writing process. This means that you will be expected to prewrite/organize, research, revise, and edit with care. NOTE: I will offer a creative writing alternative for the shorter essay. I’ll talk more about this as we approach the due date.

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English 102 - Psychopaths, Serial Killers, and Victimology: A Study of Homicide and Other Crimes in World Literature

This course will primarily explore the situational and psychological complexities behind the act of murder.  It will also deal with the literary challenges involved in portraying this common and often incomprehensible part of human existence. The goal of our readings, projects, and class activities will be to offer some possible answers to the question, “Why do we kill?” While our overall focus will be primarily literary, we will also take some brief side-excursions into the fields of science (specifically neurology), psychology, and history. Students will be encouraged to think with analytical rigor about such familiar human phenomena as racism, religious extremism, elitism, existentialism, and any other “ism” that can lead to what society defines as “coldblooded” or “senseless” acts of killing. In addition to looking at the possible motives of the killer, we will also be taking a thorough look at the circumstances surrounding the victims. After all, there are currently over seven billion people in the world, so the idea that one person will cross paths with another person who will snatch his or her life away in an instant is something that we simply cannot ignore. In fact, statistics show that one person is murdered every 60 seconds (cbsnews.com). With numbers like these, we might want to consider the following questions: Have we ever passed a stranger on the street who felt the sudden urge to kill us? How many times have we sat in the passenger seat of a car with someone who contemplated never bringing us home? How often have we held hands with someone who considered taking extreme measures to make sure that no one else would ever have us? I have laid out a few questions for you here, but I am advising you to formulate some of your own as the course progresses. Ultimately, your questions will lead you on a path to insightful and creative ideas that you can share with the rest of the class.

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Course readings: the books included in this course are James Carlos Blake’s, The House of Wolfe and William Gay’s short story collection, I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down. We will also cover the following short stories: “Stone Mattress” by Margaret Atwood, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” by Tim O’Brien, and “Going to Meet the Man” by James Baldwin. You will also be required to analyze a movie. The list of choices will be provided to you during the semester. 

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Major course requirements: there will be two critical essays and a presentation. The first essay will be exactly three pages in length; the second essay, which will involve a research component, will be no less than five pages long. Both papers must be double-spaced and typed in 12. Pt. Times New Roman font. Each student will also be required to participate in one class symposium (I’ll explain more about this in class). There will be a total of four tests (two per novel). Please understand that your success on each test is contingent with your willingness to adhere to the reading schedule. Conversely, to produce acceptable essays, you will need to dedicate a substantial amount of time to the writing process. This means that you will be expected to prewrite/organize, research, revise, and edit with care. NOTE: I will offer a creative writing alternative for the shorter essay. I’ll talk more about this as we approach the due date.

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