Syllabi

Composition and Rhetoric:

 English 1102 Special Topics | The Bleeding Pen: Writing about Vampires  :: Seductive, mesmerizing and horrifying, the vampire fascinates its prey like no other monster. What is this creature that has risen from  the mists of the Bohemian forest to reign as Hollywood's dark hero? In an investigation that will range from the historical inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula to the psychology behind the current pop phenomenon, we will find out. Staking our territory with words, we will bring literary, historical and pop cultural perspectives to studying, stalking and writing about the vampire. Assignments and projects include contributing to a class blog and vampire bestiary. Classroom environment augmented with a website presence.

English 1102 Special Topics | Inside Out: Writing about Space  ::  A word that spans several concepts, space is a term that represents abstract and concrete realities. Architecturally, space is the volume enclosed by forms and the forms themselves. Digitally, space is the intricate, unfathomable network of electronic information and infrastructure that delivers that information. Psychologically, space is the vast reaches of the interior world.  For future architects, architects of ideas, and curious thinkers, this class offers you the opportunity to explore various conceptions of space and a variety of approaches to writing about them. Classroom environment augmented with a website presence.

English 1102 Special Topics | Conceive. Compose. Consume: Writing about Food  :: From foraging through texts about foraging to composing a recipe and a video tutorial for a themed Last Supper final project, this course explores a variety of approaches to thinking and writing about food. Classroom environment augmented with a website presence.

English 1101  ::   My approach emphasizes a rhetorical approach to writing, taking into consideration the audience, purpose, and context as well as the subject matter. Assignments cumulatively develop students’ skills while challenging them to explore different perspectives and genres. Grammar and punctuation review focuses on reducing wordiness and nominalizations. Students are given concrete tips for improving the clarity of their writing. Classroom environment augmented with a website presence.

 

Technical and Professional Communications:

Technical Communications 2010 ::  TCom 2010 introduces students to the basic issues and nature of technical writing. Students analyze audiences and purposes; learn the major genres of professional writing; employ effective visual rhetoric and document design in digital and printed formats; prepare a proposal in response to an RFP; and present oral reports with multimedia components. Traditional classroom, hybrid and online.

IDC 5001: Writing Across the Professions. Online, developed by Dr. Laura Palmer ::  Developed for graduate students who need to refine their writing competence, IDC 5001 focuses on producing written work in the genres of professional communication. Content delivered v in weekly modules with assignments and outcomes that progressively develop skills.

 

Literature:

American Literature I: Beginnings to 1865 ::  A survey of American literature from Columbus's letters to The Scarlet Letter and Emily Dickinson's poetry. Lecture and class discussion explore the defining characteristics of American literature and the development of an American sense of self and place in history. Readings trace shifting cultural and personal perspectives on the themes of nature and the wilderness; the struggle of the individual against established authority; odyssey, and divine appointment. Classroom environment augmented with a website presence.

American Literature II: 1865—present :: From Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" to an introduction to the new genre of literary mashup, American Lit two touches on a diverse selection of genres, writers and movements in modern American literature. A fundamental theme explored in many of the writings is the concept of "the Other" in the work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, W.E.B. DuBois, H.P. Lovecraft, William Gibson and Paul Bowles. Classroom environment augmented with a website presence.