English
in the Spring
Course
Descriptions
Department
of English
Ouachita
Baptist University
Spring 2001
ENGL 2013: English Studies 
Dr. Amy Sonheim 11:00-11:50
MWF
Lile Hall 200
Required for all English majors and minors.
The purpose of this course is to introduce
fledgling English majors and minors to the discipline of the literary scholar, and the
primary goal to equip students with every tool needed for a successful completion of a
major or minor in English. To achieve these
ends, we shall explore the major genres of literature, learn the terminology and
techniques associated with those genres, and acquire the basic skills needed to conduct
the type of research practiced by the literary scholar.
While using Robert DiYanni’s Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama,
and the Essay as our primary introduction
to the genres, we shall take particularly close looks at the genres of verse and narrative
by reading the Norton Critical Edition of Lord Tennyson's verse elegy In Memoriam
and using E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India for our final research paper. For these studies, we shall also employ three
reference texts essential to the library of any student of literature: The Harper
Handbook to Literature, Poetic Meter & Poetic Form, and The MLA Handbook. The grade for the course will be based on daily
quizzes, recitation of memorized lines of verse, a midterm examination, one literary note,
a research paper, and a comprehensive final examination.
ENGL 3073: Linguistics
Dr. Susan Wink
2:00-3:15 MW
Lile Hall 321
This course presents a survey of the
various branches of linguistics such as phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax,
semantics, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics.
The aim of this course is to provide you
with a broad knowledge of the primary concerns and methods of modern linguistic theory,
analysis, and investigation.
By the end of the course, you should be
able to
1) transcribe
regular spelling and speech into broad phonetic transcription,
2) transcribe
broad phonetic transcription into regular spelling,
3) demonstrate
an understanding of basic phonology and phonological rules,
4) identify
free and bound morphemes,
5) demonstrate,
with diagrams and transformational sequences, a basic understanding of modern English
syntax and the theories and methods of transformational grammar,
6) describe
and apply the basic methods of investigation used in historical linguistics,
sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics,
7) describe
current ideas and theories concerning language acquisition,
8) describe
current ideas and theories concerning how language means and demonstrate an understanding
of methods of semantic investigation,
9) and
sing the Ouachita Alma Mater in reverse.
ENGL 3083: Advanced Creative Writing /
Fiction
Dr. Johnny Wink
3:30-4:45 TTh
Lile Hall 200
By
reading a reasonable sampling of fiction by professionals, responding to that fiction both
in class and on paper, and writing some fiction of their own, students will come, it is
hoped, to be able to order words in "ghostlier demarcations, keener sounds."
ENGL 3093: Advanced Creative
Writing/Poetry
Dr. Jay Curlin
9:00-9:50 MWF
Lile Hall 200
This poetry workshop will focus on the craft
of the poet by examining the tradition and elements of closed and open form in British and
American verse. Guided by Nims and
Mason’s Western Wind, workshop participants will study and imitate the works
of both British and American poets to produce original creations of their own. Along the way, they will have the pleasure of
occasional reading quizzes, will know the infinitely greater pleasure of filling their
memories with at least two hundred lines of verse, and will write a number of original
poems in a variety of forms both old and new.
ENGL 3113: American Literature Since 1877
Dr. Tom Greer
8:30-9:45 TTh
Lile Hall 200
Historically, the latter part of the
nineteenth century in American literature is referred to as the period of Realism. Equally so, that period gives way to the idea of
Naturalism near the end of the century, a movement which lasted into the first two decades
of the twentieth century. The 1920’s is
sometimes referred to as the Second Renaissance in American literature and provides a
number of skillful artists in fiction, drama, and poetry.
In like manner, American literature from then to now is characterized by
experimentation, novelty, and traditionalism, all of which make for interesting themes and
innovative technique.
The textbook for the course will be the
second volume of The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Each student will be expected to read the
materials assigned in the text, take at least three major examinations, and prepare a
paper on some topic in American literature.
ENGL 3213: English Literature Since 1800
Dr. Susan Wink
10:00-10:50 MWF
Lile Hall 200
Beginning with the visionary company of
Blake, we will move with enormous pleasure through the poetry and prose of the English
Romantic period--the likes of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, and other
Romantics--and on to the Victorian era, where, because Victoria lived practically forever,
we will remain for a good long while savoring Tennyson, both Brownings, and a host of
other great poets and great prose stylists of that period.
I rarely manage to get much past the poetry of World War I in this course because
it is so rewarding and pleasant to linger over almost everyone whose works we’ll
read, but I generally manage to spend the last two days on Yeats even if I haven’t
got past Hardy. I have so enjoyed the weekly
response sheets this fall that they will be part of the regimen in addition to two or
three major exams and a brief paper on a novel from the period.
ENGL 3703: Modern Chinese Literature
Dr. Tom Greer
12:30-1:45 TTh
Lile Hall 200
Sometimes referred to as the May Fourth
Movement or the New Culture Movement, May 4, 1919, marks a major change in Chinese
culture. The age of feudalism had ended with
the collapse of the Cheng Dynasty in 1912. Between
that year and the May Fourth Movement, the Middle Kingdom was characterized by conflict
and factional disagreements. After 1919, the
conflict turned from warlord factional fighting to political and cultural disagreements.
Sometimes referred to as Liberation and
defined as the Peoples’ Republic of China, October 1, 1949, marked the end of the
conflict between the Nationalist Party and the powerful Communist Party. During the next thirty-plus years, China would be
basically a closed society, accepting little if anything from the Western world.
After the death of Chairman Mao and
Premier Zhou Enlai in 1976, China began to open her doors to the outside world, an event
which has led to more and more inclusion of outside ideas, while producing conflict
between ancient ideas of the East and newer ideas from the West.
The literature of China in the twentieth
century reflects these three major events--the May Fourth Movement, Liberation, and the
Open-Door Policy. From these periods, we will
read pieces of fiction, poetry, and drama. The
major textbook will be the History of Modern Chinese Literature, edited by Tang Tao
and published in 1993. In addition, we will
read various works by authors such as Pa Chin, Lao She, Ding Ling, Lu Hsun, Zhang Jie, and
others.
ENGL 4013: Special Methods in English and
Social Studies
Mrs. Beverly Slavens
3:30-4:45 MW
Lile Hall 210
If you plan to teach English and/or social
studies in middle/secondary schools, take this course to explore methods of presenting and
evaluating the literature, composition, and grammar skills required of your students. The text is a practical guide to using those
pedagogical skills and terms tested by Praxis II and used in teacher-certification
programs. In addition to the text, you will
work with secondary-school textbooks and small groups of high-school students as you
develop objectives, lesson plans, and evaluation instruments to use in your classroom. (Also open to social-studies majors.)
ENGL 4113: Studies in the American Novel
Dr. Johnny Wink
11:00-12:15 TTh
Lile Hall 200
Beginning
with Hawthorne's splendidly accursed "The House of Seven Gables" and making our
way finally to Updike's jittery "Rabbit, Run" via novels by Melville, Twain,
James, Cather, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Baldwin, and Vonnegut, we will take a
grand tour of American longer fiction during which one hopes the conspicuous absence of
numerous fine American novelists will be redeemed by the excellence consequent upon the
presence of the aforenamed. Reading quizzes,
weekly writings in response to the novels being read, and a brief paper concerning a novel
by an American writer not on the reading list will constitute the bulk of the work done in
the class.
ENGL 4303: Studies in Drama
Dr. Amy Sonheim
1:00-1:50 MWF
Lile Hall 200
Textbook: The Harcourt Brace Anthology of
Drama, W. B. Worthen
Studies in Drama blends the academic
study of western drama with the live experience of American theater to nurture sensitive,
critical patrons of the art. Toward that
commitment, we will
- Read 25 celebrated plays
representing the gamut from classical to post-modern;
- Study articles of criticism
and theory;
- Compose a five- to seven-page
essay, a ten- to twelve-page research paper, and three two-page reviews;
- Take daily quizzes, one test,
and a comprehensive final; and
- Attend the Humana Festival in
Louisville, Kentucky, for a taste of the crème de la crème of contemporary
American theater.
ENGL 4703: Milton
Dr. Jay Curlin
3:00-3:50 MWF
Lile Hall 200
This course is a survey of the life and works of the great English poet and writer John Milton, a giant of the seventeenth century whose impact upon English literature has been profound. To explore the depths of so complex and prolific a genius would require at least a lifetime, but the four months of the term should be sufficient to expose you to Milton’s major works of poetry and prose. Using The Riverside Milton for our survey of Milton’s major English verse and prose and John Shawcross’s John Milton : The Self and the World for our introduction to Milton’s life and historical context, we will spend the semester among such glories as Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes, and enjoy such pleasures as we find on this side of Paradise: daily quizzes, two examinations, and a scholarly paper.
Dr. Amy Sonheim
2:00-3:15 TTh
Lile Hall 200
In this year’s seminar, we will read to
understand Ulysses, by James Joyce. As
the capstone course for graduating English majors, the senior seminar will be conducted as a graduate seminar,
reflecting the entire process of independent research: reading; discussing; and writing a
proposal, article review, annotated
bibliography, and research paper, the last being delivered in a symposium to
English-department faculty at the close of the course.
To understand Ulysses, we will
begin the course by reading the Norton edition of The Portrait of the Artist as a Young
Man, culminating our study with a five-page critical essay. Then, we will embark on our journey through Ulysses
with our guide The New Bloomsday Book, by helpful Harry Blamires. To keep us on course, I will proffer daily
reading quizzes. The one prerequisite for the
journey is that each traveler needs to have read Homer’s Odyssey.
Why Study English Language and Literature at Ouachita?
The English faculty here at
Ouachita believes that through your diligent study of the English language and of English
literature, you will gain practical skills. You
will learn to read carefully and analytically, looking for ways the parts relate to the
whole. You will wrestle with complex ideas,
ambiguity and multiple interpretations. You
will learn more words, and you will learn more about words--their histories and
complexities and mysteries. In short, you
will learn to read complex texts and you will learn to write more clearly. Whether your future holds law school, Sunday
school, high school, or homeschool, your diligent studies in English will enrich your work
for God's kingdom.
Associate Professor of English
On Sabbatical, Fall 2000 through Spring 2001