English

ENGL W10 The Inklings: C.S. Lewis and Friends.  In this course, we will read selections from the famous and not-so-famous works of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield. These authors formed the core of the Inklings, a group of Oxford intellectuals in the 30’s and 40’s who concerned themselves with myth and mythmaking. We will ask what spawned and sustained their fellowship, what problems they attempted to solve, and what legacy they left behind. We will look at their attitude toward Modernism, exemplified by T. S. Eliot, a writer who converted to the Anglican Church about the same time as Lewis but whose poetry took a far different direction. And we will explore with them basic
 questions about the relationship between faith and the imagination. Evaluation is based on journals, an essay, a presentation and class participation. L. Klatt. 2:00 to 5:00.

ENGL W11 C.S. Lewis's Fiction.  This course will examine selected works from Lewis’s fiction, with particular emphasis upon works from the Space Trilogy and Narnia Chronicles. The aim of this course will be to understand the literary and stylistic techniques that marked Lewis as one of the seminal Christian writers of the 20th century, and to explore the thematic patterns of his works.  Evaluation is based on group presentations, reading quizzes, and class participation.  J. Timmerman.  8:30 to noon.

ENGL W40 Martin & Malcolm: Civil Rights Rhetoric Then & Now. In this course, students will analyze the arguments and lives of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X to better understand how spiritual ideals - of love, peace, mercy, justice, and being made in the image of God – informed civil rights rhetoric and activism between 1955-1968. Students will look at biography, sermons, speeches, movies and creative nonfiction to better understand how religious rhetoric has influenced social justice claims and movements over the past 50 years. Evaluation will be based on student participation refliective reading responses, two presentations, and a short paper. This course will fulfill an elective in the English Secondary Education major. M. Marie. 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ENGL W41 Speaking Pictures. A speaking picture is a work of literature that involves both words and graphic art. In this course, students explore the relationships between image and text and such works, and also the relationships between these works and the cultures in which they are written and read. The course offers three interlocking components: literary history, literary theory, and indie publishing. The historical component focuses largely on medieval and early modern books of hours and emblem books (books that pair symbolic pictures with brief didactic poems). The literary theory component focuses on theoretical modes articulated by thinkers such as Mikhail Bakhtin, Jacques Derrida, and Michel Foucault. The concepts from these first two components are explored through practice in the third: students work together in teams to produce their own anthology of original speaking pictures, which will be published on lulu.com. A copy of the anthology from Interim 2008 is available from either of the instructors. Evaluation is based on daily attendance, written assignments, group presentations, and participation in a team for the book project. This course may fulfill an elective for both the English major, the English minor, and the Writing minor. C. Engbers, J. Williams.  8:30 to noon.

ENGL W42 Finding God in the Movies: The Masters. This course will look closely at the work of the “giants” in the domain of religion and film, particularly the work of the great Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) and the equally renown Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski (1941-96).  No other filmmakers so invested themselves through the length of their careers in the challenge of exploring religious belief and the nature of God.  Although Hollywood and film generally are usually seen as bastions of gleeful secularism, these two writer directors produced an extraordinary body of film that is religiously acute and moving.  The course will look at the sorts of religious statements these films make and how they go about making them, concentrating on the interrelation between these two.  The course will begin by asking the question of what makes a film religious, and then move on to consider the drama of religious experience in the journey from darkness to light, from despair to hope, and from tragedy to comedy.  We will also reflect on the nature of audience response and the legitimacy of oft-drawn distinctions between religious film and Christian film.  As much as possible the course will follow a seminar format.  Recent viewing of all films in the course is a requirement.  Class
sessions view films and discuss, including some time for professor lecture on filmmakers and meanings, though this is kept to minimum.  Students will be responsible for viewing the films, reading analysis of written texts.  Evaluation is based on a daily log of reactions to films,  three analytic papers, and a final exam on the substance of the course.  The course is rather intensive, examining some fourteen films in as many sessions. It should also be noted that a number of the films in the course are R-rated and are very dark in their estimate of human life. The viewing list will include such films as Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, Cries and Whispers, Autumn Sonata, Best Intentions, Private Confessions and Kieslowski’s Blind Chance, Decalogue, Three Colors, and Heaven. This course may fulfill elective credit in the English major.  R. Anker.  2:00 to 5:00.

ENGL W46 New England Saints.  In the mid-nineteenth century, a group of New England writers created a body of literature dealing with significant religious, philosophical, and artistic questions that challenged conventional understandings of the world.  This course deals with these authors and their questions, grappling with the way their writing and their lives challenge contemporary Christians.  It studies Hawthorne and his reaction to the Puritan tradition, the transcendentalists and their uneasy union of philosophy and literature, and the Romantics and their departure from Emerson.  After reading and discussing Emerson, Thoreau, Dickinson, Alcott, Longfellow, Whittier, Hawthorne, and Bradford, the group travels to Maine, and then to Concord, for on-site discovery, examination, and discussion.  The class remains in New England for 2 ½ weeks, visiting Salem, Cape Cod and Plymouth, Lowell, Boston, Amherst, and Springfield.  Students are evaluated on individual and group presentations, discussion, and an extensive journal responding to the writing, the programs, and on-site presentations. This course may fulfill an elective requirement in the English and  Language Arts majors.  Course dates: January 7- 27.  Fee:  $1975.  J. Fondse, G. Schmidt. Off campus.

ENGL 262 Business Writing. A course introducing students to the kinds of writing and computer presentations that are required in business-related fields. Students collect examples of and practice composing the types of professional communication that they are likely to craft on the job. The class is conducted as a workshop; students consult with each other and with the instructor. Each student submits several projects. The class also includes a group report (with written, multi-media, and oral portions), in-class writing and computer exercises, and the use of word-processing and presentation software. Prerequisite: Completion of English 101 with a grade of C+ or above. S. LeMahieu Dunn. 8:30 to noon.

ENGL 339 English Grammar.  A study of traditional grammar, focusing on its history, its system, its applications, its competitors, and its place in the
middle-school and high-school classroom; special emphasis will be given to the system and terminology of this grammar.  Student work will be evaluated by means of daily assignments, in-class projects, a test, and a short paper. W. Vanden Kopple, E. Vander Lei. 8:30 to noon.

IDIS W11 Taos Arts & Literature. L. Naranjo-Huebl.

IDIS W29 An Inside Look at the January Series. R. Hondered, K. Saupe.

IDIS W45 Tale of Two Cities: London and Paris. J. Holberg, L. Mathews.