English (ENDI)

Introduces students to fiction, poetry, and drama that offer opportunities to examine the relationship of self to society. What does it mean to be sane or insane, normal or abnormal? What behaviors affect others in destructive ways and how does society deal with those who seem to be different from the norm? Falls and Springs. (SSDI)

Close reading and analysis of the way stories or themes are repeated and changed as societies evolve. Students explore chronologies of selected themes – such as views of death, love and hate, and rebellion – examining early and modern versions and placing them in a variety of cultural, historical and technological contexts. Course content may vary depending on instructor. Falls and Springs. (PPDI)

What does it mean to be creative? Where does inspiration come from? How do writers and artists think? Students seek out sources of inspiration, write creatively and often, share their work and develop habits and practices which can make imaginative writing and other creative enterprises a lasting and meaningful part of their lives. Not open to students who have previously earned credit for ENDI 1401. Falls and Springs. (CTDI)

What can American literature teach us about social inequality and justice? How might a novel, poem, or film function as an instrument of social change? As we grapple with these questions, we will interrogate the notion of social justice and examine the construction of categories such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and citizenship, among others. Course content varies by instructor. Springs Odd. (DICO) (SSDI)

Humans are both social and individual. For centuries, literature has highlighted, debated and critiqued the relationship between the individual and society, the impact the individual has on society and that which society has on the development of individual identity, behavior and the formation of beliefs. Cultures differ in the relative value they give to the individual and to the group; literature allows us to look at that value in terms of our roles as individuals and as (non)conformers to social expectations. Through examples taken from writing and film, analyzes the self and society through a selection of topics which include gender, sexuality, race, class, wealth, behavior and socialization. Falls. (SSDI)

Students work to redefine the concepts of "wilderness" and to explore the relationship of the individual to the "wild." Is "wilderness" always a geographic space, or can it also be psychological, social, or political? Is it always totally removed from society, or does it need society in order to exist? Texts may focus on classic nature writing, but other topics may include the wilds of human perception, pop culture chaos, adolescent angst, cultural identity and other vexed internal and external landscapes. Challenges preconceptions of what constitutes the "wilderness." As students investigate the individual's relationship to both society and seclusion, they consider how the "self" is produced and revised by its encounters with the wild. Not open to students who have earned credit in ENDI 1550. Springs. (SSDI)

Students taking this course will explore what it means to write, read, and think about narrative. Stories surround us. Our relationship to stories is bound up in our relationship to ourselves, our societies, and the world. This relationship is complex and important to understand, for it has a vital influence on not only what we know but also what we do. Falls and Springs. (SSDI)

Studies film as a creative art--parallel to poetry or painting or music, analyzing the means by which good filmmakers move audiences to feel, to think, to experience certain aspects of life. Become familiar with film art; stress the humanistic qualities of the film experience and how it can connect to our own "real life" personal experiences. Not open to students who have earned credit for ENDI 2200. Falls. (CTDI)

Treats argumentation as a creative process where making arguments requires imagination, rhetorical ornament, and aesthetic form. Students explore how persuasion reveals new ideas and new interpretations of old ones. Students craft arguments for learning, discovery, proposal, negotiation, reconciliation, and reflection. Springs. (CTDI)

Students taking this course will write, read, and think about the manifesto. Manifestos are expressions of ideas and principles, intentions and aspirations. They are signposts of significant thought that often mark important shifts in communities, movements, and sometimes much more. Learning how manifestos are created, offered, and endure widens how we understand creativity, ourselves, and the world around us. Springs, Falls, Summers, Winterims. (CTDI)