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Fall 2005 Graduate Course Descriptions
Past Semesters
ENG 520: Introduction to LinguisticsRef #: 63674001 Course description available in RB 295.
ENG 536: Theory and Research in TESOLRef #: 70191001 The purpose of this course is to give a "picture of both the slipperiness of SLA and the systematic storehouse of reliable knowledge that is now available" (Brown, 2000, p. x). Students will be introduced to the breadth and depth of the field of TESOL and SLA including by not limited to the following topics: first language acquisition, human learning, age and acquisition, personality factors, learning styles and strategies, and communicative competence.
ENG 537: Methods & Materials in TESOLRef #: 70204001 The course is designed to: provide an introduction to methods and techniques for helping ESL/EFL students acquire the ability to express themselves using the English grammatical system; provide an introduction to methods and techniques of improving the general oral communication skills of ESL/EFL students; provide an opportunity to practice teaching English in a focused, supportive atmosphere; provide a forum for the discussion of issues and problems in the teaching of a second/foreign language, with the goal of increasing “reflective” thinking on the part of teachers. Readings: Readings are selected from both research-oriented and pedagogically-oriented articles and books. Assignments: Students prepare weekly language lessons based on the material discussed the previous week. These are taught in small class micro-teaching settings. Reading notes are due each week. Projects for the course can be chosen from: analytical critiques of grammar and oral communication texts; integrated curricular plans for grammar and speaking; producing materials for teaching ESOL grammar and speaking. Tentative topics: Background issues in ESOL grammar acquisition and teaching; dialogues for grammar presentation and practice; role plays; narratives and focused structural practice; utilizing grammar textbooks; situational grammar presentation and practice; discussions for oral fluency; grammar games and songs; communicative activities for grammar; grammar testing; functional language practice; drama for communication; storytelling for communicative practice; innovative, self-contained methods for grammar and communication development; teaching listening; testing oral communication.
ENG 601: Research in English Studies (Composition)Ref #: 63704001 English 601: Rhetoric and Writing will serve as a critical overview to the research methods used in Rhetoric and Writing. We will build on the assumptions that research, theory, and practice are trilaterally and inextricably related and that all research—qualitative, quantitative, or multi-modal—involves developing similar habits of mind. For each method, we will explore the undergirding theories and examine data collection and analysis procedures. Students will critique both published research studies, and the designs they develop, closely examining questions, problem statements and research instruments. At the end of this course, students should have a theoretical understanding of the assumptions behind and theoretical bases for each method, and be equipped to choose the proper method for a given set of concerns and environment.
ENG 601: Research in English Studies (Linguistics)Ref #: 63712002 This course is a graduate-level introduction to research methods in linguistics. The course will focus on research methodology: project design, data collection, and data analysis. This course will also introduce students to the writing of grant proposals, abstracts for professional conferences, and review articles. Students will get hands-on experience in working with issues related to original research. As a final paper they will be expected to design a research project (choosing a topic, describing its significance, researching the literature available, and determining the method of data collection and analysis). Students will write an abstract and a literature review for the project and will write a book review of one of the key sources for their topic. The final paper is a complete research proposal.
ENG 601: Research in English Studies (Literature)Ref#: 78990003 English 601 is designed to introduce graduate students majoring in literature to some of the resources, issues, terminology, methods, and uses of literary research. A "hands-on" seminar, it requires weekly un-graded reports as well as five graded papers. The goals of the course are
ENG 605: Teaching in English Studies (Composition)Ref #: 63739001 In 1982 the Conference on College Composition and Communication issued its “Position Statement on the Preparation and Professional Development of Teachers of Writing.” Acknowledging the importance of teacher preparation, the statement argued that “[t]o provide effective instruction in writing for learners at any age and at all academic levels, teachers need, first of all, experience in writing and also some theoretical knowledge to guide classroom practice.” English 605 is designed to respond to that call for preparation in the teaching of writing. It provides an introduction to composition pedagogy, a complex and often contentious field. Interdisciplinary and dynamic, composition pedagogy demands intellectual flexibility and an inquiring attitude. We will address three baseline questions: what do we know about composing; what do we know about teaching composing; how are both of those questions subject to our theoretical “terministic screens.” The aim of the course is to help you become a good teacher, a reflective and thoughtful teacher, well versed in the scholarship of the discipline and the lore of classroom. To that end, the class invites careful pedagogical thinking, not agreement. You will discover, articulate, and examine your beliefs about composing so that you can make informed decisions about teaching and take responsibility for the consequences of those decisions. General goals:
Please note the last goal. Because English 605 is required of all graduate students interested in teaching in the writing program, we will have a class of diverse perspectives and diverse disciplinary orientations. Conversations will be lively; disagreements over both theories and practices will be frequent. I want us to all to feel free to voice our views and respectfully respond to the views of others. This is the way in which we can foster a dialogue that elicits an ongoing reconsideration of our thinking. Tentative Texts:
ENG 606: Literary Theory IRef #: 63747001 This discussion-based seminar will examine major developments in Western literary theory and criticism from the ancient Greeks through New Criticism. We will read key primary texts, identify trends, and explore factors that contributed to shaping those trends. Required Text The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, ed. Vincent B. Leitch, et al. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001
ENG 610: Theory of Creative WritingRef #: 79482001 (new section # and time) Reading and Writing Across the Genres This graduate creative writing class course is designed specifically for MA students in English who are beginning the Creative Writing program at Ball State, but open to all graduate students interested in reading and writing broadly across the genres. Our program encourages cross-genre work and this course will ask students to consider the possibilities inherent in the writing of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry with the goal of encouraging students to both think critically about creativity and the mechanical elements of their craft and to experiment with various forms and styles. In addition to reading writers on writing (on topics such as creativity, imaginative and critical processes, language usage, creative writing pedagogy, etcetera), students will also read, write, and critique original fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Class time will consist of discussion of assigned reading, writing assignments and experiments, writer visits (including all members of the graduate faculty in Creative Writing talking about their own genre specialization), and workshops. Hovering in the back of students' minds during the semester should be several important questions: 1) what similarities and differences exist among the three genres in terms of inspiration, content, form, and production? 2) what are the sources, benefits, purposes and limitations of each? Texts for this course may include The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, and the Creative Brain, Writers on Writing by Alice Flaherty, Volume II: More Collected Essays from The New York Times edited by Jane Smiley, Creating Minds by Howard Gardner, Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, current issues of the AWP Writer's Chronicle, Strunk & White's The Elements and Style, and assorted writing on reserve (including work recommended and written by the graduate Creative Writing faculty at Ball State). Course requirements will include a class presentation, regular reading responses and exercises, workshop critiques, one long critical essay, and a creative assignment in each of the three genres.
ENG 612: Fiction Writing WorkshopRef #: 75389001 Enrollment in Fiction Writing Workshop, English 612, will draw from students pursuing the Master's Degree in English Studies: Creative Writing, students pursuing the PhD with or without the creative writing cognate, and students pursuing a Master's Degree in English Studies (general, literature, composition), and master's degree candidates from other departments such as journalism. This workshop in graduate level fiction writing builds upon the students' previous experiences in the undergraduate fiction writing workshops; class members will consist of those who have had considerable experience in literature, not all, perhaps, and those who have had considerable experience in writing fiction. The course, which is to be structured upon the submissions of original works of fiction and the critiques by class members of those stories, will/may also include: * reading of published stories (Best American Short Stories, handouts, and other stories of your individual selection); * discussion of, and writerly responses (annotations) of those stories; * a visiting guest writer or two (funding pending): * reading and discussion of essay handouts concerning creative writing in the academy; * a video interview or two; * assigned out-of-class or in-class exercises. I will also ask you to read and respond to one book about writing (or an option to this assignment). Attendance at readings by visiting writers to the Ball State University campus will also be expected. The focus of the class, however, is the fiction writing of each student. These stories are the heart of the class, and the students' submissions are the most significant element of the class. The professor's goal is for the class to be a community of writers. Stories will be photocopied and distributed ahead of workshop. The English Department requires that you bear the expense of the photocopies. Texts:
ENG 621: Approaches to Modern English GrammarRef #: 63772001 Course description available in RB 295.
ENG 622: History of the English LanguageRef #: 63780001 The course traces the linguistic and cultural development of English from its Indo-European roots to modern times. In each major period, Pre-English, Old English, Middle English, and Modern English, we will cover major changes in the sounds system, the structure of words, and grammatical structure, as well as interactions among these changes and their effects. Major activities will include short research papers, exercises on different periods of English, and data analysis assignments. For students who do not have a background in phonetics, a parallel four-hour review of phonetic symbols, transcription, and terminology will be offered during the first two weeks of the course.
ENG 625: PhonologyRef #: 63798001 Course description available in RB 295.
ENG 627: SociolinguisticsRef #: 63802001 This course is a graduate-level introduction to sociolinguistics that investigates how social structure influences the way people talk. We will focus on the correlation between language use and regional differences and the correlation of language use and social factors such as age, sex, social class/network, ethnicity, etc. The course will be conducted as a seminar; therefore, active participation in class discussions is expected and encouraged. The main requirements for the course are 2 papers. The first paper will discuss in detail an aspect of linguistic variation of interest to the student (e.g. Chicano English, the use of 'like', uptalk, the origin on African American Vernacular English, the Northern Cities Shift, Gullah, features of women's language, etc.) and the second paper will involve the students in data collection and the analysis of features of language use.
ENG 632: Discourse AnalysisRef #: 63810001 Discourse Analysis is a vast, interdisciplinary area of study. In this course, students will examine the foundations of modern discourse analysis and many of its contemporary methods and traditions including (but not limited to): speech act theory, conversational analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, and narrative analysis. Attention will also be paid to applications of discourse analysis in the language learning classroom and in classroom-based research. Students will complete a series of "application projects" where they will have the opportunity to apply the methods to various pieces of discourse. Students will also complete a semester-long discourse analysis project.
ENG 641: Early American LiteratureRef #: 75818001 This course will examine some of the major American poets and prose writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries writing in English, with some attention to their literary and historical contexts. We will conclude by examining the legacy of these writers to later American literature, particularly in the work of Emerson, Dickinson, and Frost. The focus of this course will be on writers' aesthetic responses to their world; thus, we will spend most of our time attending to literary texts. But we will also consider some of the major issues in Early American studies, evaluate some critical positions, discuss pedagogy, and become familiar with some of the terminology in early American literary studies. In addition to your class participation and completion of all readings, I will ask you to do four graded assignments:
Required Texts
ENG 656: Cultural StudiesRef #: 79007002 This course is designed as an introduction to the field of Film Studies for students concentrating their graduate study in the Humanities, especially in English. We will explore the fundamentals of how film communicates meaning, establishes a formal and narrative structure, and functions as an economic text. A central goal of the course is to enhance both the understanding and enjoyment of filmic narratives, and to investigate film as a tool for learning and teaching. In addition, the course will introduce students broadly to the major schools of theory that have been instrumental in establishing the field of Cinema Studies within the Humanities. We will approach the field using the following broad categories: Formalism (film as art); History (which includes Economics, Technology, National Cinema Movements, and Ideology); Theory; and Pedagogy. The course, then, should serve both as an introduction to the field and as a base for further study and research. The open format of the class will require students to be disciplined,
to keep up with the readings, and to come to class prepared to contribute
fully to a collaborative environment. Individual students may be able
to adapt aspects of the course in order to best serve their goals; however,
with this freedom comes the responsibility of building a dynamic and interactive
classroom experience together. I expect each seminar member to contribute
during every class meeting.
ENG 657: Post-Colonial StudiesRef #: 75842001 This course will survey some of the key themes and literary movements that have emerged in the postcolonial world, focusing on representations of the contact zone between colonizer and the colonized. We will study the development of literatures in English from Africa, the Caribbean, and South Asia; the systems of academic classification that have labeled this literature "commonwealth," "new," "world," and "postcolonial"; and survey major debates in postcolonial theory since 1945, beginning with the work of Frantz Fanon. I have not yet chosen all the books for the class, but the final list is likely to include at least the following literary texts: Brian Friel, Translations; Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children; short stories by Rudyard Kipling; E.M. Forster, A Passage to India; poetry by Derek Walcott; Mahasweta Devi, Imaginary Maps; Edwidge Dandicat, The Farming of the Bones; Chinua Achebe, The Arrow of God; Ama Ata Aidoo, Our Sister Killjoy; David Dabydeen, Turner.
ENG 660: Studies in British Authors - The Age of MiltonProf. Frank
Felsenstein In Paradise Lost, John Milton set out “to justify the ways of God to men”. In doing so, he created what is unarguably the greatest and most complex epic poem in the English language. In his “advent’rous song”, Milton ventured to re-write the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis as a means of expressing his profoundly held Christian belief. However, he chose the classical form of epic as his vehicle, and one of the many challenges of reading Milton is in comprehending his brilliant synthesis of Judaeo-Christian and Classical traditions. Contemporary critics hailed the poem as bringing for the first time to the English Language “all the Beauties of the highest Kind of Poetry”. This graduate seminar will give you the opportunity to study the whole range of Milton’s poetry in depth, including close reading of his achievements in such diverse genres as pastoral-elegy (Lycidas), court masque (Comus), ode, sonnet, tragic drama (Samson Agonistes), and, of course, epic. We shall also examine a selection of his prose, deemed by Milton the work of his left hand. T.S. Eliot once wrote of what he called “the Chinese Wall” of Milton, and it is true to say that our perspective and appreciation of English Literature are radically altered and enriched by this most learned and allusive of English poets. In order to see Milton in the context of his age, we shall look at a selection of poetry written by his contemporaries, and also some later literary works that are indebted to Milton.
ENG 690: Seminar in CompositionRef #: 70239001 Issues in Basic Writing: Writers at the Margins Historically, colleges and universities have expected a certain level of writing proficiency of incoming students even though there has always been a sizable portion of students who were not at the level deemed appropriate. This course is concerned with our institutional responses to these students on the margins, deemed "basic writers" in our system. We will aim to answer the following questions:
Students will be required to participate in class and on an online discussion board, lead one class discussion, do a book review, and write a seminar paper.
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