Home > Course Descriptions

English/Humanities

ENGL 097 INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC READING AND WRITING

Fall/Spring, 4 equivalent credits

This course will focus on the development of reading and writing skills which are necessary for comprehending academic material. The reading component requires the student to pursue vocabulary development, recognize main ideas, topics and supporting details, identify organizational patterns, organize material using mapping and outlining strategies and apply skills in a variety of reading/ writing experiences (i.e. literary, technical, scientific). The writing component of the course will focus on grammatical proficiency as demonstrated in summary, comparison/contrast, and definition paragraphs, and by developing thesis statements, and writing short, well-developed papers in which arguments are made and defended. The course is competency based and will develop reading and writing strategies which are essential for academic success. Additional tutorials may be required. Four hours lecture per week. Not open to students who have passed a college-level literature and writing course.

ENGL 098 BASIC WRITING

Fall/Spring, 3 equivalent credits

This course is competency based and will focus on the development of writing skills which are necessary for academic success, including: developing thesis statements, using specific supporting information, organizing ideas, and demonstrating grammatical proficiency. Written work will be in paragraphs and short compositions (as demonstrated in summary, comparison/contrast, definition, and argument/persuasion papers). Additional tutorials may be required. Three hours lecture per week.

ENGL 101 EXPOSITORY WRITING

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 10

Expository Writing is designed to help the student communicate more effectively through writing various forms of expository prose; i.e. nonfiction writing that informs. These skills will be taught: gathering information, organizing information, recognizing audience and adapting information to specific audiences, and editing and rewriting techniques. Also included are an orientation to the College library and an introduction to basic research skills. This course is an alternate to Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102). Students cannot take both. Classes are sometimes conducted in individualized and self-paced tutorial sessions. Three hours lecture per week.

ENGL 102 ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

Fall/Spring, 3 credits GER 10

This course is intended to help students develop more effective skills in speaking and writing and will serve the needs of students in curriculum areas where such well-developed skills are required. The speech component is meant to make the student aware of the many elements common to both speech and writing and to provide students with an opportunity to present written ideas orally. By the end of the term students will be proficient in the following areas: gathering information (including library research), organizing information, recognizing audience and adapting information to specific audiences, as well as writing, editing, and rewriting techniques. Students will be required to demonstrate proficiency in writing and in speaking before an appropriate audience. This course is an alternate to Expository Writing (ENGL 101); students cannot take both. The course fulfills the college writing requirement. Three hours lecture per week.

ENGL 201 WRITING IN THE ARTS AND SCIENCES

Spring, 3 credit hours

This course is for students who wish to continue improving their writing skills. They are given the opportunity to read and write about various topics in Humanities, Social Science, Business, Economics, and Science. Using a variety of materials including advertisements, films, television, imaginative and scientific literature, art, newspapers, and journal articles students analyze, investigate, interpret, and formulate ideas through their own writing. Additionally, students further familiarize themselves with the library and research techniques.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102) or permission of the instructor

ENGL 202 CREATIVE NON-FICTION

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours

This course will provide opportunities for the student to continue developing and refining skills in writing from the basics of Expository Writing or Oral and Written Expression. Through their study of Creative Non-fiction forms—memoirs, nature writing, lyrical essays, magazine features, webpage content, etc.—students will learn to write essays that are not only persuasive but enjoyable. Each student will design writing situations according to interests and will develop imaginative essays of creative nonfiction. A Liberal Arts Writing Intensive course. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) OR Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102) OR an equivalent course Or permission of instructor.

ENGL 203 WORLD LITERATURE: B.C. TO 16TH CENTURY

Fall, 3 credit hours GER 7

This course examines works of recognized value reflecting human thought and experience prior to the Neo-Classical period. Significant works from the Ancient Western World, including selections from Mid-Eastern writings; the Bible; and the history, literature, philosophy and religion of the Greek and Roman worlds through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance form the basic readings of this course. Three hours lecture per week.

ENGL 204 WORLD LITERATURE: 17TH TO 20TH CENTURIES

Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

This course examines works of recognized value by tracing literary traditions which show the development of human values and thought in Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Naturalism, Symbolism, and Existentialism. Three hours lecture per week.

ENGL 205 SURVEY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE I

Fall, 3 credit hours GER 7

This is a survey course which will begin with the study of old English literature from 450 AD through 1800 AD. Students will study the important writers, their representative works, the historical, social, and political background for each period and the cultural changes and developments of the eras. Three hours lecture per week.

ENGL 206 SURVEY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE II

Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

A study of English literature of the Romantic through Post-Victorian period. Students will study the important writers, their representative works, the historical, social, and political background for each period and the cultural changes and developments. Three hours lecture per week.

ENGL 207 LITERATURE OF THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC: COLONIZATION AND REVOLUTION, 1640 - 1830

Fall, 3 credit hours GER 7

This course is designed to acquaint students with the early emergence of a distinctively American literature. Students explore the roots of American literature and how that literature makes us the Americans we are today. Works by major American writers such as Bradford, Bradstreet, Franklin, Jefferson, Paine, Murray, Wheatley, Sedgwick, Irving, and others comprise the foundation of the course. The historical, social, and political background for each period is examined with a particular eye for the intersections between Native, European, and African voices. Three lecture hours per week

ENGL 208 AMERICAN LITERATURE COMES OF AGE: 1830 - 1920

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

This course is designed to acquaint students with significant American authors from the pre-Civil War era and continues to 1920. Students study important American writers such as Whitman, Dickinson, Poe, Melville, Hawthorne, Twain, Jacobs, Freeman, Chopin, Cather, Fitzgerald, and others. The historical, social, and political background for each period and the cultural changes and developments of the eras are also examined. Three lecture hours per week

ENGL 209 APPROACHES TO LITERATURE

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

Course is designed to acquaint students with different kinds of literature - plays, short stories, novel excerpts, and poems. Students are also acquainted with various methods of understanding literature. Students read a wide variety of literary works and are encouraged to employ proper literary terminology in writing about them. Emphasis will be on intelligent interpretation and argumentation, and on the relationships between literary themes and everyday life.

ENGL 211 THE AMERICAN NOVEL OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

This course will look at important changes in American attitudes that affected the American way of life in the 20th century as characterized through the eyes of such writers as: Sinclair Lewis, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Richard Wright, Norman Mailer, Ken Kesey, Toni Morrison and others. In addition to the novels, there will be film, videotape and microfilm resources brought to the course. Three hours lecture per week.

ENGL 213 WAR AND LITERATURE

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

Focusing on American wars from World War II to the present, this course examines war and a range of human responses to the war experience as reflected through literature. Theories originating in the social sciences and historical information are included to enhance understanding of the literature. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102).

ENGL 214 CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN FICTION

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

Through the writings of current authors, this course will examine literary trends and their relationship to social, political, cultural phenomena in America. Students will be given an opportunity - through their own writing and class discussion - to explore contemporary ideas, values, and attitudes expressed in the literature. Three hours lecture per week.

ENGL 215 MULTICULTURALISM IN AMERICAN LITERATURE

Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

This course will examine multiculturalism in America as reflected in its literature of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Works will be selected to highlight the diversity of American life including, but not limited to, race/ethnicity, gender, social class, sexual orientation, nationality/immigration status, religion, and family structure. Students should increase their understanding of the multicultural nature of our society and the existence of cultural traditions and practices that exist independently of those of the dominant American “mainstream” or overculture. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisite: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102) or permission of the instructor.

ENGL 216 CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

This is a survey course of traditional and modern literature written for young children. Emphasis is on critical appreciation and understanding of literary qualities appealing and valuable to children. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102)

ENGL 217 COMIC BOOKS AS LITERATURE

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7 & GER 8

Comic Books as Literature? Understandably, skeptics may scoff at the idea, viewing comics as merely kids’ stuff. However, in recent years, comic books have become accepted as a respected form of art and literature by scholars, critics, and faculty alike. This course will examine the academic value of comics and graphic novels through study of their history, specialized artistic and literary techniques, and development as narratives. Students will be required to learn and apply elements of literature and sequential art as used by noted comic writers and illustrators such as Will Eisner, William Gaines, Scott McCloud, Paul Chadwick, Alan Moore, Art Speigelman, and Alex Ross. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites include Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102) AND one literature course or permission of instructor.

ENGL 218 SCIENCE FICTION WORKSHOP

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7 & GER 8

Students explore the form by reading a wide range of science fiction stories that represent the standard indications of literary quality (i.e. characterization, plot, setting, point of view, style, theme, etc.). After a survey of the form, students will write science fiction stories of their own that incorporate the various literary qualities inherent in the genre and constructively respond to peers' writing in a workshop format.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102)

ENGL 219 THE ADIRONDACKS: LIFE AND LITERATURE

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours

This course will provide students with the opportunity to explore various aspects of life and literature set in the Adirondack forest preserve. The Adirondacks, a cultural, recreational, spiritual and intellectual resource, are located in close proximity to SUNY Canton. They beckon us to come and enjoy their many splendors. Through a wide variety of readings, films, slides, and presentations, students will have the opportunity to sharpen their awareness of what the Adirondacks are and how they have shaped and influenced life and literature in America. Three hours lecture per week.

ENGL 220 AMERICAN LITERATURE IN THE MODERN ERA: 1920-­ PRESENT

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours

This course is designed to acquaint students with significant American authors starting from 1920 and continuing to the present. Students study important American writers such as Baldwin, Steinbeck, Updike, Ginsberg, Roth, Larsen, Hurston, Porter, Millay, Hughes, Plath, and others. The historical, social, and political background for each period and the cultural changes and developments of the eras are also examined.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102)

ENGL 221 CREATIVE WRITING

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 8

This course is an introduction to the study of imaginative expression in order to teach students the value of communication through creative writing, and also to encourage them to develop an appreciation for literary works of art. Students will write short stories and poetry about topics as unique and diverse as they themselves are in order to reveal new dimensions in their own lives and to bring a sense of dignity and respect to themselves and others. Basic technical problems and formal concepts of creative writing will be covered. Emphasis will be placed upon the writing of poems and short stories, but other forms of creative work may be utilized and discussed. Students will also study works by accomplished writers to see how those writers define and master their craft. A Liberal Arts writing intensive course. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisite: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) OR Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102) and one literature course Or permission of instructor.

ENGL 224 SURVEY OF NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURES

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 6

Introductory survey of expressive and essayist literature by selected Native American authors from the United States and Canada. Works will be chosen to reflect the diversity of Native American thought and experience as revealed through literature. Emphasis is on contemporary short fiction and poetry, but readings include essays, drama and the novel. Discussion of cultural context encompasses the oral tradition(s) and relevant political and social history. Audio-visual media and Internet resources will supplement lectures and discussions. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisite: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102) or permission of instructor.

ENGL 225 AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

In this course, students study African American authors from the Colonial Era up to the present. Topics covered include recurring themes and concerns, cultural pressures, historical contexts, intellectual currents and literary innovations. Students study important African American writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, Rita Dove, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and others.

Prerequisite: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) OR Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102).

ENGL 264 LIVING WRITERS SERIES

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

Students read and discuss works by a selected group of contemporary authors. After reading a given work, students meet and engage authors in a question and answer session followed by a public reading. This course includes an introduction to close reading skills, analysis of the elements of literary style in fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. Through intensive class discussion, writing workshops, and oral presentations, the students learn how to articulate ideas clearly and are introduced to the basic elements of creative writing in three genres. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102); or permission of instructor.

ENGL 265 WRITING IN THE HUMANITIES THEMATIC INQUIRY

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 7

This course will explore questions about the humanities and will introduce students to several disciplines within humanities. Through writing about a common theme, students will analyze, evaluate, and interpret texts, films, art and/or music that reflects this common theme. Citation and integration of external sources will be expected. This is a writing intensive course for students in General Studies or for students interested in transferring to a liberal arts program, especially in the humanities. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102); completion of 24 credits towards the major of General Studies; or permission of instructor.

ENGL 266 THE MODERN ISLAMIC WORLD THROUGH FILM AND LITERATURE

Fall or Spring, 3 credit hours GER 6

This course introduces the student to the history, cultures, and politics of the modem Islamic world with a special emphasis on film and literature. Readings include poets such as Rumi and Hafiz as well as novelists such as Mahfouz and Farah. Films include those of such Persian and Arab directors as Majidi, Kiarostami, and Chahine.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102)

ENGL 301 PROFESSIONAL WRITING AND COMMUNICATION

Fall, 3 credit hours

Professional writing and communication is specialized writing and communication that helps students respond to the challenges of a technical world. In this course, students, as professionals, will analyze needs and concerns for specific workplace situations, organize effective solutions, and prepare and produce the needed directions, reports, manuals, and/or other items, which will then be assessed and evaluated by other students acting as intended users. Students will create, design, and package these documents, selecting appropriate communication technology to accomplish the task, and will then display the technical data in writing and visually, as well as present such information orally when applicable. Students should be familiar with Desktop Publishing. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102) and junior status with a 2.0 GPA; or permission of instructor.

ENGL 305 PERPETRATORS & VICTIMS: CRIME AND VIOLENCE IN LITERATURE

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours

In this course, through the study of various forms of literary expression, students will examine the impact of crime and violence in American culture. Analysis will focus on both perpetrators and victims of crime and violence, allowing students the opportunity to explore the influence of such happenings on their own lives and on the society we live in today. Particular sub-topics include true crime, the criminal mentality and youth, crime and individuals, and crime and society. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102), one literature course, and 30 credit hours earned with a cumulative GPA of 2.0, or permission of instructor.

ENGL 309 JOURNALISM

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours

The first half of this course will provide a general study of journalistic principles and practice in gathering and writing news. The second half will explore feature writing, with an emphasis on longer, research-based issues writing and interview techniques. Students in this course will cooperate in the publication of
the SUNY Canton Tribune. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression
(ENGL 102) and junior status or permission of the instructor.

ENGL 310 WRITING YOUR LIFE: FORM & FUNCTION IN MEMOIRS

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 8

Memoirs are an author’s commentary on his or her life, experiences, and the times he or she lives in. Writers record important events based upon their own observations and knowledge of events and/or personalities that they feel have significantly influenced their lives. In this writing intensive course, students will study a variety of literary forms within the memoir genre, and they will create memoirs of different forms from their own life experiences. Students will recognize that both concrete details and abstract ideas in memoirs represent universal truths and will create poems and stories that reflect both. Three hours lecture per week. Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102), one literature course, and 30 credit hours earned with a cumulative GPA of 2.0, or permission of instructor.

ENGL 315 SHORT FICTION: THE ART OF THE TALE

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 8

In this course, students will explore the short story genre by reading selections from various writers around the world in order to gain perspective on both the literary form of the short story and the myriad of ideas expressed within that form. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) OR Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102) AND one literature course AND 30 credit hours earned with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or permission of instructor.

ENGL 317 WORLD POETRY

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours GER 6

This course explores the vast wealth of non- Western poetry. We draw from the historical canon of writings, but we have distinctly modern concerns in this class; our wide reading helps us understand divergent (and poetic) cultural Issues, such as Japanese anime cartoons, Islamic world views, global hip hop and graffiti, and post-colonial literature. While all our readings will be in English, our consideration of the linguistic and political concerns of translation allows us to analyze the dynamic interchange between local cultures and globalization. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) OR Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102), and one lower-level literature course, or permission of instructor.

ENGL 320 NATIVE AMERICAN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Fall/Spring 3 credit hours GER 6

This course is a survey of the means by which Native American people have recorded their lives. Texts will be selected from pre-contact pictorial and oral auto-biographical narratives through contemporary written texts, film, and electronic media. Historical context will be provided in lecture. Emphasis is on works published since 1980. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) OR Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102) AND one literature course AND one lower level literature course AND 30 credit hours earned with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or permission of the instructor.

ENGL 325 CONTEMPORARY YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours

In this course, students will explore contemporary young adult novels as a genre of literature worthy of study in its own right. To accomplish this, they will examine its historical development, current trends, and enduring characteristics, as well as its influence on readers. As they analyze the works and various critical perspectives, they will formulate their own definition of the genre and see where the form stands both in relation to contemporary adult literature and in relation to recognized elements common to all literary study. In addition, particular themes to be covered include the “new realism” of life and problems; the “old romanticism” of wishing and winning; adventures, mysteries, the supernatural, and humor; fantasy, science fiction, utopias, and dystopias; and the people and places of history including novels about racism and the Holocaust. In the end of the study, by experiencing a young adult fictive world, students will illuminate, gain insight into, and confirm our own life experiences without regard to age restrictions or preconceived notions abut the genre of young adult literature. Three hours lecture per week.

Prerequisites: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102), one literature course, and 30 credit hours earned with a cumulative GPA of 2.0, or permission of instructor.

ENGL 330 WOMEN IN LITERATURE

Fall and Spring, 3 credit hours

This course will examine women in literature through a variety of literary works and genres. Students may explore such themes as female archetypes and stereotypes; the cultural alienation of women of color; female identity in contemporary culture; or other themes pertinent to the female human experience. Students will enrich their understanding of literature and the roles and experiences of women in shaping such literature. Students may read from works and genres of literature as diverse as the Bible, Greek drama, The Canterbury Tales, Romantic and Victorian poetry, and the contemporary novel.

Prerequisite: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) or Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102), Introduction to Women’s Studies (WMST 201) OR one literature course or permission of instructor.

ENGL 350 FLASH FICTION

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours

The Flash Fiction story (also called short-shorts; micro; sudden; or lightning fiction) lies somewhere between prose and poetry. Students taking this course will explore the form by reading a wide range of Flash Fiction stories that represent the best in terms of literary quality (i.e. characterization, plot, setting, point of view, style, theme, etc.), and by creating stories of their own that incorporate the various literary qualities inherent in the genre.

Prerequisite: Expository Writing (ENGL 101) OR Oral and Written Expression (ENGL 102) AND one literature course AND 30 credit hours earned with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 OR permission of the instructor. Creative Writing (ENGL 221) strongly suggested as a prerequisite.

ENGL 291-295, 391-395 OR 491-495 SPECIAL TOPICS IN ENGLISH

Fall/Spring, 1 - 4 credit hours

Special Topics in English will fulfill the general English component of the distribution requirement of the College. It may be repeated for credit depending on the content of the course. It is not a course offered on a regular basis within the department. The intent of a special topics course is to offer an educational experience which is topical, not available within the regular curricular offerings, and may even be offered interdepartmentally depending on the nature of the course.

ESOL 096 ACADEMIC COMMUNICATION

Fall/Spring, 4 credit hours

This course is designed to help first-semester international or English language learners to enhance communication skills required in American academic contexts. Students will develop critical reading skills and academic writing skills with an overview of grammar and mechanics. Concurrent focus is on building oral fluency and expanding academic vocabulary. Four hours lecture per week. This course is an alternative to ENGL 097 or ENGL 098 for ESL students.

Prerequisites/Corequisites: Leveled by placement test score

HUMA 189 INTRODUCTION TO ACTING

Fall/Spring, 3 credit hours

This course will examine various strategies for creating and performing characters from written and unwritten texts. Students will practice improvisation and perform various roles for both self and peer evaluation. Various acting techniques and methods for creating characters will be utilized.

SPCH 104 INTRODUCTION TO SPEECH

Spring, 3 credit hours

This course is an introduction to the principles of Effective Speech Communication. It includes techniques of audience analysis, establishing credibility as a speaker, planning, organizing and researching material, and delivery and use of audio visual aids. Both informative and persuasive speaking are covered. Three hours lecture per week.