The Annotated Spring 2020 Schedule!

Curious about the Spring 2020 course offerings? Then look no further: below you'll find a complete list of courses in Literature, Language, Writing, and Humanities, with several of them annotated (descriptions, books, etc.). If you have questions about any of the classes below, please e-mail the professor and they would be more than happy to discuss them with you. 

LITERATURE COURSES

ENG 2243: Introduction to Creative Writing (Dr. Walling) MW 1:00
This is a blended course that meets MW at 1:00. The course is for anyone interested in writing fiction, poetry, scripts, plays, graphic novels, or creative nonfiction. No experience is required. Students complete small writing assignments that help them build skills and then develop a project: collection of poems, short story, novel except, graphic novel excerpt, one-act play, play excerpt, or a creative nonfiction essay. Students determine the subject matter and genre for their major project. Experienced writers can substitute sections of a project they are already working on in place of the skill-building assignments. If students cannot take the class because of a scheduling conflict, they can contact me to discuss an online option. 

ENG 2653: British Literature from 1800, "Gothic Women" (Dr. Grasso) MWF 10:00

Though the second part of the British Literature survey course, the class will focus solely on the 'family tree' of women writers throughout the 19th and middle part of the 20th century, all of whom are writing loosely in the 'gothic' tradition. From pioneering feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft to the postcolonial writings of Jean Rhys, we'll explore the various ways that women have made English fiction their own, adapting, transforming, and subverting genre expectations to speak in their own voice. Works include Wollstonecraft's Mary and Maria: The Wrongs of Woman, Austen's Northanger Abbey, Shelley's Frankenstein, Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Mansfield's The Garden Party and Other Stories, and Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea. 

ENG 3363: Critical Approaches (Dr. Hada) MWF 11:00

We’ll read Popular Music from Vittula (Mikael Niemi), Nobel Prize Laureate William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, and The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd), along with selected short fiction and poems while learning about various theoretical approaches that may define, enrich (or even  limit) interpretation.

ENG 3143: Introduction to Film (Dr. Walling) WEB

This is an online course that explores film from aesthetic and cultural perspectives. Students explore films as works of art, as well as examine the ongoing interrelationship between American culture and American film. We have a lot of fun examining cultural and film tropes that persist throughout each decade but change to fit the views of the times in which they films are made. A few films are required, but in most cases, students select the films they wish to view from a large pool of possibilities. Students complete small writing assignments, participate in discussions, and complete one longer paper that explores an aspect of film and culture that interests them.

ENG 3213: Shakespeare, "Shakespeare's Game of Thrones" (Dr. Grasso) TR 12:30
This Shakespeare seminar will focus on Shakespeare's tragedies, and specifically, on tragedies about the balance of power in real (but fictionalized) settings. From Ancient Rome to Prehistoric Britain, Shakespeare examines the temptations of power and the seductive lure of the crown--and whether blood, once spilled, can ever be completely washed off. Besides reading four plays, we'll also watch one (complete) in class, as well as have the opportunity to view the NYT Live Production of Richard II in January. We'll also discuss the historical roots of tragedy as well as some of its modern applications in literature and film. Books include Titus Andronicus, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Tragedy: A Very Short Introduction, and Shakespeare's Tragedies: A Very Short Introduction. 

ENG 3733: Teaching Literature in Secondary Schools (Dr. Dorsey) TR 11:00

ENG 4543: Am Lit PMT: The Harlem Renaissance (Dr. Nicholson-Weir) TR 9:30 

Join us Spring 2020 to explore African American Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance (as this flowering of music, art, culture, and literature from the 1920s-1940s is known today). Closely associated with the famous neighborhood in upper Manhattan, in actuality African American Modernist art occurred across the United States and continues to have a profound impact on global culture. This course is organized as a seminar, which means students can expect to contribute each class meeting in a roundtable discussion-based format. The class will draw on digital humanities and archival sources to help students develop original research projects. Contact  Dr. Nicholson-Weir at rnichlsn@ecok.edu with any questions.

WRITING COURSES

English 3183: Technical and Professional Writing (Dr. Murphy) WEB

HUMANITIES COURSES

HUM 2123: General Humanities II (Dr. Dorsey) TR 2:00

HUM 2313: Multicultural American Lit (Dr. Hughes) TR 9:30

HUM 2323: Global Literatures (Dr. Hada) 

We’ll read Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe) along with a variety of contemporary short fiction and poetry. Post Colonial, New Historicism and Cultural Poetics will inform the interpretation.

HUM 2633: World Religion and Thought (Dr. Donelson) MW 2:00 

In this class, we will focus on five of the most common and influential religions in the world today: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  We’ll use the book The World’s Religions by Huston Smith, and will focus on understanding what is meaningful in each religion and how the religions influence the worldviews of their respective followers.  We’ll also ask larger questions about what religion is, what influence it has in the world, and how we can best understand other people’s perspectives. I tend to focus on what students want to know, so after covering some basic content, student questions and interests will guide what we do with class time.

 
HUM 2813: Interpreting Film (Dr. Nicholson-Weir) TR 12:30

LANGUAGE COURSES 

RUSS 1223: Elementary Russian II (Dr. Sukholutskaya)
Discover Russian culture, literature, music, cuisine, and art while continuing your studies of the Russian language! Take Elementary Russian II in the Spring 2020 semester!

FREN 1223: Elementary French II (Dr. Sukholutskaya)
Had French at high school? Completed Elementary French I at the University last semester or several semesters ago? Don’t stop now!
Take Elementary French II in Spring 2020 and continue your studies of the language and culture!

SPAN 1113: Elementary Spanish I (Dr. King) MWF 9:00

SPAN 1223: Elementary Spanish II (Dr. King) MWF 12:00

SPAN 2223: Intermediate Spanish II (Dr. King) MWF 11:00

SPAN 3243: Spanish American Culture and Civilization (Dr. King) MWF 1:00

Interview with ECU Alum Lyndsey Key About Presenting at Academic Conferences

Lyndsey presenting her paper (taken by Dr. Sarah Peters)

One of our celebrated (and recent) alums, Lyndsey Key, presented at the South Central MLA in Little Rock, AR this past week. Since Lyndsey recently made the jump from ECU to grad school at OSU, I wanted to ask her a few question which might inspire current students contemplating making a similar jump next year--or in the near future. Here's the result of my brief interview with one of our star students of yesteryear:

ME: What was your paper about and where did the genesis of this idea come from? A class? Your own reading?

LYNDSEY: My paper was "Headcanon Accepted: The Power of Outcast Genres". It's part of my intended thesis--an exploration of genres developed by women, outside of traditional academia or the publishing industry. I'm also looking at the Psalm translations, women's travel diaries, and the colonial seduction novels. I argued that fanfiction's absorption into the mainstream is inevitable, well-deserved, and dangerous.

ME: What was your greatest fear about presenting at an academic conference? Did you feel ready? Did your program help you prepare? Or was it more a sense of talking to other people?

LYNDSEY: I was very worried that I would go over time (I finished with 17 seconds!) or slur my words by reading too fast. I'd presented this paper to a class last semester, and it went well, but I didn't know if that was because my classmates supported me or if it was actually a good essay.

ME: What most surprised you about actually presenting? And related to this, what might be the biggest misconception people have about academic conferences?

LYNDSEY: I had a moment, halfway through the first presenter's reading, where I realized, "Huh. I belong here. These are my people." It was one of the best moments of my degree. I think we all suffer from imposter syndrom-- everyone else seemed so much more confident and competent. But half of my panel, tenured professors, started their presentation by apologizing for it. There were so many brilliant papers presented. But there were just as many works-in-progress, that people brought to read and get project feedback on. Also, nobody is sitting in the audience planning on ripping you apart.

ME: What advice could you give to students who want to take a seminar paper to the next level? How do you make a paper 'for a grade' into a truly professional, presentable work?

LYNDSEY: Connect whatever you're talking about to a larger issue. Don't just list details from a text (which you're conference audience is not likely to have read), but connect it to something else you'd like to explore/argue.

Inspired yet? This could be YOU next year! For any questions about grad school, academic conferences, or simply turning a class paper into a presentation paper, ask your local English professor on the Third Floor! We're always happy to talk!

ECU Writer's Club Tomorrow, 2:00 @ HM 333

Don't forget our third meeting of the ECU Writer's Club is tomorrow, October 24th at 2:00 in HM 333! You do not have to be an English major or have attended any previous meetings to attend on Thursday! We have a guest speaker and will discuss other matters related to writing, creating, and making it as a writer in this hectic, 'no time for writing' world! 

Please join us! E-mail Drs. Walling or Grasso with any questions: mwalling@ecok.edu or jgrasso@ecok.edu. 

What Do English Professors Do All Day, Anyway?

Have you ever wondered what English professors do 'behind the scenes' when they're not rhapsodizing about Shakespeare, or grammar, or postmodern film? Where do professors go when they're not teaching? A storage closet in Horace Mann? I remember a student, years ago, being shocked when she ran into me in Oklahoma City: "how did you get here?" she gasped. She just couldn't imagine me existing in the same universe as her (possibly because of my height). 

Yes, professors travel and shop and do all the kinds of things that students do. But they also rigorously engage in scholarship to put their hard-earned PhDs to use. Below are some of the activities (but not all!) that English professors have been engaged in throughout 2019--though not everyone had time to respond.  If you have any questions or interest in any of the projects listed below, please contact the professor and ask: they would LOVE to tell you all about it. Trust me. We really would. :) 

Dr. Steve Benton (PhD Univ. of Illinois-Chicago, 2008)

I was on a “Mediating Theater” panel at the Literature/Film Association conference in Portland, Oregon in September,  the 11th year in a row that I have made a presentation at this annual conference.  My presentation--"All About Eve Reborn, Once: Stage, Screen, and National Theatre Live"--was about the production we screened at ECU on September 3rd and which we will feature again for OLAF in November.

Dr. Megan Donelson (PhD Middle Tennessee State University 2018)

 I attended the Rhetoric Society of America Summer Institute at the University of Maryland, where I participated in a workshop called “Neurorhetorics’ Materialities,” in which we discussed the developing discipline of neurorhetorics.  Although the definition of ‘neurorhetorics’ depends on who you ask, its focus tends to be the potential areas of research where neuroscientists and rhetoricians might productively collaborate. It also includes topics like applying rhetorical lenses to the texts that circulate in the medical world, considering how scientific concepts are explained/translated to the public, etc.

I presented at the conference of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning (part of NCTE) in Estes Park, Colorado.  My presentation was “Crossing the Line: Emphasizing the Threshold for First-Generation College Students.” It’s a more flexible and laid-back academic conference featuring presentations on everything from experiential learning to community-based pedagogy to dance in the language-learning classroom.

Dr. Murphy and I attended a presentation at North Central Texas College just last week and heard a presentation on rhetorical listening and cultural logics by Krista Ratcliffe (a big name in comp rhet!). 

I just returned from the convention of the Rocky Mountain MLA in El Paso, where I presented “Threshold as Frontier: First Year Composition for First Generation Students.”  El Paso is lovely and I learned quite a bit about the border (literally and figuratively) and about comp pedagogy and academic publishing. 

Joshua Grasso (PhD Miami University, 2006)

I recently published articles on Mary Wollstonecraft's "Travels to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden," William Congreve's "The Old Bachelor," and Samuel Johnson's "The Vanity of Human Wishes" for The Literary Encyclopedia (litencyc.com). Additonally, I have an article pending for Oklahoma Humanities Magazine entitled "Roads Go Ever Ever On: Why You Can Go Home Again in Fantasy Literature." 

I'm also an active SF/F writer, and I've recently published stories in these magazines/anthologies: "Her Mother's Eyes," Red Planet Magazine, "A World Without Dragons" The End of the Dragons Anthology: Chipper Press, 

"The Most Perfect Creation of the Divine Katosha," Welcome to the Alpaca-Lypse Anthology: Midnight Writer's Press, "Barbarians in the Boudoir," Broadswords and Blasters 10, and "Strangers in the House," Apparition Lit on-line (flash fiction). 

Presentation-wise, I recently gave a HEAD Talk (H.umanities E.nlighten A.nd D.elight) for the Oklahoma Humanities Council's 2nd Annual Curiosity Fest at the OCU College of Law. My presentation was "Metaphors of the Past, Prophecies of the Future: The Importance of Speculative Literature." I also regularly contribute to the Ada Public Library's Let's Talk About It Oklahoma series, which is a community book club followed by dinner and discussion. Most recently I presented on Weir's The Martian (July) and Robinson's Forty Signs of Rain (October) 

Dr. Ken Hada (PhD University of Texas-Arlington, 2000)    

Selected Publications: 

Not Quite Pilgrims (Chicago: Vacpoetry)
The Way of The Wind (2nd Edition) 

“Growing Pain” & “Train” Oklahoma Humanities Magazine. Fall/Winter 2019, 22-23.

“In Kyoto” Red Earth Review Vol VII, July, 2019, p.15-16

“Rim Shoals in the Dark” Red Earth Review Vol VII, July, 2019, p17

“What Gandhi and Christ Have Over Me” Red Earth Review Vol VII, July, 2019, 18

“Basket of Peaches” Tulsa Voice vol. 6 no. 14, July 2019, 23

“Speaking” & “When I Have Fears” & “Would Woody Recognize Us?” Speak Your Mind: Poems of Protest & Resistance. Woody Guthrie Poets, 2019, Dorothy Alexander ed. 74-76

"The House on Mango Street". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 June 2019

Selected Presentations: 

“Not Quite Pilgrims” Oklahoma Book Festival OKC Sept. 21

“The River White” Ozarks Creative Symposium West Plains, MO. Sept. 19-20

“The River White & Workshop” Kansas Authors Club, Wichita, KS. Sept. 14

“Featured Author” Everett Poetry Series. U of Oklahoma (Mainsite Gallery), Norman. Sept 10 (7:30 pm)

Workshop at Norman North High School, Sept. 10 (10 am)

Workshop at Norman High School, Sept. 10 (1pm)

Presentation at Dr. Hill’s Class at OU, Sept. 10 (4:30 pm)

Invited Poet: “Writers for Migrant Justice” – Commonplace Books, OKC, Sept 4

“A Long Walk To Water” Ada Public Library, August 22

Feature Guest Poet: Brewery Nonic, Menomonie, WI, July 25

Three poems: Woody Poets, Woody Guthrie Center, Tulsa, OK, July 14

Dr. Errol King (PhD University of Arizona 2012) 

'Designing High-Impact, Interdisciplinary Courses.” Spanish, ESL & World Language Teacher Symposium. Fort Smith, AR. 2019.

“Go Fetch a Midwife: Safeguarding Male Honor.” Association for Hispanic Classical Theater (AHCT) Spanish Golden Age Theater Symposium. El Paso, TX. 2019.

The El Paso symposium was held in conjunction with the 44th Annual Siglo de Oro Theater Festival at the Chamizal National Memorial on the US/Mexico border.

Dr. Jennifer McMahon (PhD University of Buffalo 1997)

This past week, Dr. McMahon presented a paper at the 4th Annual International Conference on Gender and Sexuality at the University of Central Oklahoma (October 3-5). Her paper was titled, “Rebellious Bodies: Challenging Oppressive Ideals of Femininity in Hairspray, Polyester, and Cry-Baby.” The paper examines the ideals for feminine beauty that dominate mainstream media. As most of us will attest, female leads in Hollywood movies have a predictable profile: thin.  McMahon’s paper discusses the work of philosopher, Susan Bordo, who asserts that American culture elevates an ideal of thinness that is so extreme it is pathological. Bordo’s work calls attention to what she calls the “anorexic aesthetic,” and encourages individuals to produce alternative models that celebrate a healthier standard. McMahon’s conference paper looks at the way in which three John Waters films do precisely this. 

Her paper analyzes Hairspray (1988), Polyester (1981), and Cry Baby (1990), and argues that rather than the reproduce the reductive standard of feminine beauty that prevails in mainstream media, these films to encourage viewers to see feminine beauty and sexuality in diverse forms.

Dr. Robin Murphy (PhD Bowling Green University 2007) 

I’ve done some manuscript reviews for Computers and Writing and The JUMP (an undergraduate publication--jumpplus.net), as well as worked on ECU's Guide to Writing revision. 

I also am going to present in November at the Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Biennial International Conference.  My talk is called “Problematizing Shame in the Name of Decorum”.  

Joining Nicotra’s Enculturation discussion of public shaming as epideictic practice, this presentation will discuss epiplexis or “shaming” strategies to complicate and challenge activist acts with decorum or propriety.  My connection here will rely on material(ed) resistance rhetoric, which is easily feminized - consider the knitted hats of the Women’s Marches.  Feminist rhetorical style is ripe with epiplexic practices and acts of decorum; therefore, feminist activist strategies and those materials produced in participatory practices can teach us to challenge shame through decorum.

Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir (PhD Purdue University 2012)

This fall I am continuing my research related to a book in progress on African American newspaper comics, Origin Stories: The First Black Superheroes and the Golden Age of Comics (the working title, it may change). This project started back in summer 2017, but while I've been on sabbatical I've been doing archival and microfilm work on the Chicago Defender, Los Angeles Sentinel, New York Amsterdam News, and other African American newspapers between 1930-1950. I am giving a talk at SCMLA at the end of October in Little Rock, Arkansas related to that research entitled “The Bronze Bomber: Los Angeles Sentinel and the First African American Superheroes in the Golden Age of Comics.” 

This January I will be teaching a 4000 American Lit Seminar "Harlem Renaissance and Beyond," and we will be looking at the role of the African American press in there too as part of a digital humanities unit I am developing, as well as working with students to learn more about art and culture of African American Modernism from the 1920s to 1950s. In February 2020 I will be giving a talk on this work at the Ada Public Library as part of African American History Month. In late Spring/Summer 2020, I am hoping to take a research trip to the Shomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in NYC to work in their special collections.

Dr. Sarah Peters (PhD Texas A&M University 2009) 

On October 24 I am presenting a paper titled  “‘Ever Living, Ever Dying, Ever Alive!’: Choctaw Epistemology in LeAnne Howe’s Shell Shaker” at the South Central Modern Language Association conference in Little Rock. I am presenting on a panel about 21st century reinventions of detective fiction, and my paper explores how Shell Shaker presents a murder mystery that operates outside the genre conventions of detective fiction, as well as the tradition of Native American detective characters, because it relies on Choctaw ways of knowing and underscores the importance of tribal specificity in works by Native American authors.

I'm also leading a book discussion on November 12 at the Ada Public library. I am hoping to bring together members of the community and ECU students to discuss Sarah Smarsh's Heartland. That book was this year's Honors Summer Read, and my Comp I students have also read it this semester.

Dr. Mara Sukholutskaya (PhD Kiev State Univ of Linguistics 1989)

1.       Organized the following cultural and educational activities:

a.       Swan Lake Ballet (Moscow National Ballet Company) for the Russian students,

Armstrong Auditorium, January 2019

b.       Study Abroad trip to Russia- May 14-May 31

c.       Opera Golden Cockerel (OU Production), September 2019;

d.       Secured finances for the ECU screening of the Anna Karenina musical, Moscow  Operetta Theatre, February 2019;

e.       Uncle Vanya (Vakhtangov Theatre production), Harkins Theatre,Oklahoma City, March 2019;

f.        The Man from La Mancha  for the Spanish class, ECU, February 2019;

2.       Moderated a panel on Methods of Teaching Russian at the CARTA Conference, Albuquerque, April 2019;

3.       Presented on the benefits of the Educational Quartet Game at AATSEEL Conference, New Orleans, February 2019;

4.       Judge for the National Russian Essay Contest;

5.       Advised Tyler Gifford on his paper at CARTA;

6.       Russian Club sponsor

7.       Honors Society “Dobro Slovo” cosponsor;

8.       Submitted a paper proposal for the Russian Language conference in the Pushkin Institute, January 2020

9.       Submitted an article ‘Russian Language in Oklahoma” for publication by thr Pushkin Institute, Moscow. Don’t remember other things.

10.   Advising 3 students on their papers at CARTA, in April 2020.

Dr. Mark Walling (PhD Oklahoma State University 1994) 

Dr. Walling has recently published "The Year I Lost My Ass" in The Del Sol Review, issue 24 of Del Sol Review: http://delsolreview.webdelsol.com/#

He has also published, "Say It," in the magazine, Spitball. It appeared in the Spring 2019 special Black Sox Issue and is told from the point of view of Kate Jackson, the wife of Shoeless Joe Jackson. Spitball is a print only magazine (but you can snag a copy here: http://www.spitballmag.com/Store)