Courses
Master of Liberal Arts
0403. Literature and
Photography in America (3 s.h.)
Explores the connections between literature and photography
in America from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.
Students will examine the impact of photography on the evolution
of literary realism. Readings include fiction, poetry, and
critical essays.
0408. Sci. & Imagination (3
s.h.)
0409. Political Fiction (3
s.h.)
Readings and analysis in twentieth century fiction which illuminates
the politics of everyday life. This kind of politics has a
more direct and lasting impact on the typical citizen than
the official, more glamorous, dramatic, and public kind. The
works to be read are chosen because they address questions
of power and autonomy, issues of self-esteem vs. a sense of
worthlessness, and matters of authority -at home, in the workplace,
and in society at large.
0419. Life in Early America
An approach to American history which examines documents of
American culture about the home as an ideal, concentrating
on fiction, but including essays, sermons, songs, photographs,
movies, and paintings. Reveals the richness and complexity
of popular as opposed to classical art forms and shows how
a culture constitutes itself.
0421. Magical Realism
and Fanatasy (3 s.h.)
0423. Great Cities of
the World
This course analyzes the world influence projected by several
of the largest cities of the late twentieth century (London,
Paris, Mexico City, Tokyo, Rome, and Chicago, for example).
Students will identify and evaluate how history, communications
and economic activity contribute to the making of great cities
and to the emergence of a global society.
0427. Autobiographical
Forms
In the twentieth century, the form and focus of conventional
autobiography has been radically reshaped. Surveying a variety
of continental and American modern and contemporary writers,
we will seek to understand these newer modes of writing about
the self, discussing such issues as identity, authority, and
sincerity, as they impact upon the works in question.
0431. Ways of Seeing
Our educational system tends to neglect the visual world, despite,
our growing dependence on pictorial and visual information.
Using methods from anthropology, psychology, communications
theory and art history, this course will explore nonverbal
communication, the built environment, photography, film, and
television as culturally conditioned symbolic systems.
0599. Independent Study
Students who wish to enroll for Independent Study must submit
a proposal written under the direction of a faculty member
who will supervise the student's work. This proposal must be
submitted the semester before the Independent Study is to take
place. The proposal should describe the project, indicate a)
works to be read, b) frequency of student-instructor meetings,
c) student writing to be produced, and d) means of student
evaluation.