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2017-2018 Academic Catalogue 
    
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2017-2018 Academic Catalogue [ARCHIVED CATALOGUE]

Courses of Instruction

  

Topics Courses  
 

Engineering
  
  

  • EGR 385 - Engineering Design Project (1)

    Students work on a design project in a small group to formulate an engineering solution to a real-world problem. Specific projects will be chosen in an area of the student’s interest with prior consultation with the instructor. Includes a comprehensive written report and oral presentation. Prerequisites: EGR 231 , EGR 271 , EGR 311 , and one additional EGR 300-level course, Senior standing or permission of instructor.
  
  
  
  

English and Creative Writing
  

  • ENG 102-1 - Topic: Life of Bees: an Interdisciplinary Perspective (FYS) (1)

    The Life of Bees: an Interdisciplinary Perspective

    This course will introduce students to bees and beekeeping through the academic lenses of film studies, food studies, and ecology. Bees are responsible for pollinating roughly 1/3 of human foods, and the rise of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has raised awareness about their essential importance to the present-day food economy. The class will consider the ways that bees, and this crisis, have been represented in literature and film, will investigate the causes of this crisis, and will propose collective action toward conservation. The course will include field trips, guest speakers, and a collaboratively cooked meal, in addition to assigned written work. MOUTON
    (FYS)
  

  • ENG 105- 1 - Topic: Can We Be Kind to Strangers? (FYS) (1)

    Can we be kind to Strangers? This deceptively simple question implies an equally simple answer: Yes, of course we can–and we should. Religious texts, folklore, and philosophy from around the world and from different time periods all encourage us to show kindness to strangers. But we seldom need stories that exhort us to do what we are already doing; thus the stories also remind and encourage us to be kind to strangers, even when we might rather pass by.Thus the question–can we be kind to strangers–gives rise not to a simple answer but to challenging secondary questions. First, Is it in fact possible to be kind to strangers? Is there a biological basis for helping others? Is kindness to strangers altruistic or self-interested reciprocity? Next, in today’s global, internet-connected world, what do we mean by stranger? Finally, should we be kind to strangers? what are the consequences and implications for the recipient and for the giver? The course will begin with a foundation in the religious and philosophical foundation for kindness to strangers and will then be organized around different responses: religious, scientific, and social; individual, societal, and global. Students will be expected to enroll in an online learning community and will receive ¼ additional adjunct course credit for their participation during the fall semester. REED
    (FYS)
  

  • ENG 111 - Topics in Literature, Film, Cultural Studies (W) (1)

    Writing seminar for first-year students, an intensive engagement with a topic in literature, film, or cultural studies. STAFF
    (Writing Requirement)
  

  • ENG 111-2 - Topic: The Racial Imaginary (W) (1)

    Race is a social construct-an idea we imagine-but it’s an imagined idea so powerful it shapes our histories, our social systems, and our daily lives. Using Claudia Rankine and Beth Loffreda’s anthology The Racial Imaginary as a critical text, this course will examine the role of race in the life of the mind, with particular attention to the consequences of American racial conceptions in today’s literary, political, and interpersonal spheres. What happens when, as one author writes, our imaginations are “riddled with the stories racism built”? When “the voices least sanctioned to speak come from the bodies most on display”? Or when an author is silent because “I’m afraid of what I might say about race, afraid of examining what I think and feel about race”? We’ll read a variety of texts-including James Baldwin’s memoirs, Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah’s criticism, and Eula Biss’s lyric investigations-in an attempt to address such questions, and to learn how to better write about race and ethnicity ourselves. Students can expect to pay significant attention to the research, drafting, and revision processes in this writing-intensive class. Because this is a writing course, significant course time will be spent on the writing process, with a focus on revision. Not open to students who have previously completed the writing course (W) requirement and/or ENG 111 . RUBENSTEIN
    (Writing Requirement)
  

  • ENG 111-3 - Topic: Beats, Dylan and the American Dream (W) (1)

    In the 1950s, a period of American prosperity and social contentment and conformity, the “Beats” rejected traditional American values. Writers such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs sought out a new version of the American Dream. In the early 1960s, Bob Dylan followed in their footsteps and went on to become one of the most radical, influential voices of the 20th century. This class will explore the work of the Beats and Dylan through aesthetic, historical, political and cultural lenses as a way to explore our own sense of American values. Do these artists have anything to say to Americans in the 21st century? What is the American dream now? We will focus on critical reading and writing skills as we try to formulate our own responses to these important questions. FREEMAN
    (Writing Requirement)
  

  • ENG 111-3 - Topic: Crossing Boders (W) (1)

    This course will examine literature about crossing borders–cultural as well as national. The course will focus particularly on the experiences of Indian and Arab women crossing borders as immigrants, using historical, social, political, and cultural points of view. Readings will include short stories and novels by and about women as well as non-fiction accounts of women’s lives (work, health and water, marriage and children, religion, education). Emphasis on critical reading, writing and revision. Some attention paid to writing style as well. Not open to students who have completed their writing course (W) requirement. REED
    (Writing Requirement)
  

  • ENG 111-4 - Topic: Be Transformed: Fairy Tale Transformations, Cultural Critique, and the Creative Process (W) (1)

    Fairy tales have ignited the imagination of children and salon readers, storytellers and political activists, authors and film-makers. They have provoked vigorous critical arguments: they have been dismissed as trite little (girl) stories or escapist fantasies, viewed as illuminating the imperatives of desire, or as windows into the history of childhood and the family, or as emancipatory dreams, or as creative powerhouses. Typically ending with a happy resolution, they are nonetheless full of danger and violence. Case in point: their role in Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, the focal text of this First-Year Writing course, which reworks the familiar “Beauty and the Beast” tale, contains echoes from “Bluebeard,” and fragments from tales featuring slaves and cannibals, an Egyptian witch, a maid from Barbary, and a conniving devil. Othello itself has been re-worked in a variety of media and we will explore the narrative pleasures and cultural critique afforded by two of these transformations: Bulgarian film-maker Ivan Mladenov’s 2005 documentary Othello, shot in the prison of Varna, Bulgaria, with a cast of the inmates, and the award-winning 1997 play Harlem Duet, by African-Canadian feminist playwright Djanet Sears. Written assignments, including a paper involving library research, will challenge your creativity and hone your analytical and critical reading skills. Plan on daily writing, reflection on the writing process, and thoughtful, transformational revision. Not open to students who have previously completed a First-Year Writing Course. STAVREVA
    (Writing Requirement)
  

  • ENG 111-4 - Topic: The Magic of Experimental Women Film Directors (W) (1)

    Women filmmakers experiment in dazzling ways in the free space of independent cinema. We’ll learn about a few highly influential ones and develop skills for writing about their work. Julie Dash, an African-American filmmaker, directed an award-winning short film, Illusions (1982) reflecting on race/gender issues in 40s Hollywood, and, later, Daughters of the Dust, which in 1991 was the first full-length film by an African American woman director. Maya Deren, leader of the New York avant-garde film culture at midcentury, theorized about film and created astonishing short films such as: “At Land” (1944), “Meshes of the Afternoon” (1943) and “A Study in Choreography for the Camera” (1945). Patricia Rozema delighted and inspired viewers and filmmakers with her fantastical, quirky flight of fancy in I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987), voted one of the best Canadian films of all time. Throughout the course, students will draft and redraft writings, from in-class writing to film reviews to essays and research-informed critical projects. Students will learn how to search for film and cultural scholarship, using sophisticated library resources. Challenging writing assignments will help develop critical thinking and critical writing skills. Not open to students who have completed their writing course (W) requirement. HANKINS
    (Writing Requirement)
  

  • ENG 111-5 - Topic: Be Transformed: Fairy Tale Transformations, Cultural Critique, and the Creative Process (W) (1)

    Fairy tales have ignited the imagination of children and salon readers, storytellers and political activists, authors and film-makers. They have provoked vigorous critical arguments: they have been dismissed as trite little (girl) stories or escapist fantasies, viewed as illuminating the imperatives of desire, or as windows into the history of childhood and the family, or as emancipatory dreams, or as creative powerhouses. Typically ending with a happy resolution, they are nonetheless full of danger and violence. Case in point: their role in Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, the focal text of this First-Year Writing course, which reworks the familiar “Beauty and the Beast” tale, contains echoes from “Bluebeard,” and fragments from tales featuring slaves and cannibals, an Egyptian witch, a maid from Barbary, and a conniving devil. Othello itself has been re-worked in a variety of media and we will explore the narrative pleasures and cultural critique afforded by two of these transformations: Bulgarian film-maker Ivan Mladenov’s 2005 documentary Othello, shot in the prison of Varna, Bulgaria, with a cast of the inmates, and the award-winning 1997 play Harlem Duet, by African-Canadian feminist playwright Djanet Sears. Written assignments, including a paper involving library research, will challenge your creativity and hone your analytical and critical reading skills. Plan on daily writing, reflection on the writing process, and thoughtful, transformational revision. Not open to students who have previously completed a First-Year Writing Course. STAVREVA
    (Writing Requirement)
  

  • ENG 111-5 - Topic: Beats, Dylan and the American Dream (W) (1)

    In the 1950s, a period of American prosperity and social contentment and conformity, the “Beats” rejected traditional American values. Writers such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs sought out a new version of the American Dream. In the early 1960s, Bob Dylan followed in their footsteps and went on to become one of the most radical, influential voices of the 20th century. This class will explore the work of the Beats and Dylan through aesthetic, historical, political and cultural lenses as a way to explore our own sense of American values. Do these artists have anything to say to Americans in the 21st century? What is the American dream now? We will focus on critical reading and writing skills as we try to formulate our own responses to these important questions. FREEMAN
    (Writing Requirement)
  

  • ENG 201 - Introduction to Literary Studies (1)

    Introduces students to methods of reading, analyzing, and interpreting literature. Focus on understanding conventions and technical aspects of a literary work and on introduction to multiple genres of literature. Students do close reading and are introduced to additional methods of critical inquiry involving literature. Shows students how to apply critical and literary vocabulary, and to develop writing and research skills.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 202 - Introduction to Film Studies (1)

    An introduction to film as an art form, cultural practice, and institution. The class focuses on questions of film form and style (narrative, editing, sound, framing, mise-en-scène) and introduces students to concepts in film history and theory (e.g. national cinemas, periods and movements, institution, authorship, spectatorship, ideology, style, genre). Students develop a basic critical vocabulary and research practices for examining film. They apply their skills in oral and written analysis and interpretation to a wide range of films: old and new, local and global, mainstream and less familiar.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 215 - Introduction to Creative Writing (1)

    Beginning course in creative writing and an introductory course to the English major. Students will explore a myriad of writing techniques and approaches to writing in a variety of genres. Students will write, share work, and offer critiques. The course also includes the study of published authors as models for student writing, as literary historical context for artistic creation, and for the study of creative theory. Students will learn to analyze texts from a writer’s perspective, which they will apply to their own writing and to the study of literature in the major.
    (Fine Arts)
  

  • ENG 220 - Nature Writing (1)

    A creative writing workshop focused on writing concerned with the environment and human relationships with the environment. Our focus will be on non-fiction and the lyric essay. Students will produce a range of creative works and will engage in thoughtful discussion and critique of peers’ work. We will also read widely in the tradition of environmental writers, including writers such as Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, Sigurd Olson, Annie Dillard, Barry Lopez, Terry Tempest Williams, and Gary Snyder to study techniques used by these writers. Offered in alternate or every third year.
    (Fine Arts)
  

  • ENG 230 - Caribbean Literature (1)

    This course offers the unique experience of studying Caribbean literature in the Bahamas. We will study a range of genres, including poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, from a range of time periods and Caribbean islands. We will also treat the landscape itself as a text, “reading” the natural world and such sites as ruins and monuments to understand the environment and history of San Salvador island. Course topics may include the creation of national identity through literature, local writers and tourists responding to the environment, and writing from a postcolonial position. Prerequisite: Writing-designated course (W). Offered every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 240 - Theatre, Architecture, and the Arts in Great Britain (1)

    A study of British literary, heritage, and theatre tourism. While reflecting on the history and present-day state of cultural tourism in the United Kingdom, students visit literary and historical sites in Scotland and England, attend a range of theatre events in Stratford-upon-Avon and London, and visit museums and galleries in London and beyond. Students will read travel writing and plays, keep an academic travel journal, and write several short papers. Team-taught in the United Kingdom. Registration entails additional costs. Prerequisites: Either a Writing-designated course (W), or one of the following: ENG 201 , ENG 202 , ENG 215 . Students must secure permission of instructor and have at least 2.0 GPA and be in good disciplinary and financial standing with the College. The course will be offered next in 2017-18.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 267 - Multicultural Literature (1)

    Critical analysis of texts by national and international writers of “minority” status, which may include groups marginalized by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic class. Consideration of the role of an author’s status or identity in literary study. Prerequisite: Writing designated course (W). Alternate years or every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 274 - Topic: Bluestockings, Revolutionaries, and Cultural Legislators: British Romantic Poetry (1)

    During the Romantic Period in Great Britain (1789 - 1832)-sometimes referred to as the Age of Revolution-intellectuals debated the ideals of the American and French political revolutions, the abolition of the British slave trade, the rights of women, the moral and imaginative education of children, and the role of poetry, aesthetics, and imagination in public discourse. This course offers a study of poetry of the Romantic Era in Great Britain (1789 - 1832) with emphasis on poetry’s engagement with the political, social, and aesthetic debates of the day through printed materials of the time. Students will learn about common Romantic-era poetic form and innovations, gain an understanding of social issues of the times, will have the opportunity to do archival research at the University of Iowa’s Rare Books Collection, and will do hands-on letterpress printing. Writing course (W)
    (Humanities)
  
  
  
  

  • ENG 311 - Grammar and the Politics of English (1)

    An examination of the structures and forms which currently govern standard usage of the English language. Encompasses a broad view of grammar as a subject by a wide-ranging investigation of the history and development of the language. Examines the social and political implications of the development of English as a global language. Prerequisites: sophomore standing and a writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 317 - Advanced Poetry Writing (1)

    Advanced course in writing poetry. Students will study techniques, share work, and offer critiques. The course will also include the study of published poetry. Additional topics will include publication options, manuscript submission procedures, and resources for writers. Prerequisites: ENG 215  and sophomore standing. May be repeated once for credit. Alternate years.
    (Fine Arts)
  

  • ENG 318 - Advanced Fiction Writing (1)

    Advanced course in writing fiction. Students will study techniques, share work, and offer critiques. The course will also include the study of published fiction. Additional topics may include publication options, manuscript submission procedures, and resources for writers. Prerequisites: ENG 215  and sophomore standing. May be repeated once for credit. Alternate years.
    (Fine Arts)
  

  • ENG 319 - Advanced Critical Writing (1)

    Advanced course in academic writing. In discussion, intensive workshops, and individual instruction, students will critically read and evaluate their own work and the work of their peers, as well as professional academic writers. In addition to writing several papers, students will substantially revise and expand the research for a paper they have written for a previous course. Students must bring to class on the first day a short paper they are prepared to further research and revise. The course will also give considerable attention to advanced information literacy and advanced writing style. This course is especially appropriate for students who intend to pursue graduate study or careers with a strong writing component. Prerequisites: junior standing and a writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
  

  • ENG 321 - Studies in Medieval Literature (1)

    Topical concentrations in English and world literature of the Middle Ages, including cultural context. Topics may include: Arthurian romance, Dante, Chaucer, the mystical tradition, chivalry, etc. Prerequisites: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . When offered off campus, the course entails additional prerequisites. Alternate years or every third year. No S/U option.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 322 - Medieval and Renaissance Drama: Shakespeare’s Rivals (1)

    A study of the drama of Shakespeare’s predecessors, contemporaries, and rivals - such as Cary, Dekker, Ford, Marlowe, Middleton, etc. - within the context of the booming printing and theater trades of early modern England. The course develops editing skills by producing a new teaching edition of an early modern play. Prerequisite: writing designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Offered every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 323 - Shakespeare I: Comedies and Romances (1)

    Analytical, cultural-historical, and performative approaches to Shakespeare. Discussion of selected comedies and romances in their cultural contexts and contemporary performance. Prerequisite: writing designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 324 - Shakespeare II: Histories and Tragedies (1)

    Critical analysis of Shakespeare’s histories and tragedies, with attention paid to their cultural contexts and performative aspects. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 325 - Renaissance Non-Dramatic Literature (1)

    English and world literature from the period 1500-1660. Topics may include: women writers; literature of geographic exploration; lyric poetry; studies of authors, such as Donne, Elizabeth I, Spenser, or of authors’ circles, such as the Sidney family. The course entails a hands-on introduction to book arts, including letterpress printing. Prerequisite: ENG 111 , ENG 201 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years or every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 326 - Milton (1)

    This course will provide a deep and thorough engagement with John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost. Attention will be given to the reading practices of early modern and post-modern audiences. Additional materials may include critical articles and other works by John Milton, like Comus, Samson Agonistes, or selections from his sonnets or prose works. The course will conclude with a consideration of contemporary uses for Milton’s epic. Prerequisites: writing-designated course (W), and ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years or every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 327 - Shakespeare after Shakespeare: Performance and Cultural Criticism (1)

    A study of Shakespeare’s plays as blueprints for performance, and of the historically and culturally diverse forms of Shakespearean performances on stage and screen, including Asian, East European, and other renditions. Focus on the relationship of performance to the processes of cultural formation and reflection. Students in the class engage in performance workshops and theatre and/or media production activities enabled by the Stephen Lacey Memorial Shakespeare Fund. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years or every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 328 - Eighteenth Century English Literature (1)

    Drama, poetry and essays of the period 1660-1798. Discussion of the interplay between culture and literature. Topics may include colonialism; civility, honor and barbarism; politics and poetics of Restoration drama. Authors may include Behn, Wycherly and Rochester, Addison and Steele, Swift, Pope, and Eliza Haywood. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years or every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 329 - Eighteenth Century Fiction (1)

    Examination of fiction written between 1660-1789. Discussion of the novel and the anti-novel using works such as Pamela, Joseph Andrews, The Female Quixote, Tristram Shandy, and Northanger Abbey. Some discussion of contemporary creative and critical responses to eighteenth-century fiction. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 111 , ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years or every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 331 - British Literature of the Romantic (1)

    An examination of intellectual, political, and aesthetic movements of the English Romantic period 1789-1832. May focus on a topic such as gender and Romantic poetics, the Gothic impulse, or slavery and abolition. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W),or ENG 111 , ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 332 - Queering the Restoration (1)

    This course examines the construction and disruption of gender–especially on the stage–during Restoration England (1660-1714). Readings will include comedy and drama from the period, along with historical and contemporary theories of gender and theatre. Assignments include papers, research projects, and performance. This course also counts towards the GSS major. Prerequisites: W course, ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 , or GSS 171 . Offered every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 333 - Victorian Literature (1)

    Poetry, novels, essays, and plays written between 1837 and 1901. May focus on a topic, such as the Victorian life cycle, political reform movements, or turn-of-the-century decadence. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 334 - Nineteenth Century English Novel (1)

    A study of one or more forms: the domestic novel, the Gothic novel, the serial novel, the novel of social critique. Authors may include Austen, Shelley, Dickens, Eliot, Trollope, and Wilde. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 335 - Virginia Woolf (1)

    Novels and essays by the iconic and innovative early twentieth century British writer and critic, Virginia Woolf, including A Room of One’s Own and other groundbreaking essays, novels such as Jacob’s Room, To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway, The Waves, Orlando, and Between the Acts, and her autobiographical writing “A Sketch of the Past.” This course also counts toward the GSS major. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 336 - Early Twentieth Century Literature (1)

    Texts from the first half of the twentieth century, chosen from British and American writers such as Rebecca West, Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Richardson, H. D., Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, D. H. Lawrence, Zora Neale Hurston, and others. The course may include films of the early twentieth century, and may focus on a topic such as films and literature of World War I or transatlantic modernist experiments in literature and film. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 343 - The American Renaissance (1)

    Literary and cultural trends in the early- and mid-nineteenth century with attention to Transcendentalism, Melville’s Moby-Dick, and philosophical contradictions within the period. Authors in addition to Melville may include Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, Douglass, and Alcott Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Offered every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 345 - Late Nineteenth Century American Literature (1)

    Literary and cultural trends of the late-nineteenth century with a focus on the relationship between literary and social movements of the time period. Authors may include Twain, James, Whitman, Stove, Wells-Barnett, Davis, Gilman, and Riis. Course may include a civic engagement component and/or group research project investigating the role of literature in reform movements. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 347 - Modern American Literature: Encountering the Wilderness, Literature, and Photo-Writing at the Boundary Waters (Wilderness Field Station, Minnesota) (1)

    t the wilderness that we study. We will reflect upon art and meditation as ways of relating to the wilderness; we will keep journals/portfolios of projects involving writing, literary analysis, meditation, and photography (including a one-photo-a-day project inspired by Jim Brandenberg’s works). Open to seasoned campers & neophytes. Registration entails additional costs, estimated $500. Prerequisite: writing (W) course, ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 .
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 350 - American Nature Writers (1)

    Study of writers who share a concern with human relationships with nature, landscape, and the environment. Authors may include Muir, Leopold, Dillard, Carson, Abbey, and Krakauer. Prerequisite: writing (W) course, ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 351 - Studies in African-American Literature (1)

    Study of African-American Literature and/or film. Topics may include African-American women writers and directors and the slave narrative. This course also counts towards the GSS major. Prerequisite: writing (W) course, ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years or every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 361 - Modern Poetry (1)

    Study of experimental poetic trends in the first half of the twentieth century. Poets may include Eliot, Stevens, Williams, Stein, Loy, Millay, Hughes, and H.D. Prerequisite: writing (W) course, ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Offered every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 363 - Contemporary Fiction (1)

    Intensive look at recent and experimental developments in fiction as represented by writers such as Sherman Alexie, Leslie Marmon Silko, Maxine Hong Kingston, Don DeLillo, and Tim O’Brien. Prerequisite: writing (W) course, ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Offered every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 364 - Contemporary Poetry (1)

    Study of poets whose work has come to prominence since 1950 and an overview of contemporary poetic trends in America. Poets may include Lowell, Ginsberg, Ashbery, Rich, Plath, Olds, and Graham. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Offered every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 365 - Comparative Literature and Cinema (1)

    Investigating some of the multi-faceted connections between literature and film, this course may focus on a topic such as the investigation of transatlantic avant-garde film and the “little magazines” or film societies and literary coteries of the early twentieth century. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 370 - AIDS Literature, Film, and Social Theory (1)

    Study of the historical emergence and consequences of HIV/AIDS through memoirs, novels, plays, documentary and feature films, and essays. In evaluating the way literature shapes our understanding of HIV and AIDS, we will explore pertinent issues of race, gender, nationality, and sexual identity. May include service learning component with required field trips. This course also counts towards the GSS major. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Offered in alternate years or every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 371 - Literary Theory (1)

    Survey of literary theories with emphasis on the second half of the twentieth century through the present. Theories considered may include Narrative Theory, Feminist theories, Reader-Response Theory, New Historicism, Postmodernism, and Cultural Studies as well as newer approaches. Recommended for students who may be interested in pursuing graduate studies in English. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 372 - Film and Film Studies (1)

    The study of films as artistic and cultural texts. The focus may be on the study of an individual director, Hitchcock, or a broader topic, such as Women Directors, or a particular period in film history, such as Avant Garde Films of the 1920’s and 1930’s. See Topics Courses  for expanded current course description. (This is not a film production course.) Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . Alternate years or every third year.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 374-7 - Advanced Topic: Medical Fictions: Patient-Doctor Dynamics in Fiction and Film (1)

    Writers and filmmakers–even cartoonists–bring their art and insight to the medical moment, illuminating doctor/patient connections and misconnections, writing about empathy and abandonment, highly-charged moments of illness, dying, childbirth, shell-shock, and other health experiences. Engaging with these powerful and moving texts invites students to examine and deepen their concepts of the relationships between health providers and others. The course will include a field trip to the University of Iowa hospital to witness Project Art and visits from speakers, as well as a service project. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 . HANKINS
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 380 - Internship (1)

    Diverse internship options may include writing and editing in the commercial world, such as working for a newspaper, a magazine, a publishing house, or another communications medium. See Additional Academic Opportunities , All-College Independent Study Courses 280/380. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 .
    (CR)
  

  • ENG 382-3 - Advanced Topic: Distinguished Visiting Screenwriter: Creating Characters (1)

    Great films rely on great characters. In this screenwriting workshop, students will study and explore techniques for creating their own dynamic, character-driven films with special attention on using the tools of visual storytelling to create cinematic shorts with memorable characters. Using a series of writing exercises as well as in-class readings with actors, students will create and shape their characters from the ground up and then place them into narratives that help define and, most importantly, reveal who their characters are. Genre will be a secondary consideration as character takes center stage to create compelling scripts that are honest, emotional, and even personal. Students will not only write their own screenplays but they also will be expected provide thoughtful and constructive feedback on all other students’ work throughout the development process of the workshop’s scripts. Class participation, creative collaboration, and critical thinking about other students’ work is essential to success in this workshop. Students will create a 12-15 page screenplay that displays strong character development, with additional focus on act/scene structure and visual storytelling film language.
    (Fine Arts)
  

  • ENG 383-6 - Advanced Topic: Distinguished Visiting Writer in Live Literature: The Personal is Political (1)

    Sharing personal stories is a vital part of creating social change, but for creative writers, trying to send a message or teach a lesson can drain a story of its value as art and/or entertainment. The emerging nonfiction genre of “live lit”-short memoirs written for performance-is an excellent medium for exploring the personal and the political in creative work. How can we broach political subjects without coming across as excessively preachy or wonky? How can we draw broader social points out of our personal stories, without seeming “whiny” or narcissistic? What’s the difference between writing for the page and for a live audience? Through workshopping, class discussion, field trips, and performance practice, we’ll move toward balancing the persuasive power of a political speech with the delight of well-crafted essay. Prerequisite: writing designated course (W), or ENG 201 , ENG 202 , or ENG 215 .
    (Fine Arts)
  
  
  

  • ENG 411 - Senior Seminar (1)

    Advanced, theoretically informed engagement with literary studies, broadly defined, including reflection on what the English major brings to intellectual and creative life beyond the undergraduate years. See Topics Courses  for current topics and course descriptions. Prerequisites: English major and senior standing.
    (Humanities)
  

  • ENG 412 - Senior Project in Creative Writing (1)

    This course serves as the second half of the capstone experience for students completing the English major’s creative writing concentration. Students will work independently on a creative writing project started in previous workshops, meet independently with the instructor to discuss their progress and work on successive drafts, and meet with other students for an intensive workshop of projects. Students will also work with the instructor to create, complete, and discuss a reading list relevant to their project. The goal is to produce work for publication and/or public performance. The Senior Project Workshop will be conducted as a combination of workshop with other course members, independent study, and one-on-one mentoring. The block will also include professional training in the submission and publication process as well as graduate school and careers in writing.
  

  • ENG 413 - Senior Project in Critical Writing (1)

    This course serves as the second half of the capstone experience for students completing the English major’s concentrations in Literary Studies and in Film and Literary Studies. Students will work independently to develop a project proposed in ENG 411  into a theoretically informed research thesis of substantial length. The goal is to produce work for public presentation or for publication in an undergraduate journal or comparable venue. The course will also include professional training in the processes of conference and publication submission and review. The Senior Project Workshop will be conducted as a combination of workshop with other course members, independent study, and one-on-one mentoring.
  
  
  

  • ENG 510 - Introduction to Book Arts (1/4)

    The course will introduce participants to the field of book arts, including page design, letterpress, typesetting, printing, and book construction through demonstrations and hands-on experience. Sessions may also include field trips to libraries and museums, fine presses, and/or Book Studies Programs. To earn credit, students must complete four sessions and all homework, including a culminating project. A complete schedule of workshops and fieldtrips will be distributed at an informational session to be held at the beginning of the academic year. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
    (CR)
  

  • ENG 715 - Literature in Action: Editing (1/4)

    Serving in one of the supervisory positions for the English Department literary magazine Open Field (or similar magazine): Editor, Assistant Editor, Web Editor, Art/Design Editor. Participation must be supervised by a member of the Department and the work carried out within a single semester. May be repeated for credit.
    (Fine Arts) (CR)

Environmental Studies
  

  • ENV 101 - Environmental Perspectives (1)

    An interdisciplinary examination of the interplay between the artistic, social and scientific components of modern environmental issues. Not open to juniors or seniors.
  

  • ENV 201 - Environmental Biology (1)

    Investigation of the fundamental biological principles underlying how humans and other living things interact with an environment increasingly altered by human activities. These principles will be applied to understanding and seeking practical solutions to modern environmental problems. Prerequisite: ENV 101  or any science credit. Alternate years.
    (Laboratory Science)
  

  • ENV 202 - The Chemistry of Natural Waters (1)

    This course introduces some of the fundamental concepts used for understanding the chemical processes occurring in the environment. Topics covered will include: chemical bonding and structure; cycling of chemical substances and elements in the atmosphere, oceans, and soils; the chemistry of atmospheric and water pollution; chemical analysis of environmental samples. This course cannot be used to satisfy course requirements in the chemistry major. Offered as an off-campus course in alternate years which incurs additional costs. Prerequisite: ENV 101  or any science credit.
    (Laboratory Science)
  

  • ENV 280 - Internship in Environmental Studies (1)

    Working with a business, government agency, or other institution under the direction of the organization’s leaders and a faculty supervisor. See Additional Academic Opportunities, All-College Independent Study Courses 280/380.
  
  
  

  • ENV 301 - Hydrogeology (1)

    The study of hydrogeology, landscape evolution, and earth surface processes. Particular attention will be paid to the dynamics of groundwater and surfacewater. Includes field- and laboratory-based group research projects on various local and regional topics, and reading of primary literature. Co-listed with GEO 320  . Alternate years.  Prerequisite: ENV 201  or ENV 202  .
    (Laboratory Science)
  

  • ENV 380 - Internship (1)

    See Additional Academic Opportunities , All-College Independent Study Courses 280/380. Prerequisites: junior standing; at least one of the three required 300-level courses; approval by the participating institution, the faculty supervisor, and the Environmental Studies advisor.
    (CR)
  
  
  
  
  

  • ENV 912 - Tanzania: Studies in Human Evolution and Ecology (1)

    see ACM Programs .
  

  • ENV 942 - Costa Rica: Tropical Field Research (1)

    see ACM Programs .

Ethnic Studies
  

  • EST 123 - Introduction to Ethnic Studies (1)

    Examination of the meaning of ethnicity, race, and minority status. The relationship between race, class, and ethnicity. The psychology of prejudice. Structural discrimination. The evolution of ethnic interactions. The course is interdisciplinary in method and cross-cultural in perspective. Not open to seniors without permission of instructor.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  • EST 485 - Readings/Research in Ethnic Studies (1)

    Student designed individual research in selected areas. Focus to be a research paper or project whose subject matter has been approved by both the professor directing the paper/project and by the Ethnic Studies Program Committee. May be taken under the direction of any professor currently offering courses listed as part of the Ethnic Studies major. Prerequisites: a declared major in Ethnic Studies, EST 123 , at least six additional courses that may be counted towards the Ethnic Studies major, permission of the instructor, and approval by the Ethnic Studies Program Committee. No S/U option.
  
  

Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
  

  • GSS 171 - Gender, Power, and Identity (1)

    This interdisciplinary core course in the program analyzes how notions of race, gender, sexuality, class, nation, physical ability and other aspects of social location materially influence people’s lives. To conduct our analysis, we will consider various strands of feminism, divergent positions among queer theorists, and arguments drawn from other identity based fields (e.g ethnic studies, American studies, postcolonial studies) in order to survey and compare several perspectives on gender, race, sexuality, race and class. Placing gender and sexuality at the center of analysis, we will address some of the basic concepts in Gender, Sexualities and Women’s Studies. We will also explore questions regarding incorporating other social categories such as race, ethnicity, class and nationality. Throughout the course we will complete readings, watch films, and engage in exercises to explore the past, present and potential future understandings about gender and sexuality, paying close attention to political, cultural, and economic contexts.
  

  • GSS 270 - Social Justice Perspectives and Practices (1)

    Intersectional and interdisciplinary exploration of feminist and other social justice perspectives and practices relevant to understanding and responding to social oppression. Course discussions focus on power, privilege, oppression, and implications for social change. Activities and assignments focus on using social justice remedies or ‘tools,’ such as individual resistance, policy, advocacy, and social action, and collective struggle to propose solutions to contemporary problems. Areas studied might include critical race theory and critical race feminism, queer theory, women of color feminisms, transnational/global feminisms, disability studies, liberation theory, postcolonial theory, feminist ‘locational’ theories. Specific topics vary by instructor. Prerequisite: GSS 171 , or EST 123 , or SOC 101 , or SOC 102  , or ANT 101 , or PSY 276 , or POL 143 .
  

  • GSS 271 - Feminist Theories (1)

    Examination of a variety of theories about feminism, the nature of gender, and its relationship to biological sex, and women’s and men’s roles in society. Theoretical perspectives that posit reasons for the existence of privilege, oppression and various “isms” (e.g., sexism, heterosexism, and racism) will be examined as well as goals and strategies for social change associated with these diverse perspectives. Prerequisite: GSS 171  or any course approved for Women’s Studies major credit.
  
  
 

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