UNDERGRADUATE
Electives for Nonmajors
Department of English
Spring 2010
These descriptions of undergraduate electives for nonmajor courses to be offered have been supplied by the faculty. The information printed is intended to supplement the basic descriptions printed in the UNR catalog. Last minute changes in course content are always possible.
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205.001
Introduction to Creative Writing: Fiction and Poetry
1:00-2:15 MW
Pahmeier
For details on this course, you may contact the instructor at pahmeier@unr.nevada.edu
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205.002
Introduction to Creative Writing: Fiction and Poetry
8:00-9:15 TR
Johnston
What gives writing “energy”? Why do you finish some books in one sitting, or put others down part way through the first chapter? Although these questions have no easy answers, we will explore some possible ones in this class. Our work will involve discussing various genres of creative writing (namely prose and poetry), as well as “writing processes” in creative writing. Each of you will experiment with writing both poetry and fiction, even if you don’t plan to write in one particular genre for the long haul. Experimentation will help you generate a great deal of writing while putting aside fears of writing “badly”. Perhaps you will even develop a love for a genre that you previously avoided! We will workshop your writing and discuss writing samples from published writers that you discover and enjoy. Workshops will foster discussion and inquiry—not condemnation. We will function on the principle that in order to write well, you have to be willing to take risks and “fail” (although no effort is truly failure if you’re willing to learn from it and continue). In order to create a productive and supportive writing environment for everyone, regular attendance and participation is essential.
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205.003
Introduction to Creative Writing: Fiction and Poetry
1:00-2:15 TR
Camarena
For details on this course, you may contact the instructor at hauslade@unr.nevada.edu
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223.001
Themes of Literature
2:30-3:45 MW
Walsh
Understanding Arguments
This course examines how people argue for their
points of view by surveying the world’s major persuasive traditions as well as
current theories
of persuasion in digital media. Students will investigate these topics via group
research projects, short essays, and exams.
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236.001
Survey of English Literature II
5:30-6:45 TR
Lock
In this class, you will travel from English Romanticism
of the early 19th century to Modernism and Post-Modernism of our day and age.
During the travel we will routinely
stop at major stations that will include fervent young Romantic poets like
Keats, Shelley, and Wordsworth, as well as Victorians like Dickens and Tennyson.
We will also
delve into some 20th-century epic fantasy, besides enjoying stalwart literary
figures like Eliot, Auden, Lawrence, and Shaw.
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252.001
Introduction to Drama
4:00-5:15 TR
Grecu
For details on this course, you may contact the instructor at grecu@unr.nevada.edu
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252.002
Introduction to Drama
5:30-6:45 TR
Grecu
For details on this course, you may contact the instructor at grecu@unr.nevada.edu
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321.001
Expository Writing
1:00-2:15 MW
Urie
Writing in the Real World, is an
upper level writing course for all majors which introduces them to a variety of
nonacademic and nonfiction forms: the familiar
essay, the expository article, the review, the report, the proposal.
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321.002
Expository Writing
2:30-3:45 MW
Sweeney (on leave until January 2010)
For details on this course, you may contact the instructor at msweeney2@unr.edu
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331.001
Literary Themes
10:00-10:50 MWF
Jackson
Emphasis on
contemporary fiction
This course will explore literary themes in a selection of readings, primarily,
but not exclusively, short works of contemporary fiction. Students will learn
to read closely;
they will develop a basic understanding of narrative craft, particularly imagery
and point of view, as a means of accessing meaning in literary works. This is a
WebCampus
assisted course; students should plan to check WebCT regularly. For more
information about this course, contact the instructor at
jackso82@unr.nevada.edu .