Mar 28, 2024  
2015-2016 UMass Dartmouth Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2015-2016 UMass Dartmouth Undergraduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Department of English


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Faculty and Fields of Interest

Anupama Arora post-colonial theory and literature, especially from Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia and its diaspora; women’s studies;Asian American literature; colonial literature; literary criticism and theory

Anthony Arrigo visual rhetoric, technology and culture, multimodal literacy, technical communication, cultural studies

Jerry Blitefield (Graduate Program Director) rhetoric and composition, rhetorical theory and criticism, history of rhetoric, creative nonfiction, fiction

Anicca Cox (Assistant First Year English Administrator) composition

Katherine DeLuca new and digital media, rhetoric, professional writing

Chris Eisenhart (Chairperson) rhetorical criticism and theory, professional and political communication, discourse studies

Shari Evans multicultural literature and African-American literature, contemporary women writers, feminist and critical race theory

Caroline Gelmi poetry and poetics, nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature

Karen Gulbrandsen (Director of Teaching Fellows) technical communication, technology transfer, rhetoric of science and technology

Laurel Hankins early American literature, nineteenth-century American literature, transatlantic literary culture, theories of moral sentiment

Stanley Harrison rhetoric, professional writing, advanced computer applications

Joan Kellerman poetry, comedy, American satire, Beat Generation, Jack Kerouac, literature and psychology

Lucas Mann creative nonfiction, journalism, professional writing

William Nelles narrative theory, medieval literature

Caitlin O’Neil composition, rhetoric, journalism, popular culture, fiction

Morgan Peters drama, creative writing, filmmaking, oral traditions

Jeannette E Riley contemporary women’s literature, literary theory with an emphasis on feminist theory, post-1945 American literature, feminist pedagogy, teaching with technology

Lulu C H Sun rhetoric and composition, English education, English romantic literature

Judy Schaaf medieval and Renaissance studies, 19th-century American literature, travel and nature writing

Alexis Teagarden (Director, First Year English) rhetoric, college writing pedagogy, assessment, public policy

Robert P Waxler romanticism, Jewish studies, professional writing, communication theory

Charles W White III American literature, film

Mary Wilson transatlantic modernist fiction, domesticity and sexuality in literature

The English Department serves a diverse group of majors: a group that includes those who intend to go on to graduate study; those who intend to enter the teaching profession and those who plan careers in such areas as public relations, editorial work, journalism, technical and professional writing, creative writing, personnel work and the like. The department also serves many non-English majors: those students who elect English courses in order to gain some acquaintance with the rich cultural heritage that English, American and comparative literature provide; and those who, through advanced courses in writing, wish to improve their powers of communication.

In addition, the department provides a first year English program that includes introductory composition courses (ENL 101 and 102), testing and evaluation of the writing ability of incoming students, English-as-a-second language instruction and professional communications courses for students in business, science, technology, engineering and computer science programs.

English majors are offered a choice of two options: the literature and criticism option or the writing, rhetoric & communication option, each leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree.

These options reflect the department’s conviction that perceptive reading, effective writing and clear thinking are interconnected.

The English department also offers a graduate program leading to a Master of Arts degree in Professional Writing designed to give students a background in rhetorical and communication theories and the advanced skills necessary for professional jobs in business, government, media, teaching, industry or publishing, as well as continued academic studies. For more information go to: http://www.umassd.edu/cas/english/graduateprograms/

The English Department also offers a 4+1 option for qualified majors to earn the Master in Professional Writing degree in just a single year of graduate study. For more information go to: http://www.umassd.edu/cas/english/graduateprograms/

The English department participates in UMass Dartmouth’s programs to prepare teachers who are highly qualified, helping provide opportunities for students to receive both initial and professional licensure. Specifically, the department supports students who seek initial licensure as a Teacher of English (grades 5 through 8 or grades 8 through 12) through the Post-Baccalaureate Education Certificate and professional licensure as a Teacher of English  (grades 5 through 8 or grades 8 through 12) through the MAT program. In order to develop a plan for taking appropriate prerequisite and enrichment courses, students should indicate their interest both to their English major advisor and to an advisor in UMass Dartmouth’s Teaching and Learning Department.

 

Learning Outcomes

The English Department has identified the following core objectives for all English majors:

Students will be able to:

  • Conduct research effectively in both traditional and new and emerging formats
  • Evaluate and employ resources effectively, using disciplinary conventions for citation and documentation
  • Develop and write original analyses
  • Write and revise clear, grammatical prose

In addition to the core objectives, students in the Literature and Criticism option will be able to:

  • Identify authors, periods, themes, purposes, and forms of works of English, American, and World literatures and literary criticisms
  • Identify and analyze formal attributes that distinguish literary genres and major schools of literary criticism
  • Employ traditional and contemporary literary critical terms, techniques, and theories in analyzing and explaining, both orally and in writing, the forms, themes, arguments, audiences, purposes, and effects of works of literature
  • Read critically across literary genres and works of literary criticism and history
  • Write and speak effectively in formats including literary analysis, persuasive argument, and critical exposition

In addition to the core objectives, students in the Writing, Rhetoric & Communication option will be able to:

  • Identify and employ key concepts in rhetorical theory and associate them with periods and theorists
  • Analyze and describe rhetorically significant features and audiences
  • Develop and sustain an effective argument, including appropriate evidence
  • Identify and employ rhetorically appropriate strategies such as genres and styles
  • Apply principles of visual rhetoric and document design

 

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