{"id":3162,"date":"2020-12-02T23:30:16","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T23:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-the-words\/?page_id=3162"},"modified":"2024-08-14T19:17:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T19:17:16","slug":"exciting-new-spring-course-offerings-from-the-english-department","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/exciting-new-spring-course-offerings-from-the-english-department\/","title":{"rendered":"Exciting New Spring Course Offerings From the English Department"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alice Asch ’22<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For literature and creative writing enthusiasts, Macalester has a gorgeous array of courses in store for next semester, many of which are being offered for the first time this spring. With subjects ranging from artistic muses to Afrofuturism to young adult fiction, these classes are sure to captivate. <\/span>The Words <\/span><\/i>has decided to profile a few of the English department\u2019s brand new listings. Enjoy! <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Down the Rabbit Hole:<\/b> Taught by the chair of the department, Andrea Kaston Tange, this course will begin by providing an overview of the \u201ckey issues\u201d of the Victorian era, but it is hardly a conventional 19th century British literature class. Students will have the opportunity to delve into a topic of their choice, and will then spend most of the semester following the spirals of their research, ultimately producing a scholarly paper, a feature article or exhibit, and a podcast episode. <\/span>Words<\/span><\/i> Editor Dalton Greene \u201922 plans to take the course, and says he is \u201creally excited about its unique multimedia approach\u2014it’s a great opportunity to get experience communicating the same findings in different ways for different audiences.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction to Asian American Literature: <\/b>Macalester usually offers a \u201cU.S Identities\/Differences\u201d literature course at least once a year, but this is the first time that the class is focusing on works by Asian American writers. This was a delight to English department student worker Anna Chu \u201922, who began hearing about the possibility of such a course last year. \u201cEvery semester, I looked out for it!\u201d she said. Taught by poet and professor Michael Prior, students will study authors such as Jhumpa Lahiri, Celeste Ng, and Ocean Vuong, and examine how news media and popular culture have shaped public perceptions of their writing. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Topics in African American Literature: Afrofuturism: <\/b>Though this course has been offered before, this is the first time that it will not be taught as a capstone.<\/span> Guided by Daylanne English, students will dive into the fascinating contemporary movement known as Afrofuturism, which represents alternate temporalities and \u201cforms of the human\u201d where Black people are centered. English said that she hopes students will gain an understanding of how \u201cart, literature, and theory, through innovative form and content, can help us not only understand and shape, but also change \u2018the real world.\u2019\u2019\u2019 Class materials will span multiple genres, including Samuel Delany\u2019s short stories, Janelle Mon\u00e1e\u2019s Dirty Computer \u201cemotion picture,\u201d and Wangechi Mutu\u2019s visual art. According to English, the course might even feature some dancing over zoom. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Literature to Film: Queer Muses in Film: <\/b>Amy Elkins will be leading this thrilling exploration of the \u201cmuse,\u201d which she defines as \u201cthe presiding spirit or force behind any person or creative act.\u201d Via films such as <\/span>Orlando<\/span><\/i> and<\/span> Looking for Langston<\/span><\/i>, students will study queer muses in the context of gender fluidity, feminism, and cinematic visuality, paying special attention to those that bend the rules of the archetype. <\/span>Words<\/span><\/i> Editor Kira Schukar \u201922 has enjoyed courses with Elkins before, so she couldn\u2019t wait to register for this one. \u201cShe always manages to weave multiple media like craft and film into her English classes, and this course sounds like an especially interdisciplinary approach to literature,\u201d Schukar said. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crafts of Writing: Young Adult Literature: <\/b>YA fans, rejoice! Author and professor Rachel Gold, who has written several young adult novels of their own, will impart their wisdom and experience to students in this workshop-based course. After learning about the crafts of character, voice, and plot, students will leave the class with a polished short story. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crafts of Writing: World Building: <\/b>Fantasy and science fiction lovers will feel right at home in this course. Under the guidance of writer and professor Emma T\u00f6rzs, students will dive into queries like, \u201cHow can we believably represent an entire cosmos within the space of pages?\u201d <\/span>Words<\/span><\/i> editor Teddy Holt \u201922, who is currently in Marlon James\u2019 fantasy writing class, can\u2019t wait to continue honing their craft in T\u00f6rzs\u2019 course. \u201cI love asking questions and coming up with answers, and I love the endless opportunity and motivation world building gives me to learn about my actual neighbors on the Earth,\u201d Holt said.          <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crafts of Writing: Imitations and Influences: <\/b>Also taught by T\u00f6rzs, this class takes a creative writing-centered approach to the themes of Amy Elkins\u2019 \u201cMuses\u201d course. Students will revisit their most beloved literary and musical inspirations and engage in a \u201cmulti-genre study of what it means to be artistically influenced.\u201d Examining the works of writers like George Saunders, Toni Morrison, and Denis Johnson, along with any of their own personal favorite authors, students will practice the art of imitation. <\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alice Asch ’22 For literature and creative writing enthusiasts, Macalester has a gorgeous array of courses in store for next semester, many of which are being offered for the first time this spring. With subjects ranging from artistic muses to Afrofuturism to young adult fiction, these classes are sure to captivate. The Words has […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":474,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3162","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/474"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3162"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8073,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3162\/revisions\/8073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}