CWR 370-01 Special Topics in Creative Writing: Writing Your Story
Professor: Jackson
Monday/Thursday 9:30-10:50am
In The Art of Memoir, Mary Karr asks “What would you write if you weren’t afraid?” Though Karr is focused on memoir, her question is relevant to any writer of any literary genre. We could think of the stories we tell about ourselves as the foundation of our creative lives, not just because they are the first stories we learn to tell, but because when we engage in memoir, we discover why we are writers. In this course, we will explore what memoir and personal essay have to teach us about writing without fear. We will read a variety of works by contemporary memoirists with attention to artistic craft, including character development, story arc, dialogue..etc. Thus, we will grapple with the fundamental problem of memoir: How can it represent a truth, while relying on the fundamental elements of fiction? The best way to address this question is to practice the form. Thus, we will write short focused works of memoir. As we practice, we must also address the ethics of writing about real people whose lives intersected with our own. Because the market for memoir is robust and it has served as an alternate path for writers to break into commercial publishing, we will also discuss how students might pitch their stories to national publications and literary agents.
LIT 170-01 Topics in English: Feast, Fantasies, and Hunger Games: Food in Literature and Fiction
Professor: Carney
Monday/Thursday 11am-12:50pm
We are what we eat. In this course we will examine how literature and film represent the relationship between food and the human experience. We will move between feast and famine, and consider food from many angles: food as sensory delight; food as cultural identity; food, sustainability, and climate change; food and social inequality; food in children’s literature and fairy tales. Books and films to be considered include Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games; C. Pam Zhang’s Land of Milk and Honey; Cormac McCarthy’s The Road; Hulu’s TV series The Bear, as well as works by T.C. Boyle, the Brothers Grimm, Roald Dahl, and Charles Dickens.
LIT 170-02 Topics in English: Literature, Popular Culture and Gender: Taylor Swift
Professor: Luettchau
Tuesday 5:30-8:20pm
Calling all Swifties! “Stop everything now!” “You need to calm down” and make sure this class is in your cart for registration in Spring 2025! If you love Taylor Swift and talking about her lyrics, the media, and consumerism, you’ll find it all and more in LIT 170! Karma’s a relaxing thought” when you have LIT 170 on your schedule.
LIT 199-01 Career Planning for English Majors
Professor: Steele
Thursday 3:30-4:50pm
You’re majoring in English, so now what? This course is designed to help students understand and articulate their own career goals and develop short- and long-term plans for their TCNJ education and beyond. Topics covered include: career opportunities in business, government and non-profit sectors, interviewing, networking, internships, cover letters, resumes, graduate and professional school opportunities, statements of purpose, degree audits, internships, study abroad, undergraduate research, and experiential learning. This is a pass/fail course worth one half unit, so you will only be assessed based on work completion. Students are expected to: attend class sessions, attend at least three career- focused TCNJ events and write briefly about them, complete all assigned activities, listen carefully to all speakers, and complete an informational interview with a TCNJ English Department alumna/us about their career path. LIT 199 is appropriate for students at all levels.
*please note that this is a partial unit course.
LIT 210-01 Speculative Fiction
Professor: Graham
Tuesday/Friday 9:30-10:50am
Interested in Afrofuturism, alternative universes, magical creatures, space exploration, steampunk, or time travel? This spring, read short stories, novellas, and one short novel in LIT 210 Speculative Fiction. Students of all majors are welcome!
LIT 270-01 Topics in Literature: Comics
Professor: Hustis
Online fully asynchronous
Students in this course will read and study a range of comics & graphic narratives, with a particular emphasis on issues of artistry, empathy, and reader engagement.
LIT/AAS 338-01 African Literature: The Nigerian Novel
Professor: McMann
Monday 5:30-8:20pm
Nigerian Fiction has, in the 21st century, taken a more prominent place on the global literary field. However, it did not emerge fully formed with Chimamanda Adichie, but instead has grown from writers like Chinua Achebe, often called “The Father of Nigerian Literature” and Flora Nwapa, who could be the mother of Nigerian Literature, but instead is often overlooked in such conversations. This course charts the history of Nigeria from just before independence, through its civil war, and up to its current moment through the country’s novels. We will learn about the complexity of identity in a country with over 250 ethnic groups and where over 500 languages are spoken.
LIT 370-01Studies in Literature: Asian Horror Films: ID and Politics
Professor: Mi
Tuesday 5:30-8:20pm
This course explores the rich and diverse world of Asian horror cinema, with a focus on films from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Through a critical examination of the cultural and historical contexts that inform these films, we will delve into the themes of identity, politics, and society in Asia as they are portrayed in the horror genre. Students will analyze how these films reflect cultural, historical, and social issues, and how they have impacted gender identity in the global horror genre. All films screened in class will be in English subtitles.
It is hoped that the study of Asian horror films will help students gain better and deeper knowledge of the critical issues of gender identity in particular and Asian cultures in general. Through the technique of close analysis and engaged discussions, students are expected to enhance their critical thinking and analytical skills and to acquire a more sophisticated point of view in understanding Asian cultures and politics.
LIT 371/AAS 370:01 Topics in African American Literature: The Literature of African American Childhood
Professor: Abdur-Rahman
Monday/Thursday 11am-12:20pm
This course explores children’s literature, life writing, fiction, film, and music to identify how the changing socio-political meaning of childhood impacts narratives of African American young people. The course explores questions of children’s rights and subjectivities through the lens of Black Studies, literary studies, and childhood studies in the humanities.
LIT 390/490 Collaborative Research in English Studies
Professor: Halpern
Tuesday/Friday 3:30-4:50pm
As an upper-level English student, you’ll now have taken a range of courses, from foundational courses in literary history and theory to special topics courses on specific periods and themes. In this course, you’ll build on these skills, but the topic of the paper will be based on a theme, question, or idea that most interests and provokes you, and that you will pursue in a sustained way. The topic of the paper may be on something conventionally literary (fiction, poetry, drama, etc.), but you might also consider applying the methods of literary analysis to forms of writing and cultural expression more generally. Throughout the course, we will focus on the writing and revision process, as well as on attending to questions of genre as we explore the features of the academic essay as well as a range of other non-fictional prose forms. Along the way, we’ll spend some time thinking about the best way to present your work to a range of audiences. Attending to the personal and political investments that we have in our scholarly work, in this course you’ll be challenged to answer two deceptively simple questions: What is that you notice? And what do you want to say?
An application is required along with department enrollment. By permission, this course may count towards a capstone option. Questions or for more information contact: halperni@tcnj.edu or steele@tcnj.edu
LIT 493 Independent Research: Marxist Criticism and Jane Austen’s Novels
Professor: D. Steinberg
Tuesday 2-3:20pm and Friday individual conferences
British Novelist Jane Austen (1775 – 1817) never met German philosopher Karl Marx (1818 – 1833). Both Austen and Marx lived through major political, social, and economic upheavals of their times: revolutions, empire-building, urbanization and industrialization, the European colonization of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and many Pacific islands, and early political reforms targeting working class people, women, enslaved people, and other disenfranchised and unempowered groups. Because Austen is a sharp critic of social mores, her novels can be usefully analyzed through a Marxist lens. This independent research class will work with a few students who want to explore the “Marxist Jane Austen” and produce a seminar length research paper. An application is required along with department enrollment. By permission this course may count towards a capstone option.
Questions or for more information contact: dsteinbe@tcnj.edu or steele@tcnj.edu