Second-Year Course Offerings
Check back frequently for updates.
Fall 2011
| Course # | Course Title | Professor | Day & Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGL 200 | T/R 11:30-1:00 |
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| ENGL 200 | English Literature to the Restoration | T/R 8:30-10:00 |
|
| ENGL 209 | Fantasy Literature | M/W 1:00-2:30 |
|
| ENGL 212 | M/W 11:30-1:00 |
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| ENGL 214 | Themes in Canadian First Nations Literature: The Effects of Colonization on Aboriginal Women |
T/R 2:30-4:00 |
|
| ENGL 225 | M/W 8:30-10:00 |
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| ENGL 225 | Business and Technical Writing | T 8:30-11:30 |
|
| ENGL 225 | Business and Technical Writing | ****Online**** |
|
| ENGL 261 | M/W 4:00-5:30 |
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| FILM 220 *Cowichan* |
Special Topics in Film Studies: Documentary Tradition and Practice | T 6:00-9:00
Cowichan |
|
| LING 211 | History of the English Language | M/W 11:30-1:00 |
|
| THEA 203 | M/W 2:30-4:00 |
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| THEA 203 | M/W 11:30-1:00 |
Spring 2012
| Course # | Course Title | Professor | Day & Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGL 201 | M/W 10:00-11:30 |
||
| ENGL 201 | M/W 11:30-1:00 |
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| ENGL 206 | W 1:00-4:00 |
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| ENGL 215 | Advanced Composition | T/R 10:00-11:30 |
|
| ENGL 225 | T/R 8:30-10:00 |
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| ENGL 225 | Business and Technical Writing | F 9:00-12:00 |
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| ENGL 225 | Business and Technical Writing | M/W 2:30-4:00 |
|
| ENGL 225 | Business and Technical Writing | ****Online**** |
|
T/R 1:00-2:30 |
|||
| ENGL 272 | Literature and Film II | M 1:00-4:00 |
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| FILM 201 | Film Studies | W 1:00-5:00 |
|
| LING 212 | Indo-European Studies | M/W 11:30-1:00 |
|
| THEA 203 | T/R 1:00-2:30 |
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| THEA 203 | M/W 10:00-11:30 |
*Note the prerequisites for composition courses: "a minimum C+ in each of two first-year university English courses (one of which is usually Engl 115)"; and for literature courses: "Two semesters in first-year university English courses, with at least one literature course, and a minimum grade of "C" in both."
2011-12 Timetables
Fall 2011 - Course Descriptions
Engl 200 (2 sections)
English Literature to the Restoration
A broad view of representative writing in English literature from its beginnings to the Restoration, with attention to literary form, the social and intellectual characteristics of periods or schools, and major authors.
ENGL 209
Fantasy Literature
Professor: Daniel Burgoyne
Daniel.Burgoyne@viu.ca
If fantasy marks the core of a proliferation of non-realist writing in the twentieth century, it can also be traced back to the inception of literature in dream and myth. Works by J. R. Tolkien and Ursula Le Guin have consolidated fantasy as a genre and made it remarkably popular.
In this course, we will look backward to the nineteenth century to lost world narratives that anticipate modern fantasy, and then examine the basic imaginative and narrative structures of mainstream fantasy using Tolkien and Le Guin as our focus. We will then look to more recent attempts by China Mieville and Hayao Miyazaki to reinvent fantasy, to think outside the imaginative assumptions of writers like Tolkien and Le Guin.
Texts:
J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea
Fritz Leiber, Lankhmar Book 1: Swords and Deviltry
Usula Le Guin The Left Hand of Darkness
China Mieville, Perdido Street StationSelected short stories will also be made available.
Films:
The Lord of the Rings, directed by Peter Jackson (2001-2003) (separate viewing session)
Tales from Earthsea (Gedo Senki), directed by Goro Miyazaki (2006)
Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi), directed by Hayao Miyazaki (2001)
English212
Introduction to American Literature II
Professor: Clay Armstrong
Clay.Armstrong@viu.ca
A survey of American Literature, examining the period from the beginning of the 20th Century to the present.
Engl 214
Themes in Canadian First nations Literature: the Effects of Colonization on Aboriginal Women
Professor: Liza Potvin
Liza.Potvin@viu.ca(Engl 214 will be cross-listed with First Nations and Women's Studies.)
This course will consider concepts of race, gender and class in the context of theories of dominance as they relate to the societal status of Native women in their current political, economic and social struggles. We will consider how prejudice and discrimination combine to create a vicious cycle of persistent beliefs and practices of racism, consider the criminal justice system in relation to First Nations women; analyze documents which outline their current political and social struggles on the national scene; and consider the effects of the residential school on aboriginal women’s social class and poverty. Our guest speaker, Sharon McIvor, recently challenged Bill C-31 in the Supreme Court and won, allowing descendants of aboriginal women who married non-status men to be able to apply for Indian Status.
TEXTS:
Bishop, Anne. Becoming an Ally, Breaking the Cycle of Oppression. Halifax: Fernwood Publishers, 1995.
Clements, Marie.The Unnatural and Accidental Women.Vancouver, Talonbooks, 2005.
Helin, Calvin. Dances with Dependency. Orca Spirit Publishing.
Hill, Barbara-Helen. Shaking the Rattle: Healing the Trauma of Colonization. Penticton, BC: Theytus Books. 1995.
Razack, Sherene. Looking White People in the Eye: Gender, Race and Culture in the Courtrooms and Classrooms. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
Sterling, Shirley. My Name is Seepeetza. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntrye, 1992.
English 225 (3 sections)
Business and Technical Writing
A study in technical communications including planning and organization, outlining, summarizing, presenting data, handling references, and editing for students in business, technical, and other programs. Oral presentations are part of the in-class work.
ENGL 261
Children's Literature: The Tradition
Professor: Terri Doughty
Terri.Doughty@viu.ca
What happens to old classics when they lose their readers? In this course, instead of looking at iconic children’s books of the past, which transcend in some ways the periods that produced them, we will focus on books which, though lesser-known today, were extremely popular in their time. This will allow us to track transformations in ideas about children and children’s literature over time, considering topics such as the gendering of children’s books, the development of subgenres, the relationship between child and authority, dual audiences (adult and child) for children’s books, and the changing canon of children’s literature. Children’s literature is one of the most controversial genres because it engages a society’s beliefs about and hopes for its children, so be prepared for lively discussion!
TEXTS: Charles Kingsley, The Water Babies; Mary Louisa Molesworth, The Cuckoo Clock; G. A. Henty, The Young Colonists; Bessie Marchant, A Countess from Canada; E. Nesbit, The Enchanted Castle; Eleanor Estes, The Hundred Dresses; Lucy M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe; Rosemary Sutcliffe, The Eagle of the Ninth; Alan Garner, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen; Tove Jansson, Comet in Moominland; Dennis Lee, Alligator Pie.
EVALUATION: short paper (15%); in-class essay (15%); presentation on a picturebook (10%); research proposal (10%); research paper (25%); final exam (25%).
FILM 220 - (Cowichan)
Special Topics in Film Studies
Professor: Jay Ruzesky
Jay.Ruzesk@viu.ca
Course Outline:
FILM 220 will be useful for anyone who wants to try to express themselves through film. In its digital form, film is a growing aspect of our lives and is used in everything from real estate sales to politics to biographies. University students will find their film skills useful as an alternative to writing term papers.
This course in Documentary Film will provide an overview of the tradition and practice of documentary film from the origins of film to the rise of 21st century technologies. Students will study different types of documentary film, investigate film techniques, and practice the skills necessary to make a documentary film.
The course will include a survey of the history of documentary film, an examination of documentary structures, and practice in film making skills including research, writing, interviewing, cinematography, digital camcorder operation, sound, and editing.
Course Objectives:
Research documentary film subjects.
Identify documentary film structures.
Outline the history of documentary film.
Write a film proposal.
Operate a digital camcorder.
Film an interview.
Demonstrate how sound contributes to a finished film.
Use basic editing to create a short film.
Prerequisites:
An interest in film and photography and basic computer skills. Some experience with a digital camera or camcorder would be useful. FILM 101 and 201 are recommended but not required.
LING 211
History of the English Language
Professor: Matthew Beedham
Matthew.Beedham@viu.ca
A study of the history and development of the English language from its origins to the present, including the historical context of the development of the language; the changes in phonology, grammar, and vocabulary from Old to Middle to Modern English; the history and diversity of English dialects; the role of English today as a world language; and the history and nature of Canadian English.
THEA 203 (2 sections)
Communication/Public Speaking
A practical course designed to develop awareness of the skills involved in effective oral communication and to improve techniques of organization and presentation.
Spring 2012 - Course Descriptions
Engl 201 (2 sections)
English Literature 18th - 20th Century
A continuation of English 200
Engl 206
Canadian Literature II: Canadian Urban Literature
Professor: Liza Potvin
Liza.Potvin@viu.ca
Have you ever wondered what it is like to be in prison? Our novel, Inside, by Kenneth Harvey, takes us into an examination of power structures. We also look at bullying in the play The Shape of a Girl, based on the Reena Virk murder in Victoria. We will discuss different trends in urban writing in Canada since 1970, and consider the various genre which are used to develop new ideas across the country. Our main text is Open Country, edited by Robert Lecker. Be prepared to be surprised about your country!
English 215
Advanced Composition
An advanced course to further develop nonfiction prose-writing ability. Numerous and diverse short papers provide the focus for discussion in lectures, workshops, and tutorials. Satisfies the composition requirements of the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria.
English 225 (4 secs.)
Business and Technical Writing
A study in technical communications including planning and organization, outlining, summarizing, presenting data, handling references, and editing for students in business, technical, and other programs. Oral presentations are part of the in-class work.
English 262
Children's Literature:
Contemporary Books and Issues
Professor: Terri Doughty
Terri.Doughty@viu.ca
“Each time a child opens a book he pushes open the gate that separates him from Elsewhere. It gives her choices. It gives her freedom. Those are magnificent, wonderfully unsafe things.”
--Lois Lowry
Since reading seems ever a more endangered pursuit among children, it seems useful to consider what children gain from reading. To that end, we will focus this semester on contemporary (published within the past 10-15 years) books that address the pleasures of story, the pleasures of reading, and the pleasures of the book as a physical artifact. Topics to be discussed will include reading as an interactive process, reading as a therapeutic process, new and “old” literacies, and the relationship between books and digital culture.
TEXTS (not necessarily in this order): Lane Smith, It’s a Book; Jo Ellen Bogart, Jeremiah Learns to Read; David Wiesner, The Three Pigs; Mélanie Watt, Chester; Emily Gravett, Wolves; Anthony Browne, Me and You; Jason Shiga, Meanwhile; Deborah Freedman, Scribble; Kit Pearson, Awake and Dreaming; Susan Fletcher, Shadow Spinner; Cornelia Funke, Inkheart; Holly Black, Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles: The Nixie’s Song; Polly Horvath, The Pepins and Their Problems; China Miéville, Un Lun Dun.
EVALUATION: short paper (20%), in-class essay (20%), research proposal (10%); research paper (25%), final exam (25%).
ENGL 272
Literature and Film II: PSYCHOANALYSIS AND DREAMS
Professor: Craig Tapping
Craig.Tapping@viu.ca
PSYCHOANALYSIS AND DREAMS
When we dream, we are (usually) in the dark, our eyes closed as we attend to the"films" or "stories" that unwind on the screen inside our heads (the subconsciousness) as we sleep. Sometimes, we wake ourselves (and others) screaming.
When we watch a film, we sit in the dark, (usually) with others, our eyes wide open as
we attend to the "films" or "stories" that unwind on the screen in front of us--the
filmmaker's dream of life. We are, often, wide awake, and sometimes screaming.
Sometimes, there are snacks, sometimes there are laughs, and sometimes there is
terror. And, as Geoff Dyer reports, "we can sleep through both dreams and films".
This course examines the inter-relationships between film and early psychoanalytical theory, with reference to how some writers have also interpreted dreams and used both dream theory and filmic techniques to tell their stories.
We will watch films (6), read fictions (2), and analyse them: just like a psychoanalyst and patient do.
ONLINE, there is an edition of Sigmund Freud's THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS
available at http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Freud/Dreams/dreams2.htm
Everyone should read at least some of it--browse one of the most
significant books in the Western canon for free.
[some of the beginning is very hard going--he is a scientist and has to credit his sources and
acknowledge his predecessors: try to find the parts where he discusses dreams, Oedipus, and so on.]
Everyone will write 4 papers (2 on film/2 on fiction) and complete a research project-- possible, model topics for this research to be announced during the first 2 weeks.
REQUIRED READINGS (in order as discussed/taught--ordered through Bookstore on 25.09.11)
Vickers, Sally. Where Three Roads Meet. Canongate: 978-1847670724
Lessing, Doris. Briefing For A Descent Into Hell. Vintage: 978-0307390615
Craig Tapping, Ph.D.
FILM 201
Film Studies
Professor: Keith Harrison
Keith.Harrison@viu.ca
This study of film as an art form and as a medium of cultural communication will emphasize the feature film, but also look at documentary, experimental, and animation modes. We will explore varied concerns and genres of cinematic story-telling through aesthetically and geographically diverse examples of filmmaking. There will be a mini-focus on contemporary films from France and Canada.
Reading list:
Richard Barsam & Dave Monahan – Looking At Movies, 3rd ed.
Projected filmography:
Mon Oncle Antoine
The Barbarian Invasions
Videodrome
Barney’s Version
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
Chloe
Incendies
Ladies and Gentlemen . . . Mr. Leonard Cohen
The 400 Blows
The Celebration
Persepolis
The Gleaners and I
I’ve Loved You So Long
Biutiful
Method of evaluation:
One-pagers (8x5=40%), Brief comparative paper (15%), Research essay (25%), In-class exam (10%), and Class participation (10%)
LING 212
Indo-European Studies
Professor: Matthew Beedham
Matthew.Beedham@viu.ca
A study of Indo-European languages and their "family" emphasizing the principles of classifying languages; debate concerning macro-families; the theories of the origins and nature of Proto- Indo-European; archaeolinguistic evidence supporting these theories; the nature of Indo-European texts; the provenance and dispersal of Indo-European languages, and the controversies concerning their relationships.
THEA 203 (2 sections)
Communication/Public Speaking
A practical course designed to develop awareness of the skills involved in effective oral communication and to improve techniques of organization and presentation.