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Notes:
- If a course is designated as low-cost, the course materials will cost $40 or less.
- If a course is designated as no-cost, students do not need to purchase any course materials.
- Course descriptions are subject to change based on instructor submissions. If the instructor has not submitted a course description, please refer to the PSU Bulletin for more information.
Summer 2023: Undergraduate English Courses
ENG 106 001 INTRO TO POETRY
Instructor: W. Tracy Dillon
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.2
This all-online, asynchronous introductory course on reading poetry looks at poetry both as a mode of language and as a centuries-old and ever-enduring historical significance, using the western literary canon written in the English language as our touchstone. Literary canons by their nature qualify for historiographical distinction as traditions of historical significance, meaning that people who construct literary canons are cherry-picking from countless options among only a handful of greatest hits that they deem worthy of remembrance (and reverence). You are encouraged to get outside the western literary canon box and to introduce us to poetry that bends or bombs the tradition in new and interesting ways.
At the end of the course, you should have a pretty good overview of what poets say poetry is, as well as some expertise on a particular poet or two.
You'll pick a "Poet of Choice" whose work you should be able to get from any number of places, including online. We're not going to get bogged down in 1,000-page-anthologies of stuff you might not like. THE PROFESSOR firmly believes you’ll write best (and learn most) from reading poetry that you like, as compared to poetry that he thinks is good for you. THE PROFESSOR will introduce concepts in the weekly modules, and you’ll use your “Poet of Choice” to come up with examples illustrating the concepts.
Who qualifies for status as a “Poet of Choice”? Well, since it’s your choice, you can choose any artist you like, from traditional canonical figures like William Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, or Sylvia Plath to contemporary figures like Maya Angelou, Cathy Park Hong, or Stephen Dunn to nontraditional or avantgarde artists like SLAM or spoken-word poets Tonya Ingram, Phil Kaye, and Sara Kay. You can even choose a musician if you prefer. One of my “Poets of Choice” would definitely be Neal Young, for example (but that is because I’m a bit of an old fart). In the past, students have focused on the poetry of musical artists including Tupac Shakur, Drake, and Melissa Etheridge. So many choices! And the caveat above applies: if you went with Hip Hop as a movement, for example, you could draw from the work of any Hip Hop artist who qualifies as your “Poet of Choice” for the weekly module.
Bottom line: If you can explain how your poet of choice qualifies as a “poet” in responding to weekly questions for discussion, you’re good to go. And you can change your poet of choice if you like.
We will supplement reading of your Poet of Choice with Shira Wolosky’s The Art of Poetry: How to Read a Poem (Oxford UP, 2008). Rather than providing a traditional anthology, such as the Norton or Oxford presses do, Wolosky takes us on a narrative journey about reading, instead of listing greatest hits. It’s an interesting approach and one that I hope you’ll enjoy.
The text is free in pdf posted inside our CANVAS shell.
You will work through weekly modules. Each module contains a question for discussion. These questions will be designed to promote reflection on important ideas related to poetry, not to make sure you know “the right answers.” You will also be asked to engage your classmates in discussions by responding to their weekly posts. Finally, you will ace our final exam consisting of definitions and several short essays covering the content of course modules, selected information taken from weekly discussion postings, and the Wolosky text.
What fun!
Questions? Just ask: dillont@pdx.edu.
ENG 300 001 LITERARY FORM AND ANALYSIS
Instructor: Marcel Brousseau
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
ENG 305U 001 TOP: MASTERPIECES OF CINEMA
Instructor: Michael Clark
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
ENG 305U 002 TOP: APOCALYPSE CINEMA
Instructor: Matthew Ellis
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
ENG 306U 001 TOP: SCI-FI NOVEL & FILM
Instructor: Tom Fisher
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
In this class we’ll read classic sci-fi novels and view their film adaptations, exploring, in part, how these different media distinctly shape shared narratives.
Work will include brief weekly responses and a medium length (5-7pg) final.
Books will include (any edition is fine):
- Mary Shelly, Frankenstein.
- H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds.
- PK Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
- Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic.
- Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower.
Note that students will also be expected to rent and view several films on their own.
ENG 306U 002 TOP: TOLKIEN
Instructor: Valah Steffen-Wittwer
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings
J.R.R. Tolkien and his “Secondary World” of Middle-earth are known to many though the film adaptations of Peter Jackson, but fewer know Tolkien’s books. As Tolkien argued in his essay “On Fairy Stories,” “[i]n human art Fantasy is a thing best left to words, to true literature.” This course will address itself entirely to Tolkien’s own writing and through his written words we will explore the wonders and terrors of Middle-earth.
We will be reading three texts for this class:
- The Hobbit
- The Lord of the Rings
- The Tolkien Reader
ENG 326 001 LIT COMM DIFF
Instructor: Anoop Mirpuri
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is low-cost.1
ENG 360U 001 AMERICAN LIT AND CULTURE I
Instructor: Elizabeth Duquette
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
ENG 385U 001 CONTEMPORARY LIT
Instructor: Susan Reese
Instructional Method: Hybrid
ENG 422 001 AFRICAN FICTION
Instructor: Sarah Lincoln
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
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Summer 2023: Graduate English Courses
ENG 522 001 AFRICAN FICTION
Instructor: Sarah Lincoln
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
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Summer 2023: Undergraduate Writing Courses
WR 121 001 COLLEGE WRITING
Instructor: Elle Wilder
Instructional Method: Hybrid
WR 212 001 INTRO FICTION WRITING
Instructor: Theo Thompson
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
WR 227 001 INTRO TECHNICAL WRTG
Instructor: Julie Kares
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
WR 227 002 INTRO TECHNICAL WRTG
Instructor: Jacob Tootalian
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
WR 301 001 WIC: CRITICAL WRTING ENGLISH
Instructor: Sara Atwood
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings
This writing-intensive course introduces students to research methods as a way of entering scholarly conversations. Through studying a wide variety of primary and secondary texts and through both formal and informal writing exercises, students will gain confidence and ability in close reading and interpretation, exploring the formal and thematic intricacies of a text, conducting research, and using writing as a tool for developing complex interpretations supported by evidence.
Students will learn how to design meaningful critical questions and claims; to support claims with internal/textual evidence; to draw connections within and between texts; to move beyond superficial readings to explore questions of form, theme, language, POV); to consider the broader philosophical and/or cultural questions a text raises.
WR 323 001 WRITING AS CRITICAL INQUIRY
Instructor: Susan Reese
Instructional Method: Hybrid
WR 323 002 WRITING AS CRITICAL INQUIRY
Instructor: Caroline Hayes
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
WR 323 003 WRITING AS CRITICAL INQUIRY
Instructor: Keri Behre
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.2
In this online course, we will practice critical inquiry in personal, academic, and professional writing. This is a process-oriented class, which means we will be studying and practicing writing techniques to develop insight into how we function best as writers. We will develop skills in critical reading, thinking and writing. Students will be given reign to choose their own topics within the assignment structures, so our work can encompass personal writing goals. There is no required textbook; all readings will be provided. Required course work will include multiple drafts of three writing projects, peer-review workshops, weekly low-stakes writing, class discussions, and a final self-reflective essay.
WR 323 004 WRITING AS CRITICAL INQUIRY
Instructor: Mackenzie Streissguth
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
WR 327 001 TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING
Instructor: Sidouane Patcha Lum
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.2
WR 331 001 BOOK PUBLISHING FOR WRITERS
Instructor: Robyn Crummer
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings
Provides writers who aspire to one day publish a book or those who are curious about the book publishing industry with an overview of the business and process, organized around the division of labor typically found in publishing houses. In addition to learning how to find an agent or publisher, students learn about editorial, design, production, marketing, distribution, and sales.
By the end of this class, you should be able to
- Understand book publishing terminology and processes
- Effectively target literary agents and publishers for publication
- Organize developmental editing feedback
- Copyedit
- Identify a book’s audience
- Write book marketing copy
Textbooks:
- Biel, Joe. A People’s Guide to Publishing: Build a Successful, Sustainable, Meaningful Book Business from the Ground Up (Microcosm, 2018)
- Friedman, Jane. The Business of Being a Writer. Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing. Chicago ; London: The University of Chicago Press, 2018
WR 474 001 PUBLISHING STUDIO
Instructor: Robyn Crummer
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings
Publishing Studio & Lab are the courses for hands-on learning at Ooligan Press. Designed to give students the freedom and responsibility of running a real-world trade publishing house, students are assigned to projects where they will work on a variety of publishing tasks. Project teams will work collaboratively to assess, plan, and execute editorial, design, digital content, marketing, and sales tasks throughout the term.
Publishing Studio: Graduate students in Publishing Studio should expect assignments to take approximately 12 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Studio should expect 9 hours per week.
Publishing Lab: Graduate students in Publishing Lab should expect assignments to take approximately 4 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Lab should expect 3 hours per week.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- explain and understand the book production cycle;
- competently use industry-standard terminology;
- analyze disruptions to their project as they arise and actively problem-solve to address issues;
- track, maintain, and update project management software, in the form of Trello;
- communicate efficiently through email and face-to-face meetings;
- complete assigned tasks efficiently as an individual and within a group; and
- perform various tasks at a professional level, as assigned by a team manager.
WR 475 001 PUBLISHING LAB
Instructor: Robyn Crummer
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings
Publishing Studio & Lab are the courses for hands-on learning at Ooligan Press. Designed to give students the freedom and responsibility of running a real-world trade publishing house, students are assigned to projects where they will work on a variety of publishing tasks. Project teams will work collaboratively to assess, plan, and execute editorial, design, digital content, marketing, and sales tasks throughout the term.
Publishing Studio: Graduate students in Publishing Studio should expect assignments to take approximately 12 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Studio should expect 9 hours per week.
Publishing Lab: Graduate students in Publishing Lab should expect assignments to take approximately 4 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Lab should expect 3 hours per week.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- explain and understand the book production cycle;
- competently use industry-standard terminology;
- analyze disruptions to their project as they arise and actively problem-solve to address issues;
- track, maintain, and update project management software, in the form of Trello;
- communicate efficiently through email and face-to-face meetings;
- complete assigned tasks efficiently as an individual and within a group; and
- perform various tasks at a professional level, as assigned by a team manager.
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Summer 2023: Graduate Writing Courses
WR 574 001 PUBLISHING STUDIO
Instructor: Robyn Crummer
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings
Publishing Studio & Lab are the courses for hands-on learning at Ooligan Press. Designed to give students the freedom and responsibility of running a real-world trade publishing house, students are assigned to projects where they will work on a variety of publishing tasks. Project teams will work collaboratively to assess, plan, and execute editorial, design, digital content, marketing, and sales tasks throughout the term.
Publishing Studio: Graduate students in Publishing Studio should expect assignments to take approximately 12 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Studio should expect 9 hours per week.
Publishing Lab: Graduate students in Publishing Lab should expect assignments to take approximately 4 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Lab should expect 3 hours per week.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- explain and understand the book production cycle;
- competently use industry-standard terminology;
- analyze disruptions to their project as they arise and actively problem-solve to address issues;
- track, maintain, and update project management software, in the form of Trello;
- communicate efficiently through email and face-to-face meetings;
- complete assigned tasks efficiently as an individual and within a group; and
- perform various tasks at a professional level, as assigned by a team manager.
WR 575 001 PUBLISHING LAB
Instructor: Robyn Crummer
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings
Publishing Studio & Lab are the courses for hands-on learning at Ooligan Press. Designed to give students the freedom and responsibility of running a real-world trade publishing house, students are assigned to projects where they will work on a variety of publishing tasks. Project teams will work collaboratively to assess, plan, and execute editorial, design, digital content, marketing, and sales tasks throughout the term.
Publishing Studio: Graduate students in Publishing Studio should expect assignments to take approximately 12 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Studio should expect 9 hours per week.
Publishing Lab: Graduate students in Publishing Lab should expect assignments to take approximately 4 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Lab should expect 3 hours per week.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- explain and understand the book production cycle;
- competently use industry-standard terminology;
- analyze disruptions to their project as they arise and actively problem-solve to address issues;
- track, maintain, and update project management software, in the form of Trello;
- communicate efficiently through email and face-to-face meetings;
- complete assigned tasks efficiently as an individual and within a group; and
- perform various tasks at a professional level, as assigned by a team manager.
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