Content Outline and Competencies:

I. The Eight Parts of Speech, Phrases, Clauses and Sentence Types
   A. Identify the eight parts of speech and recognize them by function.
      1. Identify action, linking, helping, and compound verbs.
      2. Use the three basic verb tenses (present, past, future), the
progressive tenses, and the perfect tenses effectively.
      3. Recognize common, proper, and collective nouns.
      4. Recognize and write nouns and noun substitutes in the following
sentence positions: subjects, objects, complements.
      5. Identify personal, relative, and indefinite pronouns.
      6. Recognize single, coordinate, cumulative, irregular, comparative,
superlative, and noun adjectives.
      7. Identify-ly and non -ly, irregular, comparative and superlative
adverbs.
      8. Recognize prepositions, including those indicating place and
time.
      9. Identify coordinating and subordinating conjunctions as well as
conjunctive adverbs.
     10. Recognize interjections.
   B. Identify and write complete, simple, compound, and gerund and
infinitive subjects.
   C. Identify and write predicates and complete verbs within them,
including action, linking, helping, and compound verbs.
   D. Identify and write a variety of phrase and clause types, including
the following: noun, verb, prepositional, appositive, infinitive, gerund,
participial, and absolute phrases as well as main and subordinate clauses
(noun, adjective, adverb.)
   E. Identify and write all sentence types: simple compound, complex, and
compound/complex.

II. Foundational Paragraph Skills
   A. Begin paragraphs with topic sentences that accurately describe the
main idea of the paragraph.
   B. Use subtopic sentences within paragraphs where appropriate to
introduce main points.
   C. End paragraphs with concluding sentences that reiterate the
paragraph's main idea and make some final point.
   D. Include coherence devices within and between sentences.
   E. Construct paragraphs using the following organizational strategies:
spatial, chronological, and order of importance.
   F. Write paragraphs using several patterns of development refined
through detailed examples and clear explanations.

III. The Writing Process
   A. Analyze student models and other readings in order to apply basic
composition and rhetorical strategies to the students' own written
paragraphs.
      1. Identify organizational elements such as topic and subtopic
sentences and coherence devices.
      2. Identify patterns of development.
      3. Identify elements of effective development such as appropriate
details and complete explanations.
      4. Identify a writer's primary purpose.
   B. Demonstrate skill with several prewriting methods.
   C. Work in groups to develop and refine the students' writing.
      1. Follow oral and written instructions.
      2. Participate in group discussions.
      3. Critique group members' writing.
      4. Apply to their own writing, critical feedback from group
members.
      5. Revise writing for content, organization, style, and mechanics.

IV. Proficiency with Skills Needed to Enter Introduction to Writing
   A. Write at least one major paragraph assignment that achieves a "C" or
better.
   B. Demonstrate a good command of the mechanics of writing (adhering to
the departmental standard established in the Major and Minor Errors
Checklist).

20-50% of grade   Short Paragraphs
20-50% of grade   Objective Tests and/or Quizzes
0-20% of grade    Participation
0-30% of grade    Homework
0-10% of grade    The Writing Process
100%              Total

Grade Criteria:
A = 90 - 100%
B = 80 -  89%
C = 70 -  79%
D = 60 -  69%
F =  0 -  59%

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Work Effectively in Groups to Develop and Refine Writing
   A. Follow oral and written instructions.
   B. Participate in group discussions.
   C. Critique group members' writing.
   D. Apply to their own writing, critical feedback from group members.

II. Use All Stages of the Writing Process to Develop and Refine Writing
   A. Demonstrate skill with several prewriting methods.
      1. Create clusters.
      2. Freewrite.
      3. List.
      4. Answer journalist's questions.
   B. Learn how to focus and organize effectively.
      1. Create topic sentences.
      2. Create thesis sentences.
      3. Devise forecasting statement.
      4. Apply transitions and other devices for linking sentences and paragraphs.
      5. Use global arrangement strategies: chronological, order of importance, spatial, classification, comparison/contrast.
   C. Develop paragraphs and essays with effective examples.
      1. Recognize the difference between general and specific examples and apply them appropriately.
      2. Recognize the difference between abstract and concrete examples and apply them appropriately.
      3. Develop some facility with the patterns of development: description, narration,  illustration, comparison/contrast, process analysis, definition, classification, cause/effect.
   D. Revise writing for content, organization, and expression.
      1. Recognize weaknesses in material and demonstrate ability to add, delete, or rearrange material as required to correct the weaknesses.
      2. Recognize and correct flaws in organization in the essay and paragraph (ranging from an overall essay pattern such as comparison/contrast through cohesive devices such as thesis and topic sentences to sentence-level connectors such as transitional words and synonyms).
      3. Recognize and correct flaws in expression on the word and sentence level (ranging from precise word choice to variety in sentence structure).
   E. Revise writing for standard matters of mechanical correctness.
      1. Recognize and correct writing for errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
      2. Perform to the departmental standard as set forth in the English Program Guide on the majority of evaluated paragraph and essay assignments (no more than seven major errors per essay; no more than three major errors per paragraph).

III. Construct and Manipulate Effective Sentences
   A. Develop ability to recognize and construct the four grammatical sentence types.
   B. Identify and use the four functional sentence types.
   C. Recognize and manipulate the fundamental units of the sentence: phrase and clause.

IV. Organize, Develop and Revise Paragraphs
   A. Determine purpose of paragraph and write for a specific audience.
   B. Construct effective topic sentences.
   C. Create unified and coherent paragraphs.
   D. Expand paragraphs using several of the patterns of development.
   E. Develop ability to recognize and achieve a degree of sentence variety.

V. Organize, Develop, and Revise Short Essays
   A. Determine purpose of essay and write for a specific audience.
   B. Recognize and write effective introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs.
   C. Select and use an appropriate overall organizational pattern for the essay.
   D. Select and use effective organizational patterns for paragraphs.
   E. Link paragraphs successfully.

VI. Demonstrate Proficiency with Skills Necessary to Enter Composition I
   A. Write at least one essay that achieves a grade of  C" or better.
   B. Demonstrate a good command of the mechanics of writing (adhering to the departmental standard established in the Major and Minor Errors Checklist).

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Composition of Audience-directed Texts

A. Describe the ideal audience for an essay and other forms of discourse.

B. Create patterns of organization appropriate to the audience and rhetorical aims of an essay and other forms of written discourse.

C. Write essays and other forms of written discourse of varying length and complexity with expressive, informative and persuasive purposes.

II. Employment of Sources

A. Include outside materials, such as text, tables, graphs, video or images, in original texts while employing academic conventions and standard punctuation for doing same.

B. Summarize sources with thoroughness and accuracy.

C. Paraphrase sources while avoiding distortion of meaning.

D. Quote sources accurately and fairly.

III. Acknowledgement of Source Use

A. Define plagiarism.

B. Attribute integrated material from sources using a standard documentation style, such as MLA, APA or Chicago.

C. Include and fairly represent sources whose viewpoints may differ substantially from the writer’s own, especially those who may hold differing political, religious or cultural views.

IV. Application of Conventions

A. Decide on a suitable controlling idea.

B. State points of analysis in a sequence that supports the main goal of an essay and other written discourse.

C. Compose effective introductions which provide background, context and specificity to the essay and other written discourse.

D. Compose conclusions which reinforce the writer’s point and bring closure to the essay and other written discourse.

E. Employ transitions that lend coherence to the text.

F. Develop a written voice with appropriate and varied sentence structure and vocabulary suitable to the audience.

V. Development of Compositional Strategies

A. Begin a writing task by using appropriate methods for discovering and narrowing ideas.

B. Demonstrate proficiency with brainstorming techniques.

C. Locate supporting materials and evidence from personal experience as well as field/library research.

D. Write essays and other written discourse that present ideas and support them with sufficient detail to be convincing and interesting.

E. Revise paragraphs so that ideas progress logically through coherent sentences.

VI. Peer Review

A. Critique own and others’ texts to improve the focus, organization, support, clarity, correctness and effectiveness.

B. Collaborate with peers to make significant revisions in the organization, development, style and mechanics of texts using comments from the instructor and/or other students.

VII. Revision of Compositions on the Sentence Level

A. Employ strategies for matching diction, tone and style to audience expectations.

B. Use sentence variety techniques.

C. Apply rules of standard punctuation.

D. Demonstrate proficient proofreading skills.

VIII. Audience Analysis of Published Texts

A. Identify techniques used by authors to address specific audiences in texts, such as prose, images, videos, tables and graphs.

B. Analyze the authors’ intended effect upon an audience.

IX. Rhetorical Analysis of Published Texts

A. Locate the controlling idea of a text.

B. Describe the organizational pattern of a text.

C. Identify and categorize specific types of arguments made within a text.

D. Discuss the use of supporting details and information in a text.

X. Evaluation of the Reliability of Sources

A. Analyze students’ own biases when encountering texts.

B. Identify language in published texts that reveal authorial bias.

C. Examine published texts for sufficient and appropriate support.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Skill Reinforcement

A. Demonstrate the ability to read and formulate objectives of an assignment.

B. Formulate controlling ideas for texts suitable to the range of assignments and audiences for academic writing.

C. Employ appropriate methods for discovering ideas and gathering materials for a range of purposes and subjects, including library, online and field research.

D. Take notes which accurately reflect source materials.

E. Express suitable controlling ideas for research essays.

F. Organize research and other materials into patterns of organization appropriate to support a complex thesis.

II. Source Materials Synthesis

A. Locate and evaluate supporting material from library, online and field research, including professional journals and digital media.

B. Locate in sources useful evidence, examples and details which aid in advancing a student’s own argument.

C. Select and utilize evidence free of logical fallacies.

D. Analyze, organize, introduce and interpret evidence that supports a text’s main idea.

E. Integrate appropriate source materials into original texts, using quotations, paraphrases and summaries.

F. Quote from source materials accurately and without misrepresentation, making clear the context of the original material.

G. Paraphrase complex source materials accurately and effectively.

H. Summarize complex texts without distorting the source materials.

I. Incorporate other viewpoints—including opinions of people who hold different political, religious or cultural views—into written texts.

J. Document outside sources with an appropriate citation system.

III. The Rhetorical Situation of the Writer

A. Define the elements of a rhetorical situation.

B. Define how subject, audience and purpose interact to create effective discourse.

C. Demonstrate ability to apply appropriate stylistic conventions.

D. Demonstrate the ability to apply appropriate formatting conventions.

IV. Organization and Development of Texts

A. Write logically structured and developed texts for audience comprehension.

B. Comprehend argumentative appeals.

C. Write persuasive texts using logos, ethos and pathos.

D. Write texts free of logical fallacies.

E. Differentiate between explanatory, evaluative and argumentative purposes.

F. Write texts that include fair explanations, evaluations and arguments.

V. Whole-Essay Revision Strategies

A. Global Revision Techniques

1. Revise organizational patterns to allow ideas to progress more smoothly and logically through coherent sentences, paragraphs and major points of development.

2. Insert additional materials where needed for support and eliminate repetitive, irrelevant or ineffective and unreliable information.

B. Peer Review

1. Critique the work of peers to assist them in improving the focus, organization, support, clarity, correctness and effectiveness of their written discourse.

2. Collaborate on the revision of the writer’s own and peers’ compositions.

VI. Sentence-level Revision Strategies

A. Editing

1. Select and correctly use vocabulary appropriate to the topic and audience.

2. Write sentences that grammatically convey clear and complex relationships.

3. Use figurative language appropriately to add clarity and interest.

B. Proofreading

1. Apply the rules of standard academic prose.

2. Scrutinize the use of a research style, making certain documentation is thorough and the style accurately employed.

VII. Analytical Reading Strategies

A. Establish the reliability of sources.

1. Critique source materials.

2. Explain the author’s probable intent within a text.

3. Discuss the argumentative strategies employed by an author, including appeals to pathos, logos and ethos.

4. Locate logical fallacies within texts.

5. Analyze the merits of evidence used within a text, including the reliability of facts and examples employed by the writer.

B. Identify bias in outside sources.

1. Define bias.

2. Describe the personal and cultural biases in texts that influence readers.

3. Describe the approximate demographics for ideal audience of individual articles, journals, books and student essays.

4. Determine biases appealed to through an analysis of the vocabulary, support and organization of a text.

C. Evaluate the reliability and bias of sources.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Technical Writing Criteria

A. Clarify ideas by answering reporter's questions and by providing specific, quantifiable information.

B. Write concisely by limiting the length of words, the length of sentences, and the length of paragraphs.

C. Apply rules of standard grammar and punctuation.

1. Use inclusive language.

2. Avoid clichés and colloquialisms.

D. Explain, identify, and use organization patterns as reflections of the purpose and audience of the document.

II. Audience

A. Determine if readers are a high-tech peer, a low-tech peer, a lay reader, or combinations of the above for specific documents.

B. Define terms according to the reader's level of understanding.

C. Involve audience through pronouns, contractions, positive word usage, and personalized tone.

D. Use audience identification to apply appropriate rhetorical modes, strategies, and conventions.  

1. Identify and use the appropriate print or digital mode.

2. Define argumentative appeals: ethos, logos, pathos.

3. Apply argumentative appeals: ethos, logos, pathos.

4. Identify and avoid logical fallacies.

III. Ethical Considerations Common to Technical Writing

A. Identify the practical considerations related to ethics.

B. Identify the legal considerations related to ethics, including knowing when you may need to seek legal counsel.

C. Review ethical codes common in professional industries.

IV. Recursive Writing Process

A. Use prewriting techniques to generate ideas and start the writing process.

B. Write rough drafts.

C. Participate in peer review by offering and accepting peer comments on written assignments.

D. Revise rough drafts to meet the expectations of the audience and purpose.

E. Edit rough drafts to produce polished documents with error-free text.

V. Reliable Research

A. Describe what makes a source reputable and reliable.

B. Locate reputable and reliable sources using library databases, print materials, and/or internet sources.

C. Synthesize researched information using paraphrases and/or quotations into technical writing documents requiring at least 1,000 words.

D. Document integrated material adhering to the assigned documentation style.

VI. Technical Information

A. Simplify complex ideas, making them accessible to the intended audience.

B. Write effective instructions and descriptions for documents such as user guides, instruction manuals, proposals, progress reports, websites, etc.

VII. Visual Aids

A. Explain why visual aids are useful in technical writing documents.

B. Determine what type of visual aid appropriately simplifies the information.

C. Use computer software to create and situation visual aids in documents.

D. Document data from secondary sources used in visual aids.

E. Follow copyright laws when using visual aids.

VIII. Professional Work Habits.

A. Collaborate with peers to create and/or revise documents.

B. Solicit diverse opinions to address all stakeholder needs when creating documents.

C. Practice punctuality.

D. Maintain a positive, professional demeanor.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Analysis of Reader's Personal Tastes in Imaginative Literature

A. Review literary tastes.

B. Speculate on the sources and background of those tastes.

C. Identify what is most valued or devalued (privileged or marginalized) in the reading experience.

D. Document changes in reading style and taste over the course of the semester.

E. Reflect on what personal experiences are most brought to bear on the reading experience.

F. Recognize the literary elements presently being studied (motifs, themes, symbols, characters, moods, etc.) in works the student has previously encountered in film, television or print media.

II. Readers in a Community

A. Describe the reading experience of imaginative texts to other students in discussion groups.

B. Review the reading experiences of other students in group discussion or with the full class.

C. Locate major areas of personal and community interests and values, describing similarities and differences between them.

D. Identify those aspects of an imaginative text that may generate multiple meanings.

E. Identify those aspects of an imaginative text which may not allow for meaningful paraphrase, summary, simplification or reduction.

F. In groups, construct a negotiated statement about the value, significance and possible meaning of a given text.

III. Textual Analysis of Short Fiction

A. Recall and summarize the "facts" of a specific text.

B. Review the technical vocabulary used in the criticism of short fiction.

C. The plot

1. Differentiate between those details in a narrative that are significant to the plot and those that are not.

2. Construct alternative plot lines at potentially significant textual moments.

3. Identify each character's major goals.

4. After outlining the sequence of events in a story, reconstruct the "fabula" of the story.

5. Identify disruptive elements in a character's drive toward his or her goal.

D. The characters

1. Identify patterns based on a character's speech, appearance, actions, interaction with other characters, values, material possessions and physical space.

2. Differentiate between "flat"and "round" characters.

3. Revise a "flat" character's profile to create a more fully dimensional personality.

4. Speculate about the value systems that govern the behavior, thoughts and feelings of a given character.

E. The story world

1. Identify and characterize two competing value systems dominating each short story read.

2. Describe the dynamics of each value system and identify points of tension between them.

3. Discuss those characters who seem to have an unstable relationship with either or both realms of value.

F. Story and meaning

1. Differentiate between traditional and constructed symbols employed in a text.

2. Identify and articulate a short story's themes.

G. Story and value

1. Assess the value of a short story as an artistic achievement.

2. Articulate the thematic bearing a story may have on marginalized populations.

IV. Textual Analysis of Poetry

A. Construct a preliminary definition of poetry.

B. List a number of major poems and specific works in the Western literary tradition.

C. A poem's content

1. Distinguish between the author and speaker of a poem.

2. Describe the dramatic situation of a poem, including the speaker's predicament and vulnerability.

3. Read poems out loud, responding meaningfully to the cues given in the text that indicate sense, rhythm, emphasis and closure.

4. Paraphrase poems.

D. A poem's form

1. Review the technical vocabulary used in the criticism of poetry, including stanza forms, metrics, tropes and traditional themes.

2. Employ technical vocabulary in discussions of "counted verse."

3. Draw distinctions between "counted" and "free" verse.

E. The poem's artistry

1. Locate and characterize the predominant images in a poem.

2. Identify and explain the use of metaphors in a poem.

3. Identify and describe various "voices" found in poems, specifically characterizing those belonging to the "innocent" and "experienced" perspectives.

F. Exploration of a poem's meaning

1. Identify specific moments of "ambiguity" in a poem.

2. Construct multiple meaning statements for a given poem.

V. Textual Analysis of Drama

A. Summarize the major actions in a play.

B. Review the technical vocabulary used in the criticism of written (not performed) dramatic texts.

C. Dramatic structure

1. Review the elements of traditional plot structures in Greek, Shakespearean and Modern drama.

2. Identify the major characters' fundamental goals.

3. Characterize the conflicts created by the differing goals of characters in the same play.

4. Identify significant choices made by characters in the play for which the consequences cannot be foreseen or controlled.

D. The stage

1. Describe the various kinds of stages on which plays have been and are performed.

2. Discuss the impact of the construction of the stage on the structure of the play itself.

E. Theatrical language

1. Distinguish between theatrical dialogue and everyday conversation.

2. Examine the contradiction between what characters say and what they actually think and feel.

3. Identify moments in the dialogue where the "subtext" breaks through into the dramatic discourse.

F. Performance

1. Contrast "stage" acting with "method" acting.

2. List criteria used to evaluate a play's performance and apply those to a specific production.

G. Identify the major themes in a dramatic work.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Develop a writing process appropriate for creating interactive
texts.
   A. Compose written profiles of published interactive media to establish
criteria for effective writing with the genre.
   B. Generate controlling concepts using brainstorming and researching
techniques.
   C. Arrange materials according to the project's rhetorical aim and the
media's needs.  
   D. Write projects for appropriate rhetorical aims and audiences.
   E. Make and assist others to make global, functional and editorial
revisions in projects according to the conventions of the media and
standard written English.

II. Write and design materials suited to a hierarchical/clustered design.
   A. Develop a project with an expressed aim.
   B. Compose a written profile of the conventions for web sites or other
media with internal links.
   C. Outline organization of multi-page site.
   D. Select on-line materials to integrate and link to site.
   E. Write prose that complements but does not rely on graphics.
   F. Edit prose to fit into organization of site and dimensions of a
standard screen.
   G. Compose transitional words, phrases or icons to lead logically to
other pages within the site.

III. Create a multi-modal text.
   A. Develop a project with an expository or instructional aim.
   B. Describe conventions in virtual tour packages, slide shows, viral
videos and other linear, multi-modal texts.
   C. Select appropriate secondary (library/electronic) sources to
integrate into project.
   D. Write "voice over script" using conventions of spoken English.
   E. Coordinate visuals and "voice over" using a storyboard.
   F. Select appropriate materials to support the text's purpose.
   G. Compose proposal describing the project purpose and process.
   H. Write script using appropriate format.

IV. Write and design materials for an interactive simulation experience.
   A. Develop a project with an instructional/educational aim.
   B. Describe various "paths" individuals might take through the
simulation.
   C.  Propose an original training or learning simulation.
   D. Devise and organize non-linear, inner-connected nodules or scenes
using flowcharting strategies.
   E. Write scripts using appropriate format to indicate character
dialogue, action sequences and user interactivity.
      1. Compose scenes incorporating multiple user choices.
      2. Compose scenes with dialogue "triggers" that determine the
direction of the text.
   F. Write additional non-linear scenes.

V. Incorporate user-centered, highly-interactive media components.
   A. Demonstrate an understanding of searchable databases (kiosks).
      1. Analyze interactive databases and kiosks to identify current
conventions.
      2. Define concepts of Boolean logic.
      3. Compose a project proposal describing function and audience for a
searchable database.
      4. Evaluate methods to collect data through primary research.
      5. Identify and categorize desirable attributes to use as search
tags for data.
   B. Demonstrate an understanding of social networking tools.
      1. Identify and analyze popular online tools.
      2. Compose text for use on a variety of social networking cites.

VI. Write clear and effective supporting documents.
   A. Respond to e-mails using appropriate tone.
      1. Supply information in an accurate and timely fashion.
      2. Develop an impromptu written style within the conventions of
standard edited prose.
   B. Write effective letters, memos and proposals.
   C. Evaluate "Help" and supporting materials in currently published
computer applications.
      1. Identify concepts and functions in published program to be
included in a manual.
      2. Write primary (simple) and secondary (in-depth) definitions,
explanations and troubleshooting screens.

10-20% Analyses and reviews of previously published materials
60-70% 4-6 projects
10-20% Tests and in-class activities
100%   Total

FINAL GRADES
 A  90% - 100%    
 B  80% -  89.9%   
 C  70% -  79.9%        
 D  60% -  69.9% 
 F  under  60%

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. The Purposes of Games and Participatory Narratives
   A. Identify and describe games that entertain.
   B. Identify and describe games that inform or teach facts and skills.
   C. Identify and describe games that persuade users to adopt certain
attitudes or teach desirable behaviors.
   D. Write a proposal for a game with an emphasis on its purpose and
objective.

II. The Role of Setting and Virtual Worlds in Games
   A. Analyze setting-driven games.
      1. Critique the virtual explorable world in games.
      2. Describe the role of setting in digital narratives.
         a. Identify the relationship between setting and game
challenges.
         b. Identify the relationship between setting and archetypal
characters and character growth.
   B. Describe the role of design elements in games and digital stories.
      1. Describe the role of color and shapes in suggesting mood, tone,
and physical sensations like heat, cold, hardness, sharpness, etc.
      2. Identify and discuss dominant art styles in establishing user
expectations.
   C. Identify the role of setting in establishing narrative limits.
      1. Infer spatial limits within the game from the setting.
      2. Anticipate temporal limits within the game from the setting.
      3. Predict the physical laws within the game from the setting.
   D. Create detailed and appropriate settings for games.
      1. Analyze the role of setting in several forms of media (print,
film, digital).
      2. Propose back stories and game objectives suitable to specific
game worlds.
      3. Design (visually or textually) settings for an original scene in
a game.

III. The Role of Character in Games
   A. Identify archetypal characters (hero, mentor, sidekick, higher self,
allies, shape shifters, tricksters, threshold guardians, shadows, and
heralds).
   B. Describe the role of viewpoint in games.
      1. Identify and analyze third-person viewpoint in games.
         a. List and describe the elements of characterization.
            1) Defining characters through their appearance.
            2) Defining characters through their dialogue.
            3) Defining characters through their actions.
         b. List and describe the challenges in characterization.
            1) Maintaining consistency in personality traits.
            2) Using flat and rounded characters to move the story and
promote identification.
      2. Identify and analyze first-person viewpoint in games.
         a. Identify and describe the challenges of creating a
first-person character to be played by all kinds of people.
         b. Identify and describe the challenges of inserting the
first-person character into the story smoothly.
            1) Providing player with the context.
            2) Providing player with the viewpoint character’s
exposition.
   C. Describe the role of motive in games.
      1. List and describe classic character motives.
      2. Identify and describe the challenges of creating a motive for the
player/user in first-person games.
      3. Describe methods of revealing motives for characters within the
game.
   D. Create developed characters for games
      1. Compile a character bible describing principle physical
characteristics, personality traits and driving motives for several key
characters in an original or published game.
      2. Write several pieces of dialogue with instructions for vocal and
visual expressions for a single character in keeping with that
character’s profile.
      3. Write appropriate material for a dialogue engine.

IV. The Role of User-Interactivity in Games
   A. Describe the role of and expectations for the tools used to
experience digital narratives and games (interfaces, keyboards,
controllers, specialized equipment). 
   B. Identify types of user-challenges:
      1. Logical and inference challenges.
      2. Lateral-thinking challenges.
      3. Memory challenges.
      4. Intelligence and knowledge-based challenges.
      5. Pattern-recognition challenges.
      6. Spatial-relationship challenges.
      7. Coordination and reflex challenges.
      8. Moral and ethical challenges.
   C. Employ techniques for establishing and modifying pace.
      1. Balance explicit and implicit problem-solving.
      2. Discuss impact of challenge sequencing.
      3. Incorporate short- and long-term game objectives and goals.
   D. Analyze the role of gameplay in the interactive experience.
      1. Maintain a player’s log reflecting on game-playing
experiences.
      2. Create a representation (textual, visual, video-diary,
multi-media, etc.) describing the student’s individual definition of
“gameplay.”

V. The Role of Plot in Games
   A. Describe the role of structure in stories.
      1. Outline the traditional story structure.
      2. Identify interactive variations including hierarchical, open, and
common closed (string of pearls, multi-path, parallel tracts) structures.
   B. Describe the role of plot in games.
      1. Describe the purposes of narrative plots in games and explorable
worlds.
         a. Constructing “back stories” that act as catalysts for
action.
         b. Creating narratives that establish objectives throughout a
game.
      2. List and understand archetypal plots for stories.
      3. Describe plot types most appropriate for different kinds of
games/digital stories.
   C. Describe the role of challenges in games and stories.
      1. List complications that arise from characters and their natures.
      2. Describe complications that arise from setting.
      3. Discuss complications that arise from plot devices.
      4. Define complications that arise from the supernatural.
   D. Design plot structures for games.
      1. Map an overarching structure for a proposed game.
      2. List and describe several challenges players will encounter in a
proposed game.

Analyses and reviews of previously published materials: 20-30%
4-9 Projects: 50-60%
Final and in-class activities: 20% 
  Total: 100% 

FINAL GRADES
 A = 90% - 100%  
 B = 80% -  89% 
 C = 70% -  79%      
 D = 60% -  69% 
 F = under  60%

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Introduction

A. Identify and define the major divisions and genres comprising the contemporary Bible.

B. Identify the literary forms used within the biblical genres.

C. Explain the challenges of translation from Hebrew and Greek to English.

D. Describe the translation choices for an assigned passage using both a strictly literal translation and several different idiomatic translations.

E. Describe the major events in the formation of the contemporary biblical canon.

F. Describe the major events in the translation process from the original texts to the present English Bible.

II. The Hebrew Bible

A. Describe the chronology of the history described in the text.

B. Explain and discuss the importance of Torah in Jewish tradition from the earliest times to the present.

C. Discuss the scholarly editorial theories of the Hebrew Bible texts, including the Documentary Hypothesis.

D. Identify and discuss the major events of the Genesis accounts of creation.

E. Identify and discuss the stories of the Hebrew patriarchs.

F. Identify and discuss the major events in the Exodus narrative.

G. Define and discuss the nature of the prophetic tradition in Hebrew culture.

H. Discuss the role of David as a literary figure in the Hebrew tradition.

I. Define and give examples of typical Hebrew tropes such as parallelism and chiasmus.

III. The Greek New Testament

A. Identify the important differences between the four gospels, speculating on possible explanations for those differences.

B. Explain and discuss the scholarly editorial theories of the first five books of the New Testament.

C. Describe the traditional elements of first century letters.

D. Discuss the various cultures represented in the recipients of the New Testament epistles.

E. Practice rhetorical analysis.

F. Perform a rhetorical analysis on one of the shorter New Testament epistles.

G. Define apocalyptic literature and discuss the Revelation and Daniel in the light of that definition.

H. Discuss the use of Hebrew Bible texts in the New Testament.

IV. The Literary Legacy of the Bible

A. Define and describe the genres of mystery and morality plays.

B. Demonstrate an understanding of the hermeneutical tradition drawing from the rabbinical tradition and patristic writings.

C. Identify and evaluate the biblical analogies in selected writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Bunyan, Hawthorne, Melville, Morrison or Baraka.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Hispanic History and Heritage of U.S. Latino/a Literature

A. Identify Spanish contact, conquest and colonization of the “New World,” and discuss residual effects.

1. Texts from 16th- to 18th-century writers such as Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega.

2. Texts from 19th-century writers such as María Amparo Ruiz de Burton and José Martí.

B. Identify related literary and art movements in Spain and Latin America (e.g., modernism, surrealism and magic realism).

C. Identify related political movements in Spain and Latin America (e.g., fascism, communism and socialism).

II. Major Literary Genres

A. Distinguish between major literary genres and recognize the conventions of each.

1. Non-fiction (e.g., historical/political/social texts, memoir, personal narrative).

2. Fiction (e.g., novels and short stories).

3. Poetry (e.g., free verse and fixed forms).

4. Drama (e.g., El Teatro Campesino, Luis Valdez, Miguel Piñero, contemporary Latino/a drama and film).

B. Describe criticism.

C. Identify generic hybrids and discuss unconventional writing.

III. Linguistic Code-Switching

A. Identify when Latino/a writers switch linguistic codes (e.g., English, Spanish and Spanglish).

B. Interpret instances of code-switching and speculate reasons for and implications of the practice.

IV. U.S. Latino/a Movements

A. Discuss the Nuyorican Movement.

B. Discuss Miguel Algarín and Nuyorican Poets Café, Spanish Harlem and the Lower East Side (NYC), and writers such as Miguel Piñero, Pedro Pietri, Tato Laviera.

C. Discuss the Chicano Movement.

D. Discuss César Chávez and Delores Huerta (grape boycotts), “La Raza” in California, Tejanos, Tex-Mex and the homeland myth of Aztlán.

V. Issues of Identity

A. Examine transnational identities.

1. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

2. Mexican-American “borderland” identity (Gloria Anzaldúa).

B. Explain the concept of cultural hybridity (breaking profiles)—e.g., hyphenated America, both but neither, Latinos with African roots, Latinos with Native American roots.

C. Analyze the practice of assimilation and resistance.

VI. Cultural, Historical and Artistic Contexts

A. Recognize significant historical contexts such as the Monroe Doctrine and Roosevelt Corollary, the revolt by and U.S. annexation of Texas, the U.S.-Mexican War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the Spanish-American War (Puerto Rico, Cuba and Platt Amendment), immigration issues (legal and illegal), and the Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and '70s.

B. Identify significant cultural contexts such as Mexican and Mexican-American cultures, Puerto Rican culture, other Caribbean cultures (Cuban, Dominican), Central American cultures and South American cultures.

C. Identify significant artistic contexts such as 19th-century expectations, Modernism, Surrealism, Post-modernism and Latina Feminism.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Major Literary Genres

A. Distinguish among major literary genres and recognize the conventions of each.

1. Non-fiction (e.g., historical/political/social texts, memoir, criticism, personal narrative)

2. Fiction (e.g., novels and short stories)

3. Poetry (e.g., free verse and structured forms)

4. Drama (e.g., theater and television)

B. Recognize and analyze significant instances of figurative language such as metaphor, simile, imagery, symbolism, irony and analogy.

C. Explain the influence of the major literary genres in consideration of social, historical, political and cultural contexts.

II. Rhetorical Strategies and Devices

A. Identify and define rhetorical strategies and devices such as themes, imagery, characterization, plot development, narration, symbolism and Aristotelian appeals (i.e., ethos, logos, pathos).

B. Explain the importance of rhetorical strategies and devices as they apply to the literature.

C. Explain the impact of the social, historical, political and cultural contexts on the use of rhetorical strategies and devices.

III. Identity Issues

A. Identify and analyze multiple perspectives relating to the identity of women who are authors.

B. Identify and analyze multiple perspectives of characters in literature authored by women.

IV. Gender Identity and Literature

A. Examine the social construction of female identity found in literature, including Virgin/Whore dichotomy, Maid/Wife/Widow, Motherhood, Public/Private person and Concept of the Other.

B. Examine the social construction of gender as it is reflected in literature.

V. Feminist Literary Theory

A. Explain and apply the arguments of the first wave of feminist literary theorists (i.e., 19th and early 20th century) to assigned literature.

B. Explain and apply the arguments of the second wave of feminist literary theorists (i.e., mid- to late 20th century) to assigned literature.

C. Explain and apply the arguments of the third wave of feminist literary theorists (i.e., late 20th century to present) to assigned literature.

VI. Social, Historical, Political and Cultural Contexts

A. Explain the importance and significance of contextualizing literature.

B. Analyze the significance of influential social, historical, political and cultural contexts/events which impacted the author and/or the reading and/or the reception of the literature. Contexts/Events may include Puritanism, Salem Witch Trials, Science and Rationalism, Urbanization, Education Reform, Slavery, Abolition, Women’s Rights, Industrialization, Civil Rights Movement, Modernism, Postmodernism and particular War Eras.

VII. Character of Women’s Identities

A. Analyze the social locations of women authors, particularly in consideration of race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality and class.

B. Analyze the social locations of literary characters of texts authored by women, particularly in consideration of race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality and class.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Analyze and Persuade a Select Audience
   A. Explore methods for profiling audiences.
   B. Practice appealing to primary, secondary, and peripheral audiences.
   C. Examine and manipulate evidence for a specific audience.
   D. Construct a persuasive persona based on the needs of a specific
audience.
   E. Manipulate emotional appeals for a target audience.

II. Locate and Control Source Material with Precision
   A. Explore all the resources of a traditional library.
   B. Work with the Internet, refining searches, selecting sources with
discretion and learning how to refute arguments based on questionable
sources.
   C. Use interviews as a regular part of source-supported arguments.

III. Use and Adapt a Personal Voice
   A. Recognize voice in writing.
   B. Practice controlling voice within the demands of a rhetorical
context.
   C. Use flaws in voice of opposing arguments as grounds for refutation.

IV. Think Critically, Using Logic to Promote a Desired End
   A. Identify major logical fallacies.
   B. Refute an argument that uses logical fallacies.
   C. Manipulate logical fallacies to support an argument.
   D. Detect assumptions and biases in opposing arguments and use for
refutation.
   E. Detect assumptions and biases in students' own arguments and use to
advance their arguments.

V. Work Collaboratively with Fluency
   A. Analyze peer drafts and professional models for elements of
effective composition.
   B. Analyze peer drafts and professional models for elements of
effective rhetoric.
   C. Give substantive and specific suggestions for revising drafts.
   D. Discriminate among peer feedback suggestions: weak, lateral, and
strong.

VI. Write with an Effective, Flexible Style
   A. Master a basic "writer's grammar."
   B. Select diction appropriate in connotation, denotation, and tone for
the rhetorical circumstances.
   C. Manipulate sentences at the phrase and clause level to achieve
variety, clarity, and emphasis.
   D. Identify, evaluate, and manipulate the three classical categories of
style.
   E. Practice deliberate style shifts within a larger communication to
achieve a rhetorical effect.
   F. Recognize and manipulate stylistic elements of several discourse
communities, both in and out of the academy.
   G. Work with the classical tropes and schemes.
   H. Write with concision (unless rhetorical situation requires
otherwise).

Assignments:

1. Diagnostic - In class (300-400 words)     Ungraded
2. Position (750-1000 words)                 100 points
3. Proposal (750-1000 words)                 100 points
4. Evaluation (750-1000 words)               100 points
5. Major Documented Argument (1200-1500)     150 points
6. Minor Documented Argument (750-1000)      100 points
7. Final (500-750 words)                     100 points  
                                    subtotal             650 points

Additional Work:

1. 12 rough drafts                      @ 5 = 60 points
2. 20 (approx.) homework assignment     @ 3 = 60 points
3. 4 journal grades                     @15 = 60 points
4. 10 in-class writing projects         @ 3 = 30 points
5. 47 class-participation opportunities @ 3 =141 points
                                    subtotal             351 points
                                    Total possible      1001 points

Grading Scale:
   1001-900 points = A     
    899-800 points = B
    799-700 points = C
    699-600 points = D
      < 599 points = F

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. General Elements of Craft

A. Identify the importance of imagery (with emphasis on concrete details and figures of speech in imaginative works.

B. Identify the nuances of voice and distinguishing characteristics of fictional voices, such as author, narrator/speaker, and character.

C. Identify the defining characteristics of first-person, second-person and third-person points of view.

D. Appraise the element of character in imaginative work.

1. Distinguish between round/complex and flat/simple characters.

2. Identify available methods writers employ to develop characters.

3. Identify the key and necessary role character plays in all forms of imaginative writing.

E. Analyze how writers of imaginative texts employ setting not only to establish time and place but also to develop character, theme and story.

F. Identify various narrative structures (including exposition, rising action, climax/crisis, etc. ) available to writers of imaginative texts, with emphasis on the significance of the relationship between conflict and narrator/speaker/character.

II. Genre-Specific Elements

A. Elements of Fiction

1. Assess the causal nature of plot.

a) Identify traditional plot structure.

b) Explain variations on chronological sequencing and traditional structuring.

2. Identify the various methods of characterization in fiction.

a) Define the characteristics of round and flat characters.

b) Identify protagonists and antagonists.

c) Explain the function character serves in shaping and driving plot.

d) Explain the primacy of character in literary fiction.

3. Explain the dramatic function setting serves in fiction.

a) Describe the various methods writers employ to create vitality in setting.

b) Identify the connection between setting and character.

4. Identify first-person, second-person and third-person points of view.

a) Explain reliable and unreliable narrators.

b) Explain omniscient, limited and objective perspectives.

c) Explain how a writer’s choice of point of view influences a reader’s understanding of any story.

5. Assess the importance of theme in literary fiction and how all elements of a story work together to contribute to its meaning.

6. Identify the significance of concrete images and sensory details.

7. Explain the various ways writers employ matters of style, tone, irony and symbolism to enhance meaning in works of literary fiction.

B. Elements of Poetry

1. Identify and define concrete images and sensory details.

2. Identify and define sound devices such as alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia.

3. Identify and define rhyme patterns such as perfect rhyme and slant rhyme.

4. Identify and differentiate free verse (or open form poetry) from closed forms such as sonnets, villanelles and haiku.

5. Identify and define rhythmic patterns of poetic meter, particularly that of iambic pentameter.

6. Identify and define the function of figurative language, particularly the use of similes and metaphors.

7. Identify and differentiate lyric and narrative poetry.

8. Identify and differentiate the voice of the poet and the voice of the speaker/persona.

9. Identify various methods of characterization employed by poets, such as direct and indirect methods of characterization and character as metaphor.

10. Determine the ways poets employ matters of style, tone, irony and symbolism to enhance meaning in works of literary poetry.

C. Elements of Creative Nonfiction

1. Identify the different forms of creative nonfiction, with particular emphasis on personal essay and memoir.

2. Identify the elements of fiction commonly employed by writers of creative nonfiction, such as dialogue and action, character development, concrete images and sensory details and narrative structure.

3. Explain the convention of a first-person point of view with a conversational tone of voice in works of creative nonfiction.

4. Explain the necessary balance between “showing” and “telling” in works of creative nonfiction.

5. Differentiate between “essential truth” and fact in works of creative nonfiction.

6. Identify and explain the appropriate use of a third-person point of view rather than the more conventional first-person point of view.

D. Elements of Dramatic Scripts

1. Explain the unique aspects of scriptwriting, including dramatic impact, visual appeal, auditory appeal, physical production, continuous action and spectator art.

2. Explain the causal nature of plot.

a) Identify traditional elements of dramatic plot structure, including concept, act, scene, beat and dramatic question.

b) Explain variations on chronological sequencing and traditional structuring.

3. Identify and explain the major types of conflict, such as person against person, triangular conflicts and inner conflict.

4. Identify the various methods of characterization in drama.

a) Define the characteristics of round and flat characters.

b) Identify protagonists and antagonists.

c) Explain the function character serves in shaping and driving plot.

d) Explain the function of point of view in drama.

e) Develop character through action and dialogue.

5. Explain the dramatic function setting serves in drama.

a) Describe the various methods writers employ to create vitality in setting.

b) Identify the connection between setting and character.

6. Assess the importance of theme in scriptwriting and how all elements and scenes of a script work together to contribute to its meaning.

7. Explain the various ways writers employ matters of style, tone, irony and symbolism to enhance meaning in a dramatic script.

III. Imaginative Text Creation

A. Crafting Fiction

1. Develop believable characters through exposition and description.

2. Establish palpable settings by incorporating concrete images and sensory details.

3. Explain the advantages and limitations (including psychic and emotional distance) of the various points of view available to writers.

4. Identify distinguishing characteristics among fictional voices (author, narrator and character).

5. Determine differences between traditional and contemporary plot structures.

6. Identify and explain how theme arises from a story’s characters and events.  

7. Develop facility in the use of figurative language, gaining an understanding of the implications of metaphor.

8. Identify and revise clichéd constructions in language, character, plot and theme.

9. Employ memory and imagination as the two primary resources for writing fiction.

10. Determine suitable fictional forms for story ideas (micro fiction, flash fiction, short story, novella, novel).

11. Develop a plot by incorporating the elements of a narrative arc.

12. Identify and develop conflict.

13. Select an effective hook for starting a story.

14. Identify and develop main (round) and minor (flat) characters as necessary.

15. Write dialogue that develops character, advances plot and provides exposition in a natural and believable manner.

16. Recognize opportunities in dialogue for subtext and incorporate as appropriate.

17. Recognize and exploit the element of change in a story, as it occurs through the use of dynamic and static characters.

18. Construct a series of scenes and incorporate backstory as necessary.

19. Organize, edit and revise a story for coherence.

20. Write in clear, direct and vivid prose.

B. Crafting Poetry

1. Differentiate the denotation and connotation of words.

2. Identify and demonstrate the power of connotation in the choice of words.

3. Explain the necessity of incorporating concrete images instead of abstractions.

4. Employ images as objective correlatives in poems.

5. Identify, create and incorporate appropriate uses of figurative language, such as metaphors and similes.

6. Identify distinguishing characteristics among poetic voices, such as author, speaker/persona and character.

7. Explain the advantages and limitations of various points of view available to poets.

8. Write poems from various points of view available to poets.

9. Establish an appropriate speaker/persona.

10. Establish as appropriate per poem a situation of conflict for the speaker/persona or for other characters.

11. Identify and employ sound devices, such as rhyme, alliteration, assonance and consonance.

12. Distinguish between formal verse and free verse poetry.

13. Identify rhythm in poetry through the use of sound devices, rhyme and meter.

14. Identify and write different forms of poetic feet, such as iambic, trochaic and dactylic.

15. Identify and write different forms of and meter, such as trimeter, tetrameter and pentameter.

16. Select and write an appropriate form (free or formal verse) for the poem.

17. Explain and demonstrate the impact of enjambment and end-stopped lines on turning the line.

18. Identify viable sources for ideas for poems, such as personal experience, experiences of others, news accounts, images, other works of poetry and pure invention.

19. Distinguish between sophisticated and simple ideas for poems.

20. Explain the importance of abandoning fidelity to reality in poems.

21. Establish palpable settings in poems by incorporating concrete images and sensory details.

22. Identify and employ effective opening and closing lines or images for poems.

23. Apply as appropriate per poem pertinent elements of poetry.

24. Identify and revise clichéd language in poems.

25. Organize, edit and revise the poem for cohesion, compression and coherence.

26. Write in clear, direct and vivid language.

C. Crafting Creative Nonfiction

1. Write about personal experiences in literary prose by incorporating elements of fiction such as imagery, dialogue and character development.

2. Establish settings by incorporating concrete images and sensory details.

3. Develop facility in using the first-person point of view.

4. Explain the advantages and limitations (including psychic and emotional distance) of all points of view available to writers.

5. Write natural and effective dialogue.

6. Differentiate between traditional and contemporary narrative structures as they apply to works of creative nonfiction.

7. Explain the importance of incorporating both showing and telling in works of creative nonfiction.

8. Develop facility in the use of figurative language and the larger implications of metaphor.

9. Identify and revise clichéd constructions in language, character and theme.

10. Write scenes of personal events from memory that necessarily leave out objective facts (exact conversations, for example) while remaining faithful to the essential truth of those events.

11. Determine suitable forms for works of creative nonfiction, such as personal essay, memoir and new journalism.

12. Explain the importance of maintaining fidelity to the “essential truth” in “real life” sources for works of creative nonfiction.

13. Construct and develop both an outer story (involving physical event) and an inner story (involving narrative interiority) as appropriate.

14. Establish a balance between scenes and reflection

15. Use specific images and details to ground the reader in a concrete setting.

16. Determine the moment of crisis or the climax in the piece as appropriate.

17. Identify an effective closing point for the piece.

18. Incorporate scenes and summary of scenes as appropriate per manuscript.

19. Incorporate backstory and back scenes as appropriate per manuscript.

20. Organize, edit and revise the story for cohesion, coherence and clarity of meaning regarding the idea, message, or intent of the text.

21. Write in clear, direct and vivid prose.

D. Crafting Dramatic Scripts

1. Develop believable characters through dialogue and decision.

2. Establish settings by incorporating images.

3. Create point of view through description (dialogue and action) rather than exposition (thoughts and feelings).

4. Determine the differences between one-, two- and three-act scripts that make use of an inciting incident and turning points.

5. Identify and explain how theme arises from a dramatic script’s characters and events.

6. Identify sources for dramatic concepts, such as personal experience, experiences of others, news accounts, images, invention and other dramatic works.

7. Develop a concept that has universal appeal and identifies the main characters and conflict.

8. Determine suitable forms for script ideas, such as stage plays and screenplays.

9. Develop an appropriate balance between image and dialogue.

10. Develop a narrative arc that contains an inciting incident, progressive complications, one or more turning points, a climax and a resolution.

11. Determine appropriate point of view characters.

12. Identify and develop main and minor characters as necessary.

13. Write dialogue that develops character, advances plot and provides exposition in a natural and believable manner.

14. Recognize opportunities in dialogue for subtext and incorporate as appropriate.

15. Apply the principal of conflict by determining the stakes for the protagonist.  

16. Develop character and conflict through the choices a character makes under pressure.

IV. Critique and Peer Review

A. Select and use appropriate terminology and vocabulary in assessing peer manuscripts and the works of published contemporary writers.

B. Write informed critiques of peer manuscripts that reveal a firm knowledge of the elements of imaginative writing as well as a developing understanding of the process of writing imaginative texts.

C. Practice appropriate professional etiquette for providing written comments on peer manuscripts. 


D. Practice appropriate professional etiquette for discussing peer manuscripts in class in a workshop format.

E. Explain the value of informed objective assessment.

F. Apply fellow students’ objective insights of peer manuscripts to one’s own work.

G. Incorporate where appropriate suggestions for revision as offered by peers. 


H. Identify new and various ways to approach the reading, discussion and writing of imaginative texts.

V. Revision of Imaginative Works

A. Identify and write toward the heart of a story, poem, personal essay, memoir or script.

B. Identify the inner and outer story.

C. Identify the optimum point of view.

D. Determine the motivating factors for the central character(s) to enhance characterization.

E. Identify and exploit the conflict between “need and get” for central character(s) or speakers.

F. Revise for specific concrete images and sensory details.

G. Revise as necessary the point of attack in imaginative texts.

H. Revise as necessary plot, narrative structure, or dramatic arc.

I. Revise as necessary the closing point.

J. Revise poems as necessary for more effective compression, word choice, figurative language, rhythm and theme.

K. Revise works of fiction, creative nonfiction and drama as necessary for a more effective balance between “showing” and “telling” (as appropriate for each genre).

L. Revise works of creative nonfiction as appropriate to establish clarity in the presentation of ideas and positions.

M. Revise as necessary for clear, direct and vivid prose and poetic language.

1. Identify and repair common problems in grammar, particularly run-on sentences and sentence fragments.

2. Identify and repair common problems in punctuation, particularly the misuse of commas and misapplication of quotation marks.

3. Identify and repair common problems in mechanics, particularly the incorrect use of capitalization and the misapplication of italics.

VI. Manuscript Preparation

A. Research, identify and evaluate appropriate magazines, journals and websites to submit work for publication.

B. Format a publishable manuscript per submission guidelines.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Fiction

A. Identify and employ a narrative structure through the use of a story arc:  hook, conflict, complication, climax, resolution, rising and falling action, flashback and epiphany.

B. Establish and maintain a suitable point of view.

C. Identify types of characters, including protagonist, antagonist, round, flat, dynamic and static.

D. Develop characters through point of view, action and dialogue.

E. Establish scenes and create convincing settings that employ the necessary amount of detail.

F. Provide a balance of narrative modes, including description and exposition.

G. Choose between first- and third-person narrators, reliable and unreliable narrators, and objective and limited omniscient narrators.

H. Present theme as an outcome of the narrative.

I. Write polished short stories.

II. Poetry

A. Identify and incorporate into poems the major elements of poetry, including line length, stanza structure, sound, rhythm, image, diction and density.

B. Establish a speaker with a specific persona and voice.

C. Employ figurative language as a way to create imagery.

D. Present theme as an outcome of the poem’s structure and imagery.

E. Identify and evaluate the types of rhyme and meter.

F. Identify and evaluate the various types of fixed-form poems, such as the Elizabethan and Italian sonnets, the villanelle, the pantoum and the sestina.

G. Write poems, employing free-verse techniques and/or fixed-form techniques.

III. Creative Nonfiction

A. Identify the similarities and differences between fiction and creative nonfiction.

B. Articulate the differences between two types of creative nonfiction: memoir and the personal essay.

C. Identify and employ the major techniques of creative nonfiction: image, voice, point of view, character, conflict, scene, dialogue and theme.

D. Establish a balance between dramatization and interpretation.

E. Identify and use any necessary types of research, such as interviews and Internet research.

F. Learn to “work small,” choosing a specific topic that can be fully explored within the limits of an essay.

G. Understand and apply the concept of essential truth as opposed to the facts only.

H. Write polished creative nonfiction.

IV. Dramatic Scripts

A. Identify the similarities and differences between fiction and dramatic scripts.

B. Develop a concept in one or two sentences that has universal appeal and identifies the main characters and conflict.

C. Produce a step outline, a one-sentence summary for each scene

D. Develop a one-, two- or three-act structure that includes an inciting incident, progressive complications, one or two turning points, a climax and a resolution.

E. Compose a sequence of scenes within each act.

F. Compose a sequence of beats within each scene.

G. Develop an appropriate balance between image and dialogue.

H. Develop characters according to the choices they make under pressure.

I. Apply the principle of conflict by determining the stakes for the protagonist.

J. Create tension through subtext.

K. Employ the proper page format for a dramatic script.

L. Write polished scripts.

V. Critiques and Peer Review

A. Use appropriate vocabulary in assessing one’s own and peer manuscripts.

B. Write critiques of peer manuscripts that reveal a firm knowledge of the elements of writing.

C. Practice professional etiquette for providing written comments on peer manuscripts.

D. Practice professional etiquette for discussing peer manuscripts in class in a workshop format.

E. Apply fellow students’ insights of peer manuscripts to one’s own work.

F. Incorporate appropriate suggestions for revision as offered by peers.

G. Articulation of techniques

H. Maintain and improve learning outcomes from ENGL 223.

I. Explain the techniques and choices involved in imaginative writing.

VI. Published Works

A. Read a representative sampling of contemporary imaginative writing in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and dramatic scripts.

B. Identify the elements of the various genres as they are found in published works.

C. Articulate the diverse ways contemporary writers incorporate elements of the various genres.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Elements of Craft

A. Employ a narrative structure through the use of a story arc: hook, conflict, complication, climax, resolution, rising and falling action, scene, flashback and epiphany.

B. Establish and maintain a suitable point of view.

C. Develop characters through point of view, action and dialogue.

D. Employ various types of characters, such as protagonist, antagonist, found, flat, dynamic and static.

E. Creative convincing settings that employ the necessary amount of detail.

F. Choose between first- and third-person narrators, reliable and unreliable narrators, and objective and limited-omniscient narrators.

G. Employ theme as a natural development of the narrative.

H. Provide a balance of narrative modes, such as description and exposition.

II. Critique

A. Use appropriate terminology in assessing one’s own and one’s classmates’ fiction manuscripts.

B. Write critiques of peer manuscripts that reveal a firm knowledge of the elements of fiction writing as well as an understanding of the process of writing fiction.

C. Practice professional etiquette for providing written comments on peer manuscripts.

D. Practice professional etiquette for discussing peer manuscripts in class in a workshop format.  

E. Apply fellow students’ insights of peer manuscripts to one’s own work.

F. Incorporate appropriate suggestions for revision as offered by peers.

III. Methods of Revision

A. Revise as necessary the story arc.

B. Maintain a consistent point of view.

C. Maintain the consistency of characters through their thoughts, actions and dialogue.

D. Revise as necessary the amount of description given to the settings.

E. Revise to make consistent the choice of a narrator in terms of person, voice and reliability.

F. Revise as necessary to enhance theme.

G. Revise for a more suitable balance between description and exposition.

H. Identify and correct errors in grammar and punctuation, especially comma splices and unnecessary shifts in verb tense.

IV. Published Works of Fiction

A. Read a representative selection of contemporary literary fiction.

B. Identify the elements of fiction as they are found in published works.

C. Explain the diverse ways contemporary writers incorporate elements of fiction into their own work.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Poetry as a Major Literary Genre

A. Distinguish poetry from other major literary genres.

B. Compare and contrast literary verse with musical lyrics.

II. Major Patterns and Forms Related to Poetry

A. Identify and explain the importance of a poem’s sound as it pertains to the meaning and value of poetry by defining and applying the following terms: rhyme, rhythm, meter, assonance, alliteration, consonance, euphony, cacophony and onomatopoeia.

B. Identify and explain the importance of various major poetic verse forms such as open form, closed form, blank verse, stanza, couplet, sonnet, villanelle, sestina, ballad, elegy, ode, pastoral, epic, haiku, limerick and concrete poetry.

III. Literary Terminology

A. Define and apply terms related to meter such as sprung rhythm, caesura, end-stopped, enjambment, prosody and scansion.

B. Define and apply terms related to rhyme such as exact rhyme, slant rhyme, near rhyme, off rhyme, imperfect rhyme, eye rhyme, end rhyme, internal rhyme, masculine rhyme and feminine rhyme.

C. Define and apply terms related to words such as denotation, connotation, concrete, abstract, allusion, colloquial, general English, formal English and dialect.

D. Define and apply terms related to voice such as tone, persona, dramatic monologue, sarcasm, satire and irony.

E. Define and apply terms related to figures of speech such as symbol, metaphor, simile, pun, personification, apostrophe, hyperbole, metonymy, synecdoche and paradox.

IV. Major Literary and Historical Movements of British and American Poetry

A. Describe the following major literary movements as they pertain to poetry. Examples:

1. Metaphysical movement

2. Romanticism

3. Harlem Renaissance

4. Modernism

5. Contemporary poetry

B. Describe major poetic theories and the uses of poetic theory:

1. Mimetic theories

2. Pragmatic theories

3. Expressive theories

4. Objective theories

C. Analyze the significance of major historical and cultural events as they pertain to specific poems.

V. Understanding and Appreciating Poetry as a Literary Genre

A. Explain the importance of sound and form as they relate to the poem’s message and poem’s affect on readers.

B. Explain the meaning of poems through close reading and the application of relevant literary terminology.

C. Critically evaluate poems by applying information regarding sound, form and word choice as appropriate criteria.

VI. The Role of Contemporary World Poetry

A. Explain the relevance of a region’s culture, politics and geography upon specific poems.

B. Explain the relationship between a country’s poetry and history.

C. Assess the role of specific poets and poems in culture and society.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I.  Definition and Interpretation of Short Fiction

A. Describe scholarly viewpoints on the definition of short fiction.

B. List and describe a variety of major interpretive approaches, such as:

1. Formalist criticism
2. Biographical criticism
3. Psychological criticism
4. Historical criticism
5. Reader-Response criticism
6. Poststructuralist and Deconstructionist criticism
7. Gender criticism
8. Cultural criticism​

II. Narrative Forms Related to Short Fiction

A. List and describe a variety of narrative forms related to short fiction, such as:

1. Novel
2. Novella
3. Film
4. Flash fiction
5. Graphic fiction
6. Autobiographical fiction
7. Creative nonfiction

B. Compare and contrast the preceding narrative forms to short stories.

 III. Historical Context of Short Fiction

A. List and describe a variety of precedents of short fiction, such as:

1. Allegory
2. Anecdote
3. Epic
4. Fable
5. Fairy tale
6. Folk tale
7. Joke
8. Legend
9. Myth
10. Parable
11. Religious tale

B. Identify evidence of such precedents in short stories.

IV. Major Literary Movements

A. List and describe a variety of the following major literary movements, such as:

1. Romanticism
2. Realism
3. Naturalism
4. Modernism
5. Magical Realism
6. Postmodernism
7. Postcolonialism

B.  Identify patterns of such literary movements in fiction.

V.  Diversity in Short Fiction

A. Identify and explain the importance of class, gender, religion, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation in the fiction studied.

B. Examine the relevance of a country’s history, culture, and politics in specific short stories.

VI. Major Genres and Key Elements of Short Fiction

A. Describe, compare, and contrast a variety of major genres of fiction, such as:

1. Crime fiction
2. Episodic
3. Historical
4. Love stories
5. Science fiction
6. Fantasy
7. Ghost/Gothic
8. Utopian
9. Dystopian
10. Western
11. Self-discovery/Coming of age

B. Identify and describe key elements of fiction:

1. Character
2. Conflict
3. Language and Style
4. Plot
5. Point of View
6. Setting
7. Voice and Tone
8. Theme

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Children’s Needs

A. Outline hierarchy of children's needs.

B. Paraphrase theories of child development.

C. Recognize social and cultural impact on children's literature.

D. Identify and discuss current content trends in children's literature which evolve from social and technological change.

E. Identify goals and practices for adults involved in children’s literacy.

II. History of Children's Books

A. Relate history of printing and books to modern children's literature.

B. Recognize earliest forms of children's books.

C. Explain the theories of didacticism which guided early children's literature.

D. Identify and discuss milestones in the development of children's literature.

E. Identify and explain the beginning of social and cultural inclusiveness in children’s books.

F. Read, summarize and evaluate selected classic works.

III. Types of Children's Literature

A. Define the standard genres of children's literature, including:

1. Picture books

2. Alphabet, counting and concept books

3. Folktales, fables, myths and epics

4. Modern fantasy

5. Poetry

6. Realistic and historical fiction

7. Nonfiction books

B. Identify and discuss emerging forms of children’s literature.

C. Select, read, summarize and evaluate works within each genre.

IV. Critiques of Children’s Books

A. Define setting, point/s of view, characterization, plot, theme and style as they apply to children's literature.

B. Identify and discuss these qualities within selected works.

C. Analyze how past and current stories evolve from and reflect their cultures.

D. Examine and analyze use of color, line, shape, texture, arrangement, typesetting.

E. Identify artistic mediums such as oil/acrylics, pen and ink, watercolor and collage.

V. Authors and Illustrators

A. Identify and research significant authors and illustrators of the past and present.

B. Identify and select resources in our library specific to children's authors/illustrators.

C. Identify and list requirements for major children's book awards, including:

1. Newbery

2. Caldecott

3. William Allen White

4. Scott O'Dell

5. Laura Ingalls Wilder

6. Coretta Scott King

7. Pura Belpre

VI. Children’s Response

A. Define and describe techniques for involving children with literature, such as:

1. Storytelling

2. Reading aloud

3. Discussion groups

4. Oral interpretation

5. Theater/dramatics

6. Readers’ theater

7. Written response

B. Demonstrate at least one of the above techniques with children and/or with the class.

VII. Design and Construction

A. Identify an appropriate topic, audience and vocabulary for a children’s book.

B. Design, write, illustrate and construct a children's book.

VIII. Issues and Challenges

A. Identify and analyze appropriate levels of realism in children’s books.

1. Define the purposes, uses and impacts of children’s realistic fiction.

2. Explain the controversies surrounding the content of children’s realistic fiction.

3. List and critique significant books of children’s realistic fiction.

B. Identify and analyze banned, censored or challenged books.

1. Explain reasons some books are banned, censored or challenged.

2. Explain impact of censorship on children's literature and children.

3. List and critique some commonly banned, censored or challenged books.

C. Identify and analyze the intersection between text, author and reader, with specific attention to social and cultural diversity and inclusiveness in children’s books.

1. Explain the importance of social and cultural diversity and inclusiveness.

2. Explain the issues surrounding books representing diverse populations.

3. List and critique significant books that feature social or cultural diversity and inclusiveness.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Introduction
   A. Identify and define the elements of drama:  plot, characterization,
setting, dialogue, music, movement, and theme.
   B. Apply the elements of drama to a one-act play, "Lady Gregory's 
Rising of the Moon".
   C. Identify and cite examples of the traditional genres of drama: 
tragedy, comedy, and tragicomedy.

II. Greek and Roman Drama
   A. Name and define the parts of the Greek and Roman theaters.
   B. Name and define the distinctive elements of Greek and Roman tragedy
and comedy.
   C. Define Old, Middle, and New Comedy, giving examples of each.
   D. Name the key figures in the development of Greek and Roman drama,
describing the contributions and major works of each.
   E. Explain Aristotle's theories of tragedy.
   F. Evaluate Antigone and Oedipus Rex as tragedies based on Aristotle's
criteria.
   G. Apply the criteria of Old Comedy to Lysistrata.
   H  Discuss the treatment of women in Lysistrata and Antigone.

III. Medieval Drama
   A. Describe the nature and elements of medieval drama.
   B. Define miracle and morality plays and identify examples of each.
   C. Compare the worldview of Everyman with that of Antigone.

IV. Renaissance Drama
   A. Identify the contributions of Italian drama to the English stage.
   B. Describe the physical and economic nature of theater during the
Renaissance.
   C. Name the major Elizabethan playwrights and identify the
contributions of each.
   D. Explain the role of meter, verse, rhyme, and other poetic elements
in Elizabethan drama.
   E. Evaluate Hamlet according to Aristotle's standards for tragedies.
   F. Discuss and evaluate critical interpretations of Hamlet from Dryden
to the present day.
   G. Compare and evaluate several screen and stage adaptations of
Hamlet.
   H. Evaluate A Midsummer Night's Dream according to the Greek comedy
genres.
   I. Discuss the treatment of women in Shakespeare's plays.
   J. Identify non-English dramatists working during this period.

V. Restoration Drama
   A. Identify the major distinctions of the Restoration stage.
   B. Identify and explain the contributions of the major Restoration
playwrights.
   C. Evaluate Congreve's The Way of the World as a latter-day New
Comedy.

VI. Victorian/Early Twentieth-Century Drama
   A. Identify the physical and economic nature of the theater during the
period 1850-1914.
   B. Name the major playwrights of the period and identify the
contributions of each.
   C. Evaluate Hedda Gabler as an Aristotelian tragedy.
   D. Discuss the role of women in Hedda Gabler.
   E. Explore the role of Freud and the rise of psychology in the drama of
Ibsen, Chekhov, and Shaw.

VII. Twentieth-Century Drama and Beyond
   A. Identify and describe the major movements in drama during the
twentieth century.
   B. Discuss the effect of changing theatrical spaces and technological
developments on the presentation of old texts and the creation of new
ones.
   C. Discuss the move away from strict realism in The Glass Menagerie,
The Piano Lesson, and other plays.
   D. Analyze the thematic threads in The Piano Lesson.
   E. Describe the presence and function of symbolic elements in The Glass
Menagerie and The Piano Lesson.
   F. Identify some of the non-Western cultures that have contributed
significantly to the broadening of drama in the twentieth century.
   G. Discuss the important themes in drama in the contemporary theater.

   2 examinations:      30% of grade
   2 short papers:      30% of grade
   1 longer paper:      20% of grade
   In-class projects:   20% of grade
                       100% of grade

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. The Anglo-Saxon Era

A. Outline the development of the Old English language.

B. Define the Oral Tradition and the Epic.

C. Discuss major literary works from the Anglo-Saxon era, such as Beowulf.

D. List the characteristics of oral-formulaic language.

II. Middle English Literature

A. Outline the development of Middle English.

B. Define the genres of the narrative, tale, legend, lyric, proverb, myth and other story elements.

C. Discuss the major works of medieval British literature, such as works by Chaucer, Mallory, the Robin Hood legend and the Pearl Poet.

D. Recount the history and purpose of The Crusades.

III. The 16th Century.

A. Outline the development of Renaissance English.

B. Recount the invention of the printing press.

C. Describe the production of the first English translations of the Bible.

D. Define the sonnet and recount its development in British literary history.

E. List poetic techniques and forms used in Renaissance poetry.

F. Discuss major literary works from the Renaissance, such as those by Spenser, Moore, Elizabeth I and Christopher Marlowe.

IV. Shakespeare

A. Recount important biographical details from Shakespeare’s life.

B. Define the patterns of tragedy and comedy he employs in his plays.

C. Describe the cultural milieu in which Shakespeare’s plays were performed.

D. Discuss several of Shakespeare’s major works, such as Hamlet, King Lear, Twelfth Night, Henry IV, Part I, A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream or The Tempest.

E. Describe the British explorations of the New World.

V. The 17th Century

A. Recount the political and religious turmoil of this century, including the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London.

B. Identify significant biographical details in the lives of major writers from the 17th century.

C. Discuss the works of writers and poets, such as Lanyer, Herrick, Marvell, Milton and Bunyan.

D. Define the epic and apply this definition to Milton’s Paradise Lost.

VI. The 18th Century

A. Recount the development of modern English and discuss the relevance of Dr. Johnson’s Dictionary on it.

B. Define satire and speculate about the cultural and political conditions that give rise to it.

C. Discuss the British love of “travel” literature and its relevance to Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.

D. List the key features of a “mock” epic and apply them to several works from the 17th century.

E. Recount the British expansion into the New World and the development of trade routes.

F. Discuss major writers of the 17th century, such as Dryden, Swift, Pope and Johnson.

G. Compare British culture to one other culture in the British Empire.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. The Romantic Era (Early Romantic Poets)

A. Recount the wars for independence and the rise of Napoleon.

B. Explain the significance of the printing press to the history of fiction.

C. Recount the expansion of the British Empire into Africa and the Middle East.

D. Discuss the advances in science and the problem of alienation.

E. Discuss major literary works from the Romantic era, including the writing of Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge.

F. Discuss a major work by Jane Austen.

G. Speculate about the influence of the poets’ lives on their writing.

H. Define the idea of “Romanticism” and locate various literary devices and styles that give it expression.

II. The Romantic Era (Later Romantic poets)

A. Discuss the connection of the literary lives of these poets to Europe.

B. Recount the reign of Napoleon and his defeat.

C. Define the “sublime” and the “gothic” as aspects of literature.

D. Identify the major political ideals of Byron and Shelley.

E. Speculate about the influence of Keats’ life on his poetry.

F. Discuss the major literary works of the later Romantic era, such as poetry by Byron, Shelley and Keats.

III. The Victorian Novel and Essays

A. Discuss the rise of industrialism and the growth of cities.

B. Describe Queen Victoria and recount major events in her life.

C. List the important aspects of the Victorian novel.

D. Discuss a Victorian novel, by a writer such as Dickens, Emily Bronte, Elliot, Stevenson, Kipling and Carroll.

E. Describe the expansion of the British Empire in the Victorian era.

F. Discuss Victorian essays, such as those by Macaulay, Arnold, Darwin and Mill.

IV. Victorian Poetry

A. List some of the social and scientific advances in England with which Victorian poets struggled.

B. Identify and describe specific poetic techniques used by Victorian poets.

C. Discuss the poetry of the major poets of the Victorian era, such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Tennyson and Hopkins.

V. The Late 19th and Early 20th Century Drama and Fiction

A. Describe Wilde’s social milieu and major biographical events.

B. Discuss late Victorian plays, such as those by Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw.

C. Recount events leading up to England’s entry into World War I.

D. Identify and discuss the poetry of the Great War, such as works by Brooke and Owen.

E. List experimental techniques in fiction employed by such writers as Lawrence, Woolf, Joyce and Mansfield.

F. Discuss works of early 20th century fiction by such writers as Lawrence, Woolf, Joyce and Mansfield.

G. Discuss the poetic techniques and poetry of T.S. Eliot.

VI. Voices from the Empire

A. Recount the shrinking of the British Empire over the course of the 20th Century.

B. Research the contemporary literary milieu of one of the cultures once ruled by the British, such as Australia, India, various regions of Africa or the Middle East, paying particular attention to “marginalized” literary voices and languages.

C. Identify and discuss several literary works from this other culture.

D. Compare the British literary culture to another literary culture in the former British Empire.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Definitions and Concepts

A. Explain the controversy of defining the science fiction genre.

1. Trace the evolution of the science fiction genre.

2. Identify the sub-genres of science fiction.

B. Formulate and defend a definition of science fiction by analyzing and synthesizing elements of the controversy.

C. Explain the relationship between science fiction and science and technology.

II. Plot, Character and Setting

A. Analyze plot structures in science fiction.

B. Identify and discriminate among archetypes common to science fiction.

C. Analyze recurring settings in science fiction.

III. Themes, Literary Devices and Symbols

A. Analyze and discuss common themes in science fiction.

B. Identify and analyze literary devices common in science fiction, including allusion, analogy, allegory, metaphor and personification.

C. Identify and analyze the use of symbols in science fiction.

D. Discriminate between symbols and icons in science fiction.

IV. Icons and Metatexts

A. Identify common icons in science fiction.

B. Explain the significance and employment of iconography in science fiction.

C. Identify metatexts in science fiction.

D. Explain the relationship between metatexts and icons in science fiction.

E. Analyze the metatexts common to science fiction.

V. Authors, Films and Awards

A. Identify and read influential science fiction authors.

B. View and analyze influential science fiction films.

C. Compare written and film presentations.

D. Discuss and analyze the influence of literary awards on the genre, including the Nebula and Hugo awards.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. The Roots of Jazz in Story and Song

A. Identify and analyze the impact of the blues, work songs, minstrelsy, vaudeville and medicine shows on the literature of its day.

B. Read, compare and analyze literature by great American authors such as Whitman, Twain, DuBois and Ellison which contemplates the significance of these origins.

II. The Jazz Age

A. Identify, describe and differentiate the cultural contexts for the rise of Ragtime, Hot Jazz, Early Tin Pan Alley, the Broadway Musical, Big Band and Western Swing.

B. Read, compare and analyze writers such as Fitzgerald, Agee, Hughes, Giddens and Baillett, who analyze and probe the significance of the beginnings of an American mass musical culture.

III. The Origins of Rock and Roll

A. Identify, describe and differentiate the cultural contexts for the rise of Race and Hillbilly records as well as the advent of BeBop, Jump Blues, Boogie Woogie and Bel Canto.

B. Read, compare and analyze the literature of writers such as Gleason, Baraka, Murray, Hentoff, Kerouac, Mailer, Baldwin and Malone.

IV. The Rock and Roll Era

A. Identify, describe and differentiate the cultural contexts for rockability, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, doo wop, Motown, Brill Building, Nashville Sound, the girl group era, the folk revival and the British Invasion.

B. Read and analyze the dialogue between the music and the literature of writers such as Gillette, Marcus, Werner, Mason, Ehrenreich, Escott and Bond.

V. The Rise of Rock and Rockism

A. Identify, describe and differentiate the cultural contexts for the rise of Blues Rock, Album Rock, Art Rock, Arena Rock, Countrypolitan and Outlaw Country, as well as the parallel development of soul.

B. Read and analyze the dialogue between the music and the criticism of critics such as Flippo, Marsh, Landau, Christgau, Willis, George and Nelson.

VI. The Punk and Hip-Hop Era

A. Identify, describe and differentiate between the cultural contexts for the evolution away from the rock hegemony, including the development of Philly Soul, funk, hip-hop and punk rock.

B. Read and analyze the dialogue between the music and the works of writers such as McNeil, Rockwell, Tosches, Toops, Tate, Eric-Dyson, Hornsby, Foster-Wallace, Lethem and Chang.

VII. Present

A. Discover, identify, and appraise the cultural contexts for the students' own aesthetics.

B. Explain, analyze and evaluate individual works of music based upon the students' aesthetics, informed by the cultural contexts provided by the course.

C. Compare/contrast, describe and evaluate how contemporary artists synthesize the cultural contexts of the literature of American popular music.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. General Competencies

A. Identify and give examples of the genres used in American literature.

B. Employ different literary approaches in the analysis of assigned course readings.

C. Demonstrate the ability to write knowledgeably about assigned literature, employing the most significant standards of literary scholarship.

II. Foundational Era: Smith, Bradford and Other Writers

A. Contrast the views of exploration and the New World demonstrated by John Smith, William Bradford and other early settlers.

B. Identify the attitudes toward Native American people expressed in these writings.

III. Colonial Era: Bradstreet, Wheatley, Edwards and Other Writers

A. Discuss Bradstreet's notions of America.

B. List major influences on the literary development of Bradstreet, Wheatley, Edwards and other writers of this period.

C. Explain the influence of or resistance to New England Puritanism in Colonial-era writers.

IV. Revolutionary Era: Franklin, Jefferson and Other Writers

A. Identify several literary devices used by Franklin, Jefferson and perhaps other writers as well.

B. Describe the cultural and historical contexts that fostered these writers and formed their points of view.

C. List the qualities that Franklin (and perhaps other relevant writers of this period) identified as leading to personal success in America.

D. List the contributions that Franklin and Jefferson, among others, made to American democracy.

V. Early Republic: Cooper, Irving, Longfellow and Other Writers

A. Explain the impact of Native American subject matter and the American landscape on these writers.

B. Discuss the dependence of these writers on the traditions and forms of Europe as well as the ways these writers deviated from those traditions and forms.

VI. Transcendentalism: Emerson, Thoreau and Other Writers

A. Identify formative life influences on the literary work of Emerson and Thoreau and perhaps other writers as well.

B. Critique the significance and the relevance of Emerson's message (and perhaps other relevant writers' messages) regarding individual autonomy, personal responsibility and self-trust.

C. Define the influences of leading Transcendentalists on such later movements as abolition, environmentalism and civil disobedience.

VII. American Renaissance: Hawthorne, Melville, Poe and Other Writers

A. Identify formative life influences on the literary works of Hawthorne, Melville and Poe, and perhaps other writers as well.

B. Explain the ways Hawthorne and perhaps other writers adapted the history of a specific place as the focus of his novels and short stories.

C. Discuss the complexity of Melville's (and perhaps other writers') perception(s) of racial, national and/or legal matters in his novels.

D. List Poe's (and perhaps other writers') contributions to various genres such as the mystery, the detective story and science fiction, as well as incorporation of gothic elements in his literary work.

VIII. Civil War (1850-1870): Whitman, Dickinson, Lincoln, F. Douglas, and Other Writers

A. Identify poetic and rhetorical devices in these authors' works.

B. Define common forms in their work.

C. Describe the relationship between the personal lives of Whitman and Dickinson and perhaps other writers and their literary development.

D. Discuss Whitman's and perhaps other writers' notions of patriotism and America's greatest achievements.

E. Explain the mutual influences of the Civil War and the question of slavery in the literary works of Lincoln, Douglas and perhaps other writers as well.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. General Competencies

A. Identify and give examples of the genres used in American literature.

B. Employ different literary approaches in the analysis of assigned course writings.

C. Demonstrate an ability to write knowledgeably about literature, employing the most significant standards of literary scholarship.

II. Emergence of Realism: Twain, L.M. Alcott, James and Other Writers

A. Identify ways in which Alcott's and perhaps other writers' novels and short stories serve as transition between the literature of the Post-Civil War Period and the nineteenth century.

B. Explain Alcott's and Twain’s and perhaps other writers’ contributions to both the literary market place and the introduction of the theme of interracial relationships.

C. Describe the developing expansion of the view of writers from this period both in its reappraisal of the American-European relationship and the Western expansion.

D. Depict the relationship between formative life experiences and the works of Twain and other writers.

III. Realism to Naturalism: James, Crane, and Other Writers

A. Differentiate the perceptions of family life, especially parent-child relationships, as depicted in the literary works by these authors.

B. Explain the importance of regionalism as a governing idea.

C. Identify the use of autobiographical elements by these authors in each work.

D. Exemplify the increasing use of psychology to delineate character and explain motivation.

E. Identify the use of literary devices and learn the ways each author used other literary works as models or prototypes for these authors' literary works.

F. Explain the use of cultural and economic diversity by each author as a means of making a statement about American society.

IV. World War I and Modernism: Frost, Moore, Chopin, Gilman, Fitzgerald, Hemingway and other writers such as Jewett, Wharton and Cather

A. Differentiate the perceptions of family life, especially parent-child relationships, as depicted in the literary works by these authors.

B. Identify the distinctly American aspects of Modernism in these authors' works as well as those aspects held in common with the larger movement.

C. Explain the use of cultural and economic diversity by each author as a means of making a statement about and impacting American society.

D. List the forces that precipitated Modernism in addition to explaining the impact of World War I on that movement and the broader culture.

V. Harlem Renaissance: Dunbar, Cullen, Hurston and Hughes

A. Discuss adaption of minority points of view and communities.

B. Define each writer's social message.

C. Describe the social implications of these writers' literary works.

D. Identify these writers' use of dialect and comment on its effectiveness.

VI. World War II and Mid-Century Perspectives: Wright, T. Williams, Miller, O'Neill, Brooks, Baldwin, Kerouac, Ginsburg and Other Writers

A. Provide examples of innovative use of literary forms.

B. Identify experimental use of language.

C. Discuss the origin and nature of the Beat Movement and other literary schools of this period.

D. Extrapolate from literary images significant life experiences.

VII.Post-Modernism and Ethnic Literatures: Cisneros, Silko, Erdrich, Morrison, Alexie and Other Writers

A. Describe key characteristics of the confessional style.

B. Identify striking/shocking images.

C. Determine effectiveness of message.

D. Discuss willingness of these writers to be candid.

E. Provide specific examples of unique mixtures of cultures and their expression in various ethnic literatures.

VIII. Post-Post-Modernism and Contemporary Perspectives: Wallace, Oates, Kushner and Other Writers

A. Identify significant writers working today and in recent years.

B. Explain the ways in which these writers participate in earlier American literary traditions as well as the ways they innovate.

C. Describe the changing economic situation for literary writers and discuss how that shapes their output and their career choices.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Creation Myths

A. Examine creation myths of various world cultures from a literary perspective.

B. Compare major themes and divergences found in creation literature.

C. Explain the literary importance of creation myths to the respective cultures.

II. Ancient Mesopotamia/Egypt

A. Outline the development of early literature in the ancient Middle East, particularly the Nile River Valley and the Mesopotamia.

B. Read and critique major literary works from early civilization, such as The Epic of Gilgamesh.

C. Identify important characteristics of early literature and glean cultural values from said literature.

III. Ancient Greece

A. Outline the rise of the Greek city-states and describe their effects on later Western literature.

B. Summarize the development of Athenian drama and its effects on subsequent Western theatre.

C. Critique major literary work(s) from ancient Greece such as Sophocles’ Oedipus the King.

IV. Ancient India

A. Examine Vedic civilization with particular focus on:

1. Agrarian village society

2. Sanskrit

3. The Vedas and Upanishads

4. The caste system

5. Hinduism

B. Analyze a major literary work such as The Rāmāyaṇa or The Bhagavad-Gītā.

V. Age of Sages

A. Characterize Iron Age/ancient civilizations in terms of literary development.  

B. Compare and contrast the teachings of Confucius and Lao-Tzu in China.

C. Compare and contrast the teachings of Jesus and Mohammed in the Near East.

VI. Medieval Europe

A. Identify the literary negotiations between the warrior ethos of secular society and the religious demands of Christianity.

B. Interpret the use of the Other in medieval literature such as Beowulf or Song of Roland.

VII. Japan’s Classical Age

A. Examine aspects of Heian court culture from a literary perspective.

B. Describe the place of women in Heian literary culture.

C. Critique Heian literary works such as Murasaki’s Tale of Genji.

VIII. Story Collections

A. Discriminate between various genres of medieval narrative such as:

1. Folk tales

2. Supernatural tales

3. Fabliaux

4. Romance

B. Analyze the use of frame stories as a way of deepening but also distancing narratives.

C. Examine the concept of the narrator, especially in how the narrator is presented to the reader.

D. Critique story collections such as:

1. The lais of Marie de France

2. 1001 Nights

3. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales

IX. Renaissance Europe

A. Identify how the cultural and economic changes during the Renaissance impacted not only European societies but Europe’s relationship to the rest of the world.

            1. Age of Discovery

            2. Protestant Reformation

            3. Humanism

B. Read and critique a major Renaissance literary work, such as Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Sonnets

A. Explain the introduction and growth of the sonnet during the English Renaissance.

B. Differentiate between contemporary sonnet styles, including:

1. The English (Elizabethan/Shakespearean) sonnet.

2. The Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet.

C. Break down the divisions of Shakespeare’s sonnet cycle.

D. Recognize and analyze significant instances of figurative language.

II. History Plays

A. Distinguish and interpret the conventions particular to the history plays such as Henry IV, part I.

B. Explain and appraise the social, historical, political, and cultural contexts with regard to the history plays.

C. Identify and evaluate figurative and rhetorical strategies and devices used by Shakespeare inhis history plays.

III. Comedies

A. Distinguish and interpret the conventions particular to the comedies such as Twelfth Night.

B. Explain and appraise the social, historical, political, and cultural contexts with regards to the comedies.

C. Identify and evaluate figurative and rhetorical strategies and devices used by Shakespeare in comedies.

IV. Tragedies

A. Distinguish and interpret the conventions particular to the tragedies such as Hamlet.

B. Explain and appraise the social, historical, political, and cultural contexts with regards to the Tragedies.

C. Identify and evaluate figurative and rhetorical strategies and devices used by Shakespeare in his tragedies.

V. Romance Plays

A. Distinguish and interpret the conventions particular to the romance plays such as The Tempest.

B. Explain and appraise the social, historical, political, and cultural contexts with regard to the romance plays.

C. Identify and evaluate figurative and rhetorical strategies and devices used by Shakespeare in his romance plays.

VI. Production

A. Examine and interpret the theatrical conventions of the English Renaissance.

B. Compare and contrast the Globe Theater and the Blackfriars Theater.

C. Examine the Puritan interlude and Restoration response.

D. Analyze contemporary productions and adaptations of Shakespeare’s work.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Film as a Major Literary Genre

A. Describe similarities and differences between film and other literary genres such as fiction, poetry and drama.

      B. Discuss specific film adaptations of novels, short stories, plays or nonfiction texts.

C. Explain the importance of technique as it relates to the film’s message and effect on viewers.

D. Analyze the implicit meaning of specific films by applying appropriate interpretive theories and terminology related to relevant film techniques.

II. Film Form

A. Distinguish between form and content.

B. Recognize film patterns.

C. Identify and describe three necessary principles of film:

1. Films need light.

2. Films provide the illusion of movement.

3. Films manipulate space and time.

III. Narrative Elements of Film

A. Discuss the function of the screenplay and the role of the screenwriter.

B. Define, describe and apply key elements related to narration in film:

1. Camera as narrator

2. First-person voice-over narration

3. Third-person voice-over narration

4. Restricted narrative point of view

5. Omniscient narrative point of view

C. Define, describe, and apply key elements related to character:

1. Flat and round characters

2. Static and dynamic characters

3. Antagonist and protagonist

4. Major and minor

5. Stereotypes

D. Define, describe and apply key elements of narrative structure to film:

1. Three-act structure

2. Setup

3. Inciting incident or catalyst

4. Conflict

5. Rising action and stakes

6. Crisis

7. Climax

8. Resolution

E. Define, describe, and apply other major literary elements related to narrative film:

1. Story and plot

2. Dialogue

3. Flashback

4. Foreshadowing

5. Diegetic element and non-diegetic elements

6. Suspense and surprise

7. Familiar image

8. Motif

9. Setting

10. Tone

11. Theme

12. Metaphor

13. Symbolism

14. Allegory

15. Irony

IV. Major Film Genres

A. Define genre and discuss its importance to film.

B. Identify characteristics of major film genres:

1. Film Noir

2. The War Film

3. The Western

4. The Musical

5. Gangster

6. Thriller

7. Horror

8. Science Fiction

9. Comedy

C. Apply examples of the above genres to specific films.

V. Film Analysis and Film Critique

A. Interpret films using one or more of the following theoretical approaches: cultural, ideological, historical, formalist, genre, narrative, auteur, feminist, psychological and economic.

B. Critique films on the basis of how well they employ various techniques related to story, cinematography, editing, sound, mise-en-scene and acting.

VI. Major Moments in Film History

A. Describe the following developments in the history of film:

1. Pre-cinema and early silent short films

2. The development of feature length narrative films during the silent era

3. Censorship and the Production Code

4. Emergence of sound and color in the American studio system

5. Post-WWII Hollywood and the widescreen epic

6. The rise of computer-generated imagery

B. Explain the importance of historical developments on narrative film.

VII. Major Film Movements

A. Describe characteristics the following major film movements:

1. German Expressionism

2. Soviet Montage

3. Hollywood Golden Age

4. Italian Neorealism

5. Japan’s Golden Age

6. French New Wave

7. British New Wave

8. New American Cinema

9. Denmark Dogme 95

B. Identify directors and films associated with those movements.

VII. International Cinema

A. Explain the relevance of the country’s history, culture, and politics on specific films and directors.

B. Assess the importance of specific films and directors upon the specific country.

C. Discuss the influence of foreign films upon Hollywood films.

D. Discuss the influence of Hollywood genres and films upon foreign films.

IX. Cinematic Language of Narrative Film

A. Define terms associated with the following components of film:

1. Mise-en-scene

2. Cinematography

3. Editing

4. Sound

5. Acting

B. Apply terms appropriately in papers and discussions when describing and analyzing films or scenes from films.

Content Outline and Competencies:

Because of the nature of a Special Topics course, the course Content Outline and Competencies will vary, depending on the Special Topic being offered. The Special Topics course outlines must be designed in the standard format for all JCCC-approved courses and must include the standard course objectives for a Special Topics class. The course Content Outline and Competencies must be written in outcome-based language. In order to maintain course consistency, rigor and uniqueness, each section of this course first must be reviewed and approved by the English faculty prior to its being offered. The English Department Curriculum Committee, the English Department Chair, and the English & Journalism Division Curriculum Committee will review each Special Topics course to be offered and approve the course content. The E & J Division Dean will determine when and if the course may be taught based on the instructional needs of the department and the division. Individual faculty members are responsible for the creation of Special Topics courses and for seeking approval to teach them. Any specific Special Topics topic may not be repeated within a four-semester sequence.