SPRING 2022

ENGL384: early american bodies, or disease & disability in early american literature — DR. Stacey dearing

In this course we will explore the meaning of disease and disability writ large in the early Atlantic world. In particular, we will focus on American, British, and Caribbean literature from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. While our texts are primarily written from inside the British colonial sphere, we will consider Native American, African, and Creole medical epistemologies and practices and their influence on early American medical discourse. Through our discussions and writing we will consider five broad questions: How do disability and disease shape social and communal structures? How have the meanings of disease, health, medicine, and disability changed over time? How does disease mediate the relationship between society, the individual, and the family? How does literature (particularly narrative nonfiction and poetry) enable patients to exert agency in the face of disability, illness, and injuries? How have non-European medical epistemologies influenced narratives about early American bodies? 

fall 2021

ENGL235: science fiction — DR. james belflower

This course will revolve around two main questions: (1) what kinds of commentary about contemporary culture can Cyberpunk and postmodern SF make possible? (2) What kinds of theoretical and practical possibilities can be created through imaginative integration with worlds, organisms, and technology radically different from, yet reflective of, our own? Since we are focusing on Cyberpunk, a genre that encourages us to pragmatically speculate, we will be examining a variety of classic and current themes such as dystopian futures, cyberspace, intersections of the body and technology, bio-modification/warfare and alternate realities, among others. A special emphasis will be given to current intersections of postmodern fiction and cyberpunk, including bio-politics, identity studies, gender studies, information theory and ethics.

Spring 2021

ENGL490 (HNRS): Pandemic literature — DR. SHANNON DRAUCKER

From the Black Death to the “Spanish Flu,” AIDS, and COVID-19, pandemics have captivated writers for centuries.  This class explores how novelists, poets, playwrights, journalists, and scholars have grappled with the traumas of mass catastrophe, illness, death, and social upheaval.  How do global health crises shape literary production?  How do writers use language to respond to such large-scale tragedies?  What is the “point” of literature in a time of pandemic?  Texts include Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year; Katherine Anne Porter’s “Pale Horse, Pale Rider;” Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart; Ling Ma’s Severance; Danez Smith’s Don’t Call Us Dead; and Claudia Rankine’s “Weather.” 

fall 2020

ENGL384: narratives of sexual violence — DR. SHANNON DRAUCKER

In this class, we study how writers and artists represent the trauma of sexual assault.  From Harriet Jacobs’s 1861 Incidents of the Life in a Slave Girl, to Thomas Hardy’s 1891 novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles, to Chanel Miller’s 2019 memoir Know My Name, to new collections of #MeToo-era poetry, literary texts have long been sites for explorations of the horrors of sexual violence.  Informed by intersectional feminist and antiracist theoretical frameworks, we consider a range of sensitive, troubling, and complex—but nonetheless crucial—questions, such as: how do writers represent rape?  How do writers put into words experiences so deeply rooted in the body?  What literary techniques do authors draw on to represent sexual violence?  How do we read such narratives—and what are our duties and obligations in doing so?  How do survivors tell their stories?  

Spring 2020

ENGL384: Representing HIV/AIDS in literature and pop culture — DR. Shannon Draucker

On June 5, 1981, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which detailed the rare occurrence of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in otherwise healthy, young, “homosexual” men in Los Angeles. On July 3, 1981, The New York Times declared a “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals.” However, infections caused by HIV and AIDS had been steadily increasing in the states as well as in Central Africa, Haiti, Canada, and Europe for almost a decade before these reports. AIDS activists sharply criticized the mainstream media, the federal government, and the medical community for their belated acknowledgment of and slow response to the disease.  While the lack of engagement with HIV/AIDS by the media, government, and medical world would long be (and still is) a common theme in discourses about the pandemic, HIV/AIDS immediately captured the passions of artists, poet, playwrights, novelists, filmmakers, and musicians. In this class, we explore representations of HIV/AIDS in literature and pop culture from the last 40 years. From Larry Kramer’s 1985 play The Normal Heart, which related some of the earliest activist efforts by the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York, to Danez Smith’s 2017 poetry collection Don’t Call Us Dead, which explores what it means to be black, queer, and HIV-positive in America today, the works we read allow us to consider HIV/AIDS from a variety of intersectional perspectives. We explore the linguistic, visual, and sonic tools that artists use to portray an illness that few understand and many stigmatize, consider how creators respond to threats from outside of—and fissures within—activist movements, and discuss the difficulties—and perhaps impossibilities—of fully “representing” an enduring global pandemic.  While we read some “canonical” works of AIDS literature (The Normal Heart, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Susan Sontag’s AIDS and Its Metaphors), we also use an intersectional lens to discuss representations of HIV/AIDS outside the spheres of white, middle- or upper-class gay men in U.S. contexts. We read works by female, trans, and non-binary writers of color from across the globe, including Sapphire’s Push, Jamaica Kincaid’s My Brother, Yan Lianke’s Dreams of Ding Village, and Masande Ntshanga’s The Reactive. We also consider the “here and now” of HIV/AIDS as they affect people in our own community; a major component of this course includes work with Albany’s Damien Center, supported by Siena’s Center for Academic and Community Engagement (ACE).

Fall 2019

ENGL384: performing race in Renaissance Literature — DR. Christi Spain-Savage

Performing Race in Renaissance Literature, an Advanced Topics in English course (ENGL 384) offered in the fall of 2019, explores race and ethnicity in sixteenth and seventeenth-century plays, poems, masques, historical documents, and travel narratives. Through close reading and thoughtful analysis, students examined depictions of stigmatized groups, Moors, Turks, and Jews, in Renaissance literature. Specific literary texts included William Shakespeare’s Othello, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, and “dark lady” sonnets, Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta, Ben Jonson’s The Masque of Blackness, Robert Daborne’s A Christian Turned Turk, and Philip Massinger’s The Renegado, as well as excerpts of historical documents such as Pierre Boaistuau’s Certain secrete wonders of nature (1569), Nicolas de Nicolay’s The navigations, peregrinations and voyages, made into Turkie, and Joannes Leo Africanus’ A geographical historie of Africa.

SPRING 2019

ENGL384/WRIT390: Rhetoric and Social media — DR. Stacey Dearing

Social Media: A tool for staying in touch with friends and family; a method for sharing our every thought in 280 characters; a vital component of successful business and marketing strategies. Regardless of your level of engagement on or with social media, virtually all college students have some sort of digital presence. According to the database statista, both Facebook and Instagram currently have more than 1 billion users—in other words, 13% of the world’s total population has a Facebook page and/or Instagram account.1 In America alone, 68% of the population, more than 220 million people, used Facebook in 2016.Twitter (67 million American and 336 million international users) and Snapchat (181 million daily users) are similarly dominant.

In this course, students will: learn about the history of social media; engage in primary and secondary re- search, including fact checking; learn about visual rhetoric, including typography, color theory, and effective design; develop critical thinking, reading, and writing skills; and create social media content for community partners. There will be three major units: Fact Checking, Medium/Genre Analysis, and Design/Content Creation as part of a social media strategy. Each of these units will allow us to learn about how social media works and why it is important, as well as to engage deeply with the missions of our community partners. This course was also offered in Spring 2020.

Spring 2018

ENGL285 / WGSS400: Women, Gender, and Trauma in Literature — Dr. Michelle Liptak

The purpose of this seminar is to introduce students to trauma theory as a lens through which to critically analyze literature. We will take a cross-cultural look at people in literature (both real and imagined) who have experienced, have witnessed, and/or have been impacted by violent and traumatic events and their often indelible effects. By the end of the course, students will recognize trauma as a mark of oppression and social injustice; identify thematic patterns, symptoms, and effects related to trauma; and recognize literary and rhetorical strategies employed in trauma and recovery narratives. We will examine issues related to identity (including gender, class, sexuality, race, ability, and age); individual, collective, and cultural memory; violence; loss; and survivorship. In addition to reading and discussing a plethora of texts, assignments will include leading a class discussion, writing short response essays, and an individually-designed final project.  

WRIT 390: Advanced Fiction Workshop — Prof. Karin Lin-Greenberg

Advanced Fiction Workshop is intended for students who have successfully completed Writing Short Fiction and want to continue to study and write short stories. This course will focus on the production of new work and the process of effective revision. Students will build upon the strategies they learned in Writing Short Fiction for being thoughtful readers and editors for their own work and the work of their peers. There will be a workshop component to this course, and students will provide their classmates with written feedback on their work. Students are also responsible for writing short analyses of the published work they will read for class. We will spend time researching and reading online literary journals—especially journals that seek submissions from undergraduate students—and learn about the process of submitting thoroughly revised and carefully proofread work to journals. The final project for this class will involve submitting work to a journal. Prerequisite: WRIT 260: Writing Short Fiction

Fall 2017

WRIT 390: Writing the Long Short Story — Prof. Karin Lin-Greenberg

In Writing the Long Story we will discuss the work that can be accomplished in long stories (between ten and twenty-five pages) in terms of plot, scenes, movement in time, depth of characterization, and world building. For the first third of the semester we will closely examine published long stories and discuss the techniques the authors have used to create their stories. We will also spend class time at the beginning of the semester responding to writing prompts that should lead to long stories. The remainder of the semester will be devoted to workshopping student work and to revisions of workshopped stories. Both literary and genre fiction are welcome in this course. Although students will be writing longer fiction, they still will be required to write short stories that are self-contained; novel excerpts will not be permitted in this course. Writing Short Fiction is the prerequisite for Writing the Long Story; students will be expected to enter the class with a firm grasp on the craft of writing short stories and with an understanding of the workshopping process. 

Spring 2017

WRIT 390: Flash Fiction — Prof. Karin Lin-Greenberg

In this class you’ll have the opportunity to read and write a wide range of very short stories. We’ll begin the semester with an exploration of microfiction (stories of up to 250 words), then continue to explore stories of up to 1,000 words. You’ll read stories that have been published in print publications and examine the many online venues that are currently publishing flash fiction.  

The following are questions we’ll work to answer this semester: Are there certain types of stories that are more conducive to flash fiction (in terms of point of view, tone, genre, number of scenes, amount of action, etc.)? Can a short piece of fiction do as much work—in terms of plot and characterization—as a longer piece of fiction? What can be condensed, summarized, or implied in a short piece without losing the meaning and shape of the story? What are the limitations of flash fiction? What can be accomplished in flash fiction that can’t be done in longer fiction? 

Fall 2016

ENGL 285: The Horror Novel – Dr. Lisa Nevárez

What makes someone afraid, very afraid? Why do we read horror novels? What does our culture’s preoccupation, in the past and now, with all things frightening say about us? How is a horror novel crafted? What is the difference between “terror” and “horror”? We’ll address these and other questions in this course. Our readings will take us from 1796 to the present day and along the way we will encounter demons, ghosts, vampires, zombies, serial killers, and other scary assorted “monsters.” We will analyze the spine-tingling sensations these books produce and explore our own thresholds of fear. Furthermore, we will question what constitutes a “monster” and study its importance to our cultural perceptions of the Other. The goals of this course include: building on skills learned in previous writing and literature classes and further developing abilities to think, read, write, and argue critically. Ultimately, students will gain confidence and sophistication in their abilities to read, discuss, and write about literature and will learn how best to incorporate critical thinking. And, of course, we will totally scare ourselves silly as we read these page turners! 

Spring 2016

ENGL 285: Crime in Literature – Dr. Mary Fitzgerald-Hoyt

How a society or an individual within it defines crime and responds to its commission reveals much about values, ethics, and identity. Crime may lay bare the anxieties and prejudices or a community; it may unearth submerged history; its effects are often far-reaching and indelible. In this course we shall read a variety of works about crime and its consequences—detective stories, real-life occurrences, fiction inspired by historical events, experimental works that stretch and redefine traditional genres. Drawn from diverse cultures and time periods, the texts provoke the reader to examine the concept of justice, the relationship between criminal and victim, and the elusiveness of truth.

WRIT 390: Advanced Fiction Workshop — Prof. Karin Lin-Greenberg

Advanced Fiction Workshop is intended for students who have successfully completed Writing Short Fiction and want to continue to study and write fiction. This course will focus on the production of a significant amount of new work and the process of thoughtful, effective revision. The writing students produce for this class may be either short stories or novel excerpts, and students may write literary or genre fiction. Students will build upon the strategies they learned in Writing Short Fiction for being helpful readers and editors for their own work and the work of their peers. We will spend time researching and reading online literary journals—especially journals that accept work from undergraduate students—and learn about the process of submitting thoroughly revised and carefully proofread work to journals. The final project for this class will involve submitting work to a journal.

WRIT 390: Rhetoric(s) of Hip-Hop Culture — Dr. Todd Snyder

The study of rhetoric is about more than learning how to become a persuasive speaker. Arguments can be constructed via written text, spoken orations, and through visual compositions. Thus, rhetoric is all around us. This semester, ours will be a composition course designed to both examine and interrogate rhetorical frameworks found within hip-hop culture. We will apply what we learn about rhetoric to discussions of hip-hop by focusing our attention on locating and critiquing rhetorical trends found within hip-hop music, movies, fashion, and other observable aspects of hip-hop identity.  In an attempt to answer some of these questions, we will read various scholarly insights concerning hip-hop culture. We will, of course, be listening to groundbreaking works within the musical genre that made hip-hop culture famous. The goal of this course is not to justify or defend these lyrics but rather to present hip-hop, in its true and uncensored form, to a classroom of students who are willing to think rhetorically about its influence on American culture.

Spring 2015

ENGL 285 / CLSS 330: Ancient Epic — Dr. Kris Santilli     

A study of the epic narratives of Greece and Rome, including among others, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Apollonius’ Argonautica, Vergil’s Aeneid, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. A variety of interpretive approaches will be used in a close reading of the primary texts. The course will focus on the development and transformation of the epic tradition throughout the course of antiquity, its shifting focus, themes, values, methods, cultural assumptions, and its legacy to western civilization. (ATTR: ARTS, CAL, CFJ) (Cross listed with ENGL285)

WRIT 390: Introduction to Creative Writing — Prof. Karin Lin-Greenberg

Introduction to Creative Writing is the first course in the creative writing sequence at Siena and is intended for students with little to no experience with creative writing. This course will introduce students to the basics of writing poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction and will prepare students for further study in these three genres. This class will feature a great deal of in-class writing exercises, and students should be prepared to write in class and share what they’ve written out loud for critique. There is a workshop component to this class, and students should be prepared to share their creative work with their classmates throughout the semester. Students should also be prepared to study and analyze contemporary published poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction and to respond to these readings with short critical responses.

WRIT 390: Rhetoric(s) of Hip-Hop Culture — Dr. Todd Snyder

The study of rhetoric is about more than learning how to become a persuasive speaker. Arguments can be constructed via written text, spoken orations, and through visual compositions. Thus, rhetoric is all around us. This semester, ours will be a composition course designed to both examine and interrogate rhetorical frameworks found within hip-hop culture. We will apply what we learn about rhetoric to discussions of hip-hop by focusing our attention on locating and critiquing rhetorical trends found within hip-hop music, movies, fashion, and other observable aspects of hip-hop identity.  In an attempt to answer some of these questions, we will read various scholarly insights concerning hip-hop culture. We will, of course, be listening to groundbreaking works within the musical genre that made hip-hop culture famous. The goal of this course is not to justify or defend these lyrics but rather to present hip-hop, in its true and uncensored form, to a classroom of students who are willing to think rhetorically about its influence on American culture.