printer friendly pageENGLISH 5JA: Women Without Men: Experiments in American Literature, 1890-1940
Spinsters, lesbians, workers, writers: women without men have been the object of sexual intrigue and social anxiety throughout the long history of American letters. In this course, we will think about women in American literature who are neither economically nor erotically dependent upon men, or else exhibit resistance to connections (sometimes economically or socially necessary) with men. Focusing on works from the 1890s to 1940s by authors such as Sarah Orne Jewett, Willa Cather, and Nella Larson, we will ask: how have women writers imagined a social and economic life without men? Where, why, and how do the women in these narratives fail to achieve such a life (many of our narratives will end, tragically, in death or suicide)? And what literary moves and experiments have such efforts to circumvent male-dominated worlds (including that of literature itself) engendered? As we explore structures of both platonic and lesbian relationships between women, our critical emphasis will be on f
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Spinsters, lesbians, workers, writers: women without men have been the object of sexual intrigue and social anxiety throughout the long history of American letters. In this course, we will think about women in American literature who are neither economically nor erotically dependent upon men, or else exhibit resistance to connections (sometimes economically or socially necessary) with men. Focusing on works from the 1890s to 1940s by authors such as Sarah Orne Jewett, Willa Cather, and Nella Larson, we will ask: how have women writers imagined a social and economic life without men? Where, why, and how do the women in these narratives fail to achieve such a life (many of our narratives will end, tragically, in death or suicide)? And what literary moves and experiments have such efforts to circumvent male-dominated worlds (including that of literature itself) engendered? As we explore structures of both platonic and lesbian relationships between women, our critical emphasis will be on feminist and queer theories, which students will further employ to analyze questions of class, economics, and narrative form. Students will come away with the ability to conduct independent literary research and produce scholarly writing. (Note: This Writing-Intensive Seminar in English (WISE) course fulfills WIM for English majors. Non-majors are welcome, space permitting. For enrollment permission contact farrahm@stanford.edu.)
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
Instructors:
Livingston, K. (PI)
ENGLISH 5PA: Resisting English: Multilingualism in American Literature
This course explores how 20th and 21st century Anglophone authors resist the rising dominance of English as the language of social, economic and cultural power by inserting multilingualism into English-dominant literature, either through direct translation, codeswitching, language creation, or other forms of linguistic interweaving. Course readings will include multilingual works by writers such as Juan Felipe Herrera, Xu Bing, Samuel Delany, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Ted Chiang, and will feature forms of linguistic expression ranging from indigenous pictographic writing to sci-fi alien languages. We will complement these readings with texts from the fields of translation theory and postcolonial studies, including selections from Gloria Anzaldúa, Walter Benjamin, Amitav Ghosh, and Jacques Derrida. Student will learn how to read and write about this kind of theory, while also developing their skills in archival research through visits to the Library Special Collections. This course will be
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This course explores how 20th and 21st century Anglophone authors resist the rising dominance of English as the language of social, economic and cultural power by inserting multilingualism into English-dominant literature, either through direct translation, codeswitching, language creation, or other forms of linguistic interweaving. Course readings will include multilingual works by writers such as Juan Felipe Herrera, Xu Bing, Samuel Delany, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Ted Chiang, and will feature forms of linguistic expression ranging from indigenous pictographic writing to sci-fi alien languages. We will complement these readings with texts from the fields of translation theory and postcolonial studies, including selections from Gloria Anzaldúa, Walter Benjamin, Amitav Ghosh, and Jacques Derrida. Student will learn how to read and write about this kind of theory, while also developing their skills in archival research through visits to the Library Special Collections. This course will be accessible to students regardless of linguistic background, and no additional foreign language skills are necessary. Instead, as we bring our speculative curiosity to texts containing languages we may not be able speak or read, we will confront - and upend - assumptions about the linguistic Other. We will also reflect on the different ways we use language in everyday life, and consider how we might translate that usage into our own writing. (Note: This Writing-Intensive Seminar in English (WISE) course fulfills WIM for English majors. Non-majors are welcome, space permitting. For enrollment permission contact farrahm@stanford.edu.)
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Bailey, C. (PI)
ENGLISH 5QA: "Dressing Up" in the Eighteenth Century
In this course, we will delve into the multifaceted role of clothing as both a mask and a mirror, exploring the art of dressing up not only as a form of self-expression but also as a tool for social maneuvering in fiction and non-fiction of the long eighteenth century. How do garments transcend mere fabric to become a language of their own that individuals employ to negotiate status, desire, and agency? What compels someone to use disguise to assume an identity far removed from their own? How do changes to outward appearance spur internal transformations? From wealthy women disguised as sex workers and vice versa, to English Christians using clothing to assimilate with Turkish Muslims, to female husbands pursing wives and masculine careers after donning breeches, to twenty-first century Black women embodying the eighteenth century through dress, we will see how dressing up is at the heart of eighteenth-century interpretations of self and Other. Gaining a grounding in eighteenth-century
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In this course, we will delve into the multifaceted role of clothing as both a mask and a mirror, exploring the art of dressing up not only as a form of self-expression but also as a tool for social maneuvering in fiction and non-fiction of the long eighteenth century. How do garments transcend mere fabric to become a language of their own that individuals employ to negotiate status, desire, and agency? What compels someone to use disguise to assume an identity far removed from their own? How do changes to outward appearance spur internal transformations? From wealthy women disguised as sex workers and vice versa, to English Christians using clothing to assimilate with Turkish Muslims, to female husbands pursing wives and masculine careers after donning breeches, to twenty-first century Black women embodying the eighteenth century through dress, we will see how dressing up is at the heart of eighteenth-century interpretations of self and Other. Gaining a grounding in eighteenth-century literature more broadly as we read a variety of genres (including plays, poems, letters, memoirs and periodicals), we will uncover the secrets hidden beneath the seams and discover how dressing up has shaped¿and continues to shape - our perceptions of self, relationships, and society. (Note: This Writing-Intensive Seminar in English (WISE) course fulfills WIM for English majors. Non-majors are welcome, space permitting. For enrollment permission contact farrahm@stanford.edu.)
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Yates, S. (PI)
ENGLISH 9CE: Creative Expression in Writing
Primary focus on giving students a skill set to tap into their own creativity. Opportunities for students to explore their creative strengths, develop a vocabulary with which to discuss their own creativity, and experiment with the craft and adventure of their own writing. Students will come out of the course strengthened in their ability to identify and pursue their own creative interests.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
ENGLISH 9CI: Inspired by Science "Oceans Edition": A Workshop
How can your interest in science and the environment be enriched by a regular creative practice? How do you begin to write a poem or story about the wonders of the natural world or articulate the human implications of climate change? The "oceans edition" of this course begins at Hopkins Marine Station, where Monterey Bay is both subject and muse. Through close observation of tidepools, seabirds, and shifting landscapes, students sharpen their powers of perception while developing their unique style through targeted exercises that encourage experimentation with details, form, metaphor, and process. Students analyze the craft of contemporary scientists who write and poets who integrate science, learning how to animate their own experiences and research on the page. In the second half of the quarter, back on main campus, the focus shifts to workshops, where you'll share and refine your writing with supportive peer feedback. Whether you choose to write about field discoveries, medicine, or
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How can your interest in science and the environment be enriched by a regular creative practice? How do you begin to write a poem or story about the wonders of the natural world or articulate the human implications of climate change? The "oceans edition" of this course begins at Hopkins Marine Station, where Monterey Bay is both subject and muse. Through close observation of tidepools, seabirds, and shifting landscapes, students sharpen their powers of perception while developing their unique style through targeted exercises that encourage experimentation with details, form, metaphor, and process. Students analyze the craft of contemporary scientists who write and poets who integrate science, learning how to animate their own experiences and research on the page. In the second half of the quarter, back on main campus, the focus shifts to workshops, where you'll share and refine your writing with supportive peer feedback. Whether you choose to write about field discoveries, medicine, or AI, this course empowers students to use the tools of creative expression to communicate science with personal voice and clarity. Open to undergraduates only. Depending on enrollment numbers, reimbursements for qualifying carpools to the Marine Station may be provided for the first 5 weeks of class.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
Instructors:
Michas-Martin, S. (PI)
ENGLISH 9CSN: Sustainable Narratives (EARTHSYS 109CSN, EARTHSYS 209CSN, ENGLISH 309CSN)
This course considers the role creativity plays in addressing ecological collapse. Through the primary lens of ecopoetry and climate fiction, students explore how cultural works document planetary change and reflect our evolving relationships with animals, natural resources, weather, and the concept of "nature." Can the practice of writing itself change the way we see the world and integrate ideas? Together, we'll survey how creative expression opens pathways and challenges conventional approaches to scientific knowledge and communication. To quote the visionary bell hooks, "The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is - it's to imagine what is possible." We will venture outdoors for inspiration, visit land-based sculptures on campus, and engage with Second Nature: Photography in the Age of the Anthropocene, a temporary exhibit at the Cantor Arts Center. Students will gain a foundation in essential writing techniques while exploring diverse aesthetics and experiential pers
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This course considers the role creativity plays in addressing ecological collapse. Through the primary lens of ecopoetry and climate fiction, students explore how cultural works document planetary change and reflect our evolving relationships with animals, natural resources, weather, and the concept of "nature." Can the practice of writing itself change the way we see the world and integrate ideas? Together, we'll survey how creative expression opens pathways and challenges conventional approaches to scientific knowledge and communication. To quote the visionary bell hooks, "The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is - it's to imagine what is possible." We will venture outdoors for inspiration, visit land-based sculptures on campus, and engage with Second Nature: Photography in the Age of the Anthropocene, a temporary exhibit at the Cantor Arts Center. Students will gain a foundation in essential writing techniques while exploring diverse aesthetics and experiential perspectives. They will consider not only the stories they choose to tell but also the significance of the forms and materials they use. Journal prompts - including imitations, guided free-writes, and critical responses- encourage students to experiment with new ways of seeing, imagining, and problem-solving. They will develop three pieces of writing over the course of the quarter, refined with the support of workshop feedback. Students, regardless of major, are encouraged to apply; no prior experience is required.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE, WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Michas-Martin, S. (PI)
ENGLISH 9R: Humanities Research Intensive
Everyone knows that scientists do research, but how do you do research in the humanities? This seven-day course, taught over spring break, will introduce you to the excitement of humanities research, while preparing you to develop an independent summer project or to work as a research assistant for a Stanford professor. Through hands-on experience with archival materials and museum collections, you will learn how to formulate a solid research question; how to gather the evidence that will help you to answer that question; how to write up research results; how to critique the research of your fellow students; how to deliver your results in a public setting; and how to write an effective grant proposal. Students who complete this course become Humanities Research Intensive Fellows and receive post-program mentorship during spring quarter, ongoing opportunities to engage with faculty and advanced undergraduates, and eligibility to apply for additional funding to support follow-up research. Freshmen, sophomores, and qualifying transfer students only. All majors and undeclared students welcome. No prior research experience necessary. Enrollment limited: apply in October at
https://humanexperience.stanford.edu/undergraduates/humanities-research-intensive.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
ENGLISH 11B: Introduction to English II: American Literature and Culture to 1855 (AMSTUD 150)
In this course we'll explore the uncanny world--at once strange and strangely familiar - of early American literature and culture, as we read diverse works - including poetry, captivity and slave narratives, seduction novels, Native American oratory, short stories, essays, autobiographies, and more - in relation to political, social, and artistic as well as literary contexts from the colonial period to the eve of Civil War. Note: students majoring (or planning to major) in English or American Studies should take the course for 5 units and for a letter grade.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, GER:EC-AmerCul
ENGLISH 12E: Introduction to English III: Introduction to Modern Literature: People, Politics, Place
What can eight great novels tell us about the people, politics, and places of the long twentieth century? How can we read historically, comparatively, contextually and contemporaneously all at once? One way of tackling the world building form of the novel is by pairing novels that rewrite, adapt, echo, speak with, talk back to or otherwise take flight from predecessor texts. The idea that a novel is not contained by its own papery walls compels us to think critically about cultural (dis)inheritances, discursive legacies, genre reinvention, and cultural mythmaking. This course will engage core literary historical questions of voice, style, form and content, description, character, point of view, and narrative context in four paired novels as they speak to one another (and much else) across time and place: Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre (1847) and Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea (1966); Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (1986) and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005); Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway (1925) and Michael Cunningham's The Hours (1999); EM Forster's Howards End (1910) and Zadie Smith's On Beauty (2005). You will learn to read closely and with precision, and to write with specificity, exactitude, imagination and rigor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 16Q: Family Stories
This creative writing workshop will explore the idea of family. We'll begin with our questions: How do we conceptualize the word family? How do family histories, stories, mythologies, and languages shape our narratives? What does family have to do with the construction of a self? How can we investigate the self and all of its many contexts in writing? We'll consider how we might work from our questions in order to craft work that is meaningful and revealing. Students will have the opportunity to write in both poetry and prose, as well as to develop their own creative cross-genre projects. Along the way, we'll discuss elements of craft essential to strong writing: how to turn the self into a speaker; how create the world of a piece through image, detail, and metaphor; how to craft beautiful sentences and lines; how to find a form; and many other topics.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
Instructors:
Perham, B. (PI)
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