Spring and Summer 2023 Course Schedule Preview

The spring and summer 2023 schedules are coming into focus. Full descriptions for these will be provided here on the blog in good time, as will registration info (date, time). For spring we have these seven courses planned:

• ENGL 505 Transformations of the Epic (Dr. Sax)
• ENGL 515 Latino Literature (Dr. Reissig-Vasile)
• ENGL 521 Themes & Genres of Medieval Lit (Dr. Fritz)
• ENGL 525 Victorian Age in Literature (Dr. Dugan)
• ENGL 540 Philosophy of Literature (Dr. Fisher)
• ENGL 544 Cyberpunk & Technoculture (Dr. Loots)
• ENGL 560 Black Theatre, Art, and Power in the Digital Age (Dr. Morales)

We as well have two courses penciled in so far for summer 2023:

• ENGL 540 Fairy Tales (Dr. Sax)
• ENGL 560 Murder, Mystery, & Suspense (Dr. Dugan)

Typically we run four summer courses (that is the amount that student demand has warranted, in recent years). So a few more summer courses will be added to that list. Courses typically have 15 seats available and they’re available on a first-come first-serve basis; so if you see courses of particular interest then be sure to register promptly as soon as registration opens. As to how any of these course will work for your degree, refer to the outline below, which is copied from page 5 of the Graduate Student Handbook available here on the blog, link in the left-hand column.

Book Info For Fall 2022 (So Far)

Below are some details about book orders for fall 2022 courses. This will be updated as further details are provided by professors. For now consider these lists as in-progress.

ENGL 500 Theory

• Leitch, Vincent B., et al, eds.  The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism.  3rd ed. Norton, 2018. ISBN: 978-0393602951.

ENGL 508 History of Drama

• The Norton Anthology of Drama, Shorter Third Edition, ISBN: 9780393283501.

ENGL 514 Ulysses

• Joyce, James. Ulysses (The Gabler Edition). Penguin Random House, 1986. ISBN: 9780394743127.

There are different versions of Ulysses in print, and some you can find for free since the book is in the public domain in some countries (not all). The fact of multiple versions of the book existing in print is part of the strangeness of Ulysses and is something we’ll discuss in class. The version I’ll be referring to throughout the semester is what’s called the Gabler edition, and I’ll explain what that is, and why it’s called that, when the semester begins.

Recommended; might want to wait until the semester starts to decide on these:

• Gifford, Don. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses, 20^th Anniversary Edition. ISBN:  9780520253971.
• Hastings, Patrick. The Guide to James Joyce’s Ulysses. ISBN: 9781421443492.
• Homer, The Odyssey. Translated by Fagles. ISBN: 9780140268867.

ENGL 515 Magical Realism

TBD

ENGL 540 Shakespeare

No required book purchases. Public domain and open-education resources will used. Students will be able to use what versions of assigned works they might already possess. Details will be provided in the class.

ENGL 546 Working Women in the USA 1865 – Present

Many readings will be provided in the class. Students should secure a copy of:

• Oates, Joyce Carol. Marya: A Life. ISBN 9780062269218

ENGL 560 Literature of the Black Atlantic World

• Cole, Teju. Open City. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2012. ISBN: 978081298009.
• Danticat, Edwidge. The Dew Breaker.‎ Knopf, 2004. ISBN: 9781400041145.
• Marquez, Gabriel Garcia, Of Love and Other Demons.1994. Vintage, 2008. ISBN: 9781400034925.
• Walcott, Derek. Omeros. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1992. ISBN: 9780374523503.
• Williams, Roy. Sing Yer hearts Out for Lads. 2002.  Methuen Drama, 2008. ISBN: 9780413774262.

Attention students and alumni: please complete this program survey!

Every five years, as a part of Mercy College’s accreditation, the MA English Lit program is required to perform a “program self-study.” This involves the Program Director gathering together data and other info, including student & alumni feedback, and then reflecting with the MA faculty and college administrators on what these elements reveal. The goal is to identify where the program is succeeding, and where it needs improvement, based on what we learn from the “self study.”

Few things are as meaningful and as valuable for these purposes as student feedback, so please, if you’re an incoming student, active student, or alum, take some time and complete the survey linked here. Complete as much of it as makes sense (you don’t need to answer every question) and then click the submit button down at the bottom. Your voice is so important and so I hope that each of you will raise your voice and express yourself through the survey.

Survey responses are anonymous.

The direct link to the survey form, in case your browser is blocking the embedded link above is: https://forms.gle/poVC759f93VWpgef8

Any questions about the survey? Please write to cloots@mercy.edu.