English 2800/2820: 

Independent Study: “Comparative Studies in Avenger Heroes in Elizabethan Tragedies and American Private Eye Fiction”

Building on the hypothesis that Elizabethan revenge heroes and 20th-century American private eye heroes share many similarities, the course investigates their thematic, social, and moral significance.

This course was also taught as one of the Newberry Library Lyceum seminars.

English 2800/2820: 

 

"Utopia and American Women Writers” (offered)
The course intends to test the assumption that American women writers’ writings are informed by their desire to construct their versions of utopia in the philosophical, psychological, and social terms.

English 2800/2820: 

“Literature and Gender”

Through empathic and critical readings of less known American women writers, the course desires to examine the idea of literary canon as well as female experiences as an integral part of civilization.

This course is equivalent to English 1165 below as they share similar pedagogic thoughts. 

English 2800/2820: 

“The Salem Witchcraft Trials and American Imagination”

The thrust of the course resides in the examination of the Salem witch trials in light of literary, social, and moral implications.

American Literature from the Colonial Period Through the Civil War

This is a historic survey of American literature beginning with pre-Columbian legends and myths and concluding with Whitman’s double-edged views of the impact of the Civil War.

“Shakespeare’s Bloody Entertainment,”  “A Voluptuous Shakespeare,” and “Shakespeare Is Alive!: Making Sense of His Plays and Poetry”

With a different thematic focus, the course reads and examines the artistry, the universal appeal, and the timelessness of Shakespeare’s works

Twentieth-Century British Literature

This is a survey course to examine British literature from the late Victorian period to contemporary times from the perspectives of tradition, modernity, and postmodernity.

Poetry
The course examines poetry not only as a well-crafted art but also as an imaginative and intelligent medium of self-expression.

“Studies in American Novels” (offered)

This is a theme-driven novel-reading course that re-visions the idea and mysticism of America in cooperation with works by Cooper, Hawthorne, Melville, Dreiser, Steinbeck, and others. 

“American Dreams and American Short Stories”

This is a theme-driven course that examines artistic meanings and merits of American short story writers particularly interested in secular as well as sacred interpretations of the “American Dream” concept. 

Introduction to Literature

The course introduces students to various literary genres and vocabulary, as well as critical theories.

“Literature and Gender”

The course focuses on the women writers to examine if their works are qualitatively different from those of their male counterparts.  Though this is a literature course, it takes an interdisciplinary approach in order to embrace a wide spectrum of inclusive human interests and experiences.