UNO's Department of English Viewbook

THE UNIVERSITY of NEW ORLEANS D

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ENGLISH e d i Gu

VISIT OUR CAMPUS Meet an advisor or sit in on a class.

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THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE Learn about student activities and awards.

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CAREERS IN ENGLISH Majoring in English prepares you for a number of fields.

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INTERNSHIPS UNO students often earn college credit through internships.

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MEET OUR FACULTY Our faculty is dedicated to scholarship.

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Letter from the Chair We appreciate your interest in our program. The English major at the University of New Orleans offers a course of study that provides a solid foundation for rewarding careers and informed citizenship. Students who love to read, write, and explore new ideas are challenged to reach their full potential as culturally literate individuals. And today, there is no better way to prepare for the many careers requiring analytical and communication skills than to major in English. While many other majors offer an education that leads students down a single, pre-determined career path, an English major prepares you for a wide variety of careers in fields such as publishing, journalism, law, education, creative writing, marketing, communications, advertising, and public relations.

The skills that employers in these fields most prize—research, communication, critical thinking, analysis, and writing—are the skills that we focus on in the English Department. !

Why study English at UNO? Because we offer small class sizes (from 15 to 35 students), diverse courses, hands-on advising, and rich opportunities for those who love to read and write. Read on to find out the many ways that we provide our students with the resources to succeed in college and beyond.

Sincerely,

Peter A. Schock Professor and Chair

Ab!t

New Orleans

The culture of New Orleans offers our students an experience found nowhere else in the country. The university is surrounded by the living history of a city that has inspired some of the greatest figures in American literature, including William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Walker Percy, John Kennedy Toole, Kate Chopin, George Washington Cable, and Sherwood Anderson. The UNO campus is a tenminute drive from the historic French Quarter with its old world atmosphere.

The stately neighborhoods of the Garden District and oak-lined St. Charles Avenue, where streetcars pass, are also nearby.

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Throughout the year, the New Orleans metropolitan area offers a rich assortment of cultural activities. The city is famous for its annual events, like Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Essence Festival, and the French Quarter Festival, as well as the many regional celebrations of Louisiana’s culture and cuisine, all of which are celebrated by locals and tourists alike. Each year, as well, the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival and the Faulkner Society’s Conference on Words and Music, along with several bookstoresponsored readings and events, bring dozens of accomplished poets and writers to the area. Finally, for those who want to reach out and lend a helping hand, New Orleans offers many opportunities for volunteering in the continuing effort to rebuild our vibrant city.

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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH / THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS

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ENGLISH VISIT OUR CAMPUS

Make your appointment today. You can be advised, sit in on a class, and meet other majors.

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THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE Learn about the campus activities and opportunities for students who major in English.

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CAREERS IN ENGLISH Majoring in English prepares you for any number of careers.

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INTERNSHIPS The city of New Orleans offers exciting opportunities with a number of local publications and businesses. Gain experience and college credit.

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The UNO English Department at a Glance Number of full-time faculty: 47 Number of English majors: 241 Number of courses offered in the major each semester: Approx. 30 Class sizes: 15-35 students Number of books published by the English faculty in 2010: 10 Number of scholarly articles and creative works published by the English faculty in 2010: 48

MEET OUR FACULTY Read more about our distinguished faculty and their accomplishments.

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YOUR GUIDE TO THE MAJOR COURSE DESCRIPTIONS Browse sample course descriptions from recent semesters.

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Visit our Campus

Number of English Club events held in recent semesters: 8-10 Number of Third Wednesday discussions held each year: 6 Number of undergraduate awards and scholarships sponsored by the English Department: 5 Number of English majors whose work appeared in the last two issues of Ellipsis, the departmental literary magazine: 13

Number of times in the past 15 years that English faculty have won UNO’s top teaching award: 12 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH / THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS

If you’d like to know more about our program, give us a call or write us an e-mail. We’d love to get to know you better. You can even sit in on a few classes and get a tour of our department and campus. Here’s how to reach us:

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH The University of New Orleans (504) 280-6276 en g li s h @un o.ed u h ttp : / / en g li s h . u n o. ed u 3

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THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE “One of the things I loved about my English classes was the level of student participation. None of the other programs at UNO have the same level of participation.”

— Khristopher Kirkland, May 2009 graduate

Our department’s first priority is to serve the academic needs of each student in the undergraduate major program, through face-toface, one-on-one advising sessions with our Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies in English. At the same time, the department is constantly expanding opportunities for students to connect and get involved—through its newsletter, its Facebook page, its thriving English Club, its student publications, and, most recently, through the newly established Third Wednesday Discussion Series. We want all of our students to feel that they belong to an exciting intellectual and cultural community.

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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH / THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS

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The English Club is a

Driftwood is UNO’s campus

Ellipsis is the student-edited

student-run organization that welcomes the participation of all English majors. The English Club sponsors many literary events, including readings and workshops featuring local and national writers. It also sponsors student readings, partnering with Loyola and Tulane Universities to hold the “1718 Series,” regularly presented at the historic Columns Hotel on St. Charles Ave.

newspaper. Its staff is made up entirely of UNO students, and its reporting covers all major campus events, from visits by celebrities, dignitaries, and public officials, to sports and other news relevant to the University community.

Many English majors have gained valuable experience as reporters, editors, columnists, and reviewers for Driftwood.

literary journal published every spring by the Department of English.

Ellipsis accepts submissions of original poetry, fiction, essays, and art from students, staff, faculty, and alumni of the University of New Orleans. Many English majors have appeared in Ellipsis, becoming published writers before they graduate.

Scholarships & Awards are available to majors. The Helen Hill Memorial Scholarship provides full tuition for the final two semesters of coursework for the junior with the highest GPA who also works 20 or more hours per week. The Ryan Chighizola Memorial Scholarship awards $1000 to a student who excels in poetry. The Catherine Barragy !

Mackin Prize and The Quarante Club Prize recognize students who have written outstanding papers for their major courses. Our most recently established departmental honor is The John W. Cooke Memorial Award for Excellence in the Study of Fiction, which carries a $1500 prize. We bestow these honors at our annual awards banquet.

“At the risk of sounding cliché, I must say that the most enjoyable (and influential) aspects of the English program are the conversations amongst fellow English majors. The students here seem to be completely and utterly willing to throw themselves into their craft, thus perpetuating amazing conversations and discussions. I have attended other universities where the goal of most students was to achieve their degree with as little work as possible, but at UNO I have found students who are dedicated to the complete understanding of their craft, as well as willing to accept the viewpoints of others as objectively as possible.”

Third Wednesday

On the of every month, faculty and students gather at the Third Wednesday Discussion Series to hear writers, editors, and professors discuss topics related to the reading and writing life.

Students get the opportunity not only to listen to people passionate about writing and literature, they also get to ask questions and become part of the discussion. Recent topics have included “The Book That Changed My Life,” “Writing for Your Life,” and “NOLA Lit.”

— Sam Kane, May 2011 graduate DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH / THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS

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Paths of Study and Career Opportunities The English Major – Areas of Concentration The undergraduate program in English at UNO is intellectually challenging and academically flexible; it provides a solid general background in literature while also offering a varied menu of elective courses. Those students who wish to use their elective courses to focus on a single area of advanced study may opt for one of the five following areas of concentration: Creative Writing, Professional Writing, Pre-Law, Journalism, or New Orleans Regional Literatures.

Careers An English major prepares students for graduate study in the Humanities as well as careers in a variety of fields ranging from law to advertising to journalism.

Recent graduates from our program work in the communications industry, teach at private middle and high schools, pursue certification to teach in the public school system, and attend law school or graduate school.

Many of our students are already published writers before they leave us, and many more go on to publish their writing after graduation.

Internships Through our internship program, students discover how they can use their English degree after graduation, and many have found their careers in this way. The program works like this: we help our students find local opportunities to work in writing, editing, or teaching for approximately 8 hours per week throughout the semester.

Most internships do not pay wages but instead reward students with academic credit (the equivalent of one elective course), useful professional experience, training, and references. UNO English majors have recently completed internships like these: •

Researching, interviewing, and assisting in production with CNN’s “In America” unit in New York

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Writing press releases at the Earhardt Group, a local public relations firm

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Assisting in the investigative reporting unit at WDSU, a local TV news station Writing, editing, and graphic and layout design at Where Y’At, a local magazine

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Teaching writing at a local elementary school, and teaching reading and poetry with a local homeschooling organization

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Writing press releases and doing research for the Public Relations Office of the UNO College of Liberal Arts

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Writing articles, book reviews, columns, and movie reviews for Driftwood Reviewing submitted manuscripts and proofreading at a local publisher, Pelican Publishing

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“UNO’s English Department gave me an excellent foundation for my teaching career. Many of my teaching methods are modeled after my excellent UNO English professors. I was truly challenged by the English Department, and I endorse the English Department to my students as often as I can.”

–Melanie Punch Lohfink, B.A. 2002 (now teaches at St. Charles Catholic High School) 6

“My employer instantly recognized my degree in English from UNO and made the final decision to hire me based on it. I have a great job and a great life due to my degree in English from UNO!” –Kelly Vest, B.A. 2003 (now Executive Assistant in Human Resources, Securities & Trading, New Orleans) DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH / THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS

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Meet the Faculty English is the largest department on the UNO campus, with 47 full-time faculty members, which means that we can offer our majors an amazing range of ability and expertise. We are acclaimed poets and novelists, we are distinguished literary scholars, critics, and essayists, and above all, we are highly accomplished teachers, dedicated to providing our students a Liberal Arts education of the highest quality. Our faculty members have won the University’s highest teaching award in twelve out of the last fifteen years and are dedicated to scholarship and creative projects that enhance their teaching. It’s not surprising, then, that student evaluations consistently rate our teaching highly. The following are profiles of three members of our faculty.

Dr. Nancy Easterlin is a University Research Professor and the Director of Women’s and Gender Studies. She explores the intersections between the humanities and the sciences. Her forthcoming book, A Biocultural Approach to Literary Theory and Interpretation (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012), for which she received a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation, focuses on applying cognitive and evolutionary approaches to literature. She teaches courses in British Romanticism and the contemporary novel (a course that includes examples from across the globe), as well as special topics courses like Sex, Power, and the Short Story.

Dr. Elizabeth Steeby is an Assistant Professor of English, with a specialization in Twentieth-Century American Literatures. She has her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego and is currently working on a book-length project on the legacies of plantation slavery in the U.S., the Caribbean, and beyond. Her teaching and research interests are in U.S. Southern Studies in a Transnational Context, Comparative Ethnic Studies, Critical Gender Studies, and Queer Theory. She has taught courses in New Orleans Literature, U.S. Prison Literature, American Modernism, and Contemporary American Literature.

Dr. Oluwaniyi Osundare is a Distinguished Professor of English. He is a poet, dramatist, essayist, and critic who has authored over fifteen volumes of poetry, two books of selected poems, four plays, two books of essays, and numerous articles. His most recent publication is City Without People: The Katrina Poems (Black Widow Press, 2011). Among his many prizes are the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize, the Cadbury/ANA Poetry Prize, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the Noma Award (Africa’s most prestigious book award), the Tchicaya U Tam’si Award for African Poetry (Africa’s highest poetry prize), and the Fonlon/Nichols Award for “excellence in literary creativity combined with significant contributions to Human Rights in Africa.” He regularly teaches courses in African and Caribbean literature as well as African-American literature surveys.

“I can honestly say that the teachers in the English Department at UNO are the most dedicated, knowledgeable, caring, and encouraging teachers that I have ever encountered in my life.”

–Marly Robertson, B.A. 2005, M.A. 2007 (now teaching at Nicholls State University) DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH / THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS

Meet the rest of our faculty at http://english.uno.edu.

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A Selection of Recent

ENGL 4091: CONSTRUCTING AMERICAN MASCULINITIES This course examines the construction of masculinity in texts spanning the colonial period to the present.

Topics covered in the course include representations of masculinity in religious discourse; sentiment and self expression in male discourse; masculinity and the American West; masculinity and narratives of empire building/war/race; masculinity and “the war of the sexes”; masculinity and sexuality.

Course Offerings ENGL 2032: SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE AFTER THE CIVIL WAR An overview of U.S. literature from the postCivil War era through the twenty-first century as well as critical perspectives on how national literatures have been shaped by new immigrant populations, migrations of peoples within the U.S., imperial expansion, urban industrialization, and social movements.

ENGL 2043: NEW ORLEANS LITERATURE Literature about New Orleans, focusing on the city’s sense of identity, the role of geography, music, art, food, issues of race, class, and sexuality, and the effects of Hurricane Katrina and rebuilding on the literature written after Katrina.

ENGL 2154: INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE NONFICTION WORKSHOP A comprehensive introduction to the art and craft of writing creative nonfiction, examining the principal forms of nonfiction, including memoir, the personal essay, and literary journalism. Also introduces students to experimental, innovative forms.

ENGL 2155: PROFESSIONAL WRITING This course facilitates an understanding of the varied writing platforms in print- and electronic-based media related to specific professions and workplace environments.

Students strengthen their writing skills and develop a critical understanding of the complex nature of text production in an increasingly digital world.

ENGL 3394: CRITICAL APPROACHES TO REVOLUTIONARY PLANTATION LITERATURE An introduction to contemporary modes and methods of literary criticism and theory through the study of key U.S. novels that depict dramatic resistance to slavery and/or the plantation system, including Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Octavia Butler’s Kindred, a 1979 time-travel narrative that returns to the era of antebellum slavery.

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ENGL 4045: SOUTHERN LITERATURE The Gothic South, the Dirty South, the moonlight and magnolias South, the oppressive South, the Third Coast—all of these regional names remind us that there are many Souths. This course is a survey of literatures of the U.S. South, examining how the region has been imagined in relation to the nation and beyond. Attention is paid to how these texts are informed by histories of slavery and segregation, movements between the “country South” and the “urban South,” social activism, social misfits, and social graces.

ENGL 4093: AFRICAN AND CARIBBEAN LITERATURE This course explores aspects of the Black experience as represented in African and Caribbean literature, the historical, social, cultural, and intellectual underpinnings of that experience, and the diversity in its expression.

ENGL 4163: ADVANCED POETRY WRITING An advanced course on the art and craft of writing poetry with three essential goals: the continuous practice of writing and revising poetry; the discovery and delight of reading poems from the inside out; and the development of critical skills in reading, talking about, analyzing, revising and writing about poetry, whether finished works or works in progress.

ENGL 4378: AMERICAN WOMEN’S NARRATIVES OF TRAVEL AND EMPIRE The study of American women’s travel writing (nonfiction and fiction) through a

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feminist/post-colonial framework, with a consideration of the dynamics of domestic and foreign travel, colonization, western migration, slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, immigration, etc.

ENGL 4401: LITERATURE OF ENGLAND IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES Students read stories about an enchanted castle where a knight must prove his reputation as a ladies’ man, murderous fairies, beheading contests, a stolen lamb disguised as a human newborn, a woman turned into a weeping dog, and men who travel into their own brains, among others.

ENGL 4616: DRAMA OF THE AGE OF SHAKESPEARE Madness. Murder. Obsession. Vengeance.

Incest. The tragedies written by William Shakespeare’s contemporaries combine stunning poetry with equally stunning levels of violence. This course looks at tragedies and a few comedies by early modern playwrights including Thomas Kyd, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, and John Webster.

ENGL 4815: THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY ENGLISH NOVEL The study of selected novels from the Romantic and Victorian Periods, beginning with Austen’s Emma and concluding with Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

ENGL 4917: THE CONTEMPORARY NOVEL A survey of some of the post-World War II fictional prose of the British English-language tradition, including Irish, Australian, Indian, South African, German-English and JamaicanEnglish novels.

JOUR 4710: FEATURE WRITING Reporting and writing of non-fiction feature stories for magazines, newspapers, and websites.

JOUR 4791: SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTING This course focuses on the techniques and practice of covering sports and entertainment for the mass news media, focusing on story idea development, fact gathering, and the actual writing of news stories for both of these beats.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

T h e Un iver s ity of New Orleans : book Face ate n o u w us rgrad F o ll o U n d e a jo r s ” O N “U sh M E n g li

(504) 280-6276 english@uno.edu http://english.uno.edu