English 215-231
Introduction to English Studies
Instr: Sands, Peter
Office: CRT 578; 229-4416
e-mail: sands@uwm.edu
Office hours: TBA
Course Information: Online Web course (6/11-7/21)
Course Description
This course prepares students for the major in English, or for a degree in English Education, through the study of English-language literature from around the world. All variants of English Studies depend upon reading texts closely, making informed judgments, and expressing those judgments in writing. English Studies is about reading carefully and writing about that careful reading. Here, we touch only on some of the vast body of literatures written in English. But other areas of English Studies-rhetoric and writing, linguistics, business communication, and film and media studies-require similar foundational skills.
This course assumes that vigorous engagement with texts comes from frequent writing and reflection about the reading. We will write both short, informal responses and one longer, more formal essay in the service of learning, dialogue, and interpretation.
Online courses are intensive. This course meets wholly online via Desire2Learn (D2L) and email. The work of the course will be spent in reading the assignments, discussing them online, and writing. There are no lectures other than some short essays/guides that I will post online, and, possibly, some live "chat" sessions via D2L.
