Volume XXXXI, Number 2
November 2008

(Printable Version - PDF)

REGISTRATION FOR SPRING 2008

The Schedule of Classes will give you detailed information on how to register for next semester's
courses. Please plan to register as early as possible. If you have questions about your schedule for
the spring, please get in touch with Professor Brada-Williams or Professor Soldofsky.

SANDRA M. GILBERT ON CAMPUS

The Robert and Constance Lurie Professor of Creative Writing in spring 2008 will be famed critic
and poet Sandra M. Gilbert who will teach the poetry-writing workshop, English 241. Students
admitted to the MFA program will have priority enrollment for this seminar, with others admitted
at the instructor's discretion.

ENGLISH GRADUATE SEMINARS FOR SPRING 2009

202 Poetic Craft and Theory M 1900-2145 Soldofsky
204 Modern Approaches to Lit R 1900-2145 Brada-Williams
208 Comparative Literature M 1600-1845 Krishnaswamy
211 20th-Century Poetry R 1600 1845 Maio
226 Tragedy T 1900-2145 Cox
233 Victorian Literature M 1600-1845 Wilson
240 Creative Writing: Poetry T 1600-1845 Lurie Chair Sandra Gilbert
241 Creative Writing: Fiction W 1600-1845 Taylor
253 Periods in American Literature W 1900-2145 Shillinglaw
254 Genres in American Literature R 1900-2145 Douglass
259 History of W 1600-1845 Gabor

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPRING 2009:

ENGLISH 202: Poetic Craft and Theory (Prof. Soldofsky)
Theme: Divergent and Oppositional Poetics
In this course we will read modern and contemporary poems by Bay Area and West Coast poets in
contrast to poems by their (mostly) East Coast peers who represent the more dominant,
academically-sanctioned canon -- what poet/critic Charles Bernstein refers to as "official verse
culture." To better understand a contemporary view of prosody and poetics, we will read Robert
Pinsky's The Sounds of Poetry. We will then examine the difference between poetry that is
grounded in the early Modernist impulse toward open form and the later Modernist poetics that
finds virtue in a return to a more formalist poetics. To examine the differences (and overlaps) in
these two modes of poetics, we will read selected works from a number of Bay Area poets from
Robinson Jeffers in the early 20th Century to Robert Hass and Sandra M. Gilbert in the 21st
Century. We will read selected poems -- mostly in anthologies and online -- from a number of poets
(West and East Coast) including: Ezra Pound, Robinson Jeffers, Langston Hughes, W.H. Auden,
Kenneth Rexroth, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, George Oppen, Robert
Lowell, Elizabeth Bishop, Theodore Roethke, Robert Creeley, Jack Spicer, Robert Duncan, Denise
Levertov, Bob Kaufman, Frank O'Hara, William Everson, Carolyn Kizer, Diane di Prima, Gary
Snyder, Joanne Kyger, Adrienne Rich, Robert Hass, Lyn Hejinian, Michael Palmer, Mark Doty,
and Sandra M. Gilbert. Each class member will give a seminar presentation during the semester on
one or more of these poets, complete an essay of 2500 - 5000 words (based on the same topic as
the seminar presentation), and complete another project which could either be a small series of
original poems with annotations examining your poetics and/or a second shorter essay 1500 - 2500
words that closely reads a few poems by another poet(s). Class members will also each take a turn
leading part of the seminar discussion of the assigned readings.

English 204 - Seminar in Modern Approaches to Literature (Prof. Brada-Williams)
The Russian Formalists argued that what made literary language different from other forms of
language was that literature defamiliarizes, making us see the world in a new way. One could
argue that the literary theory and criticism of the twentieth century has, in turn, made us see
literature in new ways. The semester will be spent in examining various ways critics and theorists
have come to see the way literature works, and to form the questions we must ask of texts, of
readers, of authors, and of how literature continues to shape the way we see the world around us.
We will read and discuss many challenging critical and theoretical readings, mostly from The
Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. The class will mix lecture and discussion on key issues
and background of the various kinds of theory with hands-on application of the theories in a
workshop environment.

English 208 South Asia: "Narrating the Nation" (Prof. Krishnaswamy)
If nations are "imagined communities," how is the nation called "India" imagined? With this
fundamental question in mind, we will examine the relationship between nation and narration
through an in-depth study of selected literature and film from the Indian subcontinent. Our
examination will be placed within the larger historical context of decolonization in the sense not
only of formal independence from European rule, but also of contemporary struggles against
persistent forms of imperialism and internal colonization. We will focus on three key moments that
highlight the process of nation formation on the Indian subcontinent: (1) the nationalist struggle
against British colonial rule, (2) the partition of the subcontinent by the British at the time of
independence, and (3) the independent modern liberal nation-state in the era of globalization. By
analyzing key texts of literature (in English/in English translation) as well as film, we will attempt
to understand how nationalism mobilizes religion, gender, caste, and class in an attempt to produce
an image of a people.

English 211 - Seminar in Twentieth Century Literature (Prof. Maio)
We will treat the major metrical poets of the modern era--Hardy, Yeats, Auden, Frost--as well as
key poets of the counter-tradition-- Pound, Eliot, and Lowell. Two in-class presentations and one
significant research paper will comprise the graded evaluation for the course.

English 226: Seminar in Tragedy (Prof. Cox)
Beginning with Aeschylus' Agamemnon (458 B.C.E.) and concluding with Miller's Death of a
Salesman (1949 C.E.), this course will engage and explore "Tragic Vision and Form" as manifest in
ten plays and two (very) short novels, and as defined, discussed, and dissected in several critical
essays. Requirements: close, careful, and productive reading of all assigned texts; weekly reader
responses; two presentations, with accompanying two-page handouts for all seminar members; a
research-informed critical pager.

English 233: The Victorian Period (Prof. Wilson)
This seminar will examine significant literary works written circa 1830 to 1900. We will
supplement our readings with important pieces of Victorian art and music. We will read
Bleak House, Middlemarch, Jude the Obscure, and the Victorian section of The Norton
Anthology. One short essay, one seminar research project and two class presentations are
required.

English 240: Poetry Writing Workshop (Lurie Chair Sandra M. Gilbert)
English 240 is a course required for students in the MFA program whose primary or secondary
genre is poetry. Students in the MA program who write poetry at the advanced level may also be
admitted (space permitting) with the instructor's permission. The course may be repeated twice for
credit. Conditionally classified graduate students must also obtain the instructor's permission to
enroll in the course.

English 241: Fiction Writing Workshop (Prof. Taylor)
This course is a graduate fiction writing workshop. Participants will submit work on a regular
schedule, with each student having his or her work discussed at least twice over the course of the
semester. Students will submit a substantial revision in lieu of a final exam. Regular assigned
readings of published work will supplement our discussion.
English 241 is a course required for students in the MFA program whose primary or secondary
genre is fiction. Students in the MA program who write fiction at the advanced level may also be
admitted (space permitting) with the instructor's permission. The course may be repeated twice for
credit. Conditionally classified graduate students must also obtain the instructor's permission to
enroll in the course.

ENGL 253: Periods of American Literature (Prof. Shillinglaw)
Their residence in 1920a Paris is legendary: Hemingway slouching in cafes, Stein hosting artists
and writers. "Paris was where the twentieth century was," she declared. Exiles from their country,
each writer gained through dislocation an extraordinary perception of self, of place, of modern
experience. In this course we will read works by Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude
Stein and Djuna Barnes, all written either during the writers' residence in Paris or after their
departure, when place and meanings are reimagined. Texts include In Our Time, The Sun Also
Rises, A Moveable Feast, The Garden of Eden (Hemingway); Tender is the Night (Fitzgerald); The
Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (Stein); and Nightwood (Barnes).

ENGL 254: Genres in American Literature (Prof. Douglass)
An examination of the genre of Science Fiction, including an historical perspective on its
development in the nineteenth century, its codification in the mid-twentieth century, and its
deepening importance for writers of all kinds of fiction in the new century. We will discuss
important themes and motifs of Sci-Fi, including space and time travel, robots, artificial
intelligence, the post-apocalyptic ("last man") moment, viruses and disease, utopian and dystopian
worlds, and gender-bending. We will also consider Sci-Fi in relation to the theory of "genrefiction."
Writers of short stories and novels to be considered include Atwood, Bester, Asimov,
Butler, Bradbury, Card, Clarke, Dick, Gibson, Herbert, Heinlein, Kress, Le Guin, McIntyre, Moore,
Niven, Pohl, Russ, Stephenson, Stewart, Tiptree, Van Vogt, Vonnegut, and Wells.

ENGL 257: History of Rhetoric (Prof. Gabor)
In this seminar-style class, we will read the key texts of rhetoric in the Western tradition, from the
ancient Greeks to 21st century rhetoricians. Because so many (re)discovered texts by female
authors have been published recently, we will be able to read many texts by women alongside the
more well-known canonical rhetorical texts. Students will be expected to read 150-250 pages per
week, turn in short response texts, write a longer paper at the end of the semester, and lead class
discussion from time to time. The study of rhetorical texts is very uncommon at the undergraduate
level; therefore, no knowledge of the history of rhetoric is assumed. The professor will give minilectures
to set the context for each week's reading. WebCT or a class wiki may be employed. Texts:
The Rhetorical Tradition, 2nd ed. Edited by Patricia Bizzell and Bruce Herzberg
Available Means: An Anthology of Women's Rhetoric. Edited by Joy Ritchie and Kate Ronald.
You may take a limited number of undergraduate upper division courses for graduate credit. Please
look over the entire department schedule of classes for courses that may be of specific interest to
you but which we are not offering at the graduate level in the spring semester (for example, English
165: Asian American Literature and English 148: British Literature 1660-1800).

COURSE OFFERINGS FOR FALL 2009

The number of graduate seminars offered in Fall 2008 will depend on enrollments and faculty
availability but will most likely include English 201, 201C, 203, 240, 241, 242, 259 and a range of
literature seminars. The actual offerings should be in the February newsletter or sent out earlier on
the Enggrad listserve.

CONDITIONALLY CLASSIFIED MA STUDENTS

Conditionally classified students must complete their required undergraduate course work before
enrolling in graduate seminars. A list of upper-division literature courses approved for
conditionally classified students is available in the rack outside the English department and is
posted on the Department website. Be sure to take only courses from this list. When you are
eligible for classified status, the change is not automatic; you need to apply. The form is available
at http://www.sjsu.edu/gape/forms/. Bring this form and a print out of your grades from Mysjsu
when you contact Professor Brada-Williams.

APPROVED COURSES FOR THE ENGLISH MA AND MFA

Courses taken outside the department will not count except in unusual circumstances. Get prior
approval from your advisor before you take such courses. Upper-division English course work can
count if you secure the approval of both the instructor and the graduate advisor to take the class as a
graduate student (with assignments and standards befitting your advanced level).

ENGLISH GRADUATE LISTSERV

To subscribe to the EngGrad listserv, follow the directions at this website:
http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/enggrad. Key information is sent out on that listserv. Consider
joining the listserv a requirement of all MA and MFA students.

PHD APPLICATIONS

The department would very much like to know about students applying to Ph.D. programs and their
success. Please let us know where you are applying and how things are working out.

GRADUATE BULLETIN BOARD AND OTHER INFORMATIONAL RESOURCES

The SJSU Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations website publishes important forms,
deadlines, rules, and information useful to graduate students. Go to http://www.sjsu.edu/gape/
and click on "Current Students." Important dates and other useful information will also be
posted on the English Graduate Bulletin Board in the first-floor hall of the Faculty Office Building.
New information will be posted as we receive it. So make a point to check the bulletin board
frequently and check, too, the English department website: http://www.sjsu.edu/english/. If you
would like to restart the English Graduate Organization or start your own version, let Professor
Brada-Williams know and she will look into what support the department and university can offer.

MA & MFA FOREIGN LANGUAGE EXAMS

Both degree programs require a level of fluency in a second language roughly equivalent to two years of
college study of a language. If within five years of filing your program (achieving Candidacy), you have
completed the fourth semester (or sixth quarter) of an approved university-level foreign language course
sequence with a grade of "B" or better, you have already satisfied this requirement. Just be sure to bring this to the attention of your advisor when you file for candidacy. Students who have taken coursework longer than five years previous to filing for candidacy or who have acquired their language skills and knowledge outside of an academic institution can satisfy the foreign language requirement in French, German, or Spanish, by taking an examination offered in the Foreign Language Department that has been specially devised for our graduate students. Please contact:
Examiner email phone
Professor Trudeau (French): trudeau@sjsu.edu 924-4594
Professor Sabalius (German): sabalius@email.sjsu.edu 924-4616
Professor Eleanor Marsh (Spanish): eleanor.marsh@sjsu.edu 924-4592
Evidence of a first-language literacy other than English also satisfies the requirement. For answers to
questions about this requirement, or to satisfy this requirement in a language other than French, German, or Spanish, please contact Professors Brada-Williams or Soldofsky.

KEY DATES FOR SJSU ENGLISH GRADUATE STUDENTS

Jan. 16 Once Graduate Admissions & Program Evaluation (GAPE) has approved your thesis,
you submit it for binding and this is the last day for December 2008 graduates to have
their thesis bound.
Feb. 13 August 2009 graduates should submit approved Candidacy forms to Graduate
Admissions & Program Evaluation by this date. The form can be found on the GAPE
website but your advisor will need to sign it. To be safe, do it before the end of fall
semester 2008.
Feb. 15 Last day for May 2009 graduates to file or reactivate application for graduation at
GAPE
Feb. 24 & 25 Poet Mark Doty speaking on campus via the Center for Literary Arts
March 3 Last day to sign up for the Spring 2009 MFA Exam.
March 3 Last day to submit MA and MFA thesis to 2nd and 3rd readers.
March 20 Last day that campus is open before the candidacy form is due to GAPE for December
graduates, and thesis proposals, TA and GA application April 1st deadline are due to the
English Department Graduate Coordinator
March 21-March 31 Campus closed for Spring Break and Cesar Chavez Day
March 31 December 2009 graduates should submit approved Candidacy forms to GAPE
April 1 TA and GA applications for Fall 2009 due to Graduate Coordinator.
April 1 Deadline for thesis proposals to be submitted to the graduate committee to sign up for
Fall 2008 299 units.
April 6 Deadline for May graduates to submit approved theses to Graduate Studies.
April 3 MFA comprehensive exam distributed (9:00 AM).
April 4 MA Comprehensive Exam, Part 1, 9-noon, FO 104.
April 6 MFA comprehensive exam due (5:00 PM).
April 11 MA Comprehensive Exam, Part 2, 9-noon, FO 104.
April 14 GRE Subject Test in English offered
April 15 Lurie Chair, poet, and critic, Sandra Gilbert will be speaking at two CLA events.
June 5 Last day for May 2009 graduates to submit MA and MFA thesis copies for binding.
June 8 Last date for August 2009 graduates to reactivate or file application for graduation.
July 3 Deadline for August graduates to submit approved theses to Graduate Studies.