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English 341
Introduction to Descriptive Linguistics
This course was an introduction to the systematic study of language. Beginning with a definition of language, we studied how the various aspects and components of language are analyzed and described, with examples mostly from English but also from other languages. The course included a survey of related language topics, e.g. writing, language variation, language change, and language acquisition. In addition, we read and discussed various applications of linguistics. My final paper examined gender-influenced language styles in the classroom. English 375 Literature for Young Adults In this course we surveyed trends in recent adolescent literature, including such things as fairy tale revisions, polyphonic narration, speculative fiction, and problem novels. We approached the novels and films from various perspectives, the introduction of which formed a central concern of the course. English 378 Shakespeare on Stage This course offered the opportunity to study Shakespeare plays in depth and at the same time to see those plays in rehearsal and performance at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival Theatre. The course addressed the historical contexts of the plays in their original moment of production and also focused on analyses of their stage and film histories. English 390 Research Studies in Language Arts Vocabulary acquisition, development, and research was the focus for this course. As a class, we studied writing samples of area fifth-graders in order to understand how language skills are developed in elementary school settings. Individually, I surveyed beginning teachers’ knowledge of, attitudes about, and practices in teaching vocabulary at the secondary level. English 391 Survey of Classical Rhetoric In this course, we examined how classical rhetorics from the Greco-Roman tradition are studied and applied by contemporary teachers and theorists and how particular ancient rhetorics are used explicitly to inform the teaching of writing. We also examined ancient rhetorics from non-western traditions that are beginning to make an impact on composition, including native American, Eastern, and African rhetorics. To accomplish these goals, we read primary works of selected ancient Greek rhetoricians, recent explorations of ancient non-western rhetorics, and contemporary American scholarship that uses classical rhetoric to theorize writing pedagogy. English 392 Modern Theories of Rhetoric This course was designed very self-conciously according to its context within an English Department and an English Studies program. Thus, it reflected a composition-rhetoric emphasis and English Studies approach to discourse. The reading for the course included Robert Connors' Composition-Rhetoric , which described the history of the practices of composition-rhetoric pedagogy from the early nineteenth century to the present. Other reading surveyed primary work from some of the most influential contemporary rhetoricians. We also studied political rhetoric and the emerging area of "neo-sophistics." This course amplified and refined the concepts English 101 instructors were introduced to in the August Orientation. Instructors were able to share ideas for classroom with each other as well as get advice on handling students, the workload, and lessons on key concepts in English 101. We also were able to read the theory behind the practices we were to employ in the classroom through weekly readings and webboard postings. During this course, we developed a teaching demonstration and unit sequence, which we presented to other students, as well as a teaching philosophy and portfolio. English 402 Introduction to the Composing Process This course explored composition theory, posing these and other questions: What research on composing has most influenced the Composition field? How have these influential texts shaped ongoing professional discussions regarding the social construction of knowledge, cognitive models in the composing process, composition and difference, the influence of classical rhetoric, critical pedagogy, gender and writing, the intersections of composition and literary theories, and the politics of academic literacy? What role does/should composition research play in first-year writing courses and in writing/learning theories in general? What issues are most critical in the field? What research/theories are shaping the future of Composition Studies? My final project examined the dichotomy of rhetoric and composition in ISU's English 101 program. English 409.01 Illinois State Writing Project An affiliate of the National Writing Project, this course provided opportunities for classroom teachers to demonstrate lessons that encourage writing for kindergarten through college writers. Daily discussion, writing, and writing demonstrations were supplemented by writing crawls, technology workshops, and cultural events. A final group presentation and showcase day highlighted different theories of composition and strategies for teaching writing at all levels. English
409.03
Writing Assessment for Middle/Junior and High School Teachers
Like other classes in the “Teaching Writing in High School and Middle School” series, this course was designed specifically for the benefit of teachers of writing in secondary English classrooms. In studying writing assessment, we explored themes and topics including histories of writing assessment, testing vs. “authentic” and “educative” assessment, writing portfolio assessment, and statewide writing assessment. Each member of the class developed an individual project on some aspect of writing assessment of immediate importance and usefulness to herself/ himself. We also undertook a “communal change project” in the form of a proposal for instituting a state-wide writing portfolio assessment as an alternative to the current ISAT and PSAE tests. For more information, visit the Illinois State Portfolio Assessment of Writing (ISPAW) website. English 500 Empirical Research Methods (Independent Study) Self-directed reading and consultation with a variety of faculty members constituted this independent study in qualitative research methods. Following the advice of a sociology professor, I began with George Noblit’s Particularities: Collected Essays on Ethnography and Education to get a general understanding of ethnographic research. To focus more on English Studies, I then read Sharon MacNealy’s Strategies for Empirical Research in Writing under the guidance of my dissertation director. Finally, consulting with my internship director and using Bogdan and Biklen’s Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods, I was able to complete my internship proposal and dissertation research plans. English 500 Because there is no set specialization in English Education at the graduate level, I have taken courses that relate to secondary teaching for my cognate studies. This independent study course allowed me to research recent trends in methods courses with the intent that I design a methods course in keeping with current secondary educational theory. During the semester, I read four books with the focus on secondary education: Leila Christenbury’s Making the Journey: Being and Becoming a Teacher of English Language Arts, George Hillocks’ Ways of Thinking, Ways of Teaching, Lynn Langer Meeks’ and Carol Jewkes Austin’s Literacy in the Secondary English Classroom, and Eleanor Kutz’ and Hephzibah Roskelly’s An Unquiet Pedagogy: Transforming Practice in the Classroom. English 510 Doctoral Seminar in Pedagogy In this course, we explored several areas of pedagogical theory and practice in English Studies: Language Arts Pedagogies, including Rhetoric, Composition, and Drama Pedagogy; Linguistics Pedagogies, Critical and Postmodern Pedagogies; Multicultural Pedagogies; Feminist Pedagogies; and Queer Pedagogies. We studied a selection of texts from these areas, read research based articles, and explored additional texts focused on our own areas of concentration. Using this texts, we synthesized a wide variety of pedagogical ideas and practices to facilitate teaching and learning in all areas of English Studies. We also developed an intership proposal with an annotated bibliography. English 540 Doctoral Seminar in Language Humans think metaphorically, and during the semester in the language seminar, we examined metaphors that facilitate conceptualizing difficult issues in a variety of domains of human experience. Our main project was to help write Metaphors They Died By, a work in progress on oppressive language and the iconographic frames of reference from which they derive their power. English 560 Doctoral Seminar in Literature This course focused on the ways literature has been studied in the college and university classroom over the past century, which Greenblatt and Gunn call the "period of rapid and sometimes disorienting change" from which the profession of English Studies now seems in the process of emerging. During the semester, we gained perspective on the "traditional" interpretative paradigm forged by New Criticism and the "old" Historicism by investigating these approaches as historical and theoretical modes of reading. We then surveyed a few of the major interrogations of the "traditional" paradigm before looking at very recent attempts to recuperate some of the values of the older paradigm that have been disregarded as a result of paradigm shift. Each seminar participant was responsible for conducting at least one class discussion. English 590 Doctoral Seminar in Composition The seminar format provided course participants with the opportunity to pursue research goals while at the same time investigating current composition questions in the context of collaborative inquiry. The workshop format began with group research and lead to seminar presentations by class members. The goal of the class was to create at least one paper on its way toward publication by the end of the seminar. Course requirements included a research log, collaborative contributions to the research of colleagues in the class, and two paper/presentations. English
591 Practicum
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