The English Department contributes several courses to SUNY Fredonia's general education program, Fredonia Foundations. Go to YourConnection to search for all university courses by Fredonia Foundations theme and category.
Spring 2027 Fredonia Foundations Course Offerings
None of these classes count towards majors within the department except where indicated.
Critical Thinking & Reasoning/American History/Critical Thinking & Analysis
| Anne Fearman | Section 01
| Our class will explore the theme of the American Dream: from its historical and mythical narrative creation through its contemporary meaning; from accessibility to application; and from exclusion to expansion. |
| Alison Pipitone | Section 02 Online Course | This course explores the literature, music, and oral histories that told and re-told the story of the Great Depression (1929–1941). We will examine how artists responded to economic hardship, social upheaval, and shifting American ideals. Through close reading analysis of The Grapes of Wrath, The Four Winds, oral histories, poetry, and music, students will explore the ways in which creative voices responded to the struggles of everyday Americans, challenged dominant narratives, and helped shape cultural memory. |
US History & Civic Engagement/Critical Thinking & Reason/ American History /Global Perspective & Diversity
| Mary Weiser | Section 01 TR 9:30-10:50am | Students will delve into historical and recent American literature across multiple genres and in relation to multiple institutions and media that relates to the experience of "becoming Americans." |
The Arts/Creativity & Innovation
| Alison Pipitone | Section 02 Online Course | This course aims to understand the role of songs and songwriting in our modern, interconnected society. This course explores the sound of words and the sound of music? How do "word" (literal and figurative meaning) and "sound" (words, music, production) combine to create a uniquely American music? Students will write lyrics via a variety of methods and prompts. |
Humanities/Critical Thinking & Reasoning/Critical Thinking & Analysis
| Daniel Laurie | Section 01 TR 2:00-3:20pm | This section of Reading Humanity focuses on the themes of coming of age and finding one's place in the world. We read Perks of Being a Wallflower, Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America, and another novel that I keep switching from semester to semester. |
| Emily VanDette | Section 02 Online Course | This section of Reading Humanity focuses on the theme "Representing Animals," and the course explores depictions of animals in literary works, philosophical discussions, and examples from art history. |
World History & Global Awareness/Global Perspectives/Other World Civilization/Global Perspectives & Diversity
| David Kaplin | Section 01 MWF 2:00-2:50pm | The Romantic Movement developed in Western Europe, but it has influenced writers across the globe from the nineteenth century to the present day. This course explores Romantic influences in the literatures of Russia, India, and Japan with a focus on how writers incorporate Romantic themes and conventions into their own literary traditions. |
| Ici Vanwesenbeeck | Section 02 Section 04 TR 2:00-3:20pm | These sections of the course, “Border Crossings: Away from Home” will focus on the experience of refugees, exile, and migration in parts of the world affected by war, conflict, and political unrest. Students will study literary narratives (multi genre) about homelessness, displacement, memory, nostalgia, melancholia, in specific relation to war and armed conflict. |
| Birger Vanwesenbeeck | Section 03 Online Course | Can the Holocaust be represented? To capture the scope and magnitude of the Nazi atrocities has been said to lie beyond the limits of literary or artistic imagination, even as artists have recognized the need to do so. This course offers an overview of how various writing types sought to bear witness to the Holocaust. |
Humanities/Creativity and Innovation
Shannon McRae
| Section 01
|
We like our cinema like we like our coffee: murky, dark, and dangerous. This course focuses on dark cinema: specifically film noir, horror, and films that explore the edges of human experience. Cheerful! |
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Social Justice/Creativity and Innovation
| Saundra Liggins | Section 01 MWF 11:00-11:50am | We will read works by Black women in a variety of genres, spanning the 18th century through the present day, exploring how they interpreted their own worlds and how their voices still shape the way we see our world today. |
American History/Global Perspectives & Diversity
| Emily VanDette | Section 01 Online Course | ENGL 296 explores the cultural narratives that shape American identities, with a focus on historical examples. |
The Arts/Creativity & Innovation
| Jason Bussman | Section 01 Section 05 | Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry: oh my! In this introductory course, we will venture over the rainbow to the land of writing activities, short fiction, writing workshops and beyond. Be careful: once you venture into these waters, you may never be the same! |
Rebecca Cuthbert
| Section 02 Section 03 | As the prerequisite for all higher-level creative writing courses, this multi-genre course will introduce core concepts in creative writing, with readings of published works and peer works, as well as regular writing exercises. |
| Mara (Rachel) Beneway | Section 04 TR 11:00am-12:20pm | In this course you will identify and discuss traditional writing genre standards and build creative writing craft knowledge. The goal is for you to develop a set of skills and artistic practice which allows you to successfully articulate what matters to you on the page. |