| 100. Literary Criticism II: Capitalism
and Society 2 credits Dr. Kate Liu For Sophomores above See the course's homepage. The
approaches we take will be: Marxism, structuralism/semiotics,
poststructuralism/postmodernism, and, depending on your interest, cultural studies or
postcolonialism. Like Literary Criticism (I), we will learn to analyze literary work
as well as other cultural products from different critical perspectives. One major
difference from Literary Criticism (I) is that we will focus more on placing the text
in its (broader) context. To put it simply, Wow, so much and so -- abstract. To make the
theories more concrete and closer to us, we will read literary texts, as well as other
cultural products as examples. To have a sense of focus, we will have as our central
themes Capitalism and Society and examine literary texts about them. Examining the
texts from different perspectives, we will ask: More and more interesting questions will be asked as we start our discussion in class. Textbooks--selected chapters from Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice + handouts (for instance, one chapter from 《後現代主義與文化理論》---詹明信) [回到頁首]101.British Literature II This course is a survey of English literature in the 19th and 20th centuries. The first half of the course will cover the Romantic (1798-1832) and Victorian (1832-1901) periods. For the 20th century, most attention will be given to the Modern period (1914-c.1965). Textbooks: Requirements: Tentative Grading Scale: 102. Contemporary Short English Fiction
This course offers students the opportunity of reading well-written and thought-provoking short stories by leading 20th century English writers. Some of the texts chosen focus on life in London and thus reveal cultural insights about life in England, particularly during the years of World War II and the difficult years of reconstruction that followed. Students will be expected to read at least one long short story and sometimes two short stories every week, write journals every 3-4th week, and participate vigorously in class discussion. Some of the authors we will study are D.H. Lawrence, Elizabeth Bowen, Katherine Mansfiled, Evelyn Waugh, V.S. Pritchett, Doris Lessing, and Graham Greene. [回到頁首]103. English Renaissance Literature and
Culture Students who are interested in this course, please feel free to ask the instructor for more information. [回到頁首] 104. Major American Fiction The first part of this course will deal with 19th and 20th century short stories by writers such as Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Jack London, Sherwood Anderson, Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Bernard Malamud, Flannery O’Connor, Maxine Hong Kingston, Frank Chin, John Barth, Robert Coover and Donald Barthelme. About 30-40 pages of reading will be done each week. The second part of this course will look at novels. The exact list of novels to be read will depend on what novels the students have already read. It will probably include one 19th century novel and two or three 20th century ones. For this part of the course, about 60-70 pages will be read per week. It is hoped that the readings will increase the student’s ability to read large amounts of English material with good comprehension. Students interested in taking this course should give to Judy Peng by December 15 a list of all the American novels they have read in English. The syllabus for the course will be ready by the end of this semester so that some of the readings can be done over the semester break if desired. Each class will begin with a writing exercise based on the assigned readings. Two term papers will be required: one on a short story and one on a novel. [回到頁首] 105. American Drama: Plays for the Next
Millennium This course is a survey of modern and contemporary works by American dramatists which voice the hopes and fears that border an unknown future. Selected plays portray American culture as a “patchwork quilt” of diverse longings, losses and lifestyles. Beginning with Eugene O’Neill's Beyond the Horizon, the class will read and view the corresponding film productions of twelve plays, including Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Part I. In the process of our study, drama will be linked to the theatrical stage and the playwright to his/her role as prophet of the age. The “quilt” of plays samples the themes from a mixture of minority ethnic and gender conscious viewpoints, but aims to point out the emergence of a new dramatic genre which according to Bonnie Marranca, “join(s) poetical language to a new spiritual energy....” (Plays for the End of the Century). Requirements: regular class attendance; participation; short reading quizzes; film review; objective mid-term; essay final examination. [回到頁首] 106. World Literature in English
Postcolonial Literatures in Indian Subcontinent, the
Caribbean Area and Canada As English majors, we need to know that "English" is not always British, and "American"--not necessarily the U.S. How about English Literature? British and U.S. literature? In the past, maybe, but now in the age of postcolonialism -- definitely no. English literatures are all the literatures written in English in 1.) the U.S. and U.K., and in 2.) the English-speaking countries in areas ranging from Africa, South Asia, South-East Asia, East Asia (e.g. Hong Kong), South Pacific area (e.g. Australia & New Zealand), the Caribbean area, to North America (e.g. Canada). (See Map above.) To distinguish the latters from the formers, we call the latters--world literatures written in English, or postcolonial (Third World) literature in English, or New English literatures. Since world literatures written in English cover so many nations with their distinct national/racial cultures, it is hardly possible to generalize about them, not to mention teaching them all in one course. These literatures, however, do have common concerns, their nations having all experienced imperialism and colonization, and their peoples, immigration and frequently more than once. Among the common concerns there are: influences of colonization, possibilities of decolonization and defining national identity, power relations (between the colonizer and the colonized, dominant group and minorities). These national literatures, moreover, are linked to each other by the large flows of immigrants of Chinese, African and/or Indian descent--what is called Chinese, African and Indian diasporas (離散族群). To do a focused survey of world literatures in English, this course chooses literatures (short stories, novel excerpts and poems) in the Indian subcontinent (including Pakistan and India), the Caribbean area (including Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica), and Canada, as well as those by diasporic/immigrant writers from these areas such as Salman Rushdie, Jean Rhys, Michael Ondaatje, V.S. Naipaul, etc. (See the black areas on Map.) Our central questions are: -- What is colonization? Is de-colonization possible?
Heavy reading (each week about 50 pages' prose writing or fewer for poems) will be required to avoid the superficial understanding of these literatures. On the other hand, history, films (e.g. Salaam Bombay, Wide Sargarso Sea, Exotica), and popular songs (e.g. Bob Marley, Leonard Cohen) will be used to help us visualize, enter and understand the national cultures. You are also encouraged to bring in other relevant texts from popular culture of these areas. As we move from Indian subcontinent to the Caribbean, and then to Canada, the diasporic writers (e.g. Indian-Caribbean, African-Caribbean, Indian-Caribbean-Canadian) will help connect the different regions. At the end, with discussion of Chinese-Canadian texts, we hope to come back to Taiwan and discuss local engagement in the issues we focus on in class; that is, (de-)colonization, national identity and migration. Requirement: Reading before class and active participation in class is essential. Any late or absence will affect your final grade. Three absences constitute reason for failing the course. If you have to be absent, please let the teachers know beforehand. No plagiarism! * This course will be co-taught with Prof. Pin-chia Feng (馮品佳) at the department of Foreign Languages of Jiau-tong Univ. (交通大學外文系）, utilizing the distance-learning facilities. You can expect to enjoy being taught by two teachers, and working with students at Jiau-da; at the same time, please be prepared for and tolerant of technical problems that might occur in ISDN connection. [回到頁首] 200. Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
This course will examine some of the major questions related to how people learn second/foreign languages. Since we are all second language learners, we will look at our own experiences, and do small-scale pseudo-experiments on ourselves in class, in addition to learning from the textbook. For this reason, attendance and participation are crucial. If you will not come to class regularly and participate actively, think twice before you take this course. Likewise, group cooperation for the experiments and reports will be essential. If that is not for you, take some other course. The course will cover methodology, types of data analysis, accepted conclusions about SLA, input to SLA, factors affecting the SLA of individuals, the relationship between teaching and learning, and major theories. Requirements will include an experiment and report (35%), review of a journal article (20%), comments on the reports of two other groups (15%), a final exam (15%), and participation (15%). Textbook: Larsen-Freeman, Diane, and Michael H. Long. An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research. NY: Longman, 1991. [回到頁首] 201. Grammar for Teaching The objectives of this course are to improve students’ English grammar (and their understanding of grammar) and to introduce them ways to teaching grammar. We will focus on the following issues: what is grammar, the differences between descriptive and prescriptive grammar, pedagogical and transformational grammar, different approaches and problems in teaching grammar, the most essential and/or tricky grammatical structures, and a number of grammar activities. A possible textbook would be Introducing Grammar (by Edward Woods). Besides, several books will be useful references for the class, including Teaching Grammar: Form, Function and Technique (by Sandra L. McKay), Grammar Practice Activities: A Practical Guide for Teachers (by Penny Ur), Techniques and Resources in Teaching Grammar (by Marianne Celce-Murcia and Sharon Hilles), Grammar Games (by Mario Rinvolucri), and a couple of others. A list of references will be passed out in class. Students who decide to take this course are required to get hold of at least one comprehensive grammar book, such as The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher’s Course (by Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman), or A Grammar of Contemporary English (by Quirk and Greenbaum), one reference grammar, such as Practical English Usage (by Michael Swan), or Collins Cobuild English Usage. Other requirements for the course include: weekly reading assignments, participation in all class discussions, micro teaching and a lesson plan, a paper on a topic chosen and/or exams/quizzes. [回到頁首] 202. Performing Arts: Directing
This course introduces the student to the art of the modern stage director. It will offer a brief survey of the rise of the director as a specialized artist/interpreter; and include profiles of famous directors of the twentieth century. The art of the director will be presented from three viewpoints: the organizational work of the director as head of a production team; and the artistry of the director as creator of the mise en scene. The latter includes the director’s creation of stage composition, picturization and movement. Special attention will be given to directing innovations which develop from daring textual analysis and knowledge of multicultural theatre forms. Thirdly, students will participate in director-actor teams to produce vignettes accompanied by technical experience in lighting and sound. Requirements: attendance, participation, completion of director’s production book, short quizzes and objective midterm and final examinations on terminology. Recommended that students complete Performing Arts: Acting as a prerequisite. [回到頁首] 203. Teaching Children This course will mainly focus on practical techniques of teaching English to young learners. Topics of discussion will include--classroom management, lesson planning, motivation theories, songs and games, teaching the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), classroom media, and so on. Students are supposed to take an active role in the learning process. Active class participation is expected. Group presentation, individual report, mid-term and final exams or papers are required. The objective of this course is to equip those who are interested in teaching children English with essential background knowledge and useful skills so that they will teach with confidence, creativity, and fun! Textbook: Wendy A. Scott and Lisbeth H. Ytreberg. 1994. Teaching English to Children. Longman. Or Susan Halliwell. 1992. Teaching English in the Primary Classroom. Longman. [回到頁首] 204. Cross-cultural Communication
This course is designed to help students develop their cultural understandings, attitudes, and intercultural communication skills. Topics will include value and belief systems in various cultures, similarities and differences in communication patterns among cultures; misunderstandings and communication breakdowns in cross-cultural encounters; and diversity of communication practices within each culture. Students are expected to read assigned weekly readings ahead of time, and actively take part in class discussions. Course requirements will include in-class presentations, written reports, and a term project. Tentative Textbook: [回到頁首] 300. Journalistic Writing in English II
This course will aim to familiarize students with English Newswriting through the reading and discussion of selected newspaper articles and in-class writing of short news stories. On a tentative basis, the second hour of class will be given to reading a couple of stories of a selected type of news, e.g. accidents, entertainment and business. Requirements: Attention will be given to the style of writing and choice of words. This will serve as preparation of the next class meeting, the first hour of which will be devoted to in-class writing of a short news story. The ability to type is a must while the ability to wordprocess will be helpful. Stories will be handwritten in the earlier half of semester and wordprocessed in the later half. [回到頁首] 301. Business English Writing II
This course is designed for students who would like to work in the business world after graduation. The emphasis will be on the practical skills that you will need on a day-to-day basis if you are lucky enough to land a job that requires a good working knowledge of English. We will keep theory to a minimum. You will be required to deal with a variety of "real life" situations, such as how to plan and present an itinerary for a business person visiting Taiwan or how to advise a foreign investor on business opportunities here. You will also learn about more mundane matters – invoicing, banking procedures, letters of complaint, covering letters and the like. This semester we shall also be dealing with some skills that you shall be needing very shortly, namely job interview techniques and resumes. You will be expected apply for a real job and to present for mock interviews in class. These days over 85% of all business communication is via e-mail or fax, so we shall be taking a detailed look at how to write in these new media. We shall also have at least two guest speakers who are experts in their fields. Last year speakers included a stock broker and the head of the de facto Irish embassy in Taiwan. I hope those of you who choose this course will find it useful and stimulating. I will also welcome any ideas that you might have on course content. [回到頁首] 302. Chinese-English Translation
II COURSE DESCRIPTION TEXT REQUIREMENT ATTENDANCE EVALUATION [回到頁首] 400. Computer-Aided Research Methods and
Bibliography Course Overview: Texts: Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 4th ed. New York: MLA, 1995. Approach: Requirements:
Oral reports Oral presentation of the research
paper Research exercises Quizzes Grading: Tentative Syllabus
[回到頁首] 401. Advanced Overseas Chinese
本門課程是為僑生而設的必修課。全學年共須4學分。課程的目標是幫助學生培養中文的閱讀能力與書寫能力。修課學生會讀到不同類型的文類，如散文、小說、詩歌等等。上課時使用中文，以便修課學生得以增進中文的聽說能力。 教材將視學生的能力與需要而定。上課以前必須先行閱讀教材（視難易程度每週須讀20頁左右），或撰寫作業。上課時學生則應該聽講、參加討論。並有造句、或分組比賽猜字詞等等活動。 計分方式：文學創作一篇、期末考試、平常課堂中的表現。 想要修課的同學，必須與我商量在寒假中必須閱讀的課外讀物。學生亦可自選或推薦教材。 [回到頁首] 402. 中國詩詞曲（二） See the instructor for detailed information. |
