English 1202 and 1204 Course Descriptions
English 1202
Reading and Writing about Selected Topics: An Introduction to Literature
OnlineEnglish 1202
ENGL 1202 A76 (Richmond) "Desire, or 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction'"
Instructor: James Panabaker
Human beings are creatures of desire--desire for power, for love, for sex, for social position, for wealth. In this section of English 1202, we will be studying selected works of literature that explore the complex and fascinating subject of human desire.
ENGL 1202 A75 (Surrey) "The American Renaissance: 1820-1865"
Instructor: Paul Ohler
Langley
ENGL 1202 L10 "The Self Divided: Male Pairs in English Literature"
Instructor: Chris Rideout
This course will try to focus on the phenomenon of male pairs as manifestations of (in)completeness and the shared journey towards individual identity. This is not a gender course but an attempt to place the business of two males in the quest for identity.
Richmond
ENGL 1202 R12 "Looking at the Natural World"
Instructor: Elizabeth Gooding
In this section of English 1202, we will study literature that explores our connection to, or disconnection from, the natural world. We will consider a variety of texts, including short stories, essays, nature poetry, and selections from Walden and The 100-Mile Diet. Bring your hiking boots and trail mix.
English 1202 R50 "Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?"
Instructor: Kegan Doyle
"What have you got?" So says Marlon Brando's character Johnny Strabler in the Hollywood classic The Wild One. In this course, we will focus on poems, stories, films, and plays by, about, and for rebels. We will discuss rebels without causes and rebels with them, political rebels, rock and roll rebels, religious rebels and artistic rebels. Among other things, we will explore how individuals and groups rebel and what happens to them when they do.
Surrey
ENGL 1202 S10 & S11 "Forbidden Knowledge: The Dark Arts in Medieval and
Early Modern Literature"
Instructors: Neil Kennedy and John Rupert (team teaching)
"A sound magician is a demi-god." In this course, we will explore the treatment of magic—spell-casting, divination, and alchemy—in the work of such writers as Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Marlowe. Enter the magician's chamber and discover the material and intellectual rewards that await the successful practitioner of the Dark Arts and the tragedies that befall those who misuse them. Warning: the seductions of the devil are many—keep a good head about you.
ENGL 1202 S12 "Survivors and Witnesses"
Instructor: Cecilia Martell
What does it take to be a survivor? How does one come to terms with the unspeakable? Why are children so frequently the victims of atrocities? In this course, we will explore such questions through our consideration of texts that testify to the resilience, dignity, and transcendent spirit of people who were targeted because they were "different." Materials will include poetry, fiction, memoir, visual art, and film.
ENGL 1202 S13 & S14 "Conformity and Resistance"
Instructor: Wendy Smith
There are many ways in which social and political forces influence our lives. What strategies can be used to resist oppressive forces? And what are the consequences of action/non-action? In this course, we will examine how various writers have addressed these questions. Readings will include a variety of short stories and poems, and plays.
ENGL 1202 S50 "The Individual and Society"
Instructor: Jennifer Williams
In this section of English 1202, we will explore individuals' struggles to be true to themselves or come to an understanding of their role in their world. Through discussions of poems, plays and short stories, we will investigate a range of questions including what influences perceptions of self and other, what limits self-knowledge, and where transcendent insights arise.
English 1204
Reading and Writing about Genre: An Introduction to Literature
Langley
ENGL 1204 L10 "Art and Social Commentary"
Instructor: Al Valleau
What do a tiger and a lamb, a sapper and a burnt patient, a "five foot by four" white painting and three friends, and a war photographer and a fresco have in common? Find out as we study the works of William Blake, Michael Ondaatje, Yasmina Reza, and Arturo Pérez-Reverte, and move around the world from London, to Paris, to central Italy and on to Spain.
Richmond
Instructor: Greg Chan
What happens when youthful idealism slips away, causing your world view to shift in unpredictable ways? This section of English 1204 will concern itself with what lies within and beyond idealism, a focus which will include the power of redemption, the kindness of strangers, and the broader connection to the coming of age theme. Our exploration will take us back to Vancouver's Chinatown in the 1940s and inside of the American Dream in Chicago's south side, before we travel alongside a Kite Runner.
Find out more about our Bachelor of Arts English Major or Minor degrees.
To see profiles of our faculty, visit the Faculty Listing page.
