Goucher College 2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalogue 
    
    May 01, 2024  
Goucher College 2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalogue PLEASE NOTE: This is an archived catalog. Programs are subject to change each academic year.

Course Descriptions


 

Visual and Material Culture

  
  • VMC 103 - Introduction to the History of Art (4 Cr.)

    (ARH 103) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    Introduces the study of Western art and the discipline of art history, its methods, terminology, and critical issues, including the problems of the canon, aesthetics, chronology, and periodization. Students will explore images and objects produced at different moments and in a variety of geographic and cultural contents, considering throughout the ways in which art conveys meaning through visual form, the ebb and flow of various stylistic trends, the use of symbolic images in the sacred and secular realms, the persistence of major visual motifs, the role of the spectator in shaping the meaning the meaning of images and objects, and the influence of political and economic conditions on the making of art. Spring semester. Oettinger.
  
  • VMC 110 - Preserving our Heritage (4 Cr.)

    (HP 110) (GCR ENV)(GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    An introduction to the field of historic preservation, covering its development and its role in American society. Students will study American architectural history, and will explore the impact of the built environment on the quality of urban life.  The role of historic preservation in the environmental sustainability movement will also be examined. Also open to students who have not previously taken courses in history. Recommended but not required: 12 college credits or permission of the instructor. Fall semester. Sheller.
  
  • VMC 213 - Historical Archaeology and Material Culture (4 Cr.)

    (HP 213) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course will examine the goals, methods, and contributions of archaeology to Historic Preservation and the historical record. It will also focus on understanding and interpreting the meaning of objects, artifacts, and cultural landscapes as historical evidence.  Prerequisite: VMC 110  (HP 110 ) or sophomore standing. Offered Spring 2019 and alternating years. Sheller.
  
  • VMC 215 - Museums, Exhibitions, and the History of Collecting (4 Cr.)

    (GCR RPP)
    This course introduces students to the art and history of collecting from the ancient world to the modern museum. We will explore this topic through a wide range of case studies from the ekphrastic writings of late antiquity, medieval hoarding, and 17th century Curiosity Cabinets to the first museums of natural history, World’s Fairs, art exhibitions, and Epcot. Students will read primary and theoretical texts that touch on exhibition and the power of placement, the art of collecting and collecting as art form, the practice and theory of exhibition, diverse modes of exhibition, and the ethics of collecting and exhibition. Prerequisites: VMC 103 , VMC 110 , or permission of instructor. Fall semester, offered 2020 and every other year. Oettinger.
  
  • VMC 230 - Architecture and Society (4 Cr.)

    (HP 230) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    Development of the vocabulary to describe buildings: elements of a building, traditional construction techniques and building materials, and preservation issues. Students will study the architectural heritage of Baltimore through field trips. Recommended but not required: 12 college credits or permission of the instructor. Variable semesters. Sheller.
  
  • VMC 253 - Philosophy and/of Art (4 Cr.)

    (PHL 253) (GCR RPP)
    This course explores what art is and what aesthetic experience is, and especially what significance art has or can have for us as human beings. We will read some classic texts on these topics in the history of philosophy while examining pieces of art, whether painting, music, literature, graphic novel, film, television, and/or particular genres like humorous, political, religious, or abstract art. Some topics that we might cover include: How are our emotions involved in our experience of art? What is the relationship between art and representation? How are art and ethics related (why is some art considered offensive or dangerous)? What’s the relationship between politics and art? And how do notions of race, gender, and class relate to art? We will discuss these and other issues associated in the context of particular art forms. This class will thereby serve both as an introduction to thinking about art and as an introduction to philosophy. Offered Spring 2020 and every other spring semester. Shuster.
  
  • VMC 263 - Romanticism: Art in the Age of Revolution (4 Cr.)

    (ARH 263)
    European and American painting, sculpture, and visual culture in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period of great social, political and cultural upheaval, with particular emphasis on changing attitudes towards tradition, nature, genius, originality, and innovation in the visual arts and how they relate to an emerging modern spirit. Prerequisite: VMC 103  (ARH 103 ) or permission of instructor. Fall. Variable semesters. VMC Faculty.
  
  • VMC 264 - Realism and Impressionism: Art and the Rise of the Middle Class (4 Cr.)

    (ARH 264)
    European and American painting, sculpture, and visual culture from 1840s through the 1880s, with particular emphasis on the economic, political, and intellectual context in which this art was conceived and produced, including the impact of political, economic, and industrial revolutions, urbanization, commercialism and consumerism, and the rise of a middle class. Prerequisite: VMC 103  (ARH 103 ) or permission of instructor. Fall. Variable semesters. VMC Faculty.
  
  • VMC 266 - Medieval Art (4 Cr.)

    (ARH 266) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    European art from the catacombs to the cathedrals. Includes Early Christian, Carolingian, Romanesque, Gothic, and Byzantine art. Stylistic evolution and the ideas motivating style. A survey from Early Christian art through the High Gothic, including Byzantium. Prerequisite: VMC 103  (ARH 103 ) or permission of instructor. Variable semesters. Oettinger.
  
  • VMC 272Y - Arts of Amsterdam (ICA) (5 Cr.)

    (ARH 272Y) (GCR SA)
    This three-week intensive blends Arts Administration-the business practices of arts and culture-with behind-the-scenes explorations of the performing and visual arts in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Students attend performances and tour museums and alternative arts spaces not just experienced as an audience member or tourist, but as an active observer to examine how they are professionally managed and presented. Students will learn about the management and funding structures found in the Netherlands and will frequently meet with administrators, cultural leaders, practitioners, and other behind-the-scenes staff. We will also enjoy and explore the rich offerings of our host country’s culture, history, and architecture, frequently traveling by bike for the ultimate Dutch experience. This program is prioritized for Arts Administration Concentration students and students who are Arts Majors or Minors (Art History, Dance, Music, Studio Arts, Theatre, and VMC). A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required. 2021 and alternating years. Lohr, Oettinger.
  
  • VMC 275 - Renaissance Art in Europe (4 Cr.)

    (ARH 275) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course surveys painting, sculpture, and architecture in Europe from the 14th-17th centuries. We will consider northern and southern Renaissance artists from Giotto and Jan Van Eyck to Michelangelo and Durer in their cultural and social contexts. Topics for discussion include the rise of the Artist, the emergence of early modern art theory, the assimilation of antiquity, and the development of portraiture, landscape, and mythological subjects in the visual arts. Prerequisite: VMC 103  (ARH 103 ) or permission of the instructor. Fall. Variable semesters. Oettinger.
  
  • VMC 279 - Global Rock Stars: 17th Century Artists and Visual Culture (4 Cr.)

    (ARH 279) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course surveys the painting, sculpture, and architecture of 17th- and 18th- century Europe. We will study masterpieces by artists including Bernini, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Vermeer in their social and cultural contexts. Topics for consideration include the development of art theory and art market, the emergence of genres and specialized subject matter, the history of collecting, and the politics of art patronage. Prerequisite: VMC 103  (ARH 103 ) or permission of the instructor. Spring. Fall semester. Oettinger.
  
  • VMC 281 - Modern and Contemporary Art & Criticism (4 Cr.)

    (ARH 281) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    Painting and sculpture in Europe. Emphasis on the development and exploration of a modern vision from the late 19th through 21st centuries. Prerequisite: VMC 103  (ARH 103 ) or permission of instructor. Spring semester. VMC faculty.
  
  • VMC 285 - History of Photography (4 Cr.)

    (ARH 285/COM 310) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    The history of photography from the earliest manifestations to the present. Prerequisite: VMC 103  (ARH 103 ) or permission of instructor. Fall semester, alternate years. VMC Faculty.
  
  • VMC 287 - Special Topics in Visual and Material Culture (4 Cr.)

    (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    An in-depth investigation of a topic of current interest in the fields of visual and material culture. Examination of a variety of methodologies and critical approaches. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or permission of the instructor. Variable semesters, first offered fall 2019. Oettinger, Sheller. 
  
  • VMC 288 - Topics in World Art (4 Cr.)

    (ARH 288) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    A course devoted to the visual culture of non-western and marginalized communities. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Prerequisite: VMC 103  (ARH 103 ) or permission of the instructor. Spring semester. VMC Faculty.
  
  • VMC 290 - Internship in Visual and Material Culture (2-4 Cr.)


    Students are placed in museums, galleries, federal art and historic foundations, preservation organizations, libraries, historical societies, and at historic sites for practical experience. Prerequisite: permission of the program faculty. Fall and spring semesters. Oettinger, Sheller.
  
  • VMC 299 - Independent Work in Visual and Material Culture (2-4 Cr.)


    Research or study of a focused topic in visual and material culture. Prerequisite: permission of the program faculty. Fall and spring semesters. Oettinger, Sheller.
  
  • VMC 310 - Documentary Editing and Archival Preservation (4 Cr.)


    Students will learn techniques of archival management and methods of documentary editing through hands-on work with primary documents. Prerequisites: sophomore standing and permission of the instructor. Variable semesters. First offered spring 2019. Sheller.
  
  • VMC 311 - Art in Focus (2 Cr.)

    (ARH 311)
    This intense 7 week course explores a masterpiece of art or primary text (related to the history of art) in context and from different methodological perspectives. Repeatable if topic is different. 
    Prerequisites: VMC 103  (ARH 103 ), VMC 281  (ARH 281 ), or permission from the instructor. Fall and spring semesters. VMC faculty.
  
  • VMC 315 - Preservation Workshop (4 Cr.)

    (HP 315)
    This course builds upon knowledge and skills students acquire in lower-level classes on material culture and historic preservation. Students may choose to focus their research on either historic architecture or material culture. Those students who choose to focus on historic architecture will work with local preservation agencies to document historic structures or districts in preparation for nominations or landmark status. Students wishing to work with material culture will choose an object or group of objects from the college’s Art and Artifact Collection or Special Collections to study intensively and then prepare for an exhibit. Prerequisite: VMC 110 /HP 110 , VMC 230 /HP 230 , or VMC 213 /HP 213 ; or permission of the instructor. Spring semester, offered 2020 and every other year. Sheller.
  
  • VMC 320 - Venice: The Art of a Multicultural City (4 Cr.)


    This course explores the visual and material culture of Renaissance Venice, a
    multicultural city on the sea and a crossroads of world trade in the early modern
    era. Through masterpieces of Venetian painting, sculpture, and architecture;
    mosaics, glass, textiles, costume, furniture, book arts, and print culture; as well as
    close readings of Venetian literature and historical documents, we will question
    how images and objects both reflected and shaped Venetian society, perspectives
    on the wider world, global exchange, civic and familial ideals, and notions of
    individual and communal identity. Students will gain a familiarity with the visual
    and literary traditions of a vibrant Renaissance city in the age of Bellini, Titian, and
    Tintoretto, the legacy of Venetian painting in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the
    role of Venetian visual culture in shaping the lure of Venice for modern painters
    and poets from Turner, Sargent, and Whistler to Ruskin, James, and Calvino. 
    Prerequisite: any 100-level course in Humanities. Offered spring 2021. Oettinger.
  
  • VMC 330 - American Sacred Space (4 Cr.)

    (AMS 330/ARH 330/RLG 330)
    This course examines the role of the built environment and natural spaces in American religious experience and practice. Through attention to methodological, theoretical and primary sources, we will examine how Americans have defined and designated spaces as sacred and thereby separate from the profane world. The class will take a field trip to a variety of “sacred spaces” in the Baltimore and/or Washington, D.C. area. Prerequisite: At least one course in Religion or Art History or permission of instructor. Fall semester. Offered 2018 and every other year. Duncan.
  
  • VMC 349 - History and Methods of Art History (2 Cr.)

    (ARH 349)
    This course explores modes of interpreting art artifacts from various perspectives, including feminism, Marxism, and structuralist methodologies, as well as different forms of analysis, including stylistic, iconographic, and contextual. Students will also learn methods of scholary research appropriate to the discipline, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing primary and secondary visual and textual sources. This project-based course emphasizes an object in Goucher’s Art and Artifacts Collection or documents/books in Special Collections & Archives. Prerequisite: VMC 103  (ARH 103 ) or permission of instructor. Spring semester. VMC faculty.
  
  • VMC 350 - Practicum in Visual and Material Culture (2 Cr.)

    (cross-listed with ART 350)
    A museum studies course in Visual and Material Culture focused on the practical and narrative aspects of exhibition design. Students will learn from both selected texts and hands-on, applied context, working to mount a cohesive exhibition in Silber Gallery. Students will learn the museum process of borrowing objects from private and institutional collections, the record-keeping and documentation of inventory; the handling of objects and their packing materials; strategies for narrative organization, and the proper methods of installation. Students will have the opportunity to brainstorm and propose programming to support the theme of the exhibition and its relevance to their extended community.
  
  • VMC 362 - Nature into Art: The Cultural Dimensions of Landscape (4 Cr.)

    (ARH 362) (GCR ENV)(GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)(WEC)
    This course explores the cultural dimensions of environmental sustainability, the complex relationship between humans and nature, and the historical roots of our ecological crisis through the lens of landscapes and gardenscapes in the visual arts over time and across cultures. Through landscape painting, gardens, and earthworks, we will address the ‘legibility’ and cultural construction of landscape imagery by exploring how artists have shaped, processed, and transformed nature, how humans have projected their identity, values, politics, and myths onto the land, and how visual constructions of landscapes shaped discussions and debates about the past, the present, and the future of the environment. Prerequisite: VMC 103  (ARH 103 ), sophomore standing, or permission of instructor. Spring. Variable semesters. Oettinger.
  
  • VMC 383 - The Art and History of the Book (4 Cr.)

    (ARH 383) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course surveys the history of the book and book illustration in the West, with emphasis on the art and poetics of word and image from ancient scrolls and the medieval codex to the printed and hypertext page. We will meet at Goucher’s Special Collections and Archives, which will provide a unique, hands-on opportunity to explore the art and history of the book through our “home” collection.   Our visits to several area collections of books and meet with conservators, collectors, book artists, and booksellers will also comprise a major part of the course. As we travel through a wide range of books from a variety of genres, we will consider the many ways that books make meaning,  physical aspects of books and their production, the evolution of writing (and type), illustration processes and styles, page design, and the artful ways that word and image embellish one another to communicate meaning.  We will also touch on broader questions including the place of books in history, the role of the book in society, the history of reading, manuscript and print culture, and the transformation of illustrated books in the digital age. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of instructor. Variable semesters. Oettinger.
  
  • VMC 497A - Visual and Material Culture Capstone I (2 Cr.)


    This capstone course is the first part of a 2-part sequence involving a student project that will be developed in the junior or senior year. The first part will emphasize research and project design in consultation with VMC faculty and faculty in other relevant disciplines. For the second part of the capstone, students will finalize their project and prepare it for a public presentation. Prerequisite: At least one 200- or 300-level course in VMC and Junior standing. Open only to VMC majors and minors. Fall semesters. Oettinger, Sheller.
  
  • VMC 497B - Visual and Material Culture Capstone II (2 Cr.)


    This capstone course is the second part of a 2-part sequence involving a student project that will be developed in the junior or senior year. The first part will emphasize research and project design in consultation with VMC faculty and faculty in other relevant disciplines. For the second part of the capstone, students will finalize their project and prepare it for a public presentation. Prerequisite: VMC 497A . Open to VMC majors and minors only. Spring semesters. Oettinger, Sheller.

World Literature in Translation

  
  • WL 230 - Special Topics in African Literature and Film (3 Cr.)


    This course, organized around a rotating thematic topic in a given semester, focuses on the construction of identity in post-colonial Africa and its varied expressions in literature and cinema. The examination of how contemporary cinematic and literary forms describe and react to the postcolonial condition highlights themes of dislocation and alienation, as well as issues of readership and audience in and out of Africa. Topic announced prior to registration. Can be repeated if different topic. Prerequisite: sophomore or permission of instructor. Can be taken in conjunction with FR 331 (inactive course).  Spring semester. Offered 2014-15 and alternate years. Martin.
  
  • WL 260 - Special Topics in European Literature (3 Cr.)

    (FR 260)
    This course examines a theme in European literature in historical content, across diverse national cultural traditions and with attention to other genres of artistic expression such as music, cinema, theatre and the fine arts. Through analysis of these diverse engagements with a common theme, this course explores the cultural diversity of Europe and the ways Europeans today are both drawing on and recasting a rich cultural heritage to address social issues today. Prerequisites: none. Course may be repeated if topic is different. Spring semester.

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

  
  • WGS 100 - Introduction to Gender, Race, and Sexuality in American Society (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 100) (GCR RPP) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This introductory course is an interdisciplinary examination of historical and contemporary issues in gender, race, and sexuality studies. This course draws upon a variety of sources - scholarly journals, autobiography, fiction, poetry, blogs and online media, political and historical analysis, and pop-culture discourses - with an emphasis on racial and ethnic diversity in American society. This course explores a variety of topics, including the evolution of women and gender studies, sexual orientation and gender identity, racial and ethnic identity formations, family, marriage and motherhood, masculinity, education, cultural images, health, sexual violence, creativity and performance, and political activism. Fall semester.
  
  • WGS 150 - Women’s Experiences in Global Perspectives (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 150) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    An interdisciplinary examination of women’s status and activism worldwide, including regional and local comparisons and the roles of government, nongovernmental, and international organizations in shaping women’s experiences. Fall and spring semester. TBA.
  
  • WGS 223 - African American Women Writers (4 Cr.)

    (LIT 223) (GCR RPP)


    Topics course.

    Topic Spring 2020: African American Women Writers: Toni Morrison and Her Contemporaries
    This course focuses on the novels of Toni Morrison and reads them in the context of her contemporaries in order to explore the realities that African American women writers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries present, along with the language they create. We’ll read four of Morrison’s novels-The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Beloved, and Home-and contextualize her work by also reading additional writers such as Alice Walker, ntozake shange, Gloria Naylor, June Jordon, Gwendolyn Brooks, Audre Lorde, Octavia Butler. We’ll explore the ways that these writers confront the violence of power and oppression as complex forces in society and human lives while at the same time giving us beauty-and love. 
    Prerequisite: WRT 181  or instructor’s permission.

  
  • WGS 224 - Is there life beyond the Looking Glass? Gender, Identity, and Race in Caribbean Culture (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 224) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    An interdisciplinary examination of women, their families, and society in Caribbean culture. Emphasis is given to the process of representation and self-portraiture of women in the works of contemporary Caribbean women writers, including Jean Rhys, Simone Schwarz-Bart, Ramabai Espinet, Ana Lydia Vega, Michelle Cliff, Edwidge Danticat, and Jamaica Kincaid, as well as to the themes of colonialism, resistance, migration, and exile. Prerequisite: WGS 100  or WGS 150  or sophomore standing. Fall semester. Offered 2015-16 and alternate years. François.
  
  • WGS 225 - Gender and Sexuality Studies (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 225) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    An interdisciplinary examination of theories of sexuality and their impact on specfic historical and contemporary sociopolitical movements and issues, such as marriage equality, sexual identity, motherhood, prostitution, race and sexual politics, formations of femininty and masculinity, youth access to sexual health education, and constructions of desire. With an emphasis on racial and cultural diversity in a US context, this course will engage with history and theory, expressions in the arts, personal narratives, contemporary social debates, and legal discourses. Prerequisite: WGS 100  or WGS 150  or permission of instructor. Spring semester.
  
  • WGS 227 - Becoming Visible: Fictions of International Female Identity (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 227) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course looks at the social, cultural, and political construction of femininity within different sociopolitical contexts. We read an internationally diverse range of women writers from various countries from the non-Western world. Thus we can explore the concept of female marginality in various modalities and its relationship to questions of power and gender formation. We look at the geographical, political, personal and imaginative space women occupy and discuss how women move through the world both literally and figuratively. Prerequisite: WRT 120  or WRT 181  or FYS 100W , and sophomore standing or permission of instructor. Fall semester. Offered 2011-12 and alternate years. François.
  
  • WGS 242 - Women and Environmental Justice (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 242) (ES 242) (GCR ENV)(GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course develops a decolonial-feminist theoretical approach to examining gendered relationships to nature. It critically examines how discourses of nature are shaped through imperial, racist, sexist, ableist, heterosexist, and colonial systems of oppression that construct our everyday relationships to the environment. In this course, we will examine social constructions of gender and nature, intersectional identities, and gendered body politics in relation to the environment to make sense of how gender mediates environmental experiences. The course examines everyday forms of knowledge production developed through readings, podcasts, and films from those situated across global north and south positions. Students will become familiar with similarities and differences in gendered relationships to the environment through specific areas of environmental study: animals, resource access and distribution, and environmental organizing and activism. Fall semester. Billo.
  
  • WGS 250 - Special Topics (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 250) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    Topics vary by term.
  
  • WGS 253 - Haitian History and the Culture of Resistance (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 253) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course examines Haitian history through various forms of creative expression that serve as forms of political, economic or epistemological resistance. The course addresses Haiti’s long history of resistance and social justice action before and since its birth as a nation in 1804. Of particular interest will be issues of nationalism, colonialism/racism, difference/identity, resources/wealth/environmental degradation, U.S. occupations (military and non-profit), displacement, trauma, geo-psychoanalytic space, exile and globalization. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. Spring semester every other year. Bess, Francois.
  
  • WGS 265 - Law, Ethics, and Public Policy: Current Issues (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 265) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    An examination of the legal, ethical, and public policy questions raised by controversial contemporary issues. Topic: abortion and reproductive technology. Focus on the impact of these issues on women’s lives. Prerequisite: WGS 100  or WGS 150  or sophomore standing. Fall semester. Offered 2011-12 and alternate years.
  
  • WGS 270 - Gender, Work, and Family (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 270) (cross listed as SOA 270 ) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    Examination of  gender expectations and experiences in work and family. Review of theories explaining effects of gender  on employment and family life. Issues discussed include occupational segregation, pay inequities, household division of labor, intimate partner violence, and alternate family forms. 
      Prerequisite: SOA 100 , WGS 100 , or WGS 150 . Fall semester. Offered 2013-2014 and alternate years. Shope, Smith.
  
  • WGS 276 - Feminist Philosophy (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 276) (Cross listed as PHL 276 ) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    A philosophical study of questions of gender and gender inequality. The class will explore social constructions of femininity and masculinity, theories of masculine privilege, and various, competing strategies for resistance. Students will reflect on gender in relation to other social inequalities, with particular attention to sexuality and heterosexism.  Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission of the instructor. Fall semester, alternate years.
  
  • WGS 282 - Women of North Africa and the Middle East (4 Cr.)


    This course examines the role of women in the greater Middle East region, from the pre-Islamic period through the present. Using primary sources, memoirs, and visual material, the course compares and examines the impact of religion (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), empire, slavery, colonialism, and nationalism on women in Arab, Iranian, Israeli, and Turkish civil society and history. Spring semester. Offered 2015-16 and alternate years. François.
  
  • WGS 299 - Independent Work (1-4 Cr.)


  
  • WGS 306 - Power and Privilege in the United States (4 Cr.)

    (formerly WGS 205) (cross-listed with PCE 306)
    This course will examine the history of race-based privilege and its evolution from the nineteenth century to today. By reading historical documents, biography and socio-economic studies, students will explore samples of structural violence in education, housing and employment. They will analyze the means through which injustices have been challenged. This course serves as the WID course for PCE and WGS. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. Fall and spring semester. Bess.
  
  • WGS 311 - Queer Film and Media (4 Cr.)

    (COM 430 ) (GCR RPP)(GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course will explore gender and sexuality nonconformity in cinema, television, video, and/or online media. Using readings drawn from queer theory and film criticism, we will examine significant queer auteurs and queer media practices, from activist videos to the New Queer Cinema movement to YouTube mashups. Topics to be considered include the politics of queer representation and visibility; appropriating and revising dominant mainstream images and genres; and queer aesthetics, sensibilities, and fandoms. Prerequisites: Completion of the WEC and WID requirements; and completion of two 200-level WGS courses, or two 300-level COM courses, or one 200-level WGS course and one 300-level COM course; and junior or senior status; OR permission of the instructor. Spring semester, alternate years.
  
  • WGS 325 - Women and Film (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 325) (Cross listed as COM 425 ) (GCR RPP)(GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course examines films and filmmakers noted for their singular, provocative approaches to screening women. Drawing on feminist and queer theories, we will explore how these films and filmmakers challenge and transgress gender roles and sexual norms while experimenting with cinematic form. Filmmakers to be studied represent a variety of historical periods, nationalities, and film traditions, including classical and contemporary Hollywood, avant-garde cinema, documentary, independent film, and international art cinema.  Prerequisites: WGS 330  and junior or senior status; OR COM 341  or COM 342 , and COM 262 , and junior or senior status; or permission of the instructor. Offered alternate years, Spring semester.
  
  • WGS 326 - Latin American/Caribbean Women, Resistance, Protest (4 Cr.)

    (formerly WGS 226) (LAM 326) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies Area)
    This course examines women’s participation in the human rights, social and political movements in Latin America and the Caribbean. The following questions will be addressed: 1) Why and under what circumstances gender and race became a central force in the development of these movements? 2) To what extent have feminist theory and theories of the state accounted for the nature of women’s protest and resistance? 3) How, why and were South American women instrumental in the sociopolitical process that led from authoritarian to democratic rule in their countries in the 1980’s and 1990’s? We will also explore Amerindian feminist agency being forged in the current round of struggles for the protection of territory and autonomy in Brazil, Chile and Mexico. The course will also be devoted to Afro-Iberian descendent forms of resistance, as expressed in the literary, visual and creative arts in Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil but also in the Caribbean: Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba. Prerequisite: PCE or WGS 100/200 level course, sophomore standing; OR permission of the instructor.
  
  • WGS 330 - Intersectionality: Diverse Feminisms (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 230) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course examines intersectional feminist theory in the United States, tracing its emergence in foundational texts from the 1960’s and 70’s, through contemporary intersectional discourses on race, class, gender, and sexuality. This course focuses on issues raised and analytic frameworks used by women of color and queer scholars, activists, and artists seeking to theorize power, critique privilege, examine identity, and envision liberation. Prerequisite: WGS 100  or WGS 150  or sophomore standing. Offered Fall 2016 and alternate years.
  
  • WGS 332 - Black Women’s History in the U.S. (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 232) (GCR RPP)(GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course will examine the social, political, and cultural history of Black women in the United States from the Colonial period through the present. With an emphasis on intersectionality, special attention will be given to constructions of race, gender, sexuality, and the diversity of Black experiences in the United States. Prerequisite: WGS 100 , WGS 150 , AFR 200 , or permission of instructor. Spring semester. Offered 2012-2013 and alternate years.
  
  • WGS 335 - Gender Identity, Expression, and the Body (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 235) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course will examine the social constructions of sex and gender, and will explore gender identity and expression, non-conforming gendered bodies, variance, ambiguity, performance, and embodiments. This course will employ an intersectional approach that evaluates the science of biological sex, race, class, sexual orientation, and other dimensions of identity using methods of inquiry from feminist studies, LGBT studies, queer theory, performance studies, and popular culture discourses. Prerequisite: WGS 100 , WGS 150 , or permission of the instructor. Fall semester.
  
  • WGS 337 - Gender and Migration: Where are you from? I “detect” an accent (4 Cr.)

    (formerly WGS 237)
    This course on gender and migration focuses on recurrent and recognizable patterns of migration that takes into account gender, politics, war, race, ethnicity, class and sexuality. It considers how economic factors, geopolitics, empire-building, neoliberal principles of national security and fighting terrorism affect the contemporary lived experience of migration. It will also address the human dimension of migration, of resisting, of border zones, statelessness, of identity, and dignity, survival and personal security. Prerequisite: WGS 150 , or a 100-level PCE course, or FYS 100 , or AFR 100, or permission of the instructor. Francois.
  
  • WGS 348 - Towards Collective Liberation: Activism and Organizing (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 248) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    Taking an intersectional and interdisciplinary feminist perspective, this course will examine the ways in which gender, sexuality, culture, race-ethnicity, and class shape political consciousness in the U.S.Topics include the evolution of conflicts and coalitions within organizations and social movements, neoliberal and progressive discourses around feminism, marriage equality, racial profiling, war, immigration, poverty, urban education, and health care, and the transformation of divisions into catalysts for vision, strategy, and implementing change through organizing. This course will engage the debate between community activists and academic theorists while highlighting coalition work and multi-issue approaches. Prerequisite: WGS 100  or WGS 150  or permission of the instructor.  Spring semester.
  
  • WGS 400 - Seminar in Selected Topics in Women’s Studies (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 300)
    An interdisciplinary seminar aimed at integrating theoretical approaches and research on women, gender, and sexuality that have emerged from a number of academic disciplines. Prerequisite: WGS 100  or WGS 150 . Spring semester.
  
  • WGS 420 - Transnational Feminist Theory and Women’s Activism (4 Cr.)


    Crossing the boundaries of nationality, ethnicity, citizenship, sexuality, and genre, this course brings together a plurality of women’s voices of the non-Western world that counter colonial, post-colonial, multinational, and masculine paradigms of “otherness.” The central aims are to examine the extent to which their activism and theoretical thinking grew out of historical conditions, to establish a dialog that forms the wide-ranging spectrum of women’s experiences across the globe, and to assess these social and political writings for national change in the 21st century. Prerequisite: junior standing. Fall semester. François.
  
  • WGS 490 - Internship in Women’s Studies (0-4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 390)
    A variety of WGS related internships are available. Students participate on site under the supervision of professionals in the field and also complete specific assignment(s) as determined by the faculty internship sponsor. Prerequisite: Permission of the director. May be taken for letter grade or pass/no pass.
  
  • WGS 499 - Advanced Independent Work (1-4 Cr.)

    (Formerly WS 399)

Writing

  
  • WRT 101 - Studio for Writers (1 Cr.)


    Students will concentrate on craft in this fast-paced, interactive studio. The Writing Studio covers eight points of emphasis for writers: drafting and composing, revising and editing, mechanics and grammar review, style and voice, research, collaboration, critical thinking, and effective writing strategies and habits of mind. Final evaluation will be based on an e-Portfolio. Pass/No-Pass graded only.  Fall and spring semesters. This course may be taken twice for credit.
  
  • WRT 108 - Intro to Creative Writing: Mixed Genres (4 Cr.)


    Students will explore several genres in creative writing, including poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction, as well as multimodal texts and emerging genres. Students’ work, plus the work of published authors in these fields, will form the foundation of the class discussions. Fall semester. Poliakoff-Chen.
  
  • WRT 120 - Introduction to Fiction Writing (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly ENG 120)
    This introduction to fiction writing seminar/workshop guides students as they develop basic techniques of fiction writing: plot, characterization, imagery, tone, narrative design, theme, and other fundamentals. The discussion group employs student work as text along with exemplary works of fiction. Fall and spring semesters. U’Ren.
  
  • WRT 181 - Writing Studies (4 Cr.)


    This course welcomes you into the Goucher Community of Writers and to the creative processes of inquiry, composition, collaboration, revision, and editing. You will develop strategies to read perceptively, think deeply, and write with clarity about complex issues. This course emphasizes research - the thoughtful, responsible use of sources that is part of joining ongoing academic conversations. In this intensive workshop, you will develop the habits of mind and practice of craft that characterize academic writing in all its complicated and graceful forms.  Fall and spring semesters.  (Please note that more sections are offered in the fall semester.)
  
  • WRT 181H - Writing Studies - Honors (4 Cr.)


    This course welcomes you into the Goucher Community of Writers and to the creative processes of inquiry, composition, collaboration, revision, and editing. You will develop strategies to read perceptively, think deeply, and write with clarity about complex issues. This course emphasizes research - the thoughtful, responsible use of sources that is part of joining ongoing academic conversations. In this intensive workshop, you will develop the habits of mind and practice of craft that characterize academic writing in all its complicated and graceful forms. In addition, students will hone their skills in extended writing projects and/or community-based learning opportunities. Placement by program. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor or director of the writing program.  Fall semester only.  Sterling, Welch, Poliakoff-Chen. 

     

    Please note:  WRT 181H is offered in combination with FYS 100W , a First Year Seminar (FYS) with Writing.  Students must apply for this Honors level combination of Writing and First Year Seminar.  Please see further course descriptions under the FYS 100W courses. 

  
  • WRT 199 - Independent Work (1-4 Cr.)


    Advanced studies and directed research. Center faculty.
  
  • WRT 201 - Studio for Writers II (2 Cr.)


    This writing studio is designed to help students earn College Writing Proficiency (CWP). Student will develop, research, and write an extended argumentative paper on a topic of their own choosing. Fall and spring semesters. Writing Program Faculty.
  
  • WRT 202 - Short Story Writing (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly ENG 202) (GCR Arts area)
    This course further examines craft in fiction writing, with special attention to the short story. Students write original short stories and discuss each other’s work in a seminar (workshop) format. Additional readings (stories, novels, and essays) will also be required and discussed. Prerequisite: WRT 108  or WRT 120  or senior standing or permission of the Director of Creative Writing. Fall and spring semesters. U’Ren, Poliakoff-Chen.
  
  • WRT 203 - Feature Writing for Newspaper and Magazines (4 Cr.)

    (formerly ENG 203)
    This intensive writing workshop focuses on identifying and interviewing candidates for feature stories.  Students will write feature stories based on their interviews and learn how to organize the material into compelling narratives.  Students will discuss each other’s work in a seminar (workshop) format.  Additionally, students will read and discuss published feature stories and articles about journalism. Students will also examine ethical concerns in interviewing and publishing.  Guest lectures from professional journalists.  The final project will be aimed at publication. Fulfills WEC requirement.  Spring semester.
  
  • WRT 205 - Introduction to Poetry Writing (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly ENG 205) (GCR Arts area)
    A poetry-writing course with in-class discussion of each class member’s poems. Assignments in common poetic forms (sonnet, sestina) as well as “free verse.” Readings in recent British and American poetry. Fall semester. Kunz.
  
  • WRT 206 - Professional Communication (4 Cr.)


    Open to students from any major, this course will develop and enhance students’ skills in a range of written and verbal communications in organizational settings. Students will work on a variety of projects, including standard business correspondence and career development documents in multiple platforms.  Students will also craft persuasive arguments in the form of longer researched articles and grant proposals. Students will learn to write for a range of audiences. There will be an emphasis on presentations as well. Prerequisites: WRT 181  or WRT 181H  or FYS 100W  or CWP. Enrollment preference is for Business Management Majors and Professional Writing Minors. Fulfills WEC requirement.  Fall and spring semesters. Writing Program faculty.
  
  • WRT 207 - Creative Screenwriting (4 Cr.)

    (formerly WRT 107)
    This creative screenwriting workshop course guides participants through the process of transforming an original story into a feature film script. Students begin by analyzing award-winning original screenplays in order to understand cinematic language and its unique method of communication, the demands of its particular form of narrative design, and the importance of act structure in this medium. Students then are shepherded through the complex screenwriting process together in workshop format. They will share with each other several project steps along the way to ensure that the screenplay itself reaches full potential. Students examine storyline and structure from concept to synopsis to script, with particular attention to act structure, scene arc design, dialogue, characterization, plot development, pacing, subtext, and visual storytelling. The class features a roundtable workshop format in a demanding environment where students participate as both artist and critic, providing analyses of each other’s work. The course allows each student the opportunity to complete a large-scale project in a fully realized workshop environment. Spring semester. U’Ren.
  
  • WRT 208 - Journalism Workshop (4 Cr.)

    (formerly ENG 208)
    This course introduces students to the basic techniques of journalism and practice in forms of news, interviews, features, and reviews.  Students learn specific techniques of newswriting, such as leads, edits, styles, and research.   The course also asks students to engage in a critical study of the media and examine key ethical issues in journalism. Guest lectures by professional journalists. Prerequisite:  WRT 181  or WRT 181H  or FYS 100W  or CWP. Fall semester.
  
  • WRT 210 - Act Structure and Plot (2 Cr.)


    The act structure component of narrative design is much like the blueprint of a building - never seen or examined by those who walk inside on ribbon-cutting day to appreciate carefully crafted archways, ceilings, and windows. Yet, this unseen blueprint is just as vital to the success of the plot in a novel, film, or story project. Act structure is an element considered at every stage of the writing process even though it is not meant to be detected or evaluated by outsiders. Understanding this unseen, yet vital, structural component in writing is crucial for anyone working in narrative design in any form: novel, film, or story. This two-credit course allows students to identify, analyze, and explore the act structure component of plot development. Students will study award-winning work as a means of understanding and appreciating the importance of dramatic act structure. The two-credit course will culminate with each student analyzing and presenting an act structure analysis from a medium of their choice. Spring semester, first offered 2020. U’Ren.
  
  • WRT 215 - Point of View (2 Cr.)


    In-depth examination of points of view in fiction - the choices available and their effects. Reading of published texts, seminar discussion, writing exercises. Spring semester, first offered 2020. U’Ren, Poliakoff-Chen, Staff.
  
  • WRT 219 - Linguistics (4 Cr.)

    (formerly ENG 219) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    Linguistics is the study of human language in all its complexity. This survey course covers the sound systems of the world’s languages; word formation, the creation of new words, and etymology; grammar, sentences structure, and style; semantics and meaning; pragmatics; language change and history of languages; dialects; slang; language and power; language and gender; and language acquisition. Students will analyze data from English and many other languages through linguistic problem sets and explore various aspects of their own language individually and in groups. Fulfills WEC requirement.  Prerequisite: WRT 181  or WRT 181H  or FYS 100W  or College Writing Proficiency (CWP). Spring semester. Garrett.
  
  • WRT 221H - Theories and Practice in Composing, Tutoring, and Teaching - Honors. (4 Cr.)

    (formerly ENG 221 and WRT 221) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    This course introduces students to the current theories of writing and composing both in print and digital environments, as well as to a variety of methods and strategies for teaching and tutoring. Students will learn about different learning styles, the various genres of writing, revision strategies, and helping writers across the curriculum, while enhancing their own writing, listening, and speaking. Intersections with issues of racial diversity, identity, power, ethics, and disability will be at the heart of this course. Students will also gain insight into the best practices in responding to multimodal texts and to the texts of multilingual writers. This course is designed for students who are recommended as potential Writing Center tutors and those interested in teaching careers. Students will be required to shadow current Writing Center tutors the first half of the course and to tutor toward the end of the course. Fulfills WEC requirement. Prerequisite: WRT 181  or WRT 181H  or FYS 100W  or CWP. With permission of instructor. Fall semester. Oweidat. 
  
  • WRT 226 - Creative Nonfiction I (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly ENG 226) (GCR Arts area)
    This course introduces students to the breadth of creative nonfiction. The course focuses on building skills, learning techniques of creative nonfiction writers, and examining potential subjects. Students will read and discuss contemporary essays, as well as each other’s writing in a seminar (workshop) format. Additionally, students will be asked to consider the ethical responsibilities of writers and to examine the qualities of successful creative nonfiction. This class fulfills the WEC requirement. Prerequisite: WRT 181  or WRT 181H  or FYS 100W  or College Writing Proficiency (CWP). Fall and spring semesters. Writing Program faculty.
  
  • WRT 272G - Intensive Course Abroad (4 Cr.)

    (GCR SA)


    SUMMER 2018 Offering:

    TRAVEL WRITING IN CURACAO

    This course asks you to explore the craft and the ethics of travel writing. The best travel writing offers readers an understanding of a country’s culture and history beyond the requisite descriptions of food and sunsets.  While you visit and study on the Caribbean-Dutch island of Curacao, you will learn about the history of the island, and how this continues to impact life for Curacao’s citizens, residents, and tourists. Curacao’s unique mix of languages and religions, together with Curacao’s economic and environmental struggles, provide a prime opportunity to understand a reporter’s ethical responsibilities.. Explore these issues in depth while you explore Curacao’s culture, history, economy, and beauty. Preference will be given to Creative Writing minors, Professional Writing minors, and English Majors with the Creative Writing Concentration. Prerequisite: WRT 181  or WRT 181H  or FYS 100W  or College Writing Proficiency (CWP). Summer 2018. Poliakoff-Chen.

  
  • WRT 281 - Writing Studies II: Special Topics (4 Cr.)


    Writing Studies II offers students the opportunity to examine specific genres in depth. Special topics include feminist rhetoric, community-based learning, medical narrative, and the graphic novel. This class fulfills the WEC requirement. Prerequisite: WRT 181  or WRT 181H  or FYS 100W  or sophomore standing or College Writing Proficiency (CWP). Writing Program faculty.
  
  • WRT 282 - Comics, Composition and Creativity (4 Cr.)

    (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    Many children learn to read by reading comics, yet for years comics were, at best, considered poor writing and were banned from classrooms and libraries. Today, however, comics have become a multi-million-dollar industry and have captured both the popular and scholarly imaginations. Why is this so? This class seeks to investigate this paradox and other related big questions (what is originality? What makes great art great?) by examining comic and sequential art through its representative genres and diving into the creative process itself. No prior drawing experience required. This class fulfills the WEC requirement. Prerequisite: WRT 181  or WRT 181H  or FYS 100W  or sophomore standing or College Writing Proficiency (CWP). Fall semester. Sterling.
  
  • WRT 283 - Writing Harry (4 Cr.)

    (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)
    Calling all witches and wizards! Grab your pens and quills and join us for an exploration of the world of Harry Potter: what role does the series play in promoting literacy? What influence does it continue to have in publishing and pop culture? In this course we will discuss both the Harry Potter books themselves, and the books that influenced Rowling in creating the Harry Potter universe. We will also investigate understandings of fandoms, genre fiction, and distinctions between literary influence, canonical conventions and plagiarism. Prior experience reading the Harry Potter books is not required, but suggested. This class fulfills the WEC requirement.  Prerequisite: WRT 181  or WRT 181H  or FYS 100W  or sophomore standing or College Writing Proficiency (CWP). Spring semester. Sterling.
  
  • WRT 284 - The Rhetoric of Islamophobia (4 Cr.)


    How is the rhetoric of Islamophobia constructed, circulated, received, and enacted? How can we encounter and disrupt this rhetoric and its manifestations? This course will examine the discourses of anti-Muslim prejudice and the mechanisms that drive Islamophobia in the U.S. in particular and the West in general. Using feminist rhetorical methodologies, we will investigate the historical roots of current Islamophobic attitudes, practices, and policies. Special attention will be given to Muslim women’s agency within this religious discourse and the ethical implications surrounding the discussions of their artifacts. This course will provide a space for us to engage in discussions with Muslims from Muslim-majority countries (via Skype) and Muslim Americans from our community. We will collaboratively think of creative ways to combat Islamophobia while producing written and multimodal works that make visible the network of relations keeping this hateful rhetoric alive and well. Class materials will include current events pieces, fictional and autobiographical accounts, scholarly articles, and films. This class fulfills the WEC requirement. Prerequisite: WRT 181  or WRT 181H  or FYS 100W  or sophomore standing or College Writing Proficiency (CWP). Oweidat.
  
  • WRT 285 - Analyzing Linguistic Data (4 Cr.)

    (GCR DA-AC)
    This course has four main goals: to introduce students to some areas of linguistic study such as dialect variation, register analysis, and sociolinguistics; to explore some of the ways that linguists use data to learn more about language and how people use language; to examine how linguists, academics in general, and students themselves use written language; and to introduce students to the genre of scholarly linguistic writing (and academic writing more generally). Students will read scholarly and popular works in the field of linguistics; collect, analyze, present, and write about linguistic data; conduct group and individual research; and share their findings with the class. Students will learn to work with several corpora including the Corpus of Contemporary American English and the Dictionary of American Regional English and will also create and analyze data from their own corpus. The class will culminate with students developing their own research question, conducting their own research, and presenting it to the class as both an oral presentation and a paper written in the style of published linguistic research. This final paper will be a multi-draft paper, and we will conduct peer review and one-on-one conferences to help students revised their work. Prerequisites: WRT 181  - Writing Studies (4 Cr.) or WRT 181H  - Writing Studies - Honors (4 Cr.) or FYS 100W  - First Year Seminar Writing (4 Cr.), and GCR Data Analytics Foundational Level completion. This class fulfills both the WEC and DA-AC requirements. Fall semester. Garrett.
  
  • WRT 290 - Internship in Writing (0-4 Cr.)


    Students’ internships in editing, publishing, journalism, radio and television, advertising, public relations, mentoring other students, and being a TA for classes can qualify for credit in WRT 290. Internships can be on- or off-campus endeavors. Students have interned at a variety of sites, including journals, newspapers, magazines, literary agencies, literary magazines, radio stations, and book publishers. (Occasionally, students may receive internship credit while working for the college newspaper.) Faculty sponsorship is required. The number of credits correlates to the number of hours worked. May be taken either for a letter grade or pass/no pass.
  
  • WRT 299 - Independent Work (1-4 Cr.)


    Advanced studies and directed research. Center faculty.
  
  • WRT 301 - Studio for Writers 3: Special Topics (1 Cr.)


    This writing studio is designed for students to write about their shared experiences such as Study Abroad and Community Based Learning, in a group setting.  Students will have the opportunity to discuss their writing with each other and receive feedback from their peers, in this instructor-guided writing course.  The Special Topics will include high impact practices, as well as other significant shared experiences, such as the Grieving Process through Writing.  Fall semester.  Rauwerda, Oweidat, Terry, Poliakoff-Chen.
  
  • WRT 305 - Writing Workshop: Poetry (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly ENG 305)
    Supervision of individual creative projects in poetry. Formal and thematic weekly assignments with in-class discussion of class members’ poems. Suggested prerequisite: WRT 205  (ENG 205) or WRT 415  or permission of the instructor. Spring semester. Spires.
  
  • WRT 306 - Writing Workshop: Fiction (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly ENG 306)
    Supervision of individual creative projects. Individual conferences and weekly seminar meetings. Prerequisites: WRT 108  or WRT 120  or WRT 202  or permission of the instructor. Spring semester. Bell.
  
  • WRT 307 - Creative Nonfiction II (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly ENG 307)
    Further work in creative nonfiction. This writing workshop requires several extensively revised papers and peer critiques of essays. Prerequisite: WRT 226  (ENG 226) or another 200-level writing course. Spring semester. Center faculty.
  
  • WRT 309 - Translation (4 Cr.)


    This course introduces students to the main theories and trends in the field of translation, familiarizing them with common debates about best translation practices. By comparing multiple translations of the same source text and examining a variety of media, including literature, film, and music, students will consider the aesthetic, cultural, and social issues facing translators. Students will also have the opportunity to put theory into practice through writing assignments. Students may not know all pertinent languages but will be given the information needed to attempt their own translations. Students will acquire practical translation skills, an understanding of why translation matters, and an appreciation for the art of translation. A command of English and some knowledge of another language is required. Prerequisite: WRT 181 ; and WRT 108  or WRT 206  or permission of the instructor. Fall Semester: Schutt
  
  • WRT 310 - Transnational Rhetorics (4 Cr.)


    Cross cultural encounters happen to us every day. However, are these encounters happening in an ethical way? How can we know? How do systems of oppression function across national borders, giving particular representations and interpretations validity and power? In this seminar, we will wrestle with these questions from a transnational rhetorical lens, broading our perspective of rhetoric beyond a Eurocentric focus. We will examine a variety of texts wtihin a global system; fictional and autobiographical accounts, scholarly articles and films. Additionally, we will explore the ways in which place, nationality, and culture as well as other differences impact the contruction, circulation and reception of these works. Prerequisite: Wrt 181 or WRT 181H. Offered every other spring semester. Oweidat
  
  • WRT 311 - Medical and Healthcare Rhetoric (4 Cr.)


    What role does writing play in the world of medical science and mental health? This course seeks to investigate the role of language in practices and structures of health and medicine. Defining rhetoric broadly as the persuasive element in human interaction, we will explore how meaning is created, analyzed and criticized in the communication of healthcare, and how messages are delivered and structured in medical and healthcare-related contexts. Topics of interest may include career-related writing, the rhetoric of mental health, patient narratives, health literacy, patient-professional communication, disability studies and the rhetoric of alternative medicines and practices. We’ll also explore communicative acts involved in public health issues such as HIPAA, the role of patients in decision-making, AIDs, heredity, end of life decisions through multiple lenses: patients, clients, healthcare professionals, and advocates. Prerequisite: WRT 181 . Fall semester, repeated spring semester. Sterling/Professional Writing and Rhetoric Staff.
  
  • WRT 312 - Science Writing: Process and Poetry (4 Cr.)


    This 300-level course will engage in an overview of the field of science writing with an emphasis on understanding this work as an act of translation, or, as science writer George Johnson once put it, “explaining the strange in terms of the familar.” We will focus on the thinking and writing skills needed to write in a clear, compelling, entertaining way about science for a general audience. The course will cover how difficult scientific concepts and natural processes can be made clear to a general audience by using an array of techniques common in nonfiction reporting and storytelling: interviewing, observation, research, narrative, scenes, character, action, and metaphor, which one writer has called the “lifeblood” of science writing. Readings will include book excerpts and articles from such mainstream publications as Discover, Scientific American, Smithsonian, National Geographic, The New York Times, The New Yorker and Orion. Prerequisite: WRT 181 . Fall semester, repeated spring semester. First offered 2021. Hirsch, Professional Writing and Rhetoric Staff.
  
  • WRT 314 - Grants, Policies, and Persuasion (4 Cr.)


    This course teaches students to write effective grants and clear policies, while examining the rhetoric of persuasion. Prerequisites: WRT 181  and WRT 206 , or permission of the instructor. Fall semester. Poliakoff-Chen, Sterling, Professional Writing and Rhetoric Staff.
  
  • WRT 317 - Literature and Film: Screenplay Adaptation (4 Cr)

    (formerly WRT 217) (GCR Arts area)
    Writing for a visual medium poses a set of unique challenges, especially in the adaptation process. This course guides participants through the elements of film writing and the methods of transforming the literary narrative into a feature film script. Students analyze award-winning adaptations of novels and short stories in order to understand cinematic language and its unique method of communication, the demands of its particular form of narrative design, and the importance of advanced structural planning for the medium. Students then are shepherded through the complex screenwriting adaptation process, going through several related projects and approval stages to ensure that their semester project reaches full potential. Students examine storyline and structure from concept to synopsis to script, with particular attention to dialogue, adaptation techniques, characterization, plot development, pacing, subtext, and visual storytelling. The class also features a roundtable workshop format in a demanding environment where students participate as both artist and critic, providing analyses of each other’s work. The course allows each student the opportunity to complete a large-scale project in a fully realized workshop environment. Prerequisite: WRT 181  or FYS 100W  or CWP or sophomore standing. Fall semester. U’Ren.
  
  • WRT 319 - Conlangs: Inventing a Language (4 Cr.)


    Students will invent a fragment of a language, including sound system, morphology, and syntax while learning more about the grammar of English, and, to a lesser extent, other natural and constructed languages. At the end of the semester, students will have created a partial grammar of their invented language and translated a short piece from English to their new language. Prerequisite: WRT 181  or WRT 181H  or FYS 100W. Offered Spring 2021 and every 3 spring semesters. Garrett.
  
  • WRT 401 - Studio for Writers 4 (1 Cr.)


    This writing studio is designed to support students across disciplines who are writing senior capstone projects and senior theses. Spring semester. Writing faculty.
  
  • WRT 414 - Advanced Seminar: Creative Non-Fiction (4 Cr.)


    An advanced workshop in creative non-fiction. Written work for the seminar will be an extended creative non-fiction project. In-class critique of students’ work, as well as discussion of published creative non-fiction works. Prerequisites: WRT 226 /ENG 226 or WRT 307 /ENG 307 or another 200-level WRT course. Spring semester.
  
  • WRT 415 - Advanced Writing Workshop: Poetry (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly ENG 315)
    An advanced workshop in poetry. Written work for the seminar will be an extended project consisting of 10-15 pages of poetry. In-class critique of students’ work. Prerequisites: WRT 205  (ENG 205) or WRT 305  (ENG 305) or permission of the instructor. Fall semester. Spires.
  
  • WRT 416 - Advanced Writing Workshop: Fiction (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly ENG 315)
    An advanced workshop in fiction. Written work for the seminar will be an extended project consisting of either three or four finished short stories (or chapters, with permission of instructor). In-class critique of students’ work. Prerequisites: ENG/WRT 202  or ENG/WRT 306  or permission of instructor. Fall semester. Bell.
  
  • WRT 420 - Advanced Creative Writing: Visiting Writer (4 Cr.)

    (Formerly ENG 300)
    The Kratz Center for Creative Writing invites an established fiction or creative nonfiction writer (from outside the current Goucher community) to teach this semester-long course. May be taken twice for credit. Spring semester.  
 

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