THE HONORS PROGRAM AT ALVERNIA COLLEGE

Excellence, Interaction, Enthusiasm

English Course Offerings

The Bible as Literature
This course will educate students on how to apply techniques of literary criticism to books or passages in the Bible. Students will also learn to appreciate the excellence of the biblical writings in assorted genres, parable, short story, long narrative, lyrical poetry, and drama. They will benefit from a fresh reflection on the Bible.

Sacred and Secular Art and Literature
This course is a related-arts study of the styles and structures of works by major artists and writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Science and Technology in Literature
A multi-media and critical approach to fiction and some non-fiction concentrating on the impact of science and technology on modern life; authors include H.G. Wells, Aldous Huxley, Michael Crichton, Ursual K. Le Guin, and Nancy Kress.

CSI: Fact or Fiction
A study of the structure and content of detective/crime stories in novel and short story form as well as in film and television versions to explore elements of fiction and reality. Experts from criminal justice and forensic fields will assist in this exploration.

Love in World Literature
 A multi-media approach to great work in world literature whose dominant theme is love.

Honors Shakespeare: Histories and Comedies
This course is a study of Shakespeare’s development as a writer of historical dramas and comedies. This course will give the student a general background in Elizabethan and Jacobean Theater. It will allow the student to develop an appreciation for Shakespeare’s mastery of language and insight into the human nature. It will also provide a forum in which students may, through viewing and classroom activities, come to a greater understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare’s stagecraft.

Russia Stage & Screen
This course provides instruction in Russian drama and theatre practice, primarily from the periods during the Russian Revolution (roughly 1905-1930). Russian theatre gained importance tin world culture fro two main reasons. First Russian theatre in this period ranks as one of the great ears of theatrical development that ranks with the Greeks and Elizabethan England. This era saw the debt productions of Chekhov’s plays, the development of the Moscow Art Theatre and the Meyerhold Theatre, and a group of artists that effected world theatre and world film (i.e. Eisenstein). Secondly, almost all-acting training done in the world today is influenced in some way by the world of Constantin Stanislavky. Therefore, as a result of this course students should gain a greater appreciation for the contributions of Russian theatre in world culture as well as identify influences of Russian drama and theatrical practice in contemporary entertainment. Also, because of the peculiar intersection of government and culture in Russia at the time, students should gain a greater knowledge of the history of a foreign culture as well as gain insight into the issues that arise from conflicts between government and the arts.

Honors Colloquium: Religion in the Movies
The goal of our discussion is to survey the relationship between religion and film both as a means of communicating ideals and values to society and to the individual. This goal is designed as an exploration of the techniques used to convey these ideals and values to an audience. It is not, however, a comprehensive study of the means of film interpretation.

Classics in Literature and Film
Critiquing and exploring great works of fiction and drama and their film versions.

Comedy
No Course Description Given

Contemporary American Culture This course will focus on contemporary America and the definition of that national ideal which we call the “American Dream.” We will approach this ideal as a motivational force and as an influence upon three aspects of contemporary American life: our personal ideals, scientific and technological changes, and important social movements. Specifically, this course will pose three questions relevant to each unit’s presentation of these three aspects;

• Where have we come from?
• Where are we now?
• Where are we going?

Short Novel
Middle-length works can combine the best aspects of short stories and novels; this course allows students to read and critique a number of short novels by prominent authors.

Vampires to Batman
This course explores some of the major Gothic elements in literature and film by concentrating on the vampire legends, the Frankenstein pattern, and a range of paranormal subjects, such as ghosts. It also includes the influence of the original forms on contemporary literature, film and culture.

Brave New World
How do authors create fictional worlds that are as "real" as our own? Emphasis will be on some of the basic elements of these worlds, such as political systems, diverse social groups, distinctive languages, moral conflicts and an extended history.

Satire and Sentiment
Come read authors poking fun at society! Description, illustrations, and analysis of kinds of satire and levels of sentiment in fiction and poetry, including 18th-century masters, Swift and Sterne and Pope, and modern experts, Philip Roth and Don DeLillo and W. H. Auden.

Theater History
A comprehensive study of the history of theatre from its origins through the post WWII era.

For More Information, Contact:
Dr. Victoria Williams, Director of the Honors Program
Francis Hall 406
Office Phone (610) 796-5511
Victoria.williams@alvernia.edu

Updated: October 12, 2006

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