Los Angeles Pierce College
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT


 

English 32: Direction Magazine: Join the staff of Pierce's literary magazine, Direction.  You will select student poems, fiction, essays, art, and photography for the annual issue, then edit, design, and print the magazine.

English 127: A creative writing workshop in which students read their original compositions in prose or poetry, to be critiqued by their peers.  Students also generate work through writing exercises which are designed to expand their talents as writers.  Students produce a portfolio of work by the end of the semester and are graded on the completion of this portfolio. 
 

English 203: Introduces selected great literary works of the world from ancient times to the Renaissance.  Ancient Greek, Roman, and Asian classics. Medieval romances, lyrics, and plays up to the Renaissance.  Accepted for credit  at UC and CSU.
 

English 204:

Introduces selected great literary works of the world from the Renaissance to modern times. English 203 is not a prerequisite. Accepted for credit at UC and CSU.

English 205: From Beowulf to Chaucer, Milton's Paradise Lost to Shakespeare's sonnets, through Spencer's epic Faerie Queene and Sidney's tale of star-crossed lovers in Astrophil and Stella, to the wit of Alexander Pope and the satire of Jonathan Swift, students in English 205 study classics of English literature from its beginning to the Restoration and 18th century.  Read poetry, prose and drama, engage in scintillating discussion, and broaden the horizons of your experience through the words of some of the masters of the English language. Accepted for credit at UC and CSU.

English 206:

In the second half of the English Literature series, we move from the Early Romantic period, through the Victorian and Modern periods, tasting a wide range of  works by Britain's greatest writers and thinkers along the way.  Since much of who we are today has been shaped by the forces of these periods, we will be exploring not only the works of these figures, but also the ideas that helped shape them and the impact of those ideas on the evolution of contemporary perceptions of reality. Accepted for credit at UC and CSU.

English 207:In addition to the reading of oral texts by Native Americans and narratives by women and by former slaves, this course introduces students to the early formation through literature of America's values, virtues, and vices.  The course will consider colonialism, racism and slavery, sin and depravity, revivalism, individualism, wealth and morality, westward expansion, abolitionism, feminism, environmentalism, and democracy.   Accepted for credit at UC and CSU. 

Examine the major American literary movements from 1865 to the present, as writers confront industrialization, urbanization, immigration, integration, evolutionary theory, 2 world wars, modernism, and the re-evaluation of American cultural identity.  Read prose (short story and novel), poetry, drama, non-fiction, including two Nobel laureates: Faulkner and Morrison. Accepted for credit at UC and CSU.

English 210:        

     20th Century Novel                 

Come read some of the most important novels of the twentieth century.  English 210 explores landmark works by authors you've probably heard of, including Joseph Heller, Virginia Woolf, and Joseph Conrad.

English 211:

Why do we tell stories? What do stories tell us? English 211 explores the storied world, covering classic and contemporary short stories and novels primarily from the Western tradition.
Accepted for credit at UC and CSU.

English 215: We will examine and revel in the early comedies of William Shakespeare.  Come and laugh at love.   Accepted for credit at UC and CSU.       

English 216:

This course will examine the true heart of Shakespeare’s drama: passion, love, hate, and redemption.  We shall read the later plays and focus on the characters’ humanity, villainy, and humor.  Come see why Shakespeare attracts audiences world wide centuries after he lived. Accepted for credit at UC and CSU.

English 218: A survey of literature suitable for children of different age levels. Emphasis will be placed on story telling, acquaintance with authors and the development in children of appreciation of literature. Recommended for prospective parents, elementary and secondary teachers. Here's the syllabus from last semester, soon to be updated. Accepted for credit at CSU.

English 219: A study of the literature of American ethnic writers: stories, novels, plays, poems, essays, and other prose works. Works are examined in the context of traditional and contemporary problems of American ethnic groups.
 

English 239: Women have always been writers, but few people have heard of the early women who wrote.  We will read and discuss some early writers and some more modern ones. The course will be partly online. Here's the syllabus from last semester, soon to be updated.
 

English 250: How can you know where you're going if you don't know where you've been!  Learn the lore of earlier times, the stories of heroes and villains, of magical creatures and ordinary mortals, of deities and supernaturals.  We will read myths, epics, poetry, and prose from Sumer, Egypt, India, Greece, Rome, Scandinavia, and Celtic lands.  The class includes a visit to the Getty Museum.  Accepted for credit at UC and CSU. Here's the syllabus from last semester, soon to be updated.
 

English 251:

covers classic, experimental, and contemporary short stories of all kinds, especially works by American authors.  Through lectures and discussions, this course will sample many of the world's greatest storied inventions, with an inside look at the writers' own perspective of their craft.

English 252: Whether you think you already know the Bible thoroughly or have no experience with it directly at all, this class will probably stimulate your thinking. We're going to look at The English Bible as Literature in one semester from a feminist point of view so we can ask new, insightful questions about its composition and literary values.  The course is open to anyone with an inquiring mind about one of the most important texts in Western literature. Students in the past have enjoyed the broad sweep of the course as it provides a comprehensive introduction to the scholarship of Biblical literature. If you have questions about the course, please see Prof. Follett's Web Site for a sample syllabus and Supplemental Reading List. Accepted for credit at UC and CSU.
 

English 270: This class is so fun, you'll forget you're earning THREE INEXPENSIVE, TRANSFERABLE ELECTIVE UNITS.  Seriously.  J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are considered by many readers today to be the "Ur" fantasy books--the origin of fantasy.  And the science fiction novels--Out of the Silent Planet, Solaris, and Snow Crash--explore outer space, inner space, and cyber space, respectively.