In both ENGL 1202 and ENGL 1204, students will engage in writing-intensive activities as they analyze literary texts. They will apply literary analysis through close reading, informed discussion, and formal writing. Most ENGL 1202 sections focus on topics chosen by the individual instructors. ENGL 1204 involves the study of genres (poetry, drama, fiction, etc.) and some instructors of ENGL 1204 have topics as well. NOTE: This list is subject to change without notice.
ENGL 1202 and 1204 Topics for Summer 2020*
Richmond Campus
ENGL 1202 R10 - Kirsten Alm
Migration, Memory and Being in Literatures of the West Coast. In this class, we will read and discuss literature which explores how individuals find—or do not find—ways to be at home on the West Coast. Beginning with translations of stories from the Haida and the Stó:lõ Coast Salish peoples and finishing with contemporary literature by authors including Madeleine Thien and Fred Wah, we will investigate how personal and cultural experience and expectation conditions the way individuals perceive and respond to place.
ENGL 1202 R11 - TBA
Surrey Campus
ENGL 1202 S10 - Mark Cochrane
Love and Power. “How do people get power over one another?” asks Anne Carson’s book The Beauty of the Husband. This course will feature literary works (by Edith Wharton, David Henry Hwang, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, and others) that expose the structures of power within which, and in resistance to which, love relationships arise. At the same time, these texts explore love as projection, illusion, interpellation, fantasy—as a product of the roles that culture invites individuals to play, in dynamics both imaginary and real.
ENGL 1202 S11 - Mark Cochrane
Love and Power. “How do people get power over one another?” asks Anne Carson’s book The Beauty of the Husband. This course will feature literary works (by Edith Wharton, David Henry Hwang, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, and others) that expose the structures of power within which, and in resistance to which, love relationships arise. At the same time, these texts explore love as projection, illusion, interpellation, fantasy—as a product of the roles that culture invites individuals to play, in dynamics both imaginary and real.
ENGL 1204 S10 - TBA
Langley Campus
ENGL 1202 L10 - Steve Weber
War Literature. In these times of constant sabre-rattling, manipulative fear-mongering, and interminable wars, a democratic people ignores war narratives at its peril. While reading some of the best war literature of the twentieth century, students in this course will begin to understand what it might be like to live through war.
Civic Plaza
ENGL 1202 P10 - Greg Chan
Grey Matters. Gandalf the Grey said it best: “For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” Grey, the colour associated with compromise, impartiality, old souls, and seriousness, plays a dynamic role in literature. In this section of ENGL 1202, students will explore morally grey characters, grey symbolism, grey settings, and grey areas across a series of short stories, novels, essays, and films.
ENGL 1202 and 1204 Topics for Spring 2020*
Richmond Campus
ENGL 1202 R10 - Gillian Bright
Ghost Stories. From chilling apparitions to mysterious phantoms, ghosts have populated literature for centuries. We will consider the cultural and historical significance of ghosts, exploring the hidden meanings of “haunted” poems, plays, short stories, and novels.
ENGL 1202 R11 - Paul Ostrowski
Relationships and Conflicts. Conflict is central to all forms of art. Whether in music, visual arts or Literature, conflict provides the necessary “energy” to compel our attention. This course will examine the role of conflict in poetry, short fiction, and drama; we will focus on different forms of conflict and their role in the development of tone, plot, and character.
ENGL 1202 R12 - Elizabeth Gooding
Must Love Trees: Looking at the Natural World. What does literature suggest about our connection to nature—or our disconnection from it? Bring your metaphorical hiking boots as we explore poems, stories, essays, a novel, and documentaries that address this question.
ENGL 1202 R13 - Duncan Greenlaw
Creative Destruction. Through Camus, Beckett, Plath, Ginsberg, Hamsun, and other writers, this course looks at how people refuse to conform—or fail to conform—to societal norms, and how new codes and beliefs are re-built from the wreckage of old ones.
ENGL 1202 R14 - Jennifer Williams
Don't Tell Me What to Think: Resistance and Conformity in Literature. Explore individuals’ struggles to be true to themselves and how they come to an understanding of their role in society. Through discussions of poems, plays, and short stories, we will investigate what influences perceptions of self and others.
Surrey Campus
ENGL 1202 S10 - Kelly Doyle
Contemporary Horror. Why do we love horror stories? Critically examine the horror genre via comics, graphic novels, short fiction, and film/television clips/viewings in this class. Via monsters, zombies, and more, we’ll discuss sexuality and gender, class and race, nature versus civilization, liminality, and how monsters/humans are defined. 3 seats reserved for International students. Reserves to be lifted March 20.
ENGL 1202 S11 - Leanne Macdonald
The Middle Ages in Contemporary Culture. Although their own stories take place many centuries in the past, legendary heroes like Hua Mulan, King Arthur, Salah ad-Din, and Robin Hood have a habit of resurfacing whenever we need them to help us tell stories about who we are today. In this course, we will examine the concept of 'medievalism' by considering contemporary texts, film, and television that engage with the Middle Ages alongside medieval literature in order to analyze how authors and filmmakers use an imagined version of the medieval era to grapple with modern issues.
ENGL 1202 S12 - Gavin Paul
The Literature of End Times. This course seeks to connect the current fascination with apocalyptic scenarios in popular culture--unstoppable plagues, cataclysmic wars, natural disasters, merciless invaders--to a survey of highly readable texts from the past 400 years.
ENGL 1202 S13 - Robert Pasquini
Representing Nature. Literary representations of the natural world are rarely neutral. This course will examine contemporary and historical texts that highlight the ways in which authors utilize (and manipulate) concepts of nature to diverse ends as they respond to issues including activism, animality, extinction, habitat, or resilience. By determining the beliefs, desires, or fears informing these narratives of nature, we will, in turn, reveal the nature of narrative.
ENGL 1202 S17 - N.P. Kennedy
The Other Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote plays. Now plays, novels, films and manga are written about him. Study a variety of artworks that all do something to with or about Shakespeare: lover, fool, villain, hero.
ENGL 1202 S18 - Bryn Jones Square
Books, Brains, and Benevolence. This course will explore how the perspective-taking facilitated by literature, film, and television can be used as a powerful tool for addressing urgent social justice issues and for coping with mental illness. We will read texts about climate change, human and animal rights, AI, depression, loneliness, and more and investigate why the study of literature is not only meaningful but also relevant to our lived experience.
Langley Campus
ENGL 1202 L10 - Gaye Hickman-Barr
Voices Across Continents. Listen to four women writers from four different continents re-defining the notion of the writer's authority. We analyze the use of the double voice, hear echoes of oral practices and read their subversion of patriarchy.
Online Courses
ENGL 1202 A75 - Ranjini Mendis
The Journey and The Traveler. This fully online section will feature physical, imaginary, and metaphorical journeys, and how people change (or don't) through their experiences. You will be given plenty of opportunity to develop your expository, interpretive, and analytical skills.
ENGL1202 and 1204 Topics for Fall 2019*
Richmond Campus
ENGL 1202 R10 - Jennifer Williams
Don't Tell Me What to Think: Resistance and Conformity in Literature. Explore individuals’ struggles to be true to themselves and how they come to an understanding of their role in society. Through discussions of poems, plays, and short stories, we will investigate what influences perceptions of self and others.
ENGL 1202 R11 - Elizabeth Gooding
Must Love Trees: Looking at the Natural World. What does literature suggest about our connection to nature—or our disconnection from it? Bring your metaphorical hiking boots as we explore poems, stories, essays, a novel, and documentaries that address this question.
ENGL 1202 R12 - Andrew Bartlett
Animal Stories, Animal Songs. Cow and bear, mongoose and snake, cat and dog, elephant, eagle, and whale. Storytellers and poets have always marvelled at the power, beauty, and mysterious nature of nonhuman animals. This section explores texts that focus on the relationships between us and the nonhuman creatures with whom we share the world.
ENGL 1202 R13 - Gillian Bright
Ghost Stories. From chilling apparitions to mysterious phantoms, ghosts have populated literature for centuries. We will consider the cultural and historical significance of ghosts, exploring the hidden meanings of “haunted” poems, plays, short stories, and novels.
ENGL 1202 R50 - Mark Cockrane
Love and Power. “How do people get power over one another?” asks Anne Carson’s book The Beauty of the Husband. This course will feature literary works—by Edith Wharton, David Henry Hwang, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, and others—that expose the structures of social and cultural power within which, and in resistance to which, love relationships rise and fall.
ENGL 1204 R11 - Paul Ostrowski
Conflict. Conflict is central to all forms of art. Whether in music, visual arts or Literature, conflict provides the necessary “energy” to compel our attention. This course will examine the role of conflict in poetry, short fiction, and drama; we will focus on different forms of conflict and their role in the development of tone, plot, and character.
Surrey Campus
ENGL 1202 S10 - Leanne Macdonald
Who’s Passing for Who? In this course, we will explore the ways in which literary figures negotiate their own identities as they cross or challenge categorical boundaries of race, gender, sexuality, class, and even humanity. From disguised fairies and cross-dressing heroines in Chaucer and Shakespeare to body-snatchers in Jordan Peele’s Get Out, we will examine different examples of the perennial theme of passing in works ranging across several centuries and genres.
ENGL 1202 S11 - Paul Tyndall
The Great War in Literature and Film. In this course, we will explore the impact of World War One on modern literature and modern society by studying poems, short stories and films inspired by the so-called "Great War." This course is part of the Zed Cred program, which means there are no textbook costs. All of the texts will be posted on the course website.
ENGL 1202 S12 - Kirsten Alm
Indigenous and Diasporic Resistance. In this course, we will read and discuss essays, short fiction, and poetry by writers affected by colonialism and migration. We will explore their critique of the political and social “script” prepared for them by the dominant, Euro-American culture of North America as well as by others within their own cultural group. We will then examine how they have navigated and negotiated boundaries and borders between cultures.
ENGL 1202 S13 - John Rupert
Satan, Sex, and Demoniacs. Enter, if you dare, a realm where demons attack and destroy the powerful and vulnerable: aristocrats and intellects, lovers, loners, and families! Let us explore how masters of horror represent demonic possession in poetry, fiction, and film.
ENGL 1204 S10 - Wendy Smith
Through the study of short stories, poems, and plays, you will learn how to analyze literary texts and develop skills and techniques for writing about literature.
ENGL 1204 S11 - TBA
Langley Campus
ENGL 1202 L10 - Gaye Hickman-Barr
Voice from Four Continents! Listen to four women writers from four different continents re-defining the notion of the writer's authority. We analyze the use of the double voice, hear echoes of oral practices and read their subversion of patriarchy
ENGL 1202 L11 - Kirsten Alm
Indigenous and Diasporic Resistance. In this course, we will read and discuss essays, short fiction, and poetry by writers affected by colonialism and migration. We will explore their critique of the political and social “script” prepared for them by the dominant, Euro-American culture of North America as well as by others within their own cultural group. We will then examine how they have navigated and negotiated boundaries and borders between cultures.
ENGL 1204 L10 - Brian Swail
The Grand Tour. A great work of literature can transport you to unexpected places. We will look at a sample of several centuries worth of great works (with suspects both usual and unusual) – pack your bags!
Online Courses
ENGL 1202 A75 - Ranjini Mendis
The Journey and the Traveler. This fully online section of the regular 1202 course will feature physical, psychological, and metaphorical journeys and their impact on characters you will meet in selected short stories and novels. You will have many opportunities to develop your analytical, expository, and interpretive skills.
*More topics may be announced in the coming weeks
All prerequisite waivers for ENGL classes must be approved by the Chair of English, Dr. Robert Dearle. Please contact him by email: Robert.Dearle@kpu.ca.
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