Spring 2025 Courses

Spring 2025: Undergraduate English Courses

ENG 201 001 INTRO TO SHAKESPEARE

Instructor: John Vignaux Smyth
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is low-cost.¹

We will read:

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Othello
• Julius Caesar
• Hamlet
• Troilus and Cressida

Secondary texts will include René Girard’s A Theater of Envy and other critical materials, and Vladimir Nabokov’s short story “That in Aleppo Once,” a title taken from Othello. Films will include Gregory Doran’s 2009 Hamlet, starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart, and the Tennant and Tate version of Much Ado About Nothing. Also Woody Allen’s A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, and John Cleese in The Taming of the Shrew.

The main requirements are two essays and two weekly Canvas Discussion posts.

The class is conducted entirely in writing, without class meetings or Zoom lectures.

ENG 300 001 LIT FORM AND ANALYSIS

Instructor: Sara Atwood
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

A required course for PSU English majors, ENG 300 focuses on skills of literary analysis. Students in this class will learn methods of interpreting the complex relationships between form and content: what a text has to say, and how the text is put together. In studying texts of varying genres (poetry, drama, fiction, and film) and through both formal and informal writing exercises, students will gain confidence and ability in asking hard questions of a literary text, exploring its formal and thematic intricacies, and using writing as a tool for developing complex interpretations supported with evidence. We will consider the craft of writing, paying close attention to meaning, language, style, and structure. The idea is not to analyze the life out of the works we read, but to appreciate them more fully by understanding how they work.

ENG 300 002 LIT FORM AND ANALYSIS

Instructor: Michael Clark
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings

ENG 301U 001 TOP: SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY

Instructor: Jonathan Walker
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

In this course we will read and discuss four Shakespearean tragedies: The Most Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus; The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice; The Life of Timon of Athens; and King Lear. Titus Andronicus is perhaps Shakespeare’s earliest tragedy, which was first printed in 1594 with no authorial attribution on its title page. Othello appeared around the middle of Shakespeare’s career, and it overturns a number of racial and generic expectations with its action. Timon of Athens is a very unconventional tragedy and, as a result, has been deeply unpopular among playgoers and critics alike. King Lear, finally, has often been hailed as Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy, though the English poet and essayist Charles Lamb called the play “painful and disgusting” as well as “essentially impossible to be represented on stage.”

Our guiding questions in this class will center on the generic or formal identity of these plays, that is, their tragic qualities. What is tragedy? What did early modern audiences expect to see when they attended a tragedy in the theater? Why did sensational qualities—blood, death, public suffering, social chaos—draw people out to watch tragedy? And how do tragedy’s formal characteristics—the fall of a hero, a fatal miscalculation, a particular plot structure—give meaning to such stories? We will examine how the literary form of tragedy predisposes us as readers and playgoers to interpret dramatic action in certain ways, and, in turn, how the plays’ disruption or frustration of our formal expectations transforms the possibilities of interpretation. We will likewise give attention to questions of social class, language, race, and gender as they are posed by these four plays and by the early modern English culture from which they come.

Most of our in-class time will involve discussing such questions in these four texts, along with a few other short readings. There will be few lectures. The course will therefore require you to have read the plays carefully and to be prepared to discuss and ask questions about them during class meetings. Because of the course’s discussion-based format, its success will depend upon everyone’s active participation as we seek to answer these various questions together.

ENG 304 001 CRITICAL THEORY OF CINEMA

Instructor: Josh Epstein
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings

"Critical theory" is a loose and baggy term that encompasses a range of tools and concepts meant to help us to ask complex questions about how films generate meaning in the world—and then, to question the questions. (The term "critical theory" has aroused a lot of anxiety the past few years—much of that discourse has been hopelessly simplistic and anti-intellectual and I hope we can bracket it for ten weeks!)

We can start with a seemingly basic question: why is going to see movies such a pleasurable activity? We may be surprised to find this question harder—also, perhaps, more necessary—than it initially appears. We will explore it by way of four overlapping sets of questions related to film theory:

1. Genre and authorship. How do preconceived assumptions about genre shape film production and reception? What does it change if we do or don’t understand films as “authored” texts?
2. History, ideology, and realism. To what extent does a film present a vision of the “real world”; to what extent is that idea of “realism” bound up with ideological and historical assumptions; how can films not only represent or narrate the world, but act on it?
3. Gender, desire, and “the subject.” How does the film apparatus speak to the mind and body of the spectator? How do films’ manipulations of a “gaze” or a narrative structure our desires and identifications? What power dynamics do these “gazes” reproduce or critique?
4. Race, nation, and empire. How can film offer possibilities for resistant or “oppositional” modes of spectatorship that challenge stereotypes or conventional attitudes toward race and nation? How do genre and spectatorship work differently in global or colonial contexts?

This is a remote/online-only class. Assignments will include weekly forum postings and a final exam. As a supplement to our primary readings and films (distributed as PDFs via Canvas), you will be asked to acquire the book Understanding Film Theory, by Ruth Doughty and Christine Etherington-Wright (I encourage you to find this book used/online; any edition is ok). Films are still TBD but may include some (not all) of the following directors: Eisenstein, Hitchcock, Sirk, Fassbinder, Deren, Hammer, Pontecorvo, De Sica, Dash, Waters, or Peele.

ChatGPT is a no-no in this course. Students of all majors and backgrounds are welcome (regardless of their [in]experience with film), but I advise you not to enroll if you choose not to write and think for yourself. Thinking in new ways is hard work, and I hope critical theory helps you to embrace the challenge!

ENG 305U 001 TOP IN FLM: THE MOVIE MUSICAL

Instructor: Daniel Pollack-Pelzner
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

ENG 306U 001 TOP: MODERN IRISH WRITERS

Instructor: Susan Reese
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

ENG 306U 002 TOP: FUTURES OF NOSTALGIA

Instructor: Matthew Ellis
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

The Time is Out of Joint

–Hamlet, Shakespeare

It seems to be easier for us today to imagine the thoroughgoing deterioration of the earth and of nature than the breakdown of late capitalism; perhaps that is due to some weakness in our imaginations.

–Fredric Jameson

Mark Fisher, Svetlana Boym, and others have suggested that contemporary popular culture is mired in a nostalgic mode, one that responds to tumultuous and traumatic changes in the world with a retreat into the safety of past styles and aesthetics. For evidence, one could point to any number of examples: the dominance of sequels and franchise reboots in Hollywood cinema, 1990s and early 2000s nostalgia in fashion, or the retro spirit of -wave electronic music genres that find their way into independent films such as Uncut Gems through the music of Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never). As Fisher has suggested, it is as if the future itself has been “slowly cancelled.”

This course asks why this contemporary wave of cultural nostalgia emerges when it does and how we might read these media objects symptomatically to better understand what has happened to conceptions of the future in an age of media change, economic crises, and the looming threat of environmental collapse. In the process, it will investigate the historicizable, material conditions that give rise to new permutations of the cultural sphere, distinguishing contemporary, twenty-first century nostalgia with the earlier wave from the mid-twentieth century (or even that which emerged a century before). The goal is to ask how the cultural form of nostalgia—an inability even to imagine what a future might look like on screen or in our digital media—points to the ways in which our contemporary crisis exposes its own fault lines.

ENG 307U 001 SCIENCE FICTION

Instructor: Jacob Tootalian
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

ENG 325U 001 POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

Instructor: Sarah Lincoln
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill or betray it.

–Frantz Fanon

Postcolonial literature encompasses writing from global sites once and still impacted by the experience of colonization. Though “postcolonial” first described nations emerging from the shadow of colonial domination, it is more than a simple historical marker: “postcolonialism” is most fundamentally a project, an ongoing struggle for freedom whose battleground is every sphere of human life, from the individual psyche to national political life and the environment – and the university as an institution. Beginning with student protest movements in South Africa, this class will ask how anticolonial and decolonial struggles, theories, and perspectives can help us make sense of our own experiences today, in the university and beyond.

Close readings of novels, films, and poetry from Africa, the Caribbean, and India will help us stay grounded as we work through a few of the field's important theoretical texts and the issues they address: violence and its aftermaths; knowledge and power; psychology; gender; language & representation; ethics and justice; and the environment, among many others. 

Required Texts:

• Baxter Theater Company, The Fall
• Coetzee, Life & Times of Michael K
• Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions
• Sinha, Animal’s People

Films:

• Everything Must Fall
• Paradise Now

ENG 327 001 CULTURE, IMPERIALISM, GLOBAL

Instructor: Sarah Lincoln
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings

Though there have been many attempts to identify the start of modern globalization, most agree that its origins lie in the experience of imperial conquest and expansion that began in the fifteenth century. Even now, pundits continue to debate whether to describe today’s world in terms of “globalization” or “neo-imperialism,” whether what defines our planet today is a utopian model of connection, mobility, and opportunity, or a dystopian structure of domination, infection, and exploitation. Partially, this depends on your position within these structures, but our attitudes and opinions are also naturally shaped by the cultural texts that seek to represent this era: the films, novels, tv shows, and other efforts to make sense of the experiences, structures, and modes of thinking that are shaped by, and help shape, our material relations.

In this class, we will work to consider the intersections of globalization and imperialism, and the continued relevance of “postcolonial” perspectives to our current era. Reading novels, films, and theoretical works from Africa, India, the Caribbean and beyond, we will grapple with topics like: economic dependence and domination; education, language, and culture; the environment, climate change, and slow violence; political conflict and the legacies of violence and war; migration and mobility; and the work of art in our time.

Required Books:

• Conrad, Heart of Darkness (9780393264869)
• Adiga, The White Tiger (9781416562603)
• Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism (9781583670255)
• Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions (9781644450710)

ENG 340U 001 MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

Instructor: Karen Grossweiner
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

This course provides an introduction to the themes, genres, history and cultures of the Middle Ages, expanding beyond anthologies and the 200-level survey course. We will critically read and discuss texts from various genres including the Breton lay, courtly romance, philosophical dream vision, saint’s life, chronicle/romance and travel narrative in order to better understand European social and cultural life during this very fertile period as well as how medieval intellectual and artistic traditions permeate thought in contemporary society and culture. Much of our discussion will focus on how to read medieval texts: how composing rhetorically transforms ideas about originality, how a manuscript culture problematizes notions of textuality, and what extensive scribal interventions and interpolations suggest about authorial privilege. Issues of gender will also be heavily addressed, as we consider such topics as the somewhat controversial idea of fin’ amors (courtly love) as well as feminine/masculine identity in a society that privileges male homosocial relationships. While the majority of the texts will be Modern English translations, we will read several in the original Middle English.

Required Texts:

• The Mabinogion
• The Lais of Marie de France
• Sir Orfeo
• Silence
• Pearl
• The Death of King Arthur
• The Travels of Sir John Mandeville
• Stanzaic Life of Margaret

ENG 343U 001 ROMANTICISM

Instructor: W. Tracy Dillon
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is low-cost.¹

The Romantic was invented by Shakespeare, in the character of Hamlet, and was refined by Milton, in the figure of Satan... Poetry ever since has been a form of Romanticism, whether orthodox or in rebellion against it.

–Harold Bloom

The PSU catalog has this to say about ENG 343: “Selected works of Romantic literature; introduction to themes, genres, history, and culture of Romanticism.” Beyond absorbing some of the greatest hits of English Romanticism, you should expect to come away from the course with an enhanced understanding of the function of poetry (as Romantic poets attempt to explain it), a sense of the historical continuity that constitutes “a poetic tradition” (a Euro-western one, anyway), and emerging expertise on authors or topics of your choice related to the very broad historical and aesthetic movement commonly referred to as “Romanticism.” It’s a sweeping term, with dizzying historical, critical, and aesthetic implications, as suggested by Bloom’s assessment above.

Our approach to the complexities of Romanticism will be to simplify. I tend to retain a canonical approach to 300-level courses, encouraging you to read as much of this good stuff as you can in the short time we have together. So: Read, read, read! You will be writing weekly responses to questions about the module lectures and readings as well as completing a final exam at term’s end.

What about textbooks?

I provide online links to major works and major figures so that you can easily complete the course without paying for expensive anthologies. In this way, I try to minimize costs.

Read: No textbook required.

But if you prefer hard copy (and who doesn’t?) just about any healthy anthology of English Romantic poetry/literature will serve, as well as a standard scholarly edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

I recommend the following editions.

David Perkins, English Romantic Writers, 2nd Edition.

The Perkins text can be ridiculously expensive and hard to track down online, but it’s seminal. As I write this course description, the Evil Empire of Amazon lists its price (from used to new) at $19.99-$175.64. Ouch. Amazon also projects a delivery date of six-to-seven months. However, savvy internet book shoppers should be able to find used copies that are less expensive and more readily available.

A good alternative is Editor Michael O’Neil’s Blackwell's Romantic Poetry, 1st edition.

Alternatively, the Norton Anthology of English Literature: Romanticism is a solid choice, and you can find plenty of older/used editions online for good prices.

My recommended edition of Frankenstein is the Bedford/St. Martin's edition edited by Johanna Smith. It’s pretty inexpensive, availability looks good, and you can get it on Kindle (if that’s your thing) for a whopping $1.99!

Romanticism rules! Come check it out, and if you have questions, let me know: dillont@pdx.edu.

ENG 353U 001 AFRICAN AMERICAN LIT III

Instructor: Anoop Mirpuri
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

For over a century, critics have debated whether the literature written by black people should be classified as a genre. Many believed that such literature should be grouped together (despite their differences) because they represent the shared experience of a “race.” And yet, black writers have long worried that the burden of representing black people imposes limitations on their development as artists. Could black artists reach their full potential so long as they were expected to be sociologists of the race? Once black people achieved formal legal equality, would black authors finally be free to simply be authors?

Today—sixty years since the passage of civil rights legislation—the wealth gap between the top 10% of and bottom 90% of black people mirrors the wealth gap between the top 10% and bottom 90% of white people. As many have observed, these facts call into question whether “race” should continue to be understood as the defining feature of a person’s experience. Nevertheless, the assumption that literature written by black people constitutes a specific genre doggedly persists, shaping how such literature is read, taught, and marketed.

While many contemporary authors have avidly embraced the designation of their work as “black,” many have pushed back against the default tendency to view art in racial terms. This course will examine how black novelists in the post-civil rights era have tried to carve out a space for themselves as artists in a world that insists on reducing their art to the realm of sociology. In particular, we will identify and discuss the artistic strategies they’ve developed to challenge readers’ expectations and to solicit more complex and nuanced responses to their work.

Required Texts:

• George Schuyler, Black No More
• Octavia Butler, Kindred
• Colson Whitehead, Zone One
• Paul Beatty, The White Boy Shuffle
• Percival Everett, Erasure

ENG 367U 001 TOP: AMERICAN GOTHIC LIT

Instructor: Hildy Miller
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.²

Gothic literature is positioned right on the boundaries between reason and madness, mind and spirit, self and Other, natural and supernatural. Always, it reflects what haunts individuals in some way—and what haunts American culture at different historical moments. In this course we will read as widely as we can through two centuries of Gothic novels, short stories, and poetry and we’ll watch at least one film in an effort to define for ourselves the history of the American Gothic. We’ll consider the tropes of this genre and the fears and anxieties about race, genders, sexuality, urban, rural, and domestic spaces, ghosts, witches, grotesques, monstrosities, ancestral curses, the unconscious and dreams, and death itself. Figures include Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Louisa May Alcott, Flannery O’Connor, Henry James, Ray Bradbury, Zora Neale Hurston, Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, and others. Counts for credit in American Studies Cluster. Course will be held as remote asynchronous on Canvas.

Texts:

• American Gothic: From Salem Witchcraft to H.P. Lovecraft: An Anthology. Ed. Charles L. Crow. 2nd edition. London: Blackwell
• American Gothic Tales. Ed. Joyce Carol Oates. New York: Plume-Penguin, 1996.

Both texts available at PSU bookstore, Amazon, and elsewhere.

Questions? Contact Hildy Miller, milleh@pdx.edu.

ENG 372U 001 TOP: BODIES, POWER & PLACES

Instructor: Sally McWilliams
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

ENG 383U 001 TOP: SUPERHEROES GAME & ETHICS

Instructor: Moshe Rachmuth
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

ENG 383U 002 TOP: KAFKA & GRAPHIC NOV

Instructor: Steven Fuller
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

ENG 413 001 TEACHING & TUTORING WR

Instructor: Dan DeWeese
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

ENG 420 001 CARIBBEAN LIT

Instructor: Christopher Ian Foster
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

ENG 428 001 CANONS AND CANONICITY

Instructor: Elisabeth Ceppi
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is low-cost.¹

This course examines how traditions of “great works” have been established, contested, and creatively appropriated. What are the criteria for distinguishing such works and authors, how have they changed over time, and how are they marked by categories of social difference such as gender, race, and class? How do they embody, express, and transmit forms of power and value, and how do those values shape—and get shaped by—institutions like schools, publishers, media and the market? We will consider how the meanings of these works emerge from their encounters with students, teachers, readers, scholars, and artists who interpret, adapt, and are influenced by them.

We will explore these issues by taking Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter as a case study of “classic” American literature, tracing its critical and cultural history. We will read it alongside Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, a work with similar themes published a decade after Hawthorne’s novel, which has become a critical text in multiple “revisionist” canons. We will consider the afterlives of these texts, and the effects of canonicity on artistic creation and cultural reception, in three contemporary works: Suzan-Lori Parks’ play Fucking A, the film Easy A, and Percival Everett’s novel, James. Pre-requisite: ENG 300; Co-Requisite: WR 301. This course fills the Culture, Difference, and Representation requirement for the BA/BS in English.

Required Texts: (available at PSU Bookstore)

• Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (Dover) 
• Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Dover) 
• Percival Everett, James (Doubleday)

Note on costs: Even at full list prices for new copies, the total cost of these books is under $40. Unfortunately, James is not yet available as a paperback, but the bookstore will price-match! 

ENG 441 001 ADV TOP: REN METAMORPHOSES

Instructor: Jonathan Walker
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Ovidian Adaptation and Transformation in Renaissance England:

Probably no other classical text exercised the minds and imaginations of English Renaissance writers as much as Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The fifteen-book poem takes as its central thematic the physical transformation of bodies—of “bodies becoming other bodies” (l. 3), in Allen Mandelbaum’s translation—including gods into human and animal forms, demigods and humans into flora, fauna, and inanimate objects, rocks and other natural phenomena into human form, changes in sex, color, and so on. The Metamorphoses was translated into English and printed by Arthur Golding in 1567 and once again by George Sandys in 1626, and (depending on how one counts) the 165–250 stories originally written and adapted by Ovid became the subject of countless poems, plays, and allusions throughout the medieval and Renaissance periods.

In this seminar, we will explore the legacy of The Metamorphoses in Renaissance England by examining some of the ways that Ovid’s stories of transformation were themselves transmuted into new narratives in order to serve the variable tastes of Renaissance readers and playgoers. To acquire a sense of these new narratives and their fidelity to and deviation from Ovid’s poem, we will spend the first three weeks of class reading the entirety of The Metamorphoses in a modern translation, after which we will study such texts as Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Francis Beaumont’s Salmacis and Hermaphroditus, excerpts from Golding’s 1567 translation, among other plays, poems, and translations.

The course is reading-intensive and above all discussion-based—there will be very few lectures. This means that you should be prepared to commit considerable time to reading and preparing for class and to participate actively in the discussions that will occupy most of our class time. During our conversations, I encourage you to voice your questions as well as your observations and ideas about the material: such contributions will be essential to the insights and knowledge we will gain about The Metamorphoses and the influential effects that Ovid’s poem produced within the English Renaissance cultural imaginary.

ENG 447 001 MAJOR FORCES: LIT & PHILOSOPHY

Instructor: John Vignaux Smyth
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings

This class begins with the rivalry between poetry and philosophy in classical Greece, specifically with the dialogue between philosopher Plato and comedian Aristophanes as we may deduce it from the former’s Symposium and Republic, and the latter’s Clouds, Frogs, and Assembly of Women. At the same time, via Jacques Derrida’s, Leo Strauss’, and Martha Nussbaum’s commentaries on Plato and Aristophanes, we will explore the problem as it has been interpreted by philosophers in the twentieth century. In the second half of term, we turn to René Girard’s theoretical reading of Shakespeare in A Theater of Envy, particularly A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Troilus and Cressida. Finally, we will read several of Franz Kafka’s stories, including "Investigations of a Dog" and "Josephine the Singer, or The Mouse-Folk," which treat the relation between knowledge and art in modernity.

Main requirements: Two essays and two weekly Canvas posts. The class is conducted entirely in writing without Zoom meetings or lectures.

Back to Top

Spring 2025: Graduate English Courses

ENG 507 001 SEM: POSTWAR US POETRY/POETICS

Instructor: Tom Fisher
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

In this seminar we will read, write about, and discuss a range of essays and poems produced in the United States during the second half of the 20th century. Exploring the work of writers associated with Black Mountain College, the San Fransisco Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement, Beat culture, Language Writing, New Narrative, and more, we will trace transformations across the art in both theory and practice. No previous knowledge required. Course requirements will include reading (poems and essays), writing (weekly responses and a final) and speaking (seminar discussion and an informal presentation).

ENG 507 002 SEM: GOTHIC CHILDHOOD

Instructor: Maude Hines
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Leslie Fiedler has famously claimed that our national literature is “almost essentially a gothic one,” referencing the originary sins of chattel slavery and genocide against indigenous peoples; in the same text he proclaimed “the great works of American fiction” to be “notoriously at home in the children’s section of the library.” This seminar will examine the intersections of childhood, the Gothic, temporality, and the haunting persistence of our racist legacies. While students are invited to bring in relevant texts they’re working on in other contexts, the majority of shared readings are drawn from the English department’s Gothic and American Gothic reading lists. Those of you who have chosen either of these for your focus area will get a chance to study them in good company. This is probably a good time to mention that we’ll be covering emotionally difficult material: we are going to be thinking about childhood in relation to the Gothic and the history of American chattel slavery. And we're going to talk about it in ways that collapse temporality to understand that, in the words of Morrison's Beloved, "all of it is now."

Reading list:

Novels

• Henry James, The Turn of the Screw (1898)
• Alison Bechdel, Fun Home (2006)
• Jesmyn Ward, Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017)
• Choose one:
  • William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! (1936)
  • Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987)

Poetry

• Emily Dickinson, “A narrow fellow in the grass”; “Of nearness to her sundered things”
• Richard Wright, “Between the World and Me”
• Sylvia Plath, “Lady Lazarus” and/or “Daddy”

Short Stories

• Edgar Allen Poe, “The Black Cat” (1843) 
• Madeline Yale Wynne, “The Little Room” (1895)
• Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (1953); “The Artificial N—”
• Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1966)
• Carmen Maria Machado, “The Husband Stitch”
• Helena Maria Viramontes, “The Moths”
• Leslie Marmon Silko, “The Yellow Woman”
• Walker, “The Flowers”
• Ellison, “A Party Down at the Square”
• Baldwin, “Going to Meet the Man”

Secondary Sources

• Hershini Bhana Young, Haunting Capital (excerpt), On reserve
• Maisha Wester, African American Gothic (chapter/s of your choosing)
• Sigmund Freud, “The Uncanny” excerpt
• Teresa Goddu, Gothic America (chapter/s of your choosing), On reserve
• Fred Botting, Gothic (chapter/s of your choosing), Available online at PSU library
• Diana Wallace and Andrew Smith, The Female Gothic: New Directions, pp. 1-12.
• Renee Bergland, The National Uncanny: Indian Ghosts and American Subjects, pp. 1-24.
• Eve Sedgwick, “The Structure of Gothic Conventions” (in The Coherence of Gothic Conventions)
• Nicolas Royle, The Uncanny, Introduction
• Hines (choose one): 
  • “Mature Themes: Childhood in the African American Literary Scene of Encounter”;
  • “Across the Ditch: Race, Childhood, and the Machinery of Fate in Faulkner”; 
  • “‘The Blight—Sooner or Later—Strikes All’: Childhood and the Biopolitics of Racialized Lynching” 
• Roszak, Uncanny Youth: Childhood, the Gothic, and the Literary Americas (chapter/s of your choosing), Available online at PSU library
• Gross, Dangerous Children: on Seven Novels and a Story (Prologue)

Optional

• Austin, Monstrous Youth

ENG 518 001 COLLEGE COMP TEACHING

Instructor: Kate Comer
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

ENG 520 001 CARIBBEAN LIT

Instructor: Christopher Ian Foster
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

ENG 531 001 TOP: COLLOQUIUM

Instructor: Josh Epstein
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

ENG 541 001 ADV TOP: REN METAMORPHOSES

Instructor: Jonathan Walker
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Ovidian Adaptation and Transformation in Renaissance England:

Probably no other classical text exercised the minds and imaginations of English Renaissance writers as much as Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The fifteen-book poem takes as its central thematic the physical transformation of bodies—of “bodies becoming other bodies” (l. 3), in Allen Mandelbaum’s translation—including gods into human and animal forms, demigods and humans into flora, fauna, and inanimate objects, rocks and other natural phenomena into human form, changes in sex, color, and so on. The Metamorphoses was translated into English and printed by Arthur Golding in 1567 and once again by George Sandys in 1626, and (depending on how one counts) the 165–250 stories originally written and adapted by Ovid became the subject of countless poems, plays, and allusions throughout the medieval and Renaissance periods.

In this seminar, we will explore the legacy of The Metamorphoses in Renaissance England by examining some of the ways that Ovid’s stories of transformation were themselves transmuted into new narratives in order to serve the variable tastes of Renaissance readers and playgoers. To acquire a sense of these new narratives and their fidelity to and deviation from Ovid’s poem, we will spend the first three weeks of class reading the entirety of The Metamorphoses in a modern translation, after which we will study such texts as Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Francis Beaumont’s Salmacis and Hermaphroditus, excerpts from Golding’s 1567 translation, among other plays, poems, and translations.

The course is reading-intensive and above all discussion-based—there will be very few lectures. This means that you should be prepared to commit considerable time to reading and preparing for class and to participate actively in the discussions that will occupy most of our class time. During our conversations, I encourage you to voice your questions as well as your observations and ideas about the material: such contributions will be essential to the insights and knowledge we will gain about The Metamorphoses and the influential effects that Ovid’s poem produced within the English Renaissance cultural imaginary.

Back to Top

Spring 2025: Undergraduate Writing Courses

WR 121Z 001 COMPOSITION I

Instructor: Margaret Muthee
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is no-cost.²

WR 121Z 002 COMPOSITION I

Instructor: Kyle Nunes
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is no-cost.²

WR 121Z 003 COMPOSITION I

Instructor: Richard Afriyie
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is no-cost.²

WR 210 001 GRAMMAR REFRESHER

Instructor: Caroline Hayes
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings

WR 212 001 INTRO FICTION WRITING

Instructor: Derrick Galloway
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is no-cost.²

Introduces the beginning fiction writer to basic techniques of developing character, point of view, plot, and story idea in fiction. Includes discussion of student work. 

WR 212 002 INTRO FICTION WRITING

Instructor: Rachel Blair
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Fiction can be anything—even real life! In this class, writers from various levels and backgrounds will learn the basic techniques of developing their craft via story elements such as character, point of view, setting, sound, and more. This will include discussion and revision of student work where you will be encouraged to play around, dig deep, and investigate not only yourself but the world around you.

WR 213 001 INTRO POETRY WRITING

Instructor: Kelly McLysaght
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 213 002 INTRO POETRY WRITING

Instructor: Consuelo Wise
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 214 001 INTRO NONFICTION WRITING

Instructor: Kayla Vokolek
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 222 001 WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS

Instructor: Madison Willis
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings

WR 222 002 WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS

Instructor: Nina Rockwell
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings

WR 227Z 001 TECHNICAL WRITING

Instructor: Jacob Tootalian
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 227Z 002 TECHNICAL WRITING

Instructor: Julie Kares
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.²

WR 300 001 TOP: CROSS-CULTURAL COMM

Instructor: Sidouane Patcha
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings

In today’s interconnected world, effective communication across cultures is essential for success in various fields, from technology and healthcare to the arts, business, and public service. This interdisciplinary course explores theories, strategies, and real-world applications of cross-cultural communication, with a focus on diverse urban environments where science, technology, media, and social movements intersect.

Students will engage in interactive discussions, case studies, and experiential learning to understand how cultural values, beliefs, and communication styles shape interactions in professional, academic, and community settings. The course will explore how globalization, digital communication, and artificial intelligence influence cross-cultural exchanges in diverse professional and social environments.

By the end of the course, students will develop critical cross-cultural communication skills necessary to thrive in an increasingly diverse and globalized world.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Analyze key concepts in cross-cultural communication and apply them to real-world professional settings.
2. Identify and evaluate the impact of cultural values, norms, and beliefs on communication styles.
3. Navigate cultural misunderstandings and conflicts using intercultural communication techniques.
4. Assess the role of technology, artificial intelligence, and media in shaping cross-cultural perceptions and interactions.
5. Develop strategies for fostering inclusive and ethical communication in diverse workplaces, communities, and social environments.
6. Enhance cultural awareness and adaptability to collaborate effectively in globalized workplaces and communities.

WR 301 001 WIC: CRITICAL WRTING ENGLISH

Instructor: Sara Atwood
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

This course will sharpen students’ critical, analytical, and interpretive skills through engagement with a variety of literary texts (poetry, short stories, essays, and novels). We will study and practice a range of strategies for thinking and writing about literature and will generate ideas for essays through close reading and discussion. Students will learn to effectively integrate secondary sources into their work; to engage with and respond to critical commentary and debate; to organize and communicate clearly and persuasively; and to develop a practice of drafting, revising, and editing.

WR 301 002 WIC: CRITICAL WRTING ENGLISH

Instructor: Kate Comer
Instructional Method: Hybrid
This course is low-cost.¹

What is English Studies? What do we do? How do we do it? Why?

WR 301 engages these foundational questions while providing opportunities to practice core skills of textual analysis, critical inquiry, and rhetorical delivery.

As a class, we will work through the process of generating ideas, developing interpretations, exploring scholarly conversations, and articulating your contributions. Individually, you will apply those lessons to a primary text (e.g., short story, documentary, video game, play, etc.) of your own choosing and develop a research agenda suited to your goals. Throughout, you will be intellectually challenged and supportively coached toward healthy writing practices that transfer across contexts.

WR 312 001 INTERMED FICTION WR

Instructor: Janice Lee
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is no-cost.²

Building off of fictional techniques introduced in WR 212, students will engage with topics related to craft (point of view, character, narrative, setting, etc.), look more closely at their own relationship with language and narrative structure, and aim to produce two completed works of original fiction. Students will also participate in workshops and provide written critical engagements of the works of their peers. Our work will be guided by various generative writing & revision exercises, as well as readings by diverse contemporary authors.

WR 312 002 INTERMED FICTION WR

Instructor: Justin Hocking
Instructional Method: Hybrid
This course is no-cost.²

What new and vibrant species of narrative emerges when writers cross-pollinate a short story with a poem or an essay, or realistic fiction with a fairy tale? What happens when we dress up “high literature” in clothing usually reserved for horror or speculative fiction? Or accessorize flash fiction with visual art? What connections might we draw between the terms "genre" and "gender," and what part does genre-crossing play in queering the literary cannon? While exploring the freedoms that exist beyond genre, how might we also rethink conventional notions about plot, character, point of view and setting? This intermediate course will examine these and other questions, along with generative writing exercises, weekly student workshops, and a strong emphasis on writing as a process rather than a product. (This is a no-cost course with no textbook purchases required.)

WR 313 001 INTERMEDIATE POETRY WRITING

Instructor: Consuelo Wise
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 323 001 WRITING AS CRITICAL INQUIRY

Instructor: Jarrod Dunham
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 323 002 WRITING AS CRITICAL INQUIRY

Instructor: Travis Willmore
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 323 003 WRITING AS CRITICAL INQUIRY

Instructor: Susan Reese
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 323 004 WRITING AS CRITICAL INQUIRY

Instructor: Hildy Miller
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.²

In this upper division writing course we will focus on developing a more sophisticated understanding of our own writing processes, reflect on the concept of how to reach consensus rather than strictly to argue, and explore how, as you leave the university, the writing tasks that lie ahead will require other conventions. Includes formal writing, responding to a variety of readings, sharing writing with other students, and reflecting on writing. Our class will run as a workshop in which you’ll be collaborating with other students throughout phases of both your and their writing processes. Three assignments will include 1) writing about your writing processes 2) Finding common ground in an argument 3) job portfolio. Course will be remote asynchronous on Canvas.

Textbooks: None – all materials online.

Questions? Contact Hildy Miller, milleh@pdx.edu.

WR 323 005 WRITING AS CRITICAL INQUIRY

Instructor: Amy Harper Russell
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings

In this course, we will learn how to write a proposal, how to discern bias in research, and how to research, synthesize, and cite information in the process of writing a research paper. Additionally, we will discuss AI’s role in the classroom. Also, we will write and share personal narratives. To round out the course, we will focus on translating writing to the real world by writing résumés and cover letters. Be ready to collaborate with others in workshops that involve critical peer reviews.

WR 323 006 WRITING AS CRITICAL INQUIRY

Instructor: Perrin Kerns
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.²

In this course, we will practice critical inquiry in personal, academic, and professional writing. This is a process-oriented class, which means we will be studying and practicing writing techniques to develop insight into how we function best as writers. We will develop skills in critical reading, thinking, and writing. Students will be given some choice of their own topics within the assignment structures, so our work can encompass personal writing goals. There is no required textbook; all readings will be provided. Required coursework will constitute multiple drafts of three writing assignments, peer-review workshops, weekly low-stakes writing assignments, participation in class discussions online, and a final self-reflective essay.

WR 323 008 WRITING AS CRITICAL INQUIRY

Instructor: Perrin Kerns
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.²

In this course, we will practice critical inquiry in personal, academic, and professional writing. This is a process-oriented class, which means we will be studying and practicing writing techniques to develop insight into how we function best as writers. We will develop skills in critical reading, thinking, and writing. Students will be given some choice of their own topics within the assignment structures, so our work can encompass personal writing goals. There is no required textbook; all readings will be provided. Required coursework will constitute multiple drafts of three writing assignments, peer-review workshops, weekly low-stakes writing assignments, participation in class discussions online, and a final self-reflective essay.

WR 327 001 TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING

Instructor: W. Tracy Dillon
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is low-cost.¹

This course prepares students for writing as professionals in engineering, scientific and other technical disciplines. Topics covered include technical and workplace genres of writing, such as proposals and reports, oral presentation, writing about and with data, effective language practices, writing collaboratively and ethics. Emphasis (and the ultimate end-product) will be a short but formal technical report based on your own personal interests and experience. The report will propose a solution to a problem to decision makers who have the authority to act on your recommendations.

What about textbooks? Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of students taking this course for their program requirements or electives, no one-size-fits-all textbook will work for us. Course lectures should be sufficient to help you complete assignments. In short, no textbook is required. However, if you want to purchase a textbook, the course materials identify options for each major.

Should be fun!

Any questions? Ask: dillont@pdx.edu.

WR 327 002 TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING

Instructor: Sidouane Patcha
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.²

WR 410 001 TOP: ENTREPRNEURSHP IN PBLSHNG

Instructor: Ali Shaw
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

This course provides an overview of the role of entrepreneurship in the book publishing industry and equips students with skills to start up their own entrepreneurial ventures in publishing, from freelancing to publishing company creation to bookstore management and more. Topics include opportunity analysis, business models, organizational creation, business integrity, financial planning, and risk management.

WR 410 002 TOP: PUBLISHING MANAGEMENT

Instructor: Robyn Crummer
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is low-cost.¹

This course provides students with a broad overview of management skills to prepare them for a career in book publishing. Both Ooligan managers and other students currently working in or hoping to work in a management position in publishing will benefit from the discussion-based, skills-based approach of this course. Topics covered include personal strengths assessment, emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, leadership, teamwork, and negotiation. All topics will be addressed with awareness and conversation about personal biases and with the goal of co-creating more inclusive teams and equitable workplace environments.

WR 410 003 TOP: COMICS EDITING

Instructor: Shelly Bond
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings

Comics Editing is an exciting, all-consuming, and messy business! Find out what it takes to be at the center of this fast-growing field where the editor must master the art of collaboration, above and beyond the necessary deadline crunching, art directing and grammar pedantry. This course will demystify the role of the comic book editor by immersing students in every stage of the comics creation process. The end result? A class anthology comic and a deeper understanding of the inner mechanics of making and editing comic books. Guest speakers and recorded interviews with industry all-stars will punctuate class lectures and weekly exercises. 

Shelly Bond is an Award-winning Comic Book Editor with over thirty years of red ink on her hands. She’s worked with industry luminaires including Grant Morrison, and for publishers including DC Comics/Vertigo, Black Crown/IDW among others. Bond is writer/creator of Filth & Grammar: The Comic Book Editor’s (Secret) Handbook, which serves as the main textbook for this course. She runs Off Register Press, a Comics & Design Lab, with her husband, British artist Philip Bond.

WR 410 004 TOP: COMICS PUBLISHING

Instructor: Ted Adams
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.²

This course is designed to explain the role of the publisher in the comic book industry and to demystify the business side of comics. By looking at comic publishers over the last 90 years, we’ll learn about the different ways comics have been produced, marketed, and distributed. We’ll examine several publishers in detail to learn what did and didn’t work for them. We’ll discuss how comics are sold and why publishers choose content and format. We’ll look at publishing contracts and how revenue and cost impact profit-and-loss statements and creator royalties. We’ll conclude by thinking about what the future may hold for comic creators and their publishers.

No required textbooks. All readings are online or supplied.

WR 412 001 ADV FICTION WRITING

Instructor: Justin Hocking
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

How do fiction writers respond to political crises? What roles do imagination and hope play in galvanizing social action? Beyond the realm of realistic fiction, how might literary authors incorporate elements of speculative fiction, fantasy, horror, and hybrid-genre work to confront dogmatic ideology and dream up new possible futures? While exploring the literature of resistance, how might we also rethink conventional notions about plot, character, point of view and setting? This advanced course will examine these and other questions, along with generative writing exercises, weekly student workshops, and a strong emphasis on writing as a process rather than a product. Our tentative reading list includes short stories by Octavia Butler, Walidah Imarisha, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ursula K. Le Guin, Barry Lopez, John Keene, Shirley Jackson and others.

WR 420 001 WRITING STUDIO

Instructor: Janice Lee
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is no-cost.²

This course will operate as a writing laboratory—a space for exploration, experimentation and discovery. The focus will be on generating new creative writing (via weekly writing prompts, exercises, and guided meditations) and cultivating space for a regular writing practice. We will also read and respond to published fiction, poetry, and essays that may inform your relationship to your work and support your creative growth. 

WR 427 001 TECHNICAL EDITING

Instructor: Victoria Raible
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings

This course challenges students to look at written and visual communication holistically, understanding the editing process as the intermediary between the writer and the reader—and importantly, leveraging the editor's comprehension of each perspective to make information concise and accessible. Although we will review common copyediting considerations, this course is focused on elevating these foundational skills to technical professional applications. Students will learn about professional editing practices, various audiences needs, and industry standard and organizational style guides. Navigating the nuances of the technical editor’s role in document development, we will discuss how to prioritize, edit effectively across “levels of edit,” and communicate the “why” behind our edits.

Who will be successful in this class? Self-driven students who are interested in considering this topic analytically, rather than prescriptively, and discovering how to apply these skills to a range of professional roles. Class sessions will be focused on collaborative activities and discussions, and assignments are geared toward building out a professional portfolio.

WR 431 001 ADV TOP TECH WRITING TECHNLOGY

Instructor: Bryan Schnabel
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for Writers is designed to teach writers how to create high-impact, search-optimized content that ranks well in online searches while remaining engaging and readable. Students will master key SEO writing skills, including keyword research, content structuring, metadata optimization, and user intent analysis. Students will gain experience with technologies that build a resume for technical writing careers, including AI-powered SEO tools like Jasper AI, Clearscope, and SEMrush. Advanced topics include AI-driven search algorithms, voice search optimization, and content personalization. By the end, students will be able to craft compelling, well-optimized content that is both discoverable and effective in today’s digital landscape. No previous experience with these technologies required!

WR 434 001 SCIENCE WRITING

Instructor: Sarah Read
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings

Please note: This is a remote synchronous course but an optional in-person session will meet in FMH. This course prepares students to be effective writers and communicators about science for both scientific and public audiences. Students will study a variety of genres of scientific writing, including scientific research reports, research posters, research proposals, science journalism, science non-fiction and various digital genres (e.g., blogs and websites). Students will learn rhetorical and stylistic strategies for writing across multiple audience types about science.

WR 459 001 MEMOIR WRITING

Instructor: Paul Collins
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Memoir Writing is a workshop focused on the writing and revision of memoir, as well as exploring authors and issues in the genres. Students have the option to use either small-group or full-class workshopping of their writing. Prior writing workshop experience is helpful, but not required.

WR 461 001 BOOK EDITING

Instructor: Katie Van Heest
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Provides a comprehensive course in professional book editing, including editorial management, acquisitions editing, substantive/developmental editing, and copyediting. Issues specific to both fiction and nonfiction books will be covered.

WR 463 001 BOOK MARKETING

Instructor: Tara Lehmann
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Comprehensive course in professional book marketing. Issues specific to marketing of fiction and nonfiction books in a variety of genres and markets will be covered. Students will do market research, produce marketing plans, write press releases, write advertising copy, and develop related marketing materials.

WR 465 001 INTELLECTUAL PROP & COPYRIGHT

Instructor: Michael Clark
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 472 001 COPYEDITING

Instructor: Tanner Croom
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is low-cost.¹

Learn how to improve the clarity, coherency, consistency, and correctness of other people’s writing through application of grammatical and stylistic guidelines. Study grammar, usage, punctuation, and style. Narrow focus on editing at the line and substantive level, with little to no attention given to broad development of a manuscript. Prerequisite: WR 4/561: Book Editing.

WR 474 001 PUBLISHING STUDIO

Instructor: Robyn Crummer
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is no-cost.²

Publishing Studio & Lab are cross listed and split listed courses, which means they run concurrently. Enrollment depends on whether you need a one-credit or four-credit course as an undergraduate or graduate student for your individual degree requirements. There are no prerequisites.

Publishing Studio & Lab are the courses for hands-on learning at Ooligan Press. Designed to give students the freedom and responsibility of running a real-world trade book publishing house, students are assigned to projects where they will work on a variety of publishing tasks. Project teams will work collaboratively to assess, plan, and execute editorial, design, digital content, marketing, and sales tasks throughout the term.

Publishing Studio: Graduate students in Publishing Studio should expect assignments to take approximately 12 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Studio should expect 9 hours per week.

Publishing Lab: Graduate students in Publishing Lab should expect assignments to take approximately 4 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Lab should expect 3 hours per week.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• explain and understand the book production cycle;
• competently use industry-standard terminology;
• analyze disruptions to their project as they arise and actively problem-solve to address issues;
• track, maintain, and update project management software, in the form of Trello;
• communicate efficiently through email and face-to-face meetings;
• complete assigned tasks efficiently as an individual and within a group; and
• perform various tasks at a professional level, as assigned by a team manager.

WR 475 001 PUBLISHING LAB

Instructor: Robyn Crummer
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is no-cost.²

Publishing Studio & Lab are cross listed and split listed courses, which means they run concurrently. Enrollment depends on whether you need a one-credit or four-credit course as an undergraduate or graduate student for your individual degree requirements. There are no prerequisites.

Publishing Studio & Lab are the courses for hands-on learning at Ooligan Press. Designed to give students the freedom and responsibility of running a real-world trade book publishing house, students are assigned to projects where they will work on a variety of publishing tasks. Project teams will work collaboratively to assess, plan, and execute editorial, design, digital content, marketing, and sales tasks throughout the term.

Publishing Studio: Graduate students in Publishing Studio should expect assignments to take approximately 12 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Studio should expect 9 hours per week.

Publishing Lab: Graduate students in Publishing Lab should expect assignments to take approximately 4 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Lab should expect 3 hours per week.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• explain and understand the book production cycle;
• competently use industry-standard terminology;
• analyze disruptions to their project as they arise and actively problem-solve to address issues;
• track, maintain, and update project management software, in the form of Trello;
• communicate efficiently through email and face-to-face meetings;
• complete assigned tasks efficiently as an individual and within a group; and
• perform various tasks at a professional level, as assigned by a team manager.

WR 480 001 ADVANCED BOOK DESIGN

Instructor: Elaine Schumacher
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Advanced Book Design is a class that will explore the intermediate to advanced functionality of Adobe InDesign in the context of print and digital book design. The class will include units on advanced application of design principles, the software, and production considerations.

Builds upon the Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat skills that students developed in WR 462/562 Book Design Software and further applied in WR 471/571 for long-form book projects. Prerequisite: WR 4/571: Typography, Layout, and Production.

Back to Top

Spring 2025: Graduate Writing Courses

WR 507 001 SEM: MFA POETRY

Instructor: Consuelo Wise
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 507 002 SEM: MEMOIR WRITING

Instructor: Paul Collins
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

A workshop focused on the writing and revision of memoir, as well as exploring authors and issues in the genre. This course is open to graduate students across the English department; prior writing workshop experience is helpful, but not required.

WR 510 001 TOP: ENTREPRNEURSHP IN PBLSHNG

Instructor: Ali Shaw
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

This course provides an overview of the role of entrepreneurship in the book publishing industry and equips students with skills to start up their own entrepreneurial ventures in publishing, from freelancing to publishing company creation to bookstore management and more. Topics include opportunity analysis, business models, organizational creation, business integrity, financial planning, and risk management.

WR 510 002 TOP: PUBLISHING MANAGEMENT

Instructor: Robyn Crummer
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is low-cost.¹

This course provides students with a broad overview of management skills to prepare them for a career in book publishing. Both Ooligan managers and other students currently working in or hoping to work in a management position in publishing will benefit from the discussion-based, skills-based approach of this course. Topics covered include personal strengths assessment, emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, leadership, teamwork, and negotiation. All topics will be addressed with awareness and conversation about personal biases and with the goal of co-creating more inclusive teams and equitable workplace environments.

WR 510 003 TOP: COMICS EDITING

Instructor: Shelly Bond
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings

Comics Editing is an exciting, all-consuming, and messy business! Find out what it takes to be at the center of this fast-growing field where the editor must master the art of collaboration, above and beyond the necessary deadline crunching, art directing and grammar pedantry. This course will demystify the role of the comic book editor by immersing students in every stage of the comics creation process. The end result? A class anthology comic and a deeper understanding of the inner mechanics of making and editing comic books. Guest speakers and recorded interviews with industry all-stars will punctuate class lectures and weekly exercises. 

Shelly Bond is an Award-winning Comic Book Editor with over thirty years of red ink on her hands. She’s worked with industry luminaires including Grant Morrison, and for publishers including DC Comics/Vertigo, Black Crown/IDW among others. Bond is writer/creator of Filth & Grammar: The Comic Book Editor’s (Secret) Handbook, which serves as the main textbook for this course. She runs Off Register Press, a Comics & Design Lab, with her husband, British artist Philip Bond.

WR 510 004 TOP: COMICS PUBLISHING

Instructor: Ted Adams
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.²

This course is designed to explain the role of the publisher in the comic book industry and to demystify the business side of comics. By looking at comic publishers over the last 90 years, we’ll learn about the different ways comics have been produced, marketed, and distributed. We’ll examine several publishers in detail to learn what did and didn’t work for them. We’ll discuss how comics are sold and why publishers choose content and format. We’ll look at publishing contracts and how revenue and cost impact profit-and-loss statements and creator royalties. We’ll conclude by thinking about what the future may hold for comic creators and their publishers.

No required textbooks. All readings are online or supplied.

WR 510 005 TOP: ACADEMIC WRITING

Instructor: Kate Comer
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings
This course is no-cost.²

Writing is essential to academic success but often neglected in graduate coursework. As a result, developing scholars often find themselves struggling with anxiety and/or inefficiency that can undermine their performance and career prospects. They also risk missing out on the real pleasures of intellectual labor and community engagement that make this work worthwhile.

Based on feedback from PSU students, this course has been designed to boost your confidence and competence in academic communication. Welcoming students from all fields and stages of graduate work, the course offers a transferable lens for engaging scholarship, practical strategies for reading and writing, and opportunities to apply them to your own research. Sharing these learning experiences with grad students from across campus will also foster personal insights and mutual support systems that will serve you well in the future.

WR 521 001 MFA CORE WORKSHOP FICTION

Instructor: Gabriel Urza
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 527 001 TECHNICAL EDITING

Instructor: Victoria Raible
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings

This course challenges students to look at written and visual communication holistically, understanding the editing process as the intermediary between the writer and the reader—and importantly, leveraging the editor's comprehension of each perspective to make information concise and accessible. Although we will review common copyediting considerations, this course is focused on elevating these foundational skills to technical professional applications. Students will learn about professional editing practices, various audiences needs, and industry standard and organizational style guides. Navigating the nuances of the technical editor’s role in document development, we will discuss how to prioritize, edit effectively across “levels of edit,” and communicate the “why” behind our edits.

Who will be successful in this class? Self-driven students who are interested in considering this topic analytically, rather than prescriptively, and discovering how to apply these skills to a range of professional roles. Class sessions will be focused on collaborative activities and discussions, and assignments are geared toward building out a professional portfolio.

WR 531 001 ADV TOP TECH WRITING TECHNLOGY

Instructor: Bryan Schnabel
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for Writers is designed to teach writers how to create high-impact, search-optimized content that ranks well in online searches while remaining engaging and readable. Students will master key SEO writing skills, including keyword research, content structuring, metadata optimization, and user intent analysis. Students will gain experience with technologies that build a resume for technical writing careers, including AI-powered SEO tools like Jasper AI, Clearscope, and SEMrush. Advanced topics include AI-driven search algorithms, voice search optimization, and content personalization. By the end, students will be able to craft compelling, well-optimized content that is both discoverable and effective in today’s digital landscape. No previous experience with these technologies required!

WR 534 001 SCIENCE WRITING

Instructor: Sarah Read
Instructional Method: Online - Scheduled Meetings

Please note: This is a remote synchronous course but an optional in-person session will meet in FMH. This course prepares students to be effective writers and communicators about science for both scientific and public audiences. Students will study a variety of genres of scientific writing, including scientific research reports, research posters, research proposals, science journalism, science non-fiction and various digital genres (e.g., blogs and websites). Students will learn rhetorical and stylistic strategies for writing across multiple audience types about science.

WR 540 001 TECH WRITING PORTFOLIO

Instructor: Sidouane Patcha
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings

WR 550 001 PORTLAND REVIEW

Instructor: Michael Seidlinger
Instructional Method: Online - No Scheduled Meetings

This is the second in a yearlong series of online courses (a total of three) intended to provide graduate students with the editorial, publishing, and marketing skills necessary to run an (online) international literary journal. By participating in Portland Review’s publication process and understanding the practices of a journal over 60 years old, students will gain practical experience in the field of literary publishing. The combination of this course with the Winter and Spring Portland Review courses will collectively satisfy 4 units of graduate elective credit.

Course Outcomes:

Through the production of Portland Review, students will gain insight into the best practices and procedures of how literary journals are published online. These practices will include, but are not limited to:

• Copy editing and proofreading creative prose and poetry to industry standards.
• Engaging with the literary community in the city of Portland and beyond to help promote the success of the journal and celebrate the creative work therein.
• Using project management platforms to help organize and complete tasks in a timely manner.
• Marketing creative work across relevant social media platforms and through digital newsletters.
• Mindfully implementing ethically just practices in publishing that support creators of all backgrounds.

By the end of this term students should feel comfortable with the workflow associated with marketing and producing creative work online and in print, and be aware of the technologies that exist to help facilitate that work. 

WR 561 001 BOOK EDITING

Instructor: Katie Van Heest
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Provides a comprehensive course in professional book editing, including editorial management, acquisitions editing, substantive/developmental editing, and copyediting. Issues specific to both fiction and nonfiction books will be covered.

WR 563 001 BOOK MARKETING

Instructor: Tara Lehmann
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Comprehensive course in professional book marketing. Issues specific to marketing of fiction and nonfiction books in a variety of genres and markets will be covered. Students will do market research, produce marketing plans, write press releases, write advertising copy, and develop related marketing materials.

WR 565 001 INTELLECTUAL PROP & COPYRIGHT

Instructor: Michael Clark
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

WR 572 001 COPYEDITING

Instructor: Tanner Croom
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is no-cost.²

Learn how to improve the clarity, coherency, consistency, and correctness of other people’s writing through application of grammatical and stylistic guidelines. Study grammar, usage, punctuation, and style. Narrow focus on editing at the line and substantive level, with little to no attention given to broad development of a manuscript. Prerequisite: WR 4/561: Book Editing.

WR 574 001 PUBLISHING STUDIO

Instructor: Robyn Crummer
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is no-cost.²

Publishing Studio & Lab are cross listed and split listed courses, which means they run concurrently. Enrollment depends on whether you need a one-credit or four-credit course as an undergraduate or graduate student for your individual degree requirements. There are no prerequisites.

Publishing Studio & Lab are the courses for hands-on learning at Ooligan Press. Designed to give students the freedom and responsibility of running a real-world trade book publishing house, students are assigned to projects where they will work on a variety of publishing tasks. Project teams will work collaboratively to assess, plan, and execute editorial, design, digital content, marketing, and sales tasks throughout the term.

Publishing Studio: Graduate students in Publishing Studio should expect assignments to take approximately 12 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Studio should expect 9 hours per week.

Publishing Lab: Graduate students in Publishing Lab should expect assignments to take approximately 4 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Lab should expect 3 hours per week.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• explain and understand the book production cycle;
• competently use industry-standard terminology;
• analyze disruptions to their project as they arise and actively problem-solve to address issues;
• track, maintain, and update project management software, in the form of Trello;
• communicate efficiently through email and face-to-face meetings;
• complete assigned tasks efficiently as an individual and within a group; and
• perform various tasks at a professional level, as assigned by a team manager.

WR 575 001 PUBLISHING LAB

Instructor: Robyn Crummer
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting
This course is no-cost.²

Publishing Studio & Lab are cross listed and split listed courses, which means they run concurrently. Enrollment depends on whether you need a one-credit or four-credit course as an undergraduate or graduate student for your individual degree requirements. There are no prerequisites.

Publishing Studio & Lab are the courses for hands-on learning at Ooligan Press. Designed to give students the freedom and responsibility of running a real-world trade book publishing house, students are assigned to projects where they will work on a variety of publishing tasks. Project teams will work collaboratively to assess, plan, and execute editorial, design, digital content, marketing, and sales tasks throughout the term.

Publishing Studio: Graduate students in Publishing Studio should expect assignments to take approximately 12 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Studio should expect 9 hours per week.

Publishing Lab: Graduate students in Publishing Lab should expect assignments to take approximately 4 hours per week; undergraduate students in Publishing Lab should expect 3 hours per week.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• explain and understand the book production cycle;
• competently use industry-standard terminology;
• analyze disruptions to their project as they arise and actively problem-solve to address issues;
• track, maintain, and update project management software, in the form of Trello;
• communicate efficiently through email and face-to-face meetings;
• complete assigned tasks efficiently as an individual and within a group; and
• perform various tasks at a professional level, as assigned by a team manager.

WR 580 001 ADVANCED BOOK DESIGN

Instructor: Elaine Schumacher
Instructional Method: In-Person Meeting

Advanced Book Design is a class that will explore the intermediate to advanced functionality of Adobe InDesign in the context of print and digital book design. The class will include units on advanced application of design principles, the software, and production considerations.

Builds upon the Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat skills that students developed in WR 462/562 Book Design Software and further applied in WR 471/571 for long-form book projects. Prerequisite: WR 4/571: Typography, Layout, and Production.

Back to Top