Cindy Rodrigues’s Profile Student Toggle navigation

This EN­G1101 course in­tro­duces con­cepts of crit­i­cal writ­ing and think­ing along with skills in­te­gral to con­struct­ing and doc­u­ment­ing a col­lege-level essay. As a First Year Learn­ing Com­mu­nity, we will pair with Psy­chol­ogy 1101 to ex­plore the emo­tional im­pact of the first year col­lege tran­si­tion and con­sider ways to iden­tify and deal with new stres­sors.

This ENG1101 course introduces concepts of critical writing and thinking along with skills integral to constructing and documenting a college-level essay. As a First Year Learning Community, we will pair with Psychology 1101 to explore the emotional impact of the first year college transition and consider ways to identify and deal with new stressors.

Through an ex­plo­ration of var­i­ous gen­res of lit­er­a­ture, this course aims to strengthen and sharpen stu­dents’ crit­i­cal read­ing and writ­ing skills be­yond the level achieved in Eng­lish 1101.

Through an exploration of various genres of literature, this course aims to strengthen and sharpen students’ critical reading and writing skills beyond the level achieved in English 1101.

In the eigh­teenth cen­tury, the Gothic genre emerged to en­able a new type of read­ing and think­ing about what it means to be human: it cre­ated a new imag­i­na­tive space in which to con­sider not only dreams and night­mares, but also fan­tasies of al­ter­nate iden­ti­ties. It was pos­si­ble, through the Gothic, to imag­ine vam­pires, zom­bies, were­wolves, and other types of mon­sters that re­flect and mu­tate human de­sires. The pur­pose of this course is to gain a bet­ter un­der­stand­ing of the pop­u­lar genre of the Gothic as it was de­vel­oped and prac­ticed in the late-eigh­teenth cen­tury and through to today in a va­ri­ety of cul­tural con­texts. An im­por­tant foun­da­tion to this class is the idea that the Gothic is more than sim­ply mys­te­ri­ous or strange; it is a trans­gres­sive and provoca­tive sort of strange. The course will focus on key con­cepts such as hor­ror, haunt­ing, mad­ness, mon­sters, and the un­dead, con­cepts that serve as entry points to the­o­ries such as the un­canny, queer­ness, and the sub­lime. Stu­dents will crit­i­cally read, an­a­lyze, and write about the ways that the Gothic ques­tions what it means to be nor­mal or ac­cepted. The class will learn about and prac­tice using tools for read­ing, in­ter­pret­ing, and crit­i­cally re­spond­ing to fic­tion, film, po­etry, and other cul­tural man­i­fes­ta­tions of the Gothic. In ad­di­tion, stu­dents will par­tic­i­pate in con­ver­sa­tions about con­tem­po­rary Amer­i­can iden­ti­ties and also en­gage in ex­pe­ri­en­tial learn­ing through field trips to Gothic ar­chi­tec­tural spaces.

In the eighteenth century, the Gothic genre emerged to enable a new type of reading and thinking about what it means to be human: it created a new imaginative space in which to consider not only dreams and nightmares, but also fantasies of alternate identities. It was possible, through the Gothic, to imagine vampires, zombies, werewolves, and other types of monsters that reflect and mutate human desires. The purpose of this course is to gain a better understanding of the popular genre of the Gothic as it was developed and practiced in the late-eighteenth century and through to today in a variety of cultural contexts. An important foundation to this class is the idea that the Gothic is more than simply mysterious or strange; it is a transgressive and provocative sort of strange. The course will focus on key concepts such as horror, haunting, madness, monsters, and the undead, concepts that serve as entry points to theories such as the uncanny, queerness, and the sublime. Students will critically read, analyze, and write about the ways that the Gothic questions what it means to be normal or accepted. The class will learn about and practice using tools for reading, interpreting, and critically responding to fiction, film, poetry, and other cultural manifestations of the Gothic. In addition, students will participate in conversations about contemporary American identities and also engage in experiential learning through field trips to Gothic architectural spaces.

“I went into pho­tog­ra­phy be­cause it seemed like the per­fect ve­hi­cle for com­ment­ing on the mad­ness of today’s ex­is­tence.” — Robert Map­plethorpe This course sur­veys the his­tory of pho­tog­ra­phy from its be­gin­nings in the early nine­teenth cen­tury to the pre­sent. We will ex­am­ine the use of pho­tog­ra­phy for aes­thetic, doc­u­men­tary, and “sci­en­tific” pur­poses, styl­is­tic shifts in pho­tog­ra­phy re­lated to aes­thetic con­cerns, and vary­ing in­ter­pre­ta­tions of sub­ject mat­ter based on so­cial and cul­tural con­cerns at spe­cific mo­ments in his­tory. We will also con­sider the re­la­tion­ship be­tween pho­tog­ra­phy and the vi­sual arts in gen­eral, which cul­mi­nates with the pri­macy of pho­tog­ra­phy as a medium by the late twen­ti­eth cen­tury.

“I went into photography because it seemed like the perfect vehicle for commenting on the madness of today’s existence.” — Robert Mapplethorpe This course surveys the history of photography from its beginnings in the early nineteenth century to the present. We will examine the use of photography for aesthetic, documentary, and “scientific” purposes, stylistic shifts in photography related to aesthetic concerns, and varying interpretations of subject matter based on social and cultural concerns at specific moments in history. We will also consider the relationship between photography and the visual arts in general, which culminates with the primacy of photography as a medium by the late twentieth century.