This course offers a practical introduction to and reviews the history of codes and ciphers, from medieval allegories to the Vernam Cipher. In order to break codes, it examines the structures of the English language, as well as the distributive characteristics of words and phonemes. Students will examine the relationship between a system and its component elements. Starting with the relationship between letters and cipher types, we will move to the relationship between users and networks, writers and literary markets, and to the larger cultural issues of hackers (and crackers) and The System.

Advanced study of Shakespeare within the frame of specific topics which will vary from semester to semester.

Students will consider the autobiography as a powerful social and cultural document, on that is an index to the ways in which people conceive of and recreate history itself.

Interdisciplinary approach to the study of American culture. Focus on issues of race, class, gender, and ethnicity. Readings drawn from literature, history, the social sciences, philosophy and fine arts. Supplemented with audio-visual materialsofilms, slides of paintings, architecture, photography and material culture, and music. Required for students with a concentration in American Studies. (Gen.Ed. AL, U)

The cultural life of 19th-century America in selected poetry and prose by Hawthorne, Thoreau, Douglass, Cooper, Whitman, Poe, Melville, and Lincoln. Emphasis on the symbolic and ethical idealism of selected ante-bellum poetry and prose, and on the themes of Puritanism, Transcendentalism, Manifest Destiny, Jacksonian democracy, and slavery.

Introduction to Asian American Literature as an evolving field and to the history, politics, and cultural production of Asian American communities. Themes may include citizenship, borders, space, youth culture, labor, and the body, using texts by and about Asian Americans, including theoretical works, fiction, ethnographic studies, and documentary film. (Gen.Ed. I, U)

Not available at this time.

The development of British literature from the Enlightenment of the 18th century through the Romaticism and Realism of the 19th century to the Modernism of the early 20th century; literary response to scientific and industrial changes, political revolution and the technical and social reordering of British society. Open only to English majors, and those studying at the University on international or domestic exchange.

A study of Shakespeare's dramatic art and poetic style through a representative selection of plays. Students may earn degree credit for only one of ENGLISH 221 and 222. (Gen.Ed. AL)

A study of Shakespeare's dramatic art and poetic style through a representative selection of plays. Students may earn degree credit for only one of ENGLISH 221 and 222. (Gen.Ed. AL)