The elective program in English offers a wide variety of courses for student selection. These offerings range from thematically organized courses, to special seminars on specific authors, with each course covering relevant short and long works that fit the course’s focus. The typical composition students write at this level continues to build on student’s mastery of the five-paragraph essay. Students are expected to write three such essays each semester. They also study topics such as outlining, introductions and conclusions, transitions, and parallel structure designed to develop specific skills necessary for the writing of effective essays
Dive into the Matrix with William Gibson's character Case, the greatest criminal hacker in the world! Fight crime with Batman from the dark shadows of Gotham! Tag along with detective Rick Deckard in futuristic Los Angeles, as he eliminates Replicants, dangerous androids that are indistinguishable from humans! Find out where the internet really came from, as well as Red Bull, Raves and EDM! Tag along with Major Kusanagi, a futuristic cyborg who works for Japanese intelligence and is trying to bring down the most dangerous cyberterrorist in the world! Cyberpunk Literature is a genre of science fiction that began in the early 1980s, and is always set in the near future. It is based on the gritty hard-boiled detective stories of the 1930s, and is closely linked to a number of films and television programs that are still being made to this day. We will begin by learning about the origins of cyberpunk culture, the Rave scene, and cyberpunk literature and cinema, finding important links with the hippies of the 1960s and the Beat Generation of the 1950s. We will examine William Gibson's Neuromancer, the first cyberpunk novel ever written, which essentially predicts the existence of cyberspace and the internet. We will also explore the cinema of the period, taking a look at Blade Runner, the cult-favorite film directed by the legendary Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, fresh from his Han Solo fame. Because Japanese culture had a tremendous impact in the visionary future of the 1980s, we will trace the rise of Anime and Manga in America, including the landmark releases of Akira and Ghost in the Shell in the United States in the '90s. We will also study the graphic novel, including The Dark Knight Returns, which reboots the Batman story in a very unexpected way, and Watchmen, a superhero mystery set in an alternative future. In addition, we will take a foray into the extremely alternative Afrofuturist Movement which envisions a multicultural future in space, and includes such musical legends as Sun Ra, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, and Grace Jones. Prepare for a bold journey into the future!