Upcoming English Courses
2023-2024 Academic Year Literature and Creative Writing Classes
The following is the schedule of our literature and creative writing offerings for the 2023-2024 academic year. This list does NOT include our core composition courses (ENGL 1, 4A, 7A), which are offered in multiple sections every semester. Note that some literature courses are offered only every other year. Please contact English Faculty Homeira Foth hfoth@chabotcollege.edu for questions about schedules. See below for complete class descriptions and information:
Fall 2023 Literature and Creative Writing Courses
(Note: See specific descriptions and schedule information about each course below the list.)
- English 11 A/B/C: Introduction to Creative Writing (EVENING or ONLINE)
- English 12 A/B: Craft of Writing: Fiction (IN-PERSON)
- English 22: Mexican American/Latinx Literature of the U.S. (HYBRID)
- English 32: U.S. Women's Literature (ONLINE)
- English 35: Modern and Contemporary U.S. Literature (IN-PERSON)
- English 45: Studies in Fiction: Heroes, Villians, and Antiheroes (HYBRID)
- English 48: Literature of the Holocaust (IN-PERSON)
English 11 A/B/C: Creative Writing
English 11A/B/C is a fun and dynamic class that will allow you to explore your writer's voice in a safe and supportive community. We'll complete exercises in both poetry and fiction that will help you develop your skills and stretch your imagination. All levels of experience are welcome!
*Register for English 11A if you have never taken the course; register for 11B if you are taking the course for the second time; register for 11C if you are taking the course for the third time.
English 11A/B/C is offered in two ways:
- In-Person, Tuesday, 7:00-9:50pm
- Online with no required on-campus meetings. Course does not meet on specific days and times.
Instructor: Theresa Puckett, tpuckett@chabotcollege.edu
English 12 A/B: The Craft of Writing: Fiction
Storytelling is an ancient art form traditionally passed down by the most observant members of a community, the people who were born to spin tales of possibility. We all have stories inside ourselves to share. In this class, we’ll mine our minds for the stories we need to pass on. We’ll write short pieces of fiction filled with rich characters and lively settings. We’ll read stories by writers who have added their own unique stamp, their own musical voices into this ancient art. Expect to write regularly and to share your drafts in a supportive writing workshop ritual. No previous experience with writing fiction is required.
Tuesday/Thursday, 1:00pm-2:15pm
Instructor: Carmen Johnston cjohnston@chabotcollege.edu
English 22: Mexican American/Latinx Literature of the U.S.
Come read fascinating short stories, poetry and one act plays written in English and Spanglish by Chicanx and other Latinx writers in the U.S. Discover what these texts can show us about the complexities of immigration and migration, traditional family roles and responsibilities, religion, racism, navigating language, reclamation of land and identity, and shaking free of gender role expectations. No pre-requisite. This class is excellent for students majoring in ethnic studies, Spanish, or English, as well as anyone with a personal interest in the subject. ¡Bienvenidos!
Tuesday, 1:30-3:05pm and online
Instructor: Shoshanna Tenn, stenn@chabotcollege.edu
English 32: U.S. Women's Literature
Online with no required on-campus meetings. Course does not meet on specific days and times.
Instructor: Theresa Puckett, tpuckett@chabotcollege.edu
English 35: Modern and Contemporary American Literature
Explore what it means to be American and what it means to write America: Bustling cities, snow-covered country roads, family drama, political scandal, war-time trauma, manners, brutality, songs of self and the nation. Students will survey the literary periods of Realism, the Harlem Renaissance, Modernism, and Post-Modernism and authors such as Edith Wharton, Langston Hughes, Eugene O'Neill, Ernest Hemingway, Toni Morrison, and more. Required for the English AAT Degree (Associate in Arts for Transfer).
Monday/Wednesday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.
Instructor: Mark Anderson, manderson@chabotcollege.edu
English 45: Studies in Fiction-Heroes, Villains, and Antiheroes
In this class, we'll look over the narrative elements that pull us toward stories about heroes, that attract us to the villain, and why anti-heroes tug at the moral dilemmas we grapple with internally. Come tap into all of the reasons why you love stories like these, and why fiction is just an extension of who we all are - or could be.
Tuesday, 10:30-11:45 a.m. and online
Instructor: Landon Smith lasmith@chabotcollege.edu
English 48: Literature of the Holocaust
In Literature of the Holocaust, we will read and think about how writers and filmmakers have tried to describe the experience and legacy of the Holocaust--the World War II genocide of Jews by the Nazis. How do people try to write about such terrifying, horrible REAL experiences? Graphic novels, autobiography, poetry, short story, and films try to figure it out! We will also think about how the Holocaust and Holocaust Literature relates to other racial genocides and oppression--in particular the history of American white supremacy against Indian and Black people that actually influenced Hitler.
Monday/Wednesday, 10:30-11:45 a.m.
Instructor: Simon Abramowitsch, sabramowitsch@chabotcollege.edu
Spring 2024 Literature and Creative Writing Courses
(Note: Class list correct, but Spring 2024 full details and information about each course TBD.)
Spring 2024:
- English 11 A/B/C: Introduction to Creative Writing (ONLINE)
- English 12 A/B: Craft of Writing: Fiction (TBD)
- English 13 A/B: Craft of Writing: Poetry (IN-PERSON)
- English 20: Shakespeare (IN-PERSON)
- English 21: Evolution of the Black Writer (HYBRID)
- English 25: Asian American Literature (IN-PERSON)
- English 31: Gay and Lesbian Literature (ONLINE)
- English 41: World Literature (IN-PERSON)
English 11 A/B/C: Introduction to Creative Writing
Online class
Instructor: Theresa Puckett, tpuckett@chabotcollege.edu
English 11A/B/C is a fun and dynamic class that will allow you to explore your writer's voice in a safe and supportive community. We'll complete exercises in both poetry and fiction that will help you develop your skills and stretch your imagination. All levels of experience are welcome!
*Register for English 11A if you have never taken the course; register for 11B if you are taking the course for the second time; register for 11C if you are taking the course for the third time.
English 12 A/B: The Craft of Writing: Fiction
Meets In-Person: Tu 7:00pm-9:50pm; Bldg 400, Room 455
Instructor: Theresa Puckett, tpuckett@chabotcollege.edu
Storytelling is an ancient art form traditionally passed down by the most observant members of a community, the people who were born to spin tales of possibility. We all have stories inside ourselves to share. In this class, we’ll mine our minds for the stories we need to pass on. We’ll write short pieces of fiction filled with rich characters and lively settings. We’ll read stories by writers like David Wong Louie, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, Tim O’Brien, Sandra Cisneros, and other greats who have added their own unique stamp, their own musical voices into this ancient art. Expect to write regularly and to share your drafts in a supportive writing workshop ritual. No previous experience with writing fiction is required.
English 13 A/B: The Craft of Writing: Poetry
(Image: Kristy Sandoval’s mural "Decolonize" photographed by Richard Vogel for Mic)
TBD
Instructor: Tobey Kaplan, tkaplan@chabotcollege.edu
In times of great change, poets unleash magical worlds as they document ordinary life. They teach us to digest difficult experiences and to nurture our hopeful resistance. They ground us in the beauty of a beehive or the wisdom of our ancestors.
If you are curious how poets create such magic, or if you have unfinished song lyrics and secret poems scribbled in your notebook, then English 13A/B is for you. We will read poems from artists like Nikki Giovanni, Martín Espada, Kevin Young, Julian Randall, Mayda del Valle, Danez Smith, and Joy Harjo. We will write daily to play with poetic techniques, and we will share our drafts in a supportive writing workshop ritual. By the end of the semester, you will have several poems in your pocket and a list of strategies to use if you want to perform at open-mics or send poems out for publication. No previous experience with writing poetry required.
English 20: Studies in Shakespeare
Meets In-Person: TBD
Instructor: Clara Mclean cmclean@chabotcollege.edu
Dost Thou: Want to read, discuss, enact, and understand some of English literature’s most treasured works? Want to have fun AND impress thy friends?
English 21: Evolution of the Black Writer
Meets In-Person: TBD
Instructor: Landon Smith, lasmith@chabotcollege.edu
In this class we will explore and celebrate Black writers from the 1700s to the present, thinking about their artistry and ideas in historical contexts--the American Revolution; slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction; Jim Crow and the Great Migration; the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements; the post-civil rights era and the Movement for Black Lives. We will read poetry, autobiography, fiction, and watch plays and films.
English 31: Gay and Lesbian Literature
(Image: Brian Kenny's mural "Pay It No Mind" celebrating the Stonewall Riots)
Online class
Instructor: Michael Langdon, mlangdon@chabotcollege.edu
LGBTQI+ people have been writing throughout human history, but only recently has the queerness of many of our greatest writers been acknowledged. In this class, we will examine queer literature in the context of queer history. After first assessing this moment in LGBTQI+ history and reading some contemporary queer authors, we will do some time-traveling and look at the LGBTQI+ experience from ancient times through the present, learning about the various queer movements that led us to this current moment, and reading some of the literature that came out of those movements. We will end the semester by reading some speculative literature about possible LGBTQI+ futures.
English 41: World Literature
Meets In-Person: TBD
Instructor: Michael Langdon mlangdon@chabotcollege.edu
“To understand just one life, you have to swallow the world” - Salman Rushdie.
What do people around the world have in common? the human condition. We all experience joys and hardships in life. We love, we aspire, we create, but we also suffer, we fail, and we destroy. In studying world literature, we explore and learn about other cultures, other times. However, while we cross cultures and time periods, we also find experiences we have in common. We discover that no man is an island, and that what happens in one place, in one culture, greatly affects the rest of the world. In this class we will read eye-opening works of literature from both classic and contemporary authors.
English 25: Asian American Literature
Meets In-Person: TBD
Instructor: TBD
TBD
Service Learning 85A/B
Gain hands on experience by volunteering! Help abandoned animals; serve meals to the community; work for the environment; do a project of your choice!
Schedule Note: TBA
Instructor: TBA