Children's Literature | Creative Writing | Film and Screenwriting
Language, Criticism, and Theory | Women's Studies
Children's Literature has been part of Clemson's English Department for more than thirty years. Unlike many schools which limit such courses to Education or Library Science departments, Clemson regards children's literature as part of all literature and encourages students from all disciplines to learn about it.
Five undergraduate (300-level) sections are taught per year, each course a survey of relevant authors, historical periods, genres, and issues relevant to Children's Literature. Some of these courses feature a service learning component, through which students read to local children in daycare or pre-school situations. Once a year, in the spring, a 700-level course is offered for teachers seeking certification or further training in the field.
Since 1975, Clemson's Children's Literature faculty, along with other members of the department, have sponsored annual or biennial symposia bringing together faculty and students from Clemson, local teachers and librarians, and interested participants from surrounding communities, to meet a children's author or illustrator. Among those who have visited Clemson are Barry Moser, Tom Feelings, Jane Yolen, Natalie Babbitt, David Macaulay, and Patricia Maclachlan. Frequently these symposia are interdisciplinary. Three of them have celebrated a "birthday": Peter Rabbit's hundredth in 1993, Little Red Riding Hood's three hundredth in 1997, and the centenary of Baum's Wizard of Oz in 2000.
Undergraduates in Children's Literature receive and review new children's books. Along with Clemson faculty and staff, they also participate in an annual university-wide celebration of our right to read, called "Well, I'll Be Banned!" by gathering to read aloud passages from famous banned or challenged books.
Associated Professors: Michelle Martin, Steven Woodward, and Barbara Ramirez
Students at Clemson have three creative writing options available: drama, fiction, and poetry. Creative students, who have no talent with a paint brush, welding torch, or a potter's wheel, often find creative fulfillment using their native tongue. Even if students want to become teachers, lawyers, journalists, or business people down the road, most find that the experience of writing a sonnet, one-act play, or short story provides a perspective difficult to attain in a survey or theory course. And often they find a satisfying (and occasionally profitable) avocation for life.
A minor concentration in any of the creative-writing options requires 15 credits in English or Theater above the sophomore level, arranged as follows:
Drama--Thea 347 (Structure of Theater which is cross-listed as Engl 347),Thea 447 (Playwriting Workshop which must be taken twice; crosslisted as Engl 447), Engl 430 (Modern Drama), and any one of the following: Engl 312 (Advanced Expository Writing), Engl 410 (Drama of the English Renaissance), or Engl 411 (Shakespeare).
Fiction--Engl 345 (Structure of Fiction),Engl 445 (Fiction Workshop which must be taken twice), Engl 432 (Modern Fiction), and any one of the following:Engl 312 (Advanced Expository Writing), Engl 418 (The English Novel), Engl 425 (The American Novel), or Engl 426 (Southern Literature).
Poetry--Engl 346 (Structure of Poetry), Engl 446 (Poetry Workshop which must be taken twice), Engl 431 (Modern Poetry), and any one of the following: Engl 312 (Advanced Expository Writing), Engl 413 (Later English Renaissance), Engl 416 (The Romantic Period), or Engl 417 (The Victorian Period).
Associated Professors: Mark Charney (Drama), Neil Conway, Skip Eisiminger (Poetry), Keith Morris (Fiction), Daniel Presnell, Michele Santamaria, Ryan Van Cleave (Poetry), and John Warner
The English Department at Clemson has always housed the film program. Born in the early 1970's with one film professor and a 16 millimeter camera, the film program has taken on a life of its own, serving the interests of students who want to study the critical analysis of cinema, from its history to its cultural and societal relevance. From one film course designed over 30 years ago, Introduction to Film Studies (English 357), the film studies interests have so increased that Clemson now offers over eight courses related to cinema studies. These include Film Theory and Criticism, Film Genres, Great Directors, Sexuality and the Cinema, Introduction to Screenwriting Principles and Screenwriting Workshops, along with many independent study courses on everything from film history to more specific studies of film greats such as D.W. Griffith and Sergei Eisenstein.
Clemson students are able to choose between two minors that are film-related. The first, a straightforward film minor, concentrates on providing a broad understanding of cinema criticism and techniques. The second, Screenwriting, teaches students the practices, techniques and business of writing and selling a screenplay both within the Hollywood system and in alternative venues. Faculty teaching film include Mark J. Charney, Ph.D. from Tulane University, and Barton Palmer, Ph.D. from N.Y.U. Both have published extensively in film, and have experience with everything as diverse as video making, screenwriting, and film noir.
For 15 years now, the film studies program has sponsored the Southern Circuit, a group of six filmmakers who visit Clemson's campus each year, screen their films, and teach sessions with the students. In the past many years, Clemson has played host to a diverse group of film makers, from Academy Award winner Alli Light (IN THE SHADOW OF THE STARS) to the controversial MARLON RIGGS. The English Department also sponsors an active film club.
Associated Professors: Mark Charney, Sean O'Sullivan, Barton Palmer, and Steven Woodward
Writing and Publican Studies (WPS)
The professional writing emphasis helps students to communicate effectively in various professional settings. Professional writing combines work in theory and research with a comprehensive emphasis on written, oral, and visual communication in professional contexts. The emphasis can prepare students to work in industry or public service. In addition, the program provides the background necessary to pursue an M.A. in rhetoric or technical communication or opt for a career working in a variety of media across the industries.
The Masters of Arts in Professional Communication program at Clemson provides numerous resources for undergraduate students to utilize. In addition, the Campbell Chair in Technical Communication, the Pearce Center for Professional Communication, and the Effective Technical Communication program in engineering constitute a network of professors who can enable students to work in professional communication in a variety of disciplines.
Associated Professors: Teresa Fishman, Morgan Gresham, Barbara Heifferon, Susan Hilligoss, Tharon Howard, Martin Jacobi, Michael Neal, Joe Sample, Summer Taylor, Sean Williams, and Art Young
Language, Criticism, and Theory
It is safe to say that all of the faculty members in the English department have research interests and teaching experience that intersect with issues in linguistics, criticism, and theory.
With this field, the department offers perspectives on the history and grammar of the English language, on the history and techniques of literary criticism, and on the methodological terms and debates within contemporary literary and cultural theory.
Because it is a field that traverses and informs all the others, gaining a perspective in this field help us see different ways of approaching all the other areas of the department’s course offerings.