SBLUESTONE.COM
Professor Stephen Bluestone
Office: 110B Ware Hall | Telephone: 478-301-4010 | email: bluestone_se@mercer.edu
Office Hours: 9:30-10:40 a.m. (T/Th) and by appointment
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Fall 2008 Course Summaries  

English 237 Does a film tell the same story as a novel or a play?
How are meanings on screen different from meanings on the page?  In this course we’ll study three novels and a play by Shakespeare that approach storytelling in different ways.  Each of these works raises questions about symbolism, myth, narrative structure, point of view, genre, and realism. Film adaptations of these works will then be studied as a means of understanding what, if anything, cinema and written literature have in common.
English 332 In this course we will study the first half of Shakespeare's career, paying special attention to his work in comedy and history.   Our overall approach will involve a close look at Shakespeare's humanized villains, as well as at his comic heroes and heroines. Hopefully, we'll learn to enjoy these plays as the creations of one of the most brilliant minds in the history of Western culture.
Freshman Year Seminar 101 The general subject of this seminar is “Composing the Self.” Works studied will include selections of fiction, drama, and philosophy. Additional material may be included on a handout basis. There will also be one class session each week (the extra hour) devoted to a discussion of current events and world culture, based on our reading of The New York Times.

Spring 2008 Course Summaries
English 235

 

The main focus of the course will be on developing an understanding of poetic form and technique. We will look at the ways in which every poem has both a personal and a general aspect (for example, at how poems are related to other poems) and at how language works in a poem.

English 340

 

 The non-dramatic work of Shakespeare's contemporaries and immediate predecessors will be studied in order to discover how the language and ideas of the modern age took shape.  The poetry of Wyatt, Surrey, Marlowe, Sidney, Spenser, and others will provide a background for our reading of Shakespeare's sonnets on love, friendship, and mortality.
Freshman Year Seminar 102 The general subject of this seminar is “Engaging the World.” The works studied will include fiction and film, with one class session each week devoted to a discussion of current events and world culture, based on our reading of The New York Times.

Fall 2007 Course Summaries
English 237

 

 Does a film tell the same story as a novel or a play?
How are meanings on screen different from meanings on the page?  In this course we’ll study three novels and a play by Shakespeare that approach storytelling in different ways.  Each of these works raises questions about symbolism, myth, narrative structure, point of view, genre, and realism. Film adaptations of these works will then be studied as a means of understanding what, if anything, cinema and written literature have in common.
English 333 In this course we'll study the second half of Shakespeare's career, with special attention to his work in tragedy. We'll also read two comedies: Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice. After reading Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear, we'll finish with The Tempest, a play written approximately a decade after Hamlet that combines elements of both comedy and tragedy.
Freshman Year Seminar 101 The general subject of this seminar is “Composing the Self.” The works studied will include fiction and film, with one class session each week devoted to a discussion of current events and world culture, based on our reading of The New York Times.

Spring 2007 Course Summaries
English 235 We will develop an understanding of poetic form, technique, and language.  We will also look at the ways in which every poem has both a personal and a general aspect–for example, at how most poems are related to other  poems.
English 382 In this course we will study the work of Federico Fellini, the leading director of Italian cinema. We will place his early work in the context of the post-WWII film movement known as Neorealism and then follow his development of a style of cinema that explores the inner lives of his characters and expands the narrative possibilities of film.
Freshnman Year Seminar 102 The general subject of this seminar is “Engaging the World.” The works studied will include fiction and film, with one class session each week devoted to a discussion of current events and world culture, based on our reading of The New York Times.