Opportunities Available for English Graduate Students at the DePaul Humanities Center

Formal details about these opportunities will be announced at the beginning of Winter Quarter in a brief informational session on Monday, January 12, 2008 at 4:30.

But for now, we would like to let you know that the MAE/MAWP Programs will be formally partnering with the DePaul Humanities Center to offer DePaul Graduate students the following opportunities.

Opportunities at the DePaul Humanities Center for M.A. in English Students

Independent study: Two Possibilities

M.A. in English students are invited to complete an independent course on “The Rise of the Novel.” They should attend 3 lectures by Patricia Meyer Spacks, Michael McKeon, and Terry Castle which take place at the student center. Final papers should cover one novel in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries (or earlier) and should respond to the arguments made by these important critics. Ian Watts’ The Rise of the Novel offers a classic study of the origins of the British novel, though many other writers and critics respond to Watts’ argument. How do Spacks, McKeon, and Castle change the terms of this debate and/or extend it? In what ways do their essays contribute to an on-going discussion taken up by Margaret Doody, Wayne Booth and other critics. If you’ve missed the Spacks lecture, you can hear it online at the DePaul Humanities Center website. Students are encouraged to contact Prof. Jonathan Gross at jgross@depaul.edu and turn in a 20 page paper on this subject, not including the bibliography, to the Humanities Center before August 31, 2009. Independent study courses require periodic discussions with Prof. Gross. An abstract must be submitted before the paper is drafted. A rough draft must be turned in 4 weeks before the final paper is submitted. Students can make use of this independent study option until August 31 2009. $350 for the best essay on the subject.

Happiness Studies (open to M.A. in Writing, M.A. in Writing and Publishing, and M.A. in English students). Write a 20 page essay on the subject of happiness as addressed by Erik Wilson and Philip Lopate. Wilson is the author of Against Happiness and Lopate is an award-winning essayist who penned a short piece entitled “Against Joie de Vivre.” What are the philosophical origins of happiness? Aristotle defined happiness as eudaimonia, but how might this word be related to the pursuit of virtue and knowledge? How do these modern essayists (Wilson and Lopate) extend and refine Aristotle’s discussion, or do they respond to a different tradition? What is modern about their approach? What is “classical” about Aristotle’s? What can we learn from the difference? For example, Wilson draws on Keats, Blake, and other Romantic poets to make a distinction between melancholy and depression. In the course of his argument he disagrees with psychologist Martin Seligman, the proponent of “positive psychology.” There is now a Journal of Happiness Studies and a course at Harvard, one of their most popular, on attaining happiness. What can you contribute to this discussion? Take an opportunity to respond to Wilson and Lopate’s arguments by contextualizing them in an historical review of the meaning of happiness as explored in one or more works of literature. Enter the lists in service of an idea: what is happiness? $350 for the best essay on the subject.

For further information, please contact Jonathan Gross at the DePaul Humanities Center, 773 325-1780.

Internships at the DePaul Humanities Center

Students interested in gaining experience teaching poetry in the public schools are encouraged to apply for an internship at the DePaul Humanities Center. Work includes preparing the annual student poetry chapbook, transcribing poems, arranging for their printing, and attending poetry workshops with resident poet Chris Green. An internship include a stipend of $300.

For further information, please contact Jonathan Gross at the Humanities Center, 773 325-1780.