General registration for spring opens on November 6, typically at 9am eastern (when the Registrar’s office manually activates the system on that morning, it’s not automated, so it might not open at 9:00 sharp). If you need assistance with registration note that the current PACT advisor for the MA program is Chris Hernandez at chernandez85@mercy.edu. We’re planning to run three graduate courses in the spring and will expand the schedule beyond this if needs demand. For the spring you will find these course options available for registration starting on 11/6:

• ENGL 505 Transformations of the Epic (Dr. Sax)

This course is based on the conception of the epic as an encyclopedic narrative of substantial length featuring a central figure who reflects the values of a particular culture. It will proceed chronologically, studying the taxonomy and transformations of the epic, from its earliest Classical manifestations, through its emergence in Medieval and Renaissance texts, to its incorporation after the Renaissance into modern writing. Fulfills the Writing & Literary Forms requirement or an elective by default, but can fulfill a Literature Group 1 or Literature Group 2 requirement upon request.

• ENGL 515: Reel Stories: Literature & Film (Dr. Loots)

This course explores story as presented through writings and film from around the world and back across time, with an eye to considering questions such as: What is the point, value, or power of story overall, culturally speaking or otherwise, whether written or filmed? Why do some of us create stories, whether written or filmed? And why do so many of us like to experience stories, whether written or filmed? What advantages are there to storytelling through each of these different mediums? What technical aspects and considerations go into the creation of stories in these two different mediums? Why do people create or experience tragic works if they depict such heavy material that it might make us sad? And what value is there to studying story, whether written or filmed, at all, in the university? We will talk about all of this and more throughout the semester. Basically, if you like thinking, and conversing, and stories, and movies, and exploring your ideas about such in a supportive environment, this is the class for you. Fulfills an elective by default but can fulfill a Literature Group 1 or Literature Group 2 requirement upon request.

• ENGL 525 Victorian Age in Literature (Dr. Dugan)

If one were asked to define the timeline of Victorian literature, one might be hard-pressed to do so. As literary genres are fluid, it is hard to determine when the Romantic Period ends and the Victorian Period begins; and when the Victorian Period ends and Modernism begins. Whatever the dates, a defining characteristic of Victorian England would be change, change matched with a belief in progress: societal, religious, economic, and artistic. While some benefited from these changes, others did not. The semester we will look closely, through Victorian literature, at issues that challenge the notions of change and progress, notably the role of women, industrialism, gender roles, and poverty as shown in fiction, poetry, and drama of the Victorian age. Fulfills a Literature Group 1 requirement or an elective by default, but can fulfill a Literature Group 2 requirement or the Writing & Literary Forms requirement upon request.