Faculty

ENGL-1302 English Composition II

Tessa Livingstone

Credit Spring 2026

Section(s)

ENGL-1302-111 (16561)
LEC TuTh 1:30pm - 2:50pm RVS RVSG 9115

ENGL-1302-251 (28740)
LEC MW 1:30pm - 2:50pm RVS RVSA 2211

Course Requirements

Composition II deepens the work of Composition I to promote critical thinking, reading, and writing in the service of clear and effective communication in academic and other public writing contexts. Students will continue to develop their voice as they analyze texts, which may be literary or drawn from other fields, conduct independent research, and engage in collaborative learning. All of these skills are applicable to future collegiate study, professional work, and civic life.

Topical Focus

In “Dimensional Fabrics: The Science Fiction and Fantasies of Our Planet,” students will study Science Fiction and Fantasy (SFF) stories from around the world by authors such as Gabriel García Márquez, Octavia Butler, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Ursula K. Le Guin, Intizar Hussain, Leonora Carrington, and Franz Kafka. From Afrofutrist visions to Indigenous storytelling traditions, students will engage in close readings and critical discussions of speculative stories that expand worldviews and envision alternative realities. By the end of the course, students will ultimately understand and appreciate the ways in which SFF can both reflect and reshape our understanding of the world and the future of humanity.

Readings

“Axolotl” by Julio Cortazar
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
“The Debutante” by Leonora Carrington
“Kaya-Kalp” by Intizar Husain
“Sultana’s Dream” by Begum Rokeya
“A Crossbreed” by Franz Kafka
“The Life and Adventures of Shed Number XII” by Victor Pelevin
"Kashtanka" by Anton Chekhov
“The Lost Ghost” by Mary E. Wilkins
“The Comet” by W.E.B. Du Bois
“Exhibit Piece” by Philip K. Dick
"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
“The Human Chair” by Edogawa Rampo
“Speech Sounds” by Octavia Butler
“The Wife’s Story” by Ursula K. Le Guin
“Standing Woman” by Yasutaka Tsutsui
“How The Twilight Zone Predicted Our Paranoid Present” by Adrienne LaFrance
“The Beautiful People” by Charles Beaumont
“Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” by Richard Matheson
“The Hitchhiker” by Lucille Fletcher
"Time Enough at Last” by Lynn Venable
“It’s a Good Life” by Jerome Bixby

Course Subjects

Throughout the course, students will read a total of 23 short stories and complete a Reading Quiz (in class) for each story. Students will also write 3 short essays and a Final Reflection Essay on the last day of class.

Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives

Upon completion of English 1302, students will be able to

Analyze and interpret a variety of texts through literary, critical, and/or contextual approaches.
Write objectively, concisely, and analytically in a style that clearly communicates meaning, builds credibility, and inspires belief or action
Demonstrate knowledge of individual and collaborative research processes
Develop ideas and synthesize primary and secondary sources within focused academic arguments, including two or more research-based essays
Analyze, interpret, and evaluate a variety of texts for the ethical and logical uses of evidence
Apply the conventions of style manual appropriate to the English discipline (MLA)