Stories We Tell Course Pairing
The Art of Reading: Success, What Does it Look Like? (EN 101)
We all want success, but what, exactly, is it? The characters we’ll meet in this course are a man seeking freedom from enslavement, a stressed-out salesman-turned-cockroach, an aging video game character, a desperate housewife, and an aspiring Hollywood actor are all striving for it. Literature serves as an important tool for understanding ourselves, others, and the dynamic social environments in which we struggle and triumph. And so, EN101 will develop your command of the formal aspects of poetry, drama, and fiction. We’ll explore literature around the topic of success with two aims in mind. First, the course will up your game for college, improving reading and writing skills critical to your success as a college student. Simultaneously, you’ll be reading and discussing great works of literature to help you reflect on your goals and ultimately to begin the lifelong process of defining success for yourself.
Faculty biography
Dr. Sondra Guttman teaches U.S. Multi-ethnic literatures, African American literature, 20th-century protest literature, the literatures of modernism, and gender studies.
Philosophical Perspectives: Politics and Society (PL 210)
In this course we will explore the promises and limits of liberal democracy in highly complex and deeply pluralistic societies. The course can be roughly divided into two sections. The first part examines the fragile alliance between liberalism and democracy. We will discuss topics such as the nature of political power, factions and democracy, and the possibility of democratic solidarity in divided societies. Once we have a good grasp of the underlying values and assumptions of liberal democracy, we will examine some of the most controversial issues in contemporary politics from the perspective of democracy. In the second part we will address topics such as the political public sphere, the democratic function of the media, corporations and democracy, the role of activism in democracy, and civil disobedience.
Faculty biography
Dr. Fuat Gursozlu received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He came to Loyola in 2012 and has taught several courses including Politics and Society, Philosophy of Human Rights, Justice in Global Perspective, and Contemporary Political Philosophy. He specializes in Social and Political Philosophy and his recent research focuses on the nature of democratic society and how democracy can address marginalization, oppression, polarization and violence and create a more peaceful society.
Mentor biography
Melissa Lees is the Program Manager for the Women’s Center Sexual Violence Prevention, Education and Response Coordinator at Loyola University Maryland. She is a confidential resource for ANY student who experiences any form of sexual or dating violence. Melissa earned her Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies from Marywood University in Scranton, PA and her Master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from the University of Dayton in Ohio. Melissa has been a senior advocate with TurnAround, Baltimore’s rape crisis and domestic violence agency for the past nine years and a Domestic Violence Advocate at North West Hospital's DOVE program for three years. In her free time, she is a die-hard NY Giants fan, loves cooking, running and spending time with her nieces and nephews.
Virtual Advisor
EN 101 satisfies the Literature core requirement for all students. Students who choose this pairing will be pre-registered for PL 201 in the fall semester as a pre-requisite to PL 210.
