At Purdue University, I have developed syllabi and served as the instructor of record for film, literature, and composition courses.
ENGL 28600: The Movies
The Movies offers a comprehensive introduction to the aesthetic and cultural histories of movies in the United States. In this course, students learn how films are constructed, how they represent and challenge cultural and aesthetic values, and how they are produced and distributed. This course prompts students to examine how filmic conventions are visually conveyed through cinematic techniques, including editing, sound design, and mise-en-scène, among others. With this knowledge, students consider what stories selected films attempt to convey and what those stories reveal about the cultures that produced them.
In Spring 2024, I am teaching a standard (sixteen-week) in-person section of The Movies using the theme “Genre and Storytelling.” In Summer 2024, I will be teaching an accelerated (eight-week) asynchronous online course organized around the theme “Other Worlds.”
ENGL 23800: Introduction to Fiction
This course introduces students to a variety of narrative forms and styles as well as the basic tools necessary for understanding, analyzing, and writing about fiction. In this course, students study the basic elements that make up works of fiction, including plot, setting, and point of view, among others. Additionally, we examine how fiction produces cultural commentary and ultimately develop (through reading, writing, and discussion), a working definition of fiction: what it is, how it functions, and the kinds of meanings it can generate.
I have taught Introduction to Fiction in two different modalities: as an accelerated (eight-week) asynchronous online course and as a standard (sixteen-week) in-person course. I have also taught this course using two syllabus themes: “Houses, Homes, and Havens” and “Exploration.”
English 10600: First-Year Composition
According to the Introductory Composition at Purdue program website, “English 10600 is the standard 4-credit hour composition course for students at Purdue. The course provides students with the opportunity to interpret and compose in both digital and print media across a variety of forms. Students engage in active learning, which includes class discussion, learning in small groups, problem-solving, peer review, and digital interaction. English 10600 is grounded in the idea that writing provides an outlet for sharing and developing ideas; facilitates understanding across different conventions, genres, groups, societies, and cultures; and allows for expression in multiple academic, civic, and non-academic situations. In short, writing is a way of learning that spans all fields and disciplines” (“Outcomes“).
I have taught three different modalities of First-Year Composition: synchronous in-person, synchronous online, and asynchronous online. I have also taught using three different syllabus themes: “Myths and Monsters,” “Academic Rhetorics,” and “Digital Rhetorics.” Instructional videos for “Academic Rhetorics” and “Digital Rhetorics” can be found on my YouTube channel, Alex Anderson @ Purdue.
Alex M. Anderson, PhD 