Bellevue College recently added two new linked English and humanities classes, which combine a particular genre with English 101. English 101, known as English Composition, teaches effective writing skills and emphasizes the steps of the writing process. It is a prerequisite for many courses, and required to earn many of the degrees BC offers.
For students who want to focus on a particular area of study while improving their writing, revising, editing and proofreading skills, BC offers dual classes. Last quarter, the college offered a joint English 101 and English 224 class, focusing on Shakespeare’s dramatic and literary art. In winter quarter 2017, BC is introducing two new classes: A combined class with English 260, American Literature: Harlem Renaissance and English and a combined class with English 215, Myth, Folktale and Legend.
According to the BC course catalog, the Harlem Renaissance class will introduce students “to writers of the historic black culture movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. From W.E.B. DuBois and Langston Hughes to Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright, students explore the origins, themes, controversies and legacies of a literary and arts group known for its progressive thinking.” It is offered this upcoming quarter together with English 101 on Monday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. It is also offered in combination with English 271 or 272 on the same schedule.
The Myth, Folktale and Legend class will examine “traditional stories from different cultures. Students discuss common motifs and styles, relationships between cultural perspectives, and theories concerning origins and significance,” according to the catalogue. The BC website states that this class “explores the folklore, legends, and myths of the Americas. Examines how cultures have visually expressed these tales through art. Looks at the work of contemporary muralists and their artistic expression of these myths.” The combined English 101 and English 215 class will be offered Monday through Thursday from 12:30 to 2:40 p.m.
The instructor for the Myth, Folktale and Legend Fernando Perez, said, “This is my first time teaching a linked class and so I cannot speak with authority about the work load. We are going to be looking at mythological stories told by people of the Americas and we going to be writing about and deconstructing their meanings. We will also be looking at the work of contemporary muralists as a form of expressing some of these mythologies. We will be using a visual analysis to deconstruct the murals.”
Linked classes provide five credits per course, which equate to 10 credits for the quarter. Scott Bessho, assistant dean of Arts and Humanities, said that “we have had linked literature courses for a long time, more than a decade, but these particular classes are recent additions to the catalog.”