|
Frequently Asked Questions:
|
||||
| Can I get an override into one of your full classes? | ||||
| Sorry, but no. The English Department has a firm policy against issuing overrides. Class sizes are set for sound educational reasons, and we do our best to keep educational quality foremost. Registration is often in flux right up until drop/add ends, so often students who keep an eye on the class find that a space opens. Watch enrollment online. | ||||
| I'm enrolled in one of your upcoming online classes. What should I do? | ||||
| If you've already got a MyMCC account, then you're set. You'll get an email from me with startup information and the syllabus, sent to the MCC email address of everyone enrolled in the section. If you don't have a MyMCC account, get one here. If the class has already started and you haven't heard from me, email me at the address above. | ||||
| I'm considering enrolling in one of your film courses, but I'm concerned about the course content. Will we be watching any R-rated movies? | ||||
| As I assume that all enrolling students are adults, I use my professional expertise to choose content based on its educational value rather than the MPAA's flawed rating system. Because that often means I'm looking for cutting-edge form, it frequently means films that push boundaries in other ways, including strong language, mature depictions of human sexuality, and sometimes graphic violence. The same goes for my literature selections, though students most often ask about films. I don't assign films in my composition courses. | ||||
| Do your online courses require any on-campus attendance? | ||||
| No. My online classes are just that--online. They aren't hybrid in any form. Of course you're still invited to come see me in my office on campus. You simply aren't required to attend even an orientation session. | ||||
| Office: LO5 (in the LA building) Phone: 480-461-7244 Email: jacobsen@mesacc.edu |
|
Frequently Taught Courses
|
||
| The courses that I am currently teaching are available in the schedule of classes. Below are the courses that I teach often, though not every semester. |
||
| ENG091: Fundamentals of Writing | Face-to-Face | |
| ENG101: First-Year Composition | Face-to-Face | |
| ENG102: First-Year Composition | Face-to-Face and Hybrid | |
| ENG200: Reading and Writing About Literature | Face-to-Face | |
| ENG260: Film Analysis | Face-to-Face and Online | |
| ENH120: The Literature of Science Fiction | Online | |
| ENH255: Contemporary U.S. Literature and Film | Face-to-Face and Online | |
| ENH277AH: Facing Fear: Horror Narrative | Face-to-Face | |
About Me
I earned a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree in English from The Ohio State University, and a Doctorate in American Literature from Arizona State University. I co-authored a composition textbook, Scenarios for Writing with Dr. Greg Glau. I'm interested in how texts work. When I teach writing, I want students to learn how to assemble a text that will be most effective.
When I teach literature and film, I want students to learn that narratives are constructed artifacts, the workings of which can be explored. In my own research and writing on literature, film, television and computer games, I'm most interested in seeing how the complex relationships between artistic creation, the constraints of the medium, and economic realities work themselves out.
My scholarly interests are in transmedia narratives, those that cross boundaries of medium and develop in film, literature, television, comics and games simultaneously. I'm most interested in non-realist narratives (science fiction, horror, dystopia, etc.), because I think the ways in which we shape narrative worlds says a lot about us.
Some Stuff I've Written
If you're interested in reading something I've written, there are some articles easily available on Flow (some of them translated and reprinted in the Italian film and television magazine Duellanti), a critical forum published by the department of Radio, Television and Film at the University of Texas, Austin. Here's what I've written for them.