Dr. Brian R. Donovan

• Professor of English, Bemidji State University (BSU), Bemidji, Minnesota, USA
• Director of Composition

Photo ©2005 by Dan Carlson
of The Dive Depot, Bemidji, MN
used by permission

Office Hours for Spring 2012:

• Mondays: 9:00–9:50, 10:00–10:50, & 11:00–11:50 a.m., & 1:00–1:50 p.m.
• Tuesdays & Thursdays: 9:00–9:50 a.m.
• Wednesdays: 9:00–9:50 & 11:00–11:50 a.m., 1:00–1:50 & 2:00–2:50 p.m.

Courses for Spring 2012 (course titles link to syllabi in pdf form):

• ENGL 2152 §16, Argument and Exposition,Wednesdays 6:00–8:40 p.m. in HS 113.
• ENGL 3609, Restoration and Eighteenth-Century British Literature,Tuesdays & Thursdays 10:00–11:15 a.m. in HS 111A.
• ENGL 4420, Shakespeare and his Age,Tuesdays & Thursdays Noon to 1:15 p.m. in HS 113.
• Continuation (from syllabus) of calendar of course readings.
• Sonnet Assignment for Tuesday 4/24:
• Sidney, from Astrophil & Stella:
• 1, 2, 5, 7, 18, 21, 47, 56, 4th song, 93, 101-102, 11th song.
• Shakespeare’s Sonnets:
• From the sonnets addressing a young man (Earl of Pembroke? Earl of Southampton?):
• 1, 12, 18-20, 29, 30, 71, 73, 94, 116, 126
• From the “Dark Lady” sonnets:
• 127–30, 135, 138, 144
• First take-home test (distributed 2/9, due 2/14).
• Second take-home test (distributed 3/22, due 3/27).
• Third take-home test (distributed 4/10, due 4/17).
• Internet Shakespeare Editions, where you can find (among many other things) transcripts and facsimiles of early printings of the plays.
• Transcript of first day's PowerPoint® presentation.
• Transcript of fifth day's PowerPoint® presentation (on the four humors).

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Links and Materials for Teaching Graduate Assistants in English:

• Departmental syllabus for ENGL 1151 "Composition".
• Departmental syllabus for ENGL 2152 "Argument and Exposition".
The above are sample syllabi, drafted by Susan Hauser as part of the English curriculum package that got approved through BSUFA committees and BSU Academic Affairs last year. As such these documents appear to meet the definition of "Course Outline" as defined by MnSCU Board Policy 3.22 Part 2 Subpart A. Teaching Graduate assistants should take note that the student learning outcomes specified in these documents (under "Assessment") are officially and importantly binding; other stuff in here, like the point system for grading, may, however, be treated as mere example and suggestion. The department has authority to revise these documents, subject I believe to the full curriculum-approval process, but that is doable, and suggestions for improvements are welcome.
• Syllabus Template (specifically constructed for on-line courses, but most parts are equally relevant to on-campus courses).
• MnSCU advice/policy on copyright and fair use.
• Hints and Practical Advice for First Year English Students, a page salvaged from an older version of the departmental Web site, containing a departmental grading rubric.

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Advice to College Writers:

Some handouts I have prepared for my College Writing students and the Writing Resource Center, on a few types of errors I have found myself marking again and again:
• On the Comma Splice (“cs”) and Fused Sentence.
• On Agreement in Indefinite Constructions.
• On Citing or Quoting your Trusty Webster’s, Encarta, or Wikipedia.
• On Meta-Discourse.

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Some other resources I keep on the Web:

• My sabbatical journal, with pictures, covering travels and adventures with my family in Greece (also the British Isles, first, and Turkey last), during my sabbatical leave for the full academic year 2000–2001.
• The Encomium of Helen by Gorgias of Leontini, my translation of an important sophistic text from ancient Greece, because there was a need for one to be more easily available;
• Ojibwewanishinaabenaang, a set of 1350x975-pixel maps of southwestern Ojibwe territory, with Ojibwe place names, lest they be forgotten;
• Ojibwe Story as taught in Prof. Earl Nyholm’s Advanced Ojibwe class.  The Ojibwe text is specially encoded so that grammatical and lexical notes appear as you move your mouse-cursor over the words. [Note 2/1/12:  This special encoding has been restored to functionality by Tom Wurdock.]

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This page last updated 19 April 2012.