Elizabeth Fow
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Born and raised in New Zealand, Lol E Fow immigrated to the U.S. in 1990 and has been teaching at BMCC since then. She completed an MFA in Creative Writing at Brooklyn College with a concentration in Playwriting but these days mostly writes fiction. She is currently working on a book reapproaching Joseph Campbell’s masculine monomyth for female heroes in the 21st century, and she is co-chair of Mythology in Contemporary Culture at the yearly National Population Culture Association Conference.
Expertise
Mythology in Contemporary Culture, Modern World Literature, Women’s Literature, Creative Writing, Composition
Degrees
- B.A. University of Waikato, New Zealand, Philosophy,1989
- M.F.A. Brooklyn College, CUNY, Creative Writing / Playwriting,1993
Courses Taught
- English Composition is the standard freshman writing course. The course introduces students to academic writing. By its conclusion, students will be ready for English 201 and for the writing they will be asked to do in advanced courses across the curriculum. Students completing ENG 101 will have mastered the fundamentals of college-level reading and writing, including developing a thesis-driven response to the writing of others and following the basic conventions of citation and documentation. They will have practiced what Mike Rose calls the "habits of mind" necessary for success in college and in the larger world: summarizing, classifying, comparing, contrasting, and analyzing. Students will be introduced to basic research methods and MLA documentation and complete a research project. Students are required to take a departmental final exam that requires the composition of a 500 word, thesis-driven essay in conversation with two designated texts.
Prerequisite: Pass the CAT-R and CAT-W or Accuplacer tests
Course Syllabus - This is a course that builds upon skills introduced in English 101. In this course, literature is the field for the development of critical reading, critical thinking, independent research, and writing skills. Students are introduced to literary criticisms and acquire basic knowledge necessary for the analysis of texts (including literary terms and some literary theory); they gain proficiency in library and internet research; and they hone their skills as readers and writers. Assignments move from close readings of literary texts in a variety of genres to analyses that introduce literary terms and broader contexts, culminating in an independent, documented, thesis-driven research paper. By the conclusion of English 201, students will be prepared for the analytical and research-based writing required in upper-level courses across the curriculum; they will also be prepared for advanced courses in literature.
Prerequisite: ENG 101
Course Syllabus - The objective of this course is to sharpen students' creative writing skills in the genres of the short story, poetry and drama, depending on students' interests and ability.
Pre-Requisite: ENG121 or ENG201
Course Syllabus - This course acquaints students with the wide range and varied forms of the short story as it developed in America, Europe, and other continents. Readings will include works by male and female authors of different periods and nationalities, and some attention may be paid to the historical development of the short story as a genre, as well as the cultural contexts in which the assigned stories were written.
Pre-Requisite: ENG101 and ENG201 or ENG121
Course Syllabus - This course presents a global approach to literature by introducing prose, poetry and drama representative of different cultures and historical periods, from the 17th century to the present. Students engage in close readings of individual texts and contextual/comparative analyses. Written and spoken activities are designed to enhance students? appreciation of literature and their awareness of the ways it arises from, shapes, and reflects the world?s cultures.
Course Syllabus - This course focuses on the contributions of women literary artists from a variety of cultures and ethnic groups. It examines how some writers have both reflected the prevailing female stereotypes of their age and background, and also imagined the "New Woman." Enrollment is open to both women and men.
Course Syllabus
Research and Projects
- Feminist Approaches to the Hero’s JourneyJoseph Campbell’s monomyth described the heroic pattern that flowed through world mythology, but that pattern is described in masculine language and through male life stages. This is project is looking at that underlying pattern and its connection to individuation as androgynous and rethinking its depiction, thus dissolving the default that “real” heroes are male and “female” heroes an anomaly.
Publications
Selected academic publications:
- “The Play’s the Thing: Creative Writing and Performance for Critical Thinking in Freshman English,” University Press, Banja Luka
- “The Hollywood Lama” chapter in Star Power: The Impact of Celebrity Brands (a Cultural Studies anthology), Praeger
- “Books Not Screens For Remedial College Writers” , International Journal of the Book
Honors, Awards and Affiliations
Co-chair of Mythology in Contemporary Culture for the National Popular Culture Association Conference since 2023.
