Holly Messitt
Associate Professor
English
EMAIL: hmessitt@bmcc.cuny.edu
Office: N-751N
Office Hours: Monday/Thursday 2-3:30
Phone: +1 (212) 776-7278
Professor Messitt has research interest in contemporary fiction, poetry, and theater. She is co-editor, with James Tolan, of New America: Contemporary Literature in a Changing Society (Autumn House Press, 2012).
Expertise
Degrees
Ph.D., Drew University (English)
Courses Taught
- ENG 100.5 is a co-requisite first-year writing course that offers additional instructional support. The course introduces students to the academic writing process through the study of culturally-diverse nonfiction prose. Emphasis will be placed on developing thesis-driven responses to the writing of others, practicing revision, following the conventions of MLA style, and completing a research project. Since this course is equivalent to ENG 101, by its successful conclusion students will be ready for English 201 and for the writing they will be asked to do in advanced courses across the curriculum.
Prerequisite: English Proficiency Index 64 and lower OR a score of 43-55 on the CAT-W and Exemption from developmental reading OR successful completion of developmental reading. This course is not open to ESL students.
Please note: Tuition for this corequisite course is charged by the equated credit (hours) not per credit. - 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
- The goals of this course are to stimulate an appreciation for, and an enjoyment of, poetic masterworks mainly of the 20th century. This course includes critical reading and writing; its approach is an in-depth study of poetry which has universal significance. Writers studied include T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, e.e. cummings, Pablo Neruda, Langston Hughes, Theodore Roethke, Gwendolyn Brooks and Sylvia Plath.
- This course provides careful, in-depth readings from Shakespeare's tragedies, histories and comedies. The course examines some of the main characteristics of his work, including his major themes, the development of character and plot, and the special worlds that he creates through his poetic language.
Research and Projects
Prof. Messitt is currently working on a collected edition of Hilda Morley’s poems.
Publications
