LibGuides: Open Educational Resources: English

OER Courses at IRSC

ENC1101 Powley Fast Fashion OER
by Alexis Carlson Last Updated Feb 7, 2024 10 views this year
ENC1101 Powley Shark Tank OER
by Alexis Carlson Last Updated Feb 7, 2024 13 views this year
ENC1102 Powley OER
by Alexis Carlson Last Updated Mar 21, 2024 415 views this year
Open Readings
by Alexis Carlson Last Updated Feb 7, 2024 721 views this year
LIT2110 World Literature I OER
by Alexis Carlson Last Updated Feb 7, 2024 653 views this year
LIT2120 World Literature II OER
by Alexis Carlson Last Updated Feb 7, 2024 1072 views this year

English Department OER Presentation

Possible Resources for Specific Courses at IRSC

English Composition
CC BY. English Composition open textbook developed by the University of Hawaii.
The Roadrunner's Guide to English
Reading, writing processes, grammar practice, essay and sentence structure, style, tone, and inference, and more. CC BY-NC-SA.
Writing Commons
Welcome to Writing Commons, the open-education home for writers. Our mission is to help college students improve their writing, research, and critical thinking. We publish a variety of webtexts on writing pedagogy. Major topics include Academic Writing, Information Literacy, Evidence and Documentation, Research Methods & Methodologies, Style, New Media Communication, Professional and Technical Communication, and Creative Writing. Writing Commons also publishes a monthly newsletter, unCommon News.

Composition, Grammar, Mechanics

English Composition I: Rhetorical Methods–Based
CC0: No Rights Reserved
International Advances in Writing Research: Cultures, Places, Measures
The thirty chapters in this edited collection were selected from the more than 500 presentations at the Writing Research Across Borders II Conference in 2011.With representatives from more than forty countries, this conference gave rise to the International Society for the Advancement of Writing Research.
Introduction to Literature
CC-BY
Successful Writing
The books posted here are licensed under the Creative Commons by-nc-sa 3.0 license, which typically requires attributing the source of the work (author, title, and URI). Initially, then, these books were attributed to the authors and publisher who made them available. However, in March 2013, I was contacted by the publisher, who, acting as the licensor of the works, asked me to remove the Creative Commons attribution to the original authors and publisher from the collection of books. They also indicated that, in situations where I was required to attribute the work, they wished the works to be attributed to anonymous authors.
WAC and Second-Language Writers: Research Towards Linguistically and Culturally Inclusive Programs and Practices
n WAC and Second-Language Writers, the editors and contributors pursue the ambitious goal of including within WAC theory, research, and practice the differing perspectives, educational experiences, and voices of second-language writers.
Writing in College: From Competence to Excellence
CC-BY NC SA

Literature Collections (Creative Commons (CC) Licensed Works are available for copying, editing, and distributing, know that these sources are intended to be mixed and matched to make one tailored book for IRSC students)

African-American Literature
CC-BY
American Literature I
This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words "Licenses and Attributions" at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.
Compact Anthology of World Literature
CC-BY SA
Includes Hebrew Bible, “Genesis” and “Exodus,” The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad and The Odyssey, Medea, Oedipus the King, The Analects, The Art of War, The Book of Songs, The Mother of Mencius, The Zhuangzi, The Bhagavad Gita, The Mahabharata, The Râmâyana, The Aeneid, and Metamorphoses.
Documenting the American South
CC-BY
Documenting the American South (DocSouth) includes sixteen thematic collections of primary sources for the study of southern history, literature, and culture.
English Literature: Victorians and Moderns
CC-BY
Includes James Joyce, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Charles Dickens, Christina Rossetti, Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, George Bernard Shaw, Joseph Conrad, William Butler Yeats, A.E. Housman, Hector Hugh Munro, Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, Rupert Brooke, Sean O’Casey, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Eliot, Katherine Mansfield, Aldous Huxley, and George Orwell.
The First World War Poetry Digital Archive
CC-BY-NC-SA
Anyone is entitled to use the material for Educational Purposes (means for the purpose of education, teaching, distance learning, private study and/or research) but not for Commercial Purposes (i.e. selling or reselling the material or using it for any commercial gain).
Thematic Reading Anthology
CC-BY Licensed

Online Technical Writing Textbook
Includes:
Introduction
Applications
Examples, Cases, Models
Document Design
Processes and Guidelines

This textbook is available with a CC-BY Creative Commons License.
Technical Writing Textbook at Lumen Learning
Includes:
• Audience-Centered Communication, Format, Language and Tone, Visuals, Web Sites, Memos, Letters, Descriptive and Prescriptive Reports, Classification and Partition Reports, Informative Presentations, Research, Problem Analysis, Summaries and Responses, Proposal, Feasibility Report, Persuasive Presentations, and Rules of Writing

Various licenses, will look closer if interested.
Saylor's Professional Writing Course
This course is designed to provide adult learners with the basic skills they need to write effective documents in the workplace.

This course is licensed under a CC-BY Creative Commons License.
A Guide to Technical Communications: Strategies & Applications
Includes: Rhetorical Foundations, Applications in Technical Communications, Job Search Communications, Preparing Job Application Materials, Interview Strategies, Employment Access, Equity & Opportunity, Engaging With Research, Common Types of Research Reports & Documents, Strategies for Conducting Research, Writing about Research, & Using and Documenting Sources.

CC-BY License
Business Communication for Success
Includes:
Effective Business Communication, Delivering Your Message, Understanding Your Audience, Effective Business Writing, Writing Preparation, Writing, Revising and Presenting Your Writing, Feedback in the Writing Process, Business Writing in Action, Developing Business Presentations, Nonverbal Delivery, Organization and Outlines, Presentations to Inform, Presentations to Persuade, Business Presentations in Action, Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Business Communication, Negative News and Crisis Communication, Intercultural and International Business Communication, & Group Communication, Teamwork, and Leadership.

CC-BY-NC-SA License
Technical Writing
Includes:
Professional Communications, Audience Analysis, Proposals, Information Literacy, Citations and Plagiarism, Progress Reports, Outlines, Creating and Integrating Graphics, Ethics in Technical Writing, & Document Design.

CC-BY-NC-SA License
Technical Writing
CC-BY-NC-SA License

LIT2110 World Literature I OER
by Alexis Carlson Last Updated Feb 7, 2024 681 views this year

Online Collections

Primary Source Sets: Digital Public Library of America
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop critical thinking skills by exploring topics in history, literature, and culture through primary sources. Drawing online materials from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States, the sets use letters, photographs, posters, oral histories, video clips, sheet music, and more. Each set includes a topic overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee. Read about our education projects and contact us with feedback at education@dp.la.
Favorite Poem Project
The Favorite Poem Project is dedicated to celebrating, documenting and encouraging poetry’s role in our lives. Robert Pinsky, the 39th Poet Laureate of the United States, founded the Favorite Poem Project shortly after the Library of Congress appointed him to the post in 1997. Poems read on the website may be linked to for educational purposes. A partnership among Boston University, the Library of Congress and other organizations with major funding from the National Endowment from the Arts and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Authors A-H

Written by the Author

Criticism of the Author

Criticism of "What You Pawn I will Redeem"

About the Author

Official Sherman Alexie Website
Sherman Alexie: How Storytelling can Create Social Change
Primary source material
Sherman Alexie in the New York Times
"Moyers & Company: Living Outside Tribal Lines"
UCSD Guestbook: Sherman Alexie
Primary source material

Written by the Author

"The Triumph of the Egg"
A book of short stories.

Written by the Author

"Happy Endings" by Margaret Atwood
Primary source material

Criticism of the Author

Criticism for "Happy Endings" from Short Stories for Students

About the Author

Bill Moyers Interview of Margaret Atwood
Primary source material
"Margaret Atwood: Once in August" video
"Atwood and Family" video

"Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin
Primary source material
Criticism for "Sonny's Blues" from Short Stories for Students
Class Lecture on "Sonny's Blues" from the University of California
Listen or read the transcript of a class lecture on Baldwin and "Sonny's Blues"

Listen below to "James Baldwin: Living and Growing in a White World" by Pacifica Radio Archives

"James Baldwin: The Price of a Ticket" video

Written by the Author

"A Night Among the Horses"
Full text of the short story.

All Works by Kate Chopin in eBook Format
All Criticism on Works by Kate Chopin in the Gale Database
Films on Demand Video Content for Kate Chopin
Includes dramatization of "Five Stories of an Hour" and "The Joy that Kills."
The Kate Chopin International Society Website
Contains primary, secondary, and biographical sources for Chopin.

"The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named María" by Judith Ortiz Cofer
In the collection of short stories and prose The Latin Deli: Prose and Poetry
"El Mito de la Mujer Latina: Acabo de Conocer a una Chica Llamada María" por Judith Ortiz Cofer
Judith Ortiz Cofer
A link to all results of works written by her in the databases.

Written by the Author

"Apostrophe to the Land" poem by Cullen
A collection of poems by Cullen in the Gale database
Audiobook of poems read by the poets.
Includes
Arna Bontemps
Countee Cullen
Langston Hughes
Sonia Sanchez
Gwendolyn Brooks

Criticism of the Author

"In my flesh shall I see God: Ritual violence and racial redemption in "The Black Christ"'

Written by the Author

"The Waste Land"
Includes the full text of the poem and annotations.

Written by the Author

"This Side of Paradise"

Written by the Author

"Mountain Interval"
A collection of poems by Robert Frost.
Robert Frost reads his own poetry
Audio of poems read by the author include "The Road Not Taken," "Mending Wall," A Considerable Speck," and more.
Primary Sources by Robert Frost
Includes poems and letters by Robert Frost.

Criticism of the Author

Criticism of Robert Frost in Literature Resources from Gale
Robert Frost in Video
Includes Frost's role in politics and criticism of Frost's work.

About the Author

Robert Frost on the Poetry Foundation website
Read a biography and find open access poems by the author.

Stories by the Author

A Farewell to Arms
Read the entire story online.
Men at War: The Best War Stories of All Time
Collection of war stories edited by Hemingway. Includes Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage.

About the Author

"How do you like it now, Gentlemen?" by Lillian Ross
Interview of Hemingway from The New Yorker magazine.
"He spends most of his time on a farm...with his wife, a domestic staff of nine, fifty-two cats, sixteen dogs, a couple of hundred pigeons, and three cows."
Hemingway Digital Films
Includes over 80 clips of biography, dramatizations of his work, and other commentary on Hemingway.

"Those We Leave Behind" by Khaled Hosseini
The article discusses a refugee camp set up in Jordan to house Syrian refugees who have fled their country because of the civil war that began in 2011. Topics discussed include the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as the UN Refugee Agency, the conditions for children in the camp, and the lack of funding for the camp and those like it.

Written by the Author

I Wonder as I Wander by Langston Hughes
A continuation of The Big Sea.
Other stories, essays, and plays written by Langston Hughes
"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain"
"The Weary Blues"
A poem by Langston Hughes.

Zora Neale Hurston LibGuide
Library and Internet resources devoted to the study of Zora Neale Hurston as an anthropologist, writer, and intellectual.

Written by the Author

Chrome Yellow
Primary source material. First published novel establishing him as a social satirist.
"Drugs that Shape Men's Minds" from The Saturday Evening Post 1958
Primary source material. Essay by Huxley.
Chapter 40: Aldous Huxley, "In Love with the Inevitably Material 1920" from the book Geoffrey Chaucer: The Critical Heritage, by Derek Brewer.
Primary source material. An excerpt from the essay by Aldous Huxley discussing the works of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, first printed in the 1920 edition of "The London Mercury."

Authors I-Q

Written by the Author

"In Praise of the Humble Comma" by Pico Iyer
An article published in Time magazine on June 13, 1988.

Written by the Author

Primary Sources by Franz Kafka
Includes The Metamorphosis, The Trial, The Castle, The Judgment, In the Penal Colony, and Letter to his Father.
Listen to Kafka's stories, The Trial and The Metamorphosis
Download the full audiobook versions of two of Kafka's stories.
The Kafka Project
"The Project was started in 1998 with the purpose of publishing online all Kafka texts in German, according to the manuscripts. The project is constantly under construction. This multilingual page is also intended to give scholars and Kafka fans a virtual forum to share opinions, essays and translations."

Criticism of the Author

Crticism of Kafka's work from the Literature Resources from Gale database

About the Author

Franz Kafka in film
Dramatizations of his work as well as biographies and interviews about the author.
"Kafka's Last Trial" by Elif Batuman in The New York Times Magazine
Story of Kafka's final days and how his literature was handed down to friends over the year. The legal trial trying to get Kafka's work added to the National Library.

Written by the Author

Archibald MacLeish : Reflections
Primary source material. The author's autobiography.
"The Lord Chancellor Prepares His Opinion" poem from 1922
Primary source material.

Written by the Author

"Dulce et Decorum Est"
A poem.

Written by the Author

"Hugh Selwyn Mauberly" Part 1
"Hugh Selwyn Mauberly" Part 2
Ezra Pound: Poetry Foundation
Contains links to 85 full text writings by Ezra Pound.

Written by the Author

"Why War is Never a Good Idea" by Alice Walker
From We Have Not Been Moved : Resisting Racism and Militarism in 21st Century America
Everyday Use by Alice Walker

About the Author

"Alice Walker Calls God 'Mama'" an Interview with Alice Walker by Valerie Reiss
From the anthology, Circling Faith : Southern Women on Spirituality

Written by the Author

"Hungry Hearts"
The full text of the short story collection.

Florida Authors

Written by the Author

The End of the Long Hot Summer: The Air Conditioner and Southern Culture
An academic article published in The Journal of Southern History in November 1984. Primary source material.
Freedom Riders : 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice
An eBook written by Raymond Arsenault and published in 2006.
Primary source material
Paradise Lost? : The Environmental History of Florida
An eBook written by Raymond Arsenault and Jack E. Davis and published in 2005.
Primary source material

About the Author

Raymond Arsenault's website

Written by the Author

Criticism of the Author

About the Author

"Man Overboard" by Randy Wayne White in Outside magazine
A bit of a eulogy from famous Florida writer Randy Wayne White.
"Smuggling, Gators and the IRS -- A Rugged Floridian's Life" from the Orlando Sentinel

Written by the Author

Goodnight, Irene
A short story published in Esquire magazine in January 2001.
Primary source material
Lucky Luciano
An article Edna Buchanan wrote for Time magazine published December 7, 1998 about criminal businessman, Lucky Luciano.
Primary source material
Rat Boy
A short story published in Esquire magazine in June 2002.
Primary source material

About the Author

Miami Slice
An interview with Edna Buchanan about Janet Reno.
Primary source material
New Technology Solves Old Cases and Writes New Books
An interview with the author.
Primary source material

About the Author

"Icon: Harry Crews"
Florida Trend interview of Harry Crews close to his death.

Written by the Author

Collection of News Stories by Grunwald in Florida Newspapers
Primary source material
Collection of Stories by Grunwald in Time Magazine from 2008-present
Primary source material
"Seven Myths about Alternative Energy"
"Think Again: Obama's New Deal"

About the Author

Official Michael Grunwald Website
Michael Grunwald on Twitter
"Beyond Economics to Earth Systems Science: Ethical Markets 5" video
Primary source material

Zora Neale Hurston LibGuide
Library and Internet resources devoted to the study of Zora Neale Hurston as an anthropologist, writer, and intellectual.

Written by the Author

"A Replacement"
"At Lost Man's Key"
Excerpt from "Lost Man's River"
"Bone by Bone"
"From Killing Mr. Watson"
Excerpt of the story
"Who Really Killed the F.B.I. Men"
"Rachel Carson"
"The Killing of the Warden"
Excerpt from "Bone by Bone."
"Travels through Indian America"

Criticism of the Author

Link to Search Results of Peter Matthiessen Criticism in Literature Resources from Gale Database

About the Author

"An Interview with Peter Matthiessen"
Primary source material
Interview of Peter Matthiessen
Primary source material
"Journalist, Naturalist, and Novelist Peter Matthiessen, 86, Took Readers to New Territory"
Video interview with the author from PBS News Hour.
"Remembering Peter Matthiessen"
PBS Frontline special on the author. Filmed in the Everglades.

Written by the Author

About the Author

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park
This website provides information about the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park located in Cross Creek, FL.

Latin American Authors

Written by the Author

Absolute Equality : An Early Feminist Perspective = Influencias De Las Ideas Modernas
The themes in this social protest play appear throughout Capetillo's writings. This volume combines long and short plays, fiction, essays, propaganda, letters, poems, philosophical reflections, and journal entries in a never-before-available English translation by Lara Walker. Also included is a facsimile of the original Spanish-language text, Influencias de las ideas modernas, which was first published in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1916.

Written by the Author

UNARE's Poetry of Protest
A collection of pseudonymous poems of protest by members of the sub rosa group. The four poems here reproduced include the work of five poets: Alejandro Almanza, who is Angel Cuadra; Remigio Palma, who is States; and Hautey del Monte, who is still in Cuba and must remain unidentified.

Written by the Author

Sor Juana's Love Poems
These exquisite love poems, some of them clearly addressed to women, were written by the visionary and passionate genius of Mexican letters, the seventeenth-century nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. In this volume they are translated into the idiom of our own time by poets Joan Larkin and Jaime Manrique.

Written by the Author

Verso Sencillos : Simple Verses
This is the first bilingual edition of the 19th-century Cuban literary master's classic book of poetry.

Written by the Author

Madwomen : The Locas Mujeres Poems of Gabriela Mistral
The Locas mujeres poems collected here are among Mistral's most complex and compelling, exploring facets of the self in extremes: poems marked by the wound of blazing catastrophe and its aftermath of mourning. From disquieting humor to ballad-like lyricism to folkloric wisdom, these pieces enact a tragic sense of life, depicting madwomen who are anything but mad. Strong and intensely human, Mistral's poetic women confront impossible situations to which no sane response exists. This groundbreaking collection presents poems from Mistral's final published volume as well as new editions of posthumous work, featuring the first English-language appearance of many essential poems.

Written by the Author

Selected Writings of César Vallejo

Noche Buena : Hispanic American Christmas Stories
Thirty-six inspiring literary selections comprise this enchanting collection of works from Mexican, Colombian, Cuban, and Puerto Rican writers--writers who represent the range of Hispanic minority groups in the United States. Through these stories, traditional tales, songs, and poetry, readers gain a true understanding of the importance of the Christmas holiday within the Hispanic community, and begin to grasp the issues that inform the Hispanic American creative process--issues such as communal identity, patriotism, poverty, assimilation, and religion. With vivid illustrations and original Spanish text for all poetry.