ENGL 100 Basic Writing
The student develops the basic English skills necessary for clear and effective communication. Restricted to freshmen whose placement testing essay or portfolio score is a four or under. Does not meet General Education English or Liberal Studies writing requirements.
ENGL 101 Composition I
Prerequisites: ENGL 100 where required by placement testing
A first-year writing course. Students use a variety of resources to create projects in a variety of writing genres. Resources for writing include but are not limited to memory, observation, critical reading and viewing, analysis, and reflection. Students use writing processes to draft, peer review, revise, and edit their projects. (Titled College Writing before 2012-13.)
ENGL 121 Humanities Literature
Prerequisite: ENGL 101
Introduces students to works of imaginative literature through a careful analysis of poetry, drama, and prose fiction (short story and/or novel) from a variety of periods and cultures, including texts by women and ethnic and racial minorities. Also offered as FNLG 121. ENGL/FNLG 121 may be used interchangeably for D/F repeats; may not be counted for duplicate credit.
ENGL 122 Introduction to English Studies
Prerequisites: English major/minor; minimum grade of C in ENGL 101
Introduces students to English studies by acquainting them with the critical approaches appropriate to the varied subject areas of the discipline. The assumptions and methods of these approaches will be considered, especially in the interpretation of literature. At the conclusion, students are able to critically analyze texts and demonstrate those skills in discussion and writing. Required of all English majors.
ENGL 202 Composition II
Prerequisites: ENGL 101 and sophomore standing
Serves as a bridge between Composition I and students' professional writing. Develops rhetorical skills for informed inquiry. Also develops the following abilities: writing, critical reading, revising, citing and documenting, speaking and listening, and reflecting. (Titled Research Writing before 2012-13.)
ENGL 203 Introduction to Language Studies
Prerequisite: ENGL 101
Introduces the study of linguistics and rhetoric. Considers cultural contexts and issues of power, focusing on questions such as how our brains use language, how language represents the world we live in, and how language influences our actions.
ENGL 208 Introduction to Film Studies
Concentrates on the film as an artistic medium. Eight to 12 motion pictures are shown during semester and are analyzed in class discussions.
ENGL 210 British Literature to 1660
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 122, or permission
Surveys British literature from its beginnings to about 1660, acquainting students with the experience of reading many of the primary materials (whole works whenever possible or full, free-standing parts) and provides them with background information concerning the development and flowering of the various genres, the dominant ideas of each period, and the social and cultural context of the separate works.
ENGL 211 British Literature 1660-1900
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 122, or permission
Surveys British literature from about 1660 to the beginning of the 20th century, acquainting students with the experience of reading many of the primary materials (whole works whenever possible or full, freestanding parts) and providing them with background information concerning the development and flowering of the various genres, the dominant ideas of each period, and the social and cultural context of the separate works.
ENGL 212 American Literature: Beginnings to 1900
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 122, or permission
Provides an understanding of American literature from its beginning to about 1900. Concentrates primarily on a relatively small number of major works, each of which helps to illustrate the "spirit of the age" it represents.
ENGL 213 British and American Literature Since 1900
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 122, or permission
A survey of major authors and works in British and American literature since 1900. Begins with the shift from Victorianism and late 19th-century literature into modernism, as exemplified by writers such as Woolf, Hemingway, and O'Neill, and continues with postmodernism and contemporary literature.
ENGL 220 Advanced Composition
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
Primarily seeks to improve writing style, particularly in the more utilitarian forms, such as magazine article and personal essay.
ENGL 221 Creative Writing
Prerequisite: ENGL 121 or 122 or FNLG 121
A seminar course in which students are expected to produce a substantial body of written work in one or more of the creative genres, the particular kind of writing chosen with regard to the special interests and abilities of each student.
ENGL 222 Technical Writing
Prerequisite: ENGL 101
Focuses on helping the student to acquire and to apply communication skills essential to the technical and professional writer.
ENGL 225 Introduction to Literature by Women
Prerequisites: ENGL 121 or 122 and 202
Major trends and motifs across genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, autobiography) that reflect themes and subjects of continuing interest to women writers. The intersection of genre with race, ethnicity, and social class is of particular significance.
ENGL 226 Survey of Global Literature since 1900
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202
Surveys 20th century and contemporary global literature in English and/or translation. Readings are organized around major contexts and themes of colonialism, revolution, decolonization, nationalism, and globalization.
ENGL 227 Introduction to Legal Writing
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
Introduces legal research and writing. Students learn to prepare research memos, memoranda of law, legal briefs, court observation essays, and other legal documents. Other topics include legal terminology, audience analysis, and case study analysis.
ENGL 265 Law and Literature
Prerequisites: Minimum grade of C in ENGL 101 and 202
Explores the historical and cultural connections between selected legal texts and themes as they relate to novels, poems, films, drama, essays, and other literary genres.
ENGL 281 Special Topics
Prerequisite: As appropriate to course content
Offered on an experimental or temporary basis to explore topics not included in the established curriculum. A given topic may be offered under any special topic identity no more than three times. Special topics numbered 281 are offered primarily for lower-level undergraduate students.
ENGL 307 Contemporary British Literature
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202; and one of 210-213 or 226
Examines major works and trends in contemporary British literature, such as late modernism, postmodernism, the age of diminishment, or key novelists, dramatists, and/or poets from the period 1945 to the present. Rather than survey the period comprehensively, the purpose here is to focus closely on particular aspects or writers as selected by the instructor.
ENGL 308 Critical Theory
Prerequisites: Minimum grade of C in ENGL 122
Explores the major writings, writers, issues, technical vocabulary, and critical methods in literary, textual, and cultural studies theory; acquaints students with how such theoretical methods affect the way literary and cultural texts are read, studied, and taught; and enables the students to recognize and engage in theoretical praxis of various kinds.
ENGL 309 Dramaturgy
An introduction to the study and profession of dramaturgy. A study of the historical significance of the dramaturg through the reading of early and modern practitioners. An examination of a number of critical theories that students will use to contextualize play scripts under study. Performance of such dramaturgical tasks as identifying script references, historicizing social conventions and customs, comparing translations of notable foreign plays, preparing information packets for actors, directors, and design teams, drafting program notes, and organizing talkbacks. Opportunity to provide services for a department production. (Cross-listed as THTR 311.)
ENGL 310 Public Speaking
Prerequisite: ENGL 101
Fundamental principles of public speaking, audience analysis, interest, and attention and selection and organization of speech material.
ENGL 313 Rhetorical Trends and Traditions
Prerequisite: ENGL 101
A survey of the major issues in and uses of rhetorical theory and criticism in contemporary culture, using rhetorical concepts from ancient through contemporary times. Rhetoric is the humanistic study of the ways people manipulate language and try to persuade others in the social world.
ENGL 314 Speech and Communication in the Secondary English Classroom
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202
Offers practical and theoretical approaches to relationships between oral and written communication. Performance based (involving a variety of communication activities) and knowledge based (involving study of research on language arts relationships). Emphasizes integration of the four language arts for improving teachers' own communication skills as well as those of their students.
ENGL 319 American Literature 1940-Present
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202; and one of 210-213 or 226
Additional focuses on various movements, themes, genres, and authors writing in the United States since 1940. Not a survey course; each section will develop an extended treatment of a particular topic selected by the instructor. Emphasizes writing by living writers to develop an understanding of the diversity, formally and thematically, of current US literary production across genders and ethnicities.
ENGL 321 Persuasive Speech and Writing
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
Focuses on the practice of persuasive discourse in speech, writing, and visual media. Includes projects and readings in debate, written argument, and rehearsed and extemporaneous speaking. Students investigate such subjects as rhetorical foundations and applications, language choice and stylistic variations, popular culture, literature, and communication dynamics.
ENGL 323 Teaching Literature and Reading in the Secondary School
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202
Introduces the theory and research on teaching literature and reading in the secondary school. Reviews reader-response literary theory and classroom based research on teaching literature. Also reviews socio-psycholinguistic reading theory and classroom-based research on teaching reading.
ENGL 324 Teaching and Evaluating Writing
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202, English education major or permission
A study of modern approaches to the teaching of writing, including current theories on the composing process, as well as instruction in evaluating, including holistic scoring. Includes practice in writing.
ENGL 325 Writing Poetry
Prerequisite: ENGL 221 or instructor permission
A writing workshop for students who wish to focus intensively on the writing and revision of poetry and on developing an audience for one's creative work.
ENGL 326 Writing Fiction
Prerequisite: ENGL 221 or instructor permission
A writing workshop for students who wish to focus intensively on the writing and revision of fiction and on developing an audience for one's creative work.
ENGL 327 Writing Creative Nonfiction
Prerequisite: ENGL 221 or instructor permission
A writing workshop for students who wish to focus intensively on the writing and revision of literary nonfiction forms and on developing an audience for one's creative work.
ENGL 328 Introduction to Linguistics
An introduction to the study of languages as complex sets of interacting systems needed for human communication in a variety of interpersonal, academic, and professional contexts. Focuses on the fundamentals of sound systems, word structures, sentence structures, text structures, meaning systems, and language-related power systems. Also considers questions of how language develops over time, how languages are made up of a number of varieties, how languages are learned and used, how language use varies for different groups of users, and how these issues are related to cultural contexts including issues of power.
ENGL 329 The History of the English Language
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
Studies historical development of the English language as a basis for a better understanding of modern American English.
ENGL 330 The Structure of English
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
An introduction to the fundamentals of language study with an equal emphasis on the sound, word, sentence, meaning, and discourse patterns of English. Educationally relevant topics, such as applications of linguistics to the teaching of English language and literature, varieties of grammar, and linguistic descriptions of styles and registers, are an integral part of the course. Course is a prerequisite for EDUC 452.
ENGL 332 Film Genres
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 208
Offers a close examination of classic and contemporary films and film theory from a variety of critical perspectivesfor example, spectatorship, auteurism, feminism, historiography, and cultural studiesthrough a focus on genre.
ENGL 333 Psycholinguistics
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
Concerns the interrelation between language system and behavior and various factors of human psychology. Surveys developments since the 1940s, including relationships between language and perception, biology, memory, meaning, and cognition, as well as oral and written behavior. Students of language and literature may improve their assumptions about how human beings use language.
ENGL 335 Literary Nonfiction
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
Focuses on the study of forms of literary nonfiction, in English, which may include traditional essays, lyric essays, memoir, and/or creative nonfiction depending on the instructor's expertise.
ENGL 336 Language, Gender, and Society
Prerequisites: ENGL 202, junior standing
Investigates the various ways that language and gender interact and intersect in society. Examines such questions as: Does society use language to favor one sex over the other? Why is language a crucial component in formulating constructs of masculinity and femininity? What stereotypes of gender-based language are promoted in our society? How can we analyze language to reveal disparate views and treatment of the sexes?
ENGL 337 Myth
Prerequisites: ENGL 202; at least two from ENGL 210, 211, 212, 213
Additional prerequisites for BA English majors: ENGL 210, 211, 212, 213
Examines the nature and function of the mythic experience and explores the archetypal patterns of myths from various cultures.
ENGL 338 Oral Literature
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 122, or permission
Acquaints students with the nature of oral composition, the habits of thought that orality fosters, and the particular mode of awareness the oral dimension of literature demands of an audience (and awakens in a reader). At the conclusion, students should have an understanding of the formulaic nature of such purely oral forms as the ballad and the epic and an awareness of the manner in which orality patterns thought differently from writing, and should be able to detect oral features and patterns in works of literature from cultures not primarily oral but containing a high "oral residue."
ENGL 340 The Novel
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 122, or permission
Focuses on the forms and theories of the novel as a genre. Emphasizes major writers and movements as well as significant historical developments.
ENGL 341 Poetry
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 122, or permission
Studies the forms and theories of poetry as a genre. Includes study of major writers, movements, and aesthetic developments.
ENGL 342 Short Fiction
Prerequisites: ENGL 101,122, or permission
Studies the form and theory of short fiction as a genre. Emphasizes major writers and movements as well as significant historical developments.
ENGL 343 Drama
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 122, or permission
Focuses on the forms and theories of drama as a genre. Emphasizes major writers and movements as well as significant historical developments.
ENGL 344 Ethnic American Literature
Prerequisites: ENGL 122 and 202 or permission
Concerned with ethnic US experiences as expressed in poetry, fiction, drama, and autobiography. The topic will vary and be announced in advance. Examples include Asian American, Hispanic, Irish American, Jewish American, and Native American literatures.
ENGL 347 Playwriting
Prerequisite: THTR 111 or instructor permission
A practical exploration of the craft and process of playwriting. Focuses primarily on the practical, "hands-on" experiences approximating the "developmental process" currently in use in the American theater. The student is guided from the initial concept through synopsis, outlines, working drafts, and completion of an original one-act play and a "staged reading" of this project. Note: Cross-listed as THTR 347. Either of these courses may be substituted for each other and may be used interchangeably for D/F repeats but may not be counted for duplicate credit.
ENGL 348 African American Literature
Prerequisites: ENGL 121 or 122 and 202
Primarily 19th- and 20th-century African American literature (poetry, fiction, nonfiction), including works by Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, spirituals and folk poetry, Harriet B. Wilson, Jean Toomer, Richard Wright, Audrey Lorde, and Toni Morrison. Emphasizes historical context and an Afrocentric approach.
ENGL 349 Bible as Literature
Prerequisites: ENGL 121 or 122 and 202
Considers literary aspects of the English Bible by relating earlier translations to the Authorized Version of 1611 and by tracing some of the major influences of the King James Bible upon writers and speakers of modern English. Offers a close reading of the major narrative and poetic portions of the Old Testament.
ENGL 350 Gender and Sexual Orientation in Literature, Theory, and Film
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
Introduces literature, film, and theory that focus primarily on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender perspectives. Inquires into the representation of gender and sexuality within historical and cultural contexts.
ENGL 354 Classical Literature in Translation
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202
Masterpieces studied range from those of ancient Greece to Middle Ages. English literature and American literature excluded.
ENGL 360 Editing and Publishing
Prerequisites: ENGL 202 and 220 or 221
A project-based career preparation course focused on creating, editing, and publishing in print and/or electronic forms. Includes theory and practice of editing, practice with publication tools, and group collaboration.
ENGL 361 Environmental Literature
Prerequisites: ENGL 121 or 122, 202
Focuses on literature devoted to natural and constructed environments, exploring connections among such topics as nature writing, environmentalism, ecocriticism, place studies, bioregionalism, and environmental justice.
ENGL 385 Advanced Studies in Women's Literature
Prerequisites: ENGL 121 or 122, 202
Considers issues of genre and canon revision and why particular genres may have particular appeal for women writers. Also considers major feminist literary theories and their applications. While many of our readings are by "literary women," we also may consider works by women who are professionals in nonliterary disciplines.
ENGL 386 Regional Literature in English
Prerequisites: ENGL 122 and 202 or permission
Examines the contributions of a particular region to national literature. The focus might be any of the following: Appalachian writers, local color writers, New England writers, Southern writers, writers of the American West, or Canadian writers.
ENGL 387 Irish Literature
Prerequisite: ENGL 121 or 122
Additional prerequisite for BA English majors: ENGL 213
An introduction to Irish literature since 1800, with particular emphasis on the Literary Revival in the early 20th century. Key authors include Yeats, Joyce, Synge, O'Casey, Edgeworth, Somerville and Ross, Gregory, Beckett, and Heaney. The development of Irish writing is examined within the contexts of Irish history, language, culture, and politics.
ENGL 390 Literary Tour: Britain
Offered selected summers, for five weeks during the first or second summer session. Visits London, Stratford, and Cambridge or Oxford, as well as other places important in English literature.
ENGL 396 Literature of Emerging Nations
Prerequisite: ENGL/FNLG 121 or ENGL 122, 202
A comparative study of a selection of literature written in major European languages but originating in the nations of the developing world. Works are mainly prose fiction (although essay, theater, and poetry may be included) and reflect a diversity of geographical, cultural, and prior colonial circumstances.
Also listed as FNLG 396.
ENGL 398 Global Genres
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
Focuses on a specific literary genre (including, but not limited to, poetry, drama, film, the short story, or the novel) as it has been developed and transformed in global contexts beyond the typical domains of the British or American literary traditions. Situates the use of a genre within transnational literary and historical developments. The global genre studied in a particular semester to be announced in advance.
ENGL 415 English Language Studies for Teachers
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
Focuses on the fundamentals of language study with equal emphasis on the sound, the word, the sentence, the meaning, and the discourse patterns of English as they manifest in daily lives. Educationally relevant topics, such as applications of sociolinguistics to the teaching of English language and literature, varieties of grammar, and linguistic descriptions of styles and registers are an integral part of the course.
ENGL 418 Young Adult Literature
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 122, 323, or permission, English education major
Introduces literature for and about young adults. Emphasizes critical study of the literature and its classification as well as resources and rationales for using young adult literature in the middle and secondary classroom. Explores selection of literature and various methods of literature instruction.
(Offered as ENGL 318 before 2014-15.)
ENGL 420 Writers' Studio
Prerequisite: ENGL 220 or 221
An upper-division course emphasizing reading, discussion, and writing on specialized topics related to the study and performance of writing. The focus varies from semester to semester according to the expertise of the faculty member teaching the course.
ENGL 421 Digital Writing
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
Introduces composition and presentation issues in writing for digital media. Focuses on the conventions of digital writing and provides students practice in conceiving, composing, and producing networked texts and may include creative expression, persuasion, and collaboration. Extends traditional literacy skills into emergent, digital genres.
ENGL 426 ESL Methods and Materials
Prerequisite: Senior standing or instructor permission
An introduction to English as a second language theory and practice. Aims:
(1) general understanding of current theory and methods of teaching ESL;
(2) ability to select appropriate, and adapt existing, materials for elementary and high school ESL students.
ENGL 430 Major British Author
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202; and one of 210-213 or 226
Examines major works of a single major author, including biographical, literary, and cultural contexts. Places the author within both intellectual/cultural history and literary developments. Major author studied in a particular semester to be announced in advance.
ENGL 434 Shakespeare
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202, and one of 210-213 or 226
Studies Shakespeare's development as a poetic dramatist against background of Elizabethan stage; examines audience, textual problems, language imagery, and philosophy.
ENGL 436 Major American Authors
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202; and one of 210-213 or 226
Studies in the literary output of a major American author or authors against the background of the social and literary milieus in which the works were created. Specific subject or subjects to be announced by the instructor.
ENGL 437 Major Global Authors
Prerequisites: ENGL 121 or 122; 202; and either 209 or 396
Examines major works in English and/or English translation of a single major global author not included in the British or American literary traditions. Situates the author within major transnational literary and historical developments. Major author to be studied in particular semester to be announced in advance.
ENGL 440 Major Figures in Film
Prerequisites: ENGL 121 or 122; and 202, 208
Studies major artists and their contributions to the development of film as an art form from its beginnings to the present. Close analyses of directors, cinematographers, editors, screenwriters, or actorsas individuals or as representatives of a movement in film. Topics vary from semester to semester; thus, one semester may concentrate on a specific director such as Alfred Hitchcock; another semester might study women (as directors, actresses, and editors); and yet another semester might study a collective movement such as film noir.
ENGL 450 Film Theory
Prerequisites: ENGL 121 or 122; and 202, 208
An introduction to major film theories, studied in relation to representative films. Details the complex relationship between film production and film theory: i.e., how theorists have attempted to explain what appears on the screen, its impact, and its relation to "reality," and how filmmakers have responded to the works of theorists (with the two sometimes being the same). Goes far deeper into understanding film than ENGL 208, which focuses mainly on how film is constructed through aesthetic and institutional processes.
ENGL 460 Topics in Film
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 208
Selected films dealing with a specific, advanced topic are viewed and assessed to explore the different roles that film plays. Topic to be announced in advance.
ENGL 461 Topics in British Literature
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202; and one of 210-213 or 226
Examines major works of a particular topic in British literature by focusing on its cultural and literary contexts. Topic to be announced in advance.
ENGL 462 Topics in American Literature
Prerequisites: ENGL 122, 202; and one of 210-213 or 226
Examines major works of a particular topic in American literature by focusing on its cultural and literary contexts. Topic to be announced in advance.
ENGL 463 Topics in Global Literature and Film
Prerequisite: ENGL 202
Examines major works in English of a particular topic in global literature and/or film by focusing on the transnational contexts of history and culture surrounding the production and/or reception of literature and film. Topic of global literature and/or film to be announced in advance.
ENGL 466 Topics in Theory
Prerequisites: Minimum grade of C in ENGL 122 and 308
Explores a specific issue, writer, or trend in English studies theory. Topic to be announced in advance.
ENGL 480 Seminar: Studies in English and American Literature
Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 122, 202
Corequisites: ENGL 211, 212, 213, or permission
A seminar experience for advanced students. Students considering graduate work in English might well wish to enroll, but students with a variety of career goalsbusiness, industry, law, government servicecan take advantage of this opportunity to plan a schedule of independent study with the help of a faculty mentor.
ENGL 481 Special Topics
Prerequisite: As appropriate to course content
Topics vary from semester to semester covering such diverse topics as autobiography, science fiction, folklore, the political novel, black theater, etc.
ENGL 482 Independent Study
Prerequisite: Prior approval through advisor, faculty member, department chairperson, dean, and Office of the Provost
Students with interest in independent study of a topic not offered in the curriculum may propose a plan of study in conjunction with a faculty member. Approval is based on academic appropriateness and availability of resources.
ENGL 484 Topics in English Studies
Prerequisites: Declared English major; ENGL 122, 202; minimum 24cr in major
Explores themes that may vary according to the faculty member teaching the course. Gives upper-level English majors an opportunity to share their expertise in their track: Literary/Textual/Cultural, Writing, Film, or Language Studies. Students will be part of a community of learners and reflect on the ways disciplinary knowledge is constructed in English studies and will construct a portfolio of their work as an English major, both in and out of this class, to assess their growth and potential as readers, writers, and critical thinkers.
ENGL 493 Internship
On-the-job training opportunities in related areas. Application and acceptance to internship program required.