English Course Descriptions

Fundamentals of Composition English 050 will facilitate fluency in writing. It will prepare students for the writing demands encountered in English 110 and other academic environments. To learn conventions of formal academic writing and to understand and employ effective writing processes and habits are the objectives of this course. Pass/Fail grading.

An introductory course in composition. The course will emphasize writing practice in various rhetorical modes with focus on all stages of the writing process and writing as a thinking process. (Students who qualify with a grade of "BC" or better in ENG 110 will be exempt from further writing requirements in the General Education skills category but this does not exempt students from the writing emphasis course requirement.)

An intensive study of selected literary texts, with emphasis on various ways of reading, studying, and appreciating literature as an aesthetic, emotional, and cultural experience. Content varies with instructor.

An exploration of American literature from early times to the late nineteenth century; including such authors as Bradstreet, Franklin, Hawthorne, Poe, Melville, and Dickinson.

An exploration of American literature from the late nineteenth century to the present including such authors as Twain, Freeman, James, Chopin, Frost, Hemingway, Faulkner, Wright, and Bellow.

Encounters with major works of English literature from medieval times through the eighteenth century, including fiction, drama, essays, and poetry.

Encounters with major works of English literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including fiction, drama, essays, and poetry.

An examination of the expression and development of the ideas and values of Western Civilization in time-honored works of literature ranging from Biblical times, through the Greek and Roman eras, to the European Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

An examination of the expression and development of the ideas and values of Western Civilization in time-honored works of literature ranging from Biblical times, through the Greek and Roman eras, to the European Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

This course examines cultural themes in American literature in an effort to enhance student awareness of the multi-ethnic nature of American culture. Students engage in close reading, discussion, analysis, and interpretation of texts written by individuals from a variety of American ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Content varies with instructors. (Cross listed with MNS; may only earn credit in ENG or MNS.)

A study of representative authors from selected regions and ages of the world, ranging from such non-Western traditions as the Indic, Arabic, African, Chinese, and Japanese to such Western traditions as the Icelandic, Scandinavian, Australian, Russian, and South American. Content and focus vary with instructors.

Survey and exploration of Black American prose and poetry from their eighteenth century beginnings to the end of the Harlem Renaissance and the depression years. (Cross listed with MNS; may only earn credit in ENG or MNS.)

A study of the principal post-depression (1940 to present) African American authors, critics, and scholars which clarifies the relationship between these writers and the general field of American literature and which illustrates their unique contributions as representatives of African American culture. (Cross listed with MNS; may only earn credit in ENG or MNS.)

Fundamentals of cultural studies, with a focus on analyzing representations of women in modern American popular culture and their historical reception. Primary texts from media such as film, television, advertising, and popular fiction will be studied for how they communicate cultural values regarding women and femininity.

A new introductory course for the English major, providing essential knowledge and skills for all upper level English course work. We will cover major literary genres, and periods from the Renaissance to Romanticism, Modernism, and Post Colonialism. Close readings of primary texts will be complemented by the study of the historical, cultural and intellectual contexts of our works. The course also focuses on writing for the English major and is an introduction to literary criticism and research. We will use the extra class period for a variety of activities related to the course including writing workshops, colloquia, attending plays, showing films, etc.

An advanced course devoted to the theory and practice of expository writing and related retorical forms, especially persuasion and argument. Emphasis placed on coherent organization, clear and forceful phrasing, logical thinking and other aspects of effective communication.

(Not open for credit in the English education major or minors except for credit in the expository writing minor.)

An advanced writing course designed especially for students majoring in the arts and humanities. The course will focus on the types of inquiry and discourse appropriate to these disciplines. Students will be instructed in the rhetorical strategies of invention (that is, discovering content and establishing lines of reasoning, analyzing audience, and determining the writer's purpose and persona), arrangement and style.

(Not open for credit in the English education major or minors except for credit in the expository writing minor.)

An advanced course which emphasizes the writing of poetry, short fiction, and analytical-evaluative writing about each of these genres. The course is taught by a practicing and published fiction writer or poet and is intended as the basic course in the creative writing English minor. It is also for those students interested in writing short fiction and/or poems.

(Not applicable for credit in the English minor to students who have taken ENG 321.)

An advanced writing course open to students who intend to become teachers in any field. This course helps students achieve several goals: understanding and practicing the several steps of the writing process and the various types of writing; exploring the ways in which writing can be a method of learning; strengthening composition skills; developing a "theory of composition" (a set of principles) which will serve students well both as writers and as teachers of writing.

(Not open for credit in the creative writing minor.)

An advanced course focusing on written communication for relations with clients, boards, organizations, customers, constituents, or the public. Students practice writing as an effective process of gathering and conveying information, answering questions, and solving problems. The course will explore appropriate language, tone, and format for effective letters, memos, news releases, reports, proposals, abstracts, and summaries. There is emphasis on purpose, audience, and clarity.

(Not open for credit in the English education major or minors except for credit in the expository writing minor.)

An advanced writing course designed for technically oriented students whose career goals require skill in conveying technical information through writing. Students will become acquainted with the types of writing forms and rhetorical styles which they are likely to encounter as professionals and will practice using these styles with technical subjects.

(Not open for credit in the English education major or minors except for credit in the expository writing minor.)

An advanced writing course for students in the sciences. The course will focus both on the role writing plays in the conduct of scientific work and on the rhetorical and stylistic conventions of the various scientific disciplines: in short, on the relationship between writing and scientific knowledge. Taught through an inquiry process, students will be led to develop their composition skills and understanding as they discover the procedures and conventions of their individual disciplines.

(Not open for credit in the English education major or minors except for credit in the expository writing minor.)

A practical course in developing a flexible and effective capacity for writing prose. Students will master techniques and strategies of emphasis, coherence, clarity, conciseness, balance, and rhythm. Use of tropes and figures (particularly metaphorical language and imagery) and tone will be explored in the context of rhetorical appropriateness and strategy. The course will provide students with the fundamentals of prose technique--the basis for an art, which they can continue to refine and develop for the rest of their lives.

A workshop course in literary magazine production and publication. The class will assemble and publish a magazine of quality writing each semester. Emphasis will be placed on inter-disciplinary and multicultural content and participation. Repeatable for credit up to a maximum of 6 credits. Not applicable for credit in the English major or minor. Pass/Fail grading.

Study of newsgathering methods; practice organizing and writing; assigning and directing reporting and writing; preparing news copy for publication.

Writing feature articles for newspapers and magazines; includes study of genre and practice with information gathering, interviewing, and composing and editing techniques. Application of reporting and writing techniques to specialized areas of news, such as editorials, reviews, sports, science and business; includes critical and interpretive writing.

Planning, editing, designing of newspaper and magazine publications. Research, writing, editing, layout, design, photographs and art work included.

The historical development of the English language and its structure and usage.

(Not applicable to the English minor for students who have had ENG 332.)

An examination of traditional, structural, and transformational-generative grammar with special emphasis on one method of analyzing and describing the English language. Investigation of phonology, morphology, and syntax. Some treatment given to the historical development of grammar and the concept of usage.

 (Not applicable to the English minor for students who have had ENG 330.)

An introductory course which presents theories of rhetoric and composition, emphasizing both conceptual knowledge and practical skills.

Designed for secondary teachers, this course is intended to provide a theoretical base for structuring effective language education and for teaching writing and other language activities. It will cover issues basic to understanding how language acquisition is a developmental process and how language functions in thinking and learning.

A rhetorical study of various textual styles, this class will systematically examine the social/cultural as well as the literary implications and impact styles have had in history. The class will focus on issues such as the nature of writing styles and strategies for improving writing styles.

Linguistic analysis of the literary styles of various prose and poetry writers. The course will focus on how their careful selection of language produces intended effects on their readers.

A basic course in literature for children of the primary grades through middle school. Special emphasis is given to picture books, easy books, storybooks, informational materials, folklore and poetry. Modern trends in the literature for this age level are highlighted. A short unit on censorship is included. Non print material is used selectively. (Cross-listed with EDM; may only earn credit in ENG or EDM.)

(Not open for credit in the English minor except for elementary/middle education minors.)

Survey of literature suitable for reading by adolescents. The course is designed primarily for secondary education students. (Cross-listed with EDM; may only earn credit in ENG or EDM.)

(Not open for credit in the English minor except for education minors.)

The development of the essay form and extensive reading of contemporary examples.

An advanced course which emphasizes the personal essay, memoir, and other forms that blur the distinction between fiction and factual writing. While creative nonfiction may be informative, it may also be personal and lyrical. Students will study voice, prose style, and techniques of structuring content.

A course focusing on the history and development of the novel, from its putative origins in 18th-century England to its postmodern realizations on the world literature scene. Various theoretical explanations of the novel's forms and social functions will be examined. The course will foster an understanding of the way narrative discourse functions as a mode of rhetoric, capable of persuading individual readers and even influencing historical trends. The course will also address the variety of formal approaches within the genre, from epistolary, historical and gothic novels to novels of manners, novels of social protest, and psychological and stream-of consciousness novels. Individual instructors may select examples from both the "high" and "low" forms of the genre, and may include English translations of foreign works.

Reading the great stories of the world. Some emphasis upon modern techniques.

An introduction to the study of film and film criticism, with some attention to the history of the medium and its relation to literary genres.

An introduction to dramatic literature of the world. This course prepares the student to understand the elements of dramatic writing and staging of plays. Dramatic works will be selected from a variety of countries and historical periods to provide an overview of this genre, as well as the foundations needed for future study. Lect. 3, Lab. 2.

This course focuses on generating a reflective understanding of the processes of reading, writing and interpretation of literature. Reading materials are drawn from various fields in humanities and culture studies. An informed understanding of concepts and methodologies developed by various European, non-European and American theorists facilitates a more systematic and insightful study of literature.

A course focusing on classics of European literature. Individual instructors devise their own reading lists according to their own historical or thematic approaches, but most if not all of the readings will be translations from European languages other than English. This course aims to give students an understanding of various genres and traditions in European literature and to facilitate an enhancement of students' critical and communicative skills.

A course designed to provide diversity education by studying world literatures from different regions and historical periods, ranging from ancient to modern Middle East, Africa, Asia, South Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Focus and content will vary with instructor. However, each instructor will cover at least two distinct world traditions.

An introduction to the study of Old and Middle English Literature with attention to the development of genres and styles which shaped early English literary traditions.

Study of the major writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in England. Emphasis on Spenser, Sidney, Jonson, Marlowe, Herrick, Herbert, Donne and others. Shakespeare's non-dramatic work will also be included in the study of this period.

Close study of several principal plays, chiefly from the early and middle parts of Shakespeare's career.

Study of the principal works of the period 1660-1800, with emphasis on Dryden, Swift, Defoe, Pope, Fielding, Johnson, and Boswell.

Study of the finest poetry, fiction, drama and essays of the Romantic and Victorian periods of British Literature, 1798-1901, with attention to the social, philosophical, and literary movements that engendered them.

A foundational course in the literature of the British Isles in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The course focuses on major British writers and literary developments, with emphasis on the ways this literature reflects changing British cultural identity and maintains continuity with the literary heritage out of which it develops.

Study of selected authors and works by and about the geographical region of North America which becomes the United States and bordering countries. Development of a literary audience and tradition with roots in, but separating from, English literature. Emphasis upon literature written in English, with selected works from Native traditions and colonists other than English. Most readings pre-date the U. S. Revolution.

A foundational study of important writers, movements, and themes in 19th century American literature. American Romanticism, the cultural forces surrounding the Civil War era, industrialization, immigration, the rise of urban culture, expansion West, and other similar contexts may be developed to explore the literary styles and genres of the developing American literary sensibility.

This course provides an introduction to some of the major 20th Century writers and literary movements in the United States, in historical and cultural contexts. Historical currents and cultural movements will be primary emphases in text selection in order to familiarize students with literary developments such as Modernism and Post-modernism. Readings will be selected from major genres, including poetry, fiction, drama and autobiography.

Study of selected works representative of American ethnic and minority cultures, including American Indian, Chicano, and Jewish. Emphasis will vary according to the interests of students and the instructor. For the current content, consult the instructor or the department chairperson.

A study of a broad range of American Indian literature, both traditional and contemporary, in cultural and historical contexts.

This course examines how women's literature reflects the causes and nature of women's places in society and their creation of alternative visions and strategies, with a focus on women's negotiation of established traditions of authorship. Primary readings will span literary periods and genres. Authors may include Sappho, Marie de France, Katherine Phillips, Mary Astell, Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley, Charlotte Bronte, Phyllis Wheatley, Lillian Hellman, Djuna Barnes, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Angela Carter, Joyce Carol Oates, Toni Morrison, Zadie Smith.

Workshop Projects is a course involving trends and issues in composition, language, or literature related to various professional uses of English, with a central topic to be announced before each workshop. No more than three credits are applicable to an English major or minor. Repeatable for credit for a maximum of 6 credits.

Directed individual studies under the supervision of a department faculty member. Registration with consent of instructor and department chair. Repeatable for credit for a maximum of 3 credits.

A workshop course in which students assemble a portfolio of his or her work, demonstrates his or her abilities as a writer. English majors with an emphasis in Rhetoric and Writing and Professional Writing minors will be in the same section; however, writing minors, unless they elect the 3-credit option, will meet the class only one a week and will have a 1-credit work load.

The writing of fiction under the guidance of an experienced fiction writer. Classes will operate on the workshop model, with as many individual conferences between students and teacher as possible. The class will also include information about literary magazines, ideas about publishing, and visits from other fiction writers.

An advanced seminar in writing poetry with an experienced poet. Emphasis on the creative process, poetics, revision. Workshop format and individual tutorial meetings with poet. The class will also include information about literary magazines, ideas about publishing, and visits from other poets.

Investigation of the nature of linguistic systems (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics), theories of language development and the acquisition of first and second languages in diverse cultural settings. Review of idiosyncratic elements as they pertain to second-language learning. Offered Semester II only.

This course compares and contrasts discourse in China to that in the West. It examines the culturally similar and crucially different ways of creating, elaborating, and presenting the writer's ideas. Introducing the students to a culture at once similar to and different from their own, the course activates the students' implicit knowledge of their own cultural/discursive heritages and supplements that knowledge when necessary. Readings for this class include ancient and modern Chinese philosophical essays, literary works, and writings on both Chinese calligraphy and paintings in relation to Chinese thinking. All texts used are in English.

A study of literature of many genres written by nature and environmentalist writers, both traditional and contemporary, all serving as models for students' essays and projects.

An investigation of traditional and contemporary narrative forms and some problems involved in writing within them. Students will be invited to write fictions of various kinds and find solutions to specific writing problems. Each student will present a seminar paper on aspects of narrative form in the work of a representative writer.

An investigation of traditional and contemporary forms of poetry. Students will be asked to write poems in various forms. In addition, each student will present a seminar paper on aspects of form in the work of an established poet.

An internship of the English Department to offer its majors and minors opportunities to learn, on the job, how to apply language skills acquired from course work. Students can select jobs or field experiences related to writing and communication skills. These experiences could be with government agencies, business firms, and industry or community agencies locally or throughout the United States. While many internships are remunerative, not all are necessarily so. Only jobs and experiences approved by an advisor in the English department and the English department chairperson are acceptable for credit. Students interning will be expected to make regular reports to their English advisor and to comply with any course arrangements that the adviser should deem suitable. ENG 450 does not count toward credit on the English major or minor or on the creative writing minor. Repeatable for credit up to a maximum of 6 credits. Pass/Fail grading.

A seminar in British Literature which involves advanced study of major British authors, works, genres and sub-genres, techniques and styles. The seminar may explore a particular literary/aesthetic development or idea, trace its roots in the past and examine its relevance to the present. With a change in emphasis, the seminar may center on several major movements and representative authors across time studied in light of historical contexts and/or from the analytic and aesthetic perspectives provided by contemporary developments in literary and critical theory. Students in the seminar are expected to engage in independent reading and research. Repeatable for credit up to a maximum of 6 credits. No more than 3 credits may be applied to an English major or minor.

Chaucer

Careful study of the Canterbury Tales and selected other poems. Some attention to language and pronunciation.

Poetry and selected prose. Emphasis on Paradise Lost. Some attention given to Milton's life and times.

This course examines the works of many British writers, as they broke free from the tenets of the Enlightenment on their individual paths to self-expression. Romantic writers pursued several literary genres (essays, poems, novels, personal narrative, memoir) as texts to explore the concerns of all individuals in society. Works by Anna Barbauld, Mary Robinson, Mary Wollstonecraft, William Blake, Charlotte Smith, William Wordsworth, Dorothy Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge, Thomas Dequincey, Charles Lamb, John Keats, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, and others are studied.

Browning, Tennyson, the Pre-Raphaelites, and others.

The course surveys important works (poetry, fiction, non-fiction, drama, autobiography) of literature of Anglophone writers in a selection of the formerly colonized countries of the British Empire. The course examines literary texts within their historical contexts.

A seminar in American Literature, chosen from 17th century to the present, including American colonial culture and not strictly bounded by the borders of present day-United States; advanced study of author(s), works, genres and sub-genres, techniques and styles, theme or setting, and more. With change in emphasis and instructor, the seminar could present an historical development or an intense focus on particular subject, Students are expected to engage in extensive independent reading and research, as well as presentation of research findings to class and moderating further discussion. Repeatable for credit up to a maximum of 6 credits. No more than 3 credits may be applied to an English major or minor.

Selected authors and works of Revolutionary, Federal, and Pre-Civil War America, Romanticism describes a form and ideology continuing within the mainstream of American Literature. Reading of classic writers like Washington Irving, Louisa May Alcott, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Edgar Allan Poe, and Nathaniel Hawthorne is complemented by writer dissenting from literary culture such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Margaret Fuller, Frederick Douglass, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman, as well as writers of the southern and western states.

Selected reading of authors and works of regions of the United States, to show Realism exists in variety as popular literature, primarily prose fiction and social commentary. Realism presumes diversity and multicultural literature, and its narrative technique requires readers to participate in creating and concluding meaning.

A study of Richard Wright's fiction and nonfiction: illustrative of his versatility as a literary artist and of his aesthetic and intellectual leadership among African-American authors after the Harlem Renaissance.

An examination of the African American literary short form, specifically the essay and short story, across literary periods, includes such writers as D. Walker, F. Harper, M. Delany, C. Chesnutt, P. Dunbar, P. Hopkins, W. DuBois, L. Hughes, C. McKay, Z. Hurston, R. Wright, J. Baldwin, A. Baraka, E. Cleaver, S. Sanchez, and I. Reed.

A study of significant novels written by preeminent twentieth-century African American writers, including DuBois, Toomer, Wright, Ellison, Baraka, and Morrison.

Advanced study of literature within a focused cultural context. Emphases might include literatures of particular ethnic cultures; transnational or regional literatures; literatures of identity; and cultural studies approaches to other literary topics. Focus will vary with instructor. Repeatable for credit up to a maximum of 6 credits. No more than 3 credits may be applied to an English major or minor.

This course builds on ENG 385, Women Authors, offering a more focused study of a particular aspect of women's aesthetic expression; the novel, poetry, drama, film, autobiography, and other genres are possible primary texts. Students will engage with more advanced theoretical approaches and critical/contextual readings, while studying the gendered politics of producing and consuming women's artistic work. Approaches might include cultural studies, psychoanalytic theory, socio-linguistics, global matriarchal traditions, new historicism, feminist theory, and so on. Focus will vary with instructors. Repeatable for credit up to a maximum of 6 credits. No more than 3 credits may be applied to an English major or minor.

A required course for senior English majors with Literature Emphasis. Readings representative of contemporary approaches to literary studies. (Students will formulate and develop an appropriate issue relating the course readings to material encountered in a prior or concurrent 400 level course and carry out independent research on the topic, culminating in a long paper.) Students will build a research community through proposals, presentations and discussions of their work for the course.

Study of a literary topic of special interest. Topics will vary according to the interests of students and the instructor. For current content, consult the instructor or the department chairperson. Repeatable for credit up to a maximum of 6 credits. Only three credits may be applied to an English major or minor.

Study beyond the survey or period level in the works of some English or American author or authors. Repeatable for credit up to a maximum of 6 credits. Only three credits may be applied to an English major or minor.

A seminar for advanced study in rhetoric and composition. Topics will vary according to the instructor. For the current content, consult instructor or department chairperson. Prerequisite: Repeatable for credit -- maximum 6. No more than 3 credits may be applied to an English major or minor.