Department of English & Interdisciplinary Programs

An intensive study of the form and function of English grammar and conventions necessary in academic and professional writing and speaking. Students will learn concepts of grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and mechanics in order to communicate about and strengthen their writing and speaking skills. They will also identify individual areas in need of improvement. 1 hour lecture.

Support in developing efficient writing skills, critical reading/thinking skills, strong sentence-level skills, and basics in MLA documentation style, in preparation for success in EN111. These developmental writing courses count towards the degree but do not fulfill the university writing requirement. Students may not take EN105 or EN106 (or equivalent transfer courses) for credit after passing, with a grade of C or better, any higher level writing courses, including EN111, EN112, or EN221.

Prerequisite(s): Placement.

Support in developing efficient writing skills, critical reading/thinking skills, strong sentence-level skills, and basics in MLA documentation style, in preparation for success in EN111. These developmental writing courses count towards the degree but do not fulfill the university writing requirement. Students may not take EN105 or EN106 (or equivalent transfer courses) for credit after passing, with a grade of C or better, any higher level writing courses, including EN111, EN112, or EN221.

Prerequisite(s): Placement or a grade of C or better in EN105.

Practice in the process and production of academic writing and research. Emphasis on the major strategies for organizing expository and persuasive writing, the relationship of the writer and audience, and the use of documented supporting evidence. An argument-based research paper is required and completed under supervision. Basic oral presentation skills are introduced and integrated into class activities. This course fulfills the university writing requirement. Students must earn a grade of C or better to meet general education requirement. Offered yearly.

Prerequisite(s): Placement or a grade of C or better in EN106.

Practice in the process and production of academic writing and research. Emphasis on the major strategies for organizing expository and persuasive writing, the relationship of the writer and audience, and the use of documented supporting evidence. An argument-based research paper is required and completed under supervision. Basic oral presentation skills are introduced and integrated into class activities. Offered yearly.

Prerequisite(s): A grade of C or better in EN111.

A study of literature written in North America before the Civil War that traces diverse expressions of American storytelling. Through a variety of literary texts, students will explore the early formation of American literature as rooted in Native American creation stories and engage topics of Puritanism, deism, slavery, and Transcendentalism. Writers that may be covered include Anne Bradstreet, Mary Rowlandson, Phyllis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Walt Whitman. Students also will examine the role of the artist in a continually changing American society. Texts may be drawn from poetry, fiction, and drama, as well as sermons, journals, and autobiographies.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

A study of literature written in the United States after the Civil War that traces diverse expressions of American storytelling. Through a variety of literary texts, students will explore a nation struggling to unify after the war and engage topics of racism, sexism, and classism. Students also will learn about key literary movements, including realism, modernism, and postmodernism. Writers that may be covered include Mark Twain, Sarah Orne Jewett, Charles Chesnutt, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Louise Erdrich, Sandra Cisneros, and Junot Díaz. Students also will examine the role of the artist in a continually changing American society. Texts may be drawn from poetry, fiction, graphic narrative, and drama, as well as essays, autobiographies, and film.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

A broadening of perspective through the study of great literature, both European and from other regions, which was not originally written in English.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

A broadening of perspective through the study of great literature, both European and from other regions, which was not originally written in English.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

In this course, students will be expose to the limitless career available to English majors. Each week, two different guest speakers from a wide range of industries will discuss how they translated their education into career success. Representatives from publishing, marketing, sales, law, business, and the helping professions will speak to the class about their career journeys, as well as discuss what they look for when hiring candidates today. Students will be asked to think about their own career aspirations and design a career action plan to help them achieve their goals.

Enter the magical yet treacherous world of monsters, knights and ladies, and medieval pilgrims in such works as Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Canterbury Tales, and The Faerie Queene. Explore the passions of obsessive love, lust, and hate encompassed in such works as the sonnets of William Shakespeare, Sir Philip Sidney, and Mary Wroth. Meet Satan and Sin and their son, Death, in the greatest English epic, John Milton’s Paradise Lost. And finally, experience the 18th-century’s caustic satire and amusing parody in such works as Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” William Hogarth’s Marriage A-la-Mode, and Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

An introduction to some of the most influential works of literature from Great Britain, its colonies, and former colonies since the late 18th century. The course will explore such topics as industrialization, social class, evolving gender roles, war, memory, and humanity’s dual nature. Students will learn about major literary periods and movements, such as romanticism, Victorianism, modernism, and postmodernism. Writers covered may include William Blake, Mary Shelley, Christina Rossetti, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Rebecca West, Virginia Woolf, Derek Walcott, Salman Rushdie, and Zadie Smith. Students will also examine the importance of storytelling as a defining part of the human experience while studying works of poetry, fiction, drama, and film.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

A diverse reading of contemporary literary texts after 1980 from countries colonized by European nations, i.e., nations in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and/or the literature about/from refugees. This course introduces students to major international writers whose writings we will read in English or in translation. These ordinary and extraordinary human experiences are expressed in a variety of literary genres such as poetry, essays, graphic novels, film, and fiction. Contemporary topics of race, sexuality, war, colonialism, nationalism, gender, diaspora, exile and/or migration will be explored.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

This course introduces the principles and techniques of writing across various forms of mass media. Course includes critical discussion and analysis of readings, individual and collaborative writing projects, as well as peer editing. This course is cross-listed with CM210.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

This course provides an introduction to contemporary journalism, with an emphasis on practical experience in news writing and reporting within a multimedia environment.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

An individualized approach to the student’s creative writing in a workshop environment. Students explored genres such as the short story, poetry, nonfiction, screenwriting, or drama.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

A study of literary works by women. Explores women’s writing with an emphasis on the relationship of women to society and the developing tradition of feminist and gender criticism. May emphasize a particular tradition, period, genre, or theme at the discretion of the instructor. Applicable to Women’s Studies minor. This course is cross-listed with WS217.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

Learn to analyze and produce arguments. Strengthen critical reading and thinking skills while practicing close analysis, using supporting evidence, and developing logically organized papers that appeal to various audiences for various purposes. Emphasis on strengthening writing style and research skills. Honors students must earn a grade of C or better in EN221 to meet General Education requirement.

Prerequisite(s): Placement in University Honors Program (in lieu of general education writing requirement).

Training in phases of editing and preparing newspaper copy and the writing of headlines. Covers local wire copy, assembling and shaping the various elements of a news story, the requirements of newspaper style, and safeguards against errors. This course is cross-listed with CM222.

Prerequisite(s): CM213 or instructor permission.

Study of selected topics not listed among the department’s other offerings. Offered as a conventional class or, with the approval of the instructor, as directed independent study. Repeatable up to three times as long as the topic is not one the student has previously taken.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 with grade of C or better or EN221 Honors with grade of C or better.

This course focuses on the transformative nature of American literature during several consecutive time periods marked by recognized artistic and literary movements in the United States. Emphasis will be placed on the innovations and the influences American writers have had on literature and culture and may include such movements as romanticism, transcendentalism, naturalism, realism, modernism, and/or post-modernism. Individual sections of the course may be organized around a specific theme, issue, or idea at the instructor’s discretion. EN226 replaces EN114. Students may not take both for credit.

Prerequisite(s): Either EN221 with a grade of C or better, or permission from the instructor.

Students will consider the Internet’s multifaceted writing environments to create content for a variety of social media platforms and online spaces. Students will learn about different writing styles, techniques, audiences, and visual layouts from industry experts and contemporary sources. This course will require students to develop content using a range of writing styles including blog posts, travel writing, critiques, press releases, guides, and memoirs. This course is cross-listed with CM230.

Examination of the historical development of the short story. Works of many writers from different countries will be studied, including Poe, Maupassant, Chopin, James, Chekhov, Joyce, O’Connor, Updike, Munro, Walker and Silko. Prerequiste(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

Emphasizing the development of media literacy through critical thinking, students will research, discuss, analyze, and write about foundational and emerging trends of television programming, while gaining insight of popular culture knowledge through both historical and contemporary perspectives. This course is cross-listed with CM245.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

This course reviews key elements of grammar and provides students with opportunities to discover and strengthen the impact of grammatical choices on their writing. Students will participate in a variety of writing activities to analyze professional writers’ grammatical choices and to improve their own writing style. Recommended for English majors who plan to teach K–12.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221, with a grade of C or better.

Students will read, analyze, and share a wide variety of children’s literature across cultures, ethnicities, age ranges, and genres. Through discussions and activities, they will develop an understanding and appreciation of the literary value of children’s literature. Recommended for English majors who want to teach K-12 and all P-3 teacher certification applicants.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level English literature course.

Students will explore themes of journey and discovery as they read and analyze award-wining young adult texts, focusing on the literary and stylistic elements that make them so successful and enduring.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level English literature course.

Exploration of poetic theory and practice, including techniques such as metrics and imagery by which poets give form to meaning. Prerequiste(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

What is “the environment,” and what constitutes “environmental literature”? What does “literature” tell us about humans’ relationship to/with our environments and other species? These are only a few of the questions the course will strive to answer. To explore different cultural and historical concepts around “nature” and “natural,” the instructor may include texts across time, from all corners of the globe, and in any number of languages. The course aims to include a variety of literary genres that may include poetry, speculative fiction, graphic novel, the non-fiction essay, film, and other creative forms. Students will also be introduced to important conceptual terms such as “the Anthropocene” and learn strategies for critiquing the distinction between nature and culture. The course may explore the thematic lens of exploitation of natural resources, climate change, and/or environmental destruction.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of Latina/o/x/s in the United States. We examine U.S.-based arguments supporting and contesting the use of “Latino/a” and “Hispanic” as ethnic-racial-classist terms uniting all of the diverse U.S. Latin@ communities. We examine the ways in which U.S. Latina/o/x/s have constructed identities within the dominant as well as counter cultural registers. From a queer studies perspective, we examine how the work of queer and feminist Latinx cultural theorists questions and challenges how they are portrayed by the mainstream. Written assignments in Spanish for Spanish majors/minors, Latina/o and Caribbean Studies minors, and in English for other students. Taught in English.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

Students enrolled in this practicum course will create original, high-quality content for a specialized area of interest including journalism, media production, or creative writing. The practicum is arranged with approval of a faculty mentor, who will also work with the student to design their experience and evaluate the student’s work. May be taken as 1, 2, or 3 credits. Minimum of 40 hours per semester hour of credit. This course is cross-listed with CM299. Repeatable up to 3 credits. Pass/Fail.

A foundational course for English majors, focusing on research in English and basic literary theory. Critical thinking skills in literature are emphasized. Students must earn a grade of C or better to remain an English major.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course and completion, with a C or better, of EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

Enter the charming, yet unsettling, chaotic world of love and imagination, as Shakespeare interweaves subplots and explores the supernatural. Watch as Shakespeare uses stock characters to create his most famous and lovable comedic characters and uses foils to unfold political and familial betrayal. The capacity for human violence, barely controlled, is explored along with such issues as the battle between the sexes, Fortune, human sexuality, the strict adherence to law, barbarism, and father/son relationships.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

From tragic flaw to comic relief, EN302 encompasses Shakespeare’s use of stock characters, dumb shows, the play-within-the-play, the occult, and the conventions of revenge tragedy. The course will focus on such issues as racism, homoeroticism, pseudo-marriage, stereotypes, female sexuality, melancholia, and the machinations of political intrigue, as Shakespeare reveals, in both broad sweeps and intimate encounters, the vicissitudes of the human condition.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

An exploration of the classics of American dramatic theater from Eugene O’Neill to Anna Deavere Smith. Topics include Expressionism, Realism, Modernism, Black Arts Movement and others. Attending a dramatic performance is a requirement.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

Exploring the fundamentals and innovations of early English literature, EN312 focuses on such genres as narrative poetry, street pageant theater, miracle and morality plays, the interlude, Breton lais, mysticism, and alliterative verse, etc. Works such as Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Piers Plowman, Brut, Everyman, The Book of Margery Kempe, and The Canterbury Tales, etc., will be read within the context of the Anglo-Saxon and Middle English periods’ literary, cultural, intellectual, and political frameworks.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

Selected readings in British and Continental literature in translation may include epic and troubadour lyric poetry. Along with a consideration of the social concerns and cultural values, the course may examine the work of several major writers, such as Boccaccio, Chaucer, Dante, de Meun, de Lorris, Christine de Pisan, Marie de France, and others.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

Focusing on The Canterbury Tales and the humor of Chaucer derived from his genius for satire and parody, this course explores such medieval issues as aristocratic and church corruption, marriage, women’s rights, dream theory, astrology, and the preciseness of the Oxford calculators. Through the use of such genres as Arthurian tales, chivalric romances, mock sermons, fabliaux, mock epics, beast fables, exemplums, and the aubade, Chaucer’s social comedy sets up a dialectic between classes, exposing the hypocrisy of medieval society and its institutions.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

EN315 situates Shakespeare’s work within the context of his contemporaries and the religious, political, and cultural milieu of the period. Exploring firsthand accounts of beheadings and heretical burnings at the stake, Queen Elizabeth I’s political speeches, the obsession based sonnet sequences, and Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene (Britomart, Knight of Chastity), Shakespeare’s plays will be read within the context of the early modern period’s social and cultural complex.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

Reading and critical discussion of the poetry of the century, with emphasis on Jonson, Donne, Milton, Congreve, Dryden.

Prerequisite(s): One 100 level literature course.

Reading and critical discussion of the prose and poetry of the century, with emphasis on Pope, Swift, Addison, Steele, Goldsmith, Sheridan.

Prerequisite(s): One 100 level literature course.

A study of selected poetry by the major Romantics: Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, and others.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

A concentrated exploration of major works of British literature from approximately 1830 to 1901. Topics covered may include working conditions and social justice, race and empire, the “woman question,” evolution, spiritualism, and aestheticism. Along with a consideration of the social concerns and cultural values of this period, the course examines the work of several major writers, such as Tennyson, the Brownings, Dickens, Thackeray, the Brontes, Eliot, Stevenson, Wilde, and Hardy.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

An exploration of the literature produced in America during the first half of the 19th century. Consideration of the social concerns and cultural values of this period. Examination of the work of several major writers, such as Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, Poe, Hawthorne, Dickinson, and Whitman.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

An exploration of the literature produced in America during the second half of the 19th century. Along with a consideration of the social concerns and cultural values of this period, the course examines the work of several major writers, such as Twain, Howells, James, Wharton, Chopin, Crane, Jewett, and Norris.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

An examination of the key figures and artistic trends in the poetry and prose produced by Americans during the first half of the 20th century. Readings come from such writers as Pound, Williams, H. D. Stevens, Hughes, Frost, Fitzgerald, Hurston, Hemingway, Stein, Cather, Faulkner, and other significant American writers.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

A concentrated exploration of the literature produced by America after 1945. The course examines the relationship between literature and culture, investigating the cultural, historical, political, and personal contexts surrounding a writer’s works and manifested within those works. Employing a variety of literary genres, this course contends with themes such as identity, individualism, isolation, postmodernism, and techno culture.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

A concentrated exploration of the literature produced in Great Britain and its colonies from approximately World War I to World War II. The course examines the relationship between literature and culture, investigating the cultural, historical, political, and personal contexts surrounding a writer’s works and manifested within those works. Employing a variety of literary genres, this course contends with various issues and trends such as identity crisis, the “death” of God, avant-gardism, and colonialism.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

A concentrated exploration of the literature produced in Great Britain and its former colonies from approximately World War II to present. The course examines the relationship between literature and culture, investigating the cultural, historical, political, and personal contexts surrounding a writer’s works and manifested within those works.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

Study of influential American poets and artistic trends in poetry produced during the 20th century. Readings come from Pound, Williams, H. D. Stevens, Hughes, Ginsberg, O’Hara, Brooks, Plath, and other major poets of the century.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

This course provides an overview of the principles of basic strategic communication decision-making, and applies these strategies and practices to the production of actual, effective communication messages for multiple audiences in a variety of formats. Writing assignments may include: mission statements, fact sheets, backgrounders, press releases, feature stories, pitch letters, brochures, newsletters and web messages. This course is cross-listed with CM341.

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or equivalent or EN221.

A study of the cultural, historical, sociological, as well as literary trends in the literature identified broadly as Asian American. Particular emphasis on the style and content of works by major prose writers, poets and playwrights from early 1900s to today.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

A study of multi-ethnic American literature from the 20th and 21st centuries. Students will gain a critical framework for reading and interpreting these literary works, which may include a variety of genres such as autobiography, fiction, poetry, and folktales.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

In this examination of Native American literature, students will gain a historical framework necessary for reading a diverse body of work produced by writers who identify with their American Indian/Native American ancestry. Readings include texts by writers such as Sherman Alexie, Paula Gunn Allen, William Apess, Vine DeLoria Jr., Louise Erdrich, N. Scott Momaday, Simon Ortiz, Leslie Marmon Silko, Gerald Vizenor, and Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Bonnin).

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

Course allows for the study of topics in literature from African-American, West African, and/or the Caribbean traditions. Topics may include, but are not limited to: Caliban’s legacy, postcolonial perspectives, Négritude, the Harlem Renaissance, and studies in a particular genre.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level literature course.

Students work in a professional setting off campus where they are exposed to practical applications of their academic training. Students are expected to spend a minimum of 10 hours a week in the workplace. Internships are tailored to the student’s interests and the institution’s specifications and must be approved by the department chair prior to class. At the discretion of the professor, students prepare a final paper and/or complete a project. Student consultation with the professor is essential during the project’s formative and developmental stages. The final paper/project is expected to reflect in-depth academic and practical applications gleaned from the internship experience.

Prerequisite(s): Senior status, enrollment and valid standing in English major, and approval of department chair.

A reading of selected British and American novels exemplifying the historical and aesthetic development of the literary form. Works by authors such as Austen, Conrad, Achebe, Fitzgerald, and others.

A study of the novel as the most enduring and popular form of literature whose universal themes and compelling characters have resonated with readers and scholars across generations and historical epochs, transforming into new genres and media, including film, television serialization, graphic novels, and social media phenomena.

Linguistic history of the English language from its Old English Germanic origin to the language spoken today by approximately 1/7 of the world’s population. Specific attention to the sound system and structural patterns of American English.

A survey of major movements in the foundation of literary judgment from its beginnings through contemporary schools, including Formalist, Marxist, Deconstructionist, Feminist, Queer Theory, and others.

Study of selected topics not listed among the department’s other offerings, either in response to student interest or to determine student interest. Offered as a conventional class or, with the approval of the instructor, as directed independent study. Course may be taken for 1-3 credits. This course is repeatable as long as the topics are not the same.

Students work under the supervision of a faculty mentor to design and develop an original, independent research essay or creative writing project that will be presented in a public forum. Students may receive 1-3 credits. Offered on application. Repeatable with permission.

Prerequisite(s): Senior status, valid standing as an English major, and approval of department chair.

An in-depth study of major works from world literary traditions, which includes no more than one text from England or the United States; texts are selected at the instructor’s discretion and may offer a thematic or genre-based approach to literature from around the globe. Students lead discussions in seminar format. Intensive reading, discussion, research, and writing. Must be taken before or concurrently with EN430. 2 hours lecture.

Pre/corequisite(s): Senior English majors, grade of C or above in EN300.

An in-depth study of a discrete scholarly topic, a literary movement, or the works of a major author or two, as determined by the professor. Intensive reading, discussion, research, and writing. EN430 requires a substantial culminating research project and presentation. 2 hours lecture.

Pre/corequisite(s): Senior English majors, grade of C or above in EN300, EN429 must be taken before EN430 or concurrently with EN430.

A study of the intersection of perspectives from multiple fields culminating in an interdisciplinary research paper. The course enables students to recognize and analyze works in various disciplines and to understand and appreciate the role that they play in human culture. Students explore interdisciplinarity as it relates to careers. Another course may be substituted with approval.

This course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of the African American experience – from the Middle Passage/enslavement period through the 21st century. Using various texts and other media sources, we will engage in dialogue on race, ethnicity, and nationality and how if affects the Black community in the United States. We will explore the relationship between “African American” and “Black” identity and the controversy around the interchangeable use of the terms. The students will also learn about the founding of several organizations (e.g., NAACP, SNCC, SCLC, Jack and Jill of America, Black Panther Party, etc.) and their role in constructing the African American experience. Finally, we will examine the movements that shaped Black America (e.g., Black/Afro-American studies protests, the civil rights movement, the Black liberation movement, #BlackLivesMatter, etc.)

Prerequisite(s): EN111 or EN221, SO101, PS111 or PS113, or permission of instructor.

An in-depth study and application of interdisciplinary concepts and skills. Students are expected to actively engage with the material, write and present an extended research paper, and use the class meetings as a forum for thought-provoking conversation and inquiry. A career component prepares graduates to communicate their unique skillsets to prospective employers. Another research-based course may be substituted with approval.

An in-depth program of study based on a specific area of interest or an interdisciplinary investigation under the direction of a faculty member. Intended for the advanced student in the interdisciplinary studies program. May be offered at the will of the instructor or by application. Course may be taken for 1-3 credits. This course is repeatable as long as the topics are not the same.