English Courses
Our course offerings represent the wide array of interests and specialties of our faculty within the six emphases. This page lists all of our current course offerings. The lists of requirements for each undergraduate and graduate emphasis degree illustrate where each of our courses fall into our programs.
100 Courses (Freshman level)
200 Courses (Sophomore level)
300 Courses (Junior level)
400/500 Courses (Senior and graduate level)
600 Courses (Graduate level)
700/800 Courses (Doctoral level)
100 Courses
110C. English Composition. Lecture and discussion 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: Students must have passed the University Writing Sample Placement Test before registering for 110C; the test is administered by the University Testing Center. This course is designed to improve students' writing skills. Emphasis is placed on developing skills of perception and observation, as well as thinking, ordering and imagining, and on practicing the principles of expository writing. Individual conferences are required.
111C. English Composition. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 110C. This course continues developing of the methods of exposition begun in ENGL 110C. Primary emphasis on principles of argumentative, analytical, and critical writing. Included are report, precis, and thesis writing, plus the use and adaptation of sources in research writing, in a fully developed research paper. Some writing will be in class. Individual conferences are scheduled as needed.
112L. Enjoying Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. This course shows the general student how to understand the distinctive forms and meanings of poems, plays and fiction, and key notions such as character, plot and imagery. Works include women writers and illustrate individual and social experiences as different places and times. This perspective course develops and reinforces written communication skills and includes relevant insights into technology.
126C, 127. Honors: English Composition. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Open only to students in the Honors College. Special honors sections of ENGL 110C and 111C.
127L. Honors: Enjoying Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Open only to students in the Honors College. A special honors section of ENGL 112L.
131C. Introduction to Technical and Scientific Writing. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 110C. This course emphasizes critical reading, thinking, and writing in technical and scientific contexts. Students are introduced to principles of research, analysis, and argumentation as they are practiced in disciplines such as computer technology, the natural and social sciences, mathematics, business, health sciences, and engineering.
144L. American Writers, American Experiences. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. This course introduces the student to the diversity of American culture as depicted in American literature. Works include minority and women writers and provide visions of city, frontier, and regional life; ethnic, racial, and immigrant experience; religion, democracy, and capitalism. This perspective course develops and reinforces written communication skills and includes relevant insights into technology.
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200 Courses
200. Introduction to English Studies. Lecture 1 hour; 1 credit. A preview of the subject areas of an English major (literature, linguistics, creative writing, journalism, professional writing, rhetoric, teaching) with attention to the student's curricular and career planning. Required of English majors. Open to anyone interested in English.
250. Digital Literacy. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: 6-hour General Education composition requirement and literature perspective requirement or permission of the instructor. Hardware and software platforms (operating systems, word processing, desktop publishing, graphics) and Internet functions (E-mail, news groups, HTML/WWW, MOOs, MUDs). Explores implications of information age and how information technology transforms the practice of writing. Fulfills for English majors the General Education computer skills requirement.
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300 Courses
300. Introduction to Creative Writing. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 110C and 111C. A creative writing workshop course combining individual conferences with the instructor and class discussion of student writing. Students will work in both fiction and poetry, with one half semester's attention given to each genre.
301. Introduction to British Literature I. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: literature perspective requirement and 6-hour General Education composition requirement or permission of the instructor. A survey of British literature from the beginning of textual records until 1780, focusing on the development of different literary forms in their social and cultural contexts.
302. Introduction to British Literature II. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: literature perspective requirement, 6-hour General Education composition requirement, and three additional hours in literature. A survey of British literature after 1780, focusing on the development of different literary forms in their social and cultural contexts.
303. Shakespeare's Histories and Comedies. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: literature perspective requirement, 6-hour General Education composition requirement, and three additional hours in literature or permission of instructor. An exploration of Shakespearean comedy and historical drama, through plays such as, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Measure for Measure and, The Tempest for the former, Richard II, Henry IV, and Richard III for the latter.
304. Shakespeare's Tragedies and Poetry. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: literature perspective requirement, 6-hour General Education composition requirement, and three additional hours in literature or permission of instructor. A study of Shakespearean poetry and tragedy through the longer poems and the sonnets for the former, and through plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra for the latter.
307. Introduction to Digital Writing. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 110C, 111C and general education computer skills requirement. This course introduces students to issues of writing in various digital environments like web pages, email, blogs, wikis, and discussion boards. This class also introduces fundamentals of hypertext authoring, digital and visual rhetoric, and image manipulation.
312. The Film. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: three semester hours in English. A multimedia course using slides, video cassettes, and 16mm films to increase appreciation of film as an art form, particularly as a narrative medium. Attention is given to all the elements of filmmaking (including directing, acting, writing, editing, visual composition, and music), especially as they contribute to the way films tell stories. After students become familiar with film techniques, they study eight to ten films for their narrative methods.
325. Introduction to Rhetorical Studies. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: 6-hour General Education composition requirement. Explores the nature and function of rhetoric and its contribution to the knowledge-making enterprises of English studies and other disciplines. Students will use that "lens" to assess the effectiveness of their own language practices.
327W. Advanced Composition I. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: completion of writing composition requirement. This course emphasizes development of a mature, professional style in expository writing by study of the stylistic and analytical principles underlying effective prose writing.
333. The Interpretation of Literary Works. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: junior standing and three hours of literature, or permission of the instructor. This course introduces students to theories about the nature and value of literature and gives them experience in applying such theories to specific literary texts.
334W. Technical Writing. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: completion of writing composition requirement. This course provides the student with a working knowledge of various types of technical communication, including the writing of proposals, instructions, and reports for both the specialist and the nonspecialist.
335. Editing and Document Design. Lecture/lab 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: six hours in English to include ENGL 334W or 380. This course provides practical experience in copy editing and includes an analysis of technical formats used in journalism, business, industry, and government. It features hands-on lab work in document presentation, page layout, and design.
336. The Short Story. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: literature perspective requirement and 6-hour General Education composition requirement or permission of the instructor. A genre course on the art of the short story. Students will explore how the writers' careful selection of detail creates meanings that emerge through the characters, plot, setting, diction, point of view, and other elements of fiction.
340. American Drama. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: literature perspective requirement and 6-hour General Education composition requirement or permission of instructor. A study of American drama from its beginnings to the present day. The course includes plays from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with a generous selection from the twentieth century.
342. Southern Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: literature perspective requirement and 6-hour General Education composition requirement or permission of the instructor. A survey of the literature of the American South from William Byrd to William Faulkner. Selected writings are studied not only for their literary value but also as expressions of evolving regional attitudes to be evaluated in terms of the mainstream of American culture.
345. American Literature to 1860. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: literature perspective requirement and 6-hour General Education composition requirement or permission of instructor. The course presents a survey of American literature from the beginning to the Civil War. Among the authors studied are Franklin, Bryant, Poe, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, and Melville.
346. American Literature Since 1860. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: literature perspective requirement and 6-hour General Education composition requirement or permission of instructor. The course focuses upon major movements and writers. Among the authors studied are Whitman, Mark Twain, James, and Frost.
349. The Contemporary American Novel. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: literature perspective requirement and 6-hour General Education composition requirement or permission of the instructor. Reading and analysis of American novels published since 1945. Emphasis on contemporary themes and techniques.
350. Aspects of the English Language. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 110C or permission of the instructor. An introduction to the various aspects of the English language through a study of modern linguistics. Topics include the nature of language, linguistics, and grammar; temporal, regional, and social variations of English; lexicography and the problems of usage. Primary focus is placed on modern English grammars and their development.
351. Fiction Workshop. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 300 and junior standing or permission of the instructor, based on writing samples submitted. Students write, criticize, discuss, and revise works of fiction.
352. Poetry Workshop. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 300 and junior standing or permission of the instructor, based on writing samples submitted. Students write, criticize, discuss, and revise poetry.
353. Beginning Dramatic Writing. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 300 and junior standing or permission of the instructor, based on writing samples submitted. Students write, criticize, discuss, and revise plays, screenplays, and television scripts. Major emphasis may be placed on one of these areas, depending on the expertise of the instructor.
354. Client-Based Research Writing. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 110C and 111C. This is a client-based research course that aims to provide students with workplace research experience. The primary objective is to teach students the rhetorical nature of conducting and reporting research in professional contexts for multiple audiences. Research methods such as surveys, interviews, and observations will be covered.
360. World Masterpieces I. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: literature perspective requirement, 6-hour General Education composition requirement and three additional hours in literature or permission of instructor. An introduction to selected major works in translation from the beginnings of world literature through the early seventeenth century. Works will be chosen that illustrate the relationship of literature to cultural tradition in different global regions.
361. Contemporary American Poetry. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: literature perspective requirement and 6-hour General Education composition requirement or permission of the instructor. American poetry since 1945 with emphasis on recent developments.
363. World Masterpieces II. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: literature perspective requirement, 6-hour General Education composition requirement and three additional hours in literature or permission of instructor. An introduction to selected major works of literature in translation from the seventeenth century to the present day. Works from a variety of world cultures will be used to explore the interaction between literature and society in centuries of expanding global awareness.
366. Public Journalism in the Digital Age. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 110C and 111C and either ENGL 380 or 382 or COMM 360 or permission of the instructor. This course exposes students to conventional and alternative approaches to reporting in public journalism. Students use a combination of conventional and alternative approaches as they research, interview and construct a story on a local community issue or concern. (cross-listed with COMM 366)
367. Cooperative Education. 1-3 credits (may be repeated for credit). Prerequisite: approval by the department and Career Management. Available for pass/fail grading only. Student participation for credit based on the academic relevance of the work experience, criteria, and evaluative procedures as formally determined by the department and the Cooperative Education program prior to the semester in which the work experience is to take place.
368. Writing Internship. 3 credits. Prerequisite: Approval by the faculty advisor for internships is necessary prior to registration. Available for pass/fail grading only. May be repeated for a total of six credits. A structured work experience involving writing and/or editing. A paper, a portfolio of work done, and satisfactory evaluations by supervisor and cooperating faculty member are required. No more than two English internships (chosen among 368, 369, 468, or cooperative education courses of similar content) may be counted towards a degree.
369. Research Practicum. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 327W or 335, plus 15 hours in major (with sufficient coursework in an involved emphasis) and approval by faculty practicum advisor. This course enables students to combine traditional research in scholarship with real world applications. Can be repeated for credit.
370. English Linguistics. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: junior standing or permission of the instructor. An introduction to current linguistic thought and its relevance to the study of literature, comparison of languages, development of effective writing styles, and social concerns involving language.
371W. Communication Across Cultures. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: 6 hours of composition and 3 hours of literature or permission of the instructor. An interdisciplinary examination of intercultural communication through film and readings in anthropology, linguistics, and world literature. The course emphasizes the relationships of language and culture.
380. Introduction to Journalism and News Writing. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: six semester hours in English. Class discussions focus on media literacy and on the role of media in society. Students learn and practice elements of news writing, including writing leads, organizing stories, reporting techniques, and interviewing. Story assignments will come from handouts, press releases, press conferences, speeches, and public meetings. Some assignments will be done under simulated deadline pressure in the computer lab.
381. Public Relations. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: six semester hours in English. This course is designed to introduce the student to certain disciplines related to the public relations process. The emphasis is equally distributed between the handling of written materials and the dynamics of group relations, i.e., the publicist and the person or persons whom he or she is representing. The course is to be distinguished from advertising by virtue of its emphasis upon public service, particularly the continued need for the free flow of information in the democratic process.
382. Reporting News for Television and Digital Media. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 110C and 111C. This course focuses on writing for television news and producing online news reports. Students will strengthen their journalistic skills and learn the importance of writing clearly for a viewing audience while working under newsroom deadlines. By the end of the course, students should feel confident in producing accurate, detailed reports for both television news and online news sites.
395, 396. Topics in English. 1-3 credits each semester. Prerequisite: three semester hours in literature. A study of selected topics designed for nonmajors or for elective credit within a major. These courses will appear in the course schedule booklet and will be more fully described in a booklet distributed to all academic advisors.
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400/500 Courses
403/503. Medieval Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. An introduction to representative works of English literature (some in translation) from Beowulf through Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, The Book of Margery Kempe, The Second Shepherd's Play, and Malory's Morte d'Arthur. Students will discover how medieval literature has contributed to and continues to complicate modern conceptions of reading, writing, and aesthetics.
405W. Children and Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: 6-hour General Education composition requirement. This course focuses on understanding chilhood experiences (through writing exercises) and the understanding of children and childhood reflected in literature for and about children.
406/506. The Teaching of Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 333. This course is designed to provide an intensive examination of issues, approaches, and methods utilized in the teaching of literature, particularly literature written for children and young adults.
407/507. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: three semester hours in literature. A study of The Canterbury Tales with an introduction to Middle English language and culture.
416/516. English Renaissance Drama. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. An extensive survey of the secular national dramas of Renaissance England that were written and performed by Shakespeare's contemporaries in London between 1576 and 1642. Students study the literary features, social contexts and ideological underpinning of representative works by Kyd, Marlowe, Jonson, Webster, Ford, and others.
421/521. British Literature 1660-1800. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. British literature from the Restoration of monarchy after the Civil War and Puritan Commonwealth to the French Revolution, focusing on how cultural changes (legalized female actors, commercialized printing, colonialism, and growing market capitalism) interacted with the flowering of satire and scandalous theatrical comedy, and the emergence of modern literary forms (periodical journalism, "picturesque" poetry, and the novel).
423/523. The Romantic Movement in Britain. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. A study of the literature written in Britain between 1770-1830, focusing on how the literary experiments and innovations of poets like Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Percy Shelley, Keats, Burns, and Barbauld, and of novelists like Mary Shelley, Radcliffe, and Scott interacted with cultural changes such as the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and the emergence of feminism and working-class radicalism.
424/524. Short Works in Narrative Media. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 312 or permission of instructor. This course examines short narrative forms in film, video, literature, and multi-media. Individual works will be considered both of the specific ways in which they make use of the medium in which they appear, and for the qualities they share. Particular emphasis will be placed on the relationship between writing and visualization. Students will engage in both creative and critical exercises, so as to see the process from both sides: creative production and critical analysis.
425/525. Film Directors in Context. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 312 or permission of instructor. This course will explore the works of several directors from a variety of world regions. Films will be considered as part of the body of work by each director, as well as in the context of the regions' other arts, traditions, popular culture, and historical events. Students will become familiar, therefore, with aesthetic, literary, sociological, anthropological and historical approaches to the analysis of film.
427W/527. Writing in the Disciplines. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: 9 hours of English including completion of the 6-hour General Education composition requirement and 3 additional hours of English. This writing intensive course emphasizes contexts and strategies of text production in and across academic disciplines and professional settings.
432/532. Origins and Early Development of the British Novel to 1800. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. A study of early novels and how the novel developed from other traditions such as the epic, romance, criminal biography, and travel narrative.
433/533. Victorian Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. A study of the chief writers and the cultural and philosophical backgrounds of the Victorian era, touching on the changes from the early to the later part of the period. Works analyzed include fiction, nonfiction prose, and poetry.
435W/535. Management Writing. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: six semester hours in English, to include ENGL 334W or permission of the instructor. This course focuses on writing as a means of making and presenting management decisions.
437/537. The Nineteenth-Century British Novel. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. A study of 19th-century British novels in context of the economic, social, and political issues of the period, emphasizing their formal and aesthetic concerns.
438/538. The Twentieth-Century British Novel. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. Offered in specific sections of 1900-1945, 1945-present, 1900-present. Major British novels are studied.
439W/539. Writing in Electronic Environments. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 307 and computer literacy or permission of the instructor. This course offers writing practice in critical contemporary electronic writing environments, especially emphasizing Web-based compositions. Readings and discussions provide a history of electronic writing, the Internet, and hypertext theory. Students should expect to construct a variety of Web sites and engage in theoretical discourse around the sites they are building.
440/540. General Linguistics. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: three semester hours in English excluding ENGL 110C. A comprehensive view of the study of linguistics and an introduction to the linguist's approach to language.
444/544. History of the English Language. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: junior standing and three hours of social science, or permission of the instructor. A study of the origins and development of the English language. Primary focus is on the internal history, emphasizing the continuity and change in successive stages of the language.
446/546. Studies in American Drama. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequiste: 300-level literature course, ENGL 340 preferred. With rotating topics, this course will pursue particular themes or periods in American drama and theater. Potential areas of inquiry might include melodrama, the early transatlantic stage, rise of stage realism, age of O'Niell, or the contemporary drama.
447/547. The American Novel to 1920. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: three semester hours in literature. A study of some outstanding American novels published between 1850 and 1910, with emphasis on the novel as a genre and such relevant literary trends as Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism. The survey may include novels by such writers as Hawthorne, Melville, Twain, James, Howells, Crane, and Dreiser.
448/548. The American Novel, 1920-Present. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. Examination of the American novel from the end of World War I to the present day. The course will emphasize formal issues related to the genre of the novel and relevant literary and cultural trends during the period including modernism and postmodernism.
449/549. Craft of Literary Nonfiction. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: six semester hours in literature or three semester hours in literature and ENGL 300 or permission of the instructor. A detailed study of technique in literary nonfiction with an emphasis on the memoir, the essay, reportage, and travel narrative. Especially designed for, but not limited to, creative writing students; supplements the creative writing workshops.
450/550. American English. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: junior standing and three hours of social science, or permission of the instructor. This course deals with social and regional dialectal diversity in the United States. Emphasis will be placed on standard and vernacular varieties of American English and the directions of change and their causes.
451/551. Advanced Fiction Workshop. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits (may be repeated for credit). Prerequisites: ENGL 351 and junior standing or permission of the instructor, based on writing samples submitted. This course, an expansion of the principles and techniques learned in ENGL 351, focuses on the writing and criticism of the short story, the novella, and the novel.
452/552. Advanced Poetry Workshop. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits (may be repeated for credit). Prerequisites: ENGL 352 and junior standing or permission of the instructor, based on writing samples submitted. This course, an expansion of the principles and techniques learned in ENGL 352, focuses on the writing and criticism of poetry.
454/554. Creative Nonfiction. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits (may be repeated for credit). Prerequisites: ENGL 327W or 351 and junior standing or permission of the instructor, based on writing samples submitted. A course in the techniques of writing nonfiction imaginatively within a factual context. Emphasis is placed on regard for reader psychology, selection of significant detail, and the development of a style at once lively and lucid. Assignments are made individually with regard to the student's field of interest-history, biography, science, politics, informal essay, etc. Advice is given on the marketing of promising manuscripts.
455/555. The Teaching of Composition, Grades 6-12. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: twelve semester hours in English to include ENGL 327W. A study of the theory and practice of teaching writing. Special attention will be given to the ways effective teachers allow theories and experiences to inform their pedagogical strategies.
456. The Craft of Fiction. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: six semester hours in literature or three semester hours in literature and ENGL 300, and junior standing or permission of the instructor. A detailed study of fictional technique in the novel and short story, with emphasis on character development, conflict, point of view, plot, setting, mood, tone, and diction. Especially designed for, but not limited to, creative writing students; supplements the creative writing workshops.
457. The Craft of Poetry. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: six semester hours in literature or three semester hours in literature and ENGL 300, and junior standing or permission of the instructor. A detailed study of technique in poetry, with emphasis on form, imagery, rhythm, and symbolism. Especially designed for, but not limited to, creative writing students; supplements the creative writing workshops.
459/559. New Literatures in English. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: junior standing. A study of the diverse "new" literatures in English of the Caribbean and Central America, Africa, India as well as Canada and Australia, in their current historical and political contexts.
460/560. The Literature of Fact. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. A detailed study of the literary tradition of creative nonfiction.
461/561. Poetry of the Early Twentieth Century. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. Works of major British and American poets from 1900 to 1945 are studied.
462/562. Sacred Texts as Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequistes: literature perspective requirement and six-hour general education composition requirement or permission of the instructor. A study of how sacred texts reshape a variety of literary forms (narratives, drama, poetry, biography, history). The course may focus on a particular text or a collection of texts drawn from a variety of faith traditions and/or spiritual experiences.
463/563. Women Writers. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. This course applies concepts developed through women's studies scholarship and feminist literary criticism to works by women writers of different races and cultures.
465/565. African-American Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of instructor. An investigation of the ways in which literary movements, historical events, social transitions, and political upheavals have influenced African-American literature.
466W/566 Asian American Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: for 466W students, one 300-level literature course. The course introduces students to key texts in Asian American literature, supported by critical studies (and on occasion films) to interrogate the theme of Asian American identities in their multiple forms. The course will examine sociopolitical histories that undercut the literature, and the contributions of Asian American writers to the breadth and scope of American as well as global literatures today.
468. Advanced Writing Internship. 3 credits. Prerequisites: 15 hours in English, to include ENGL 327W or ENGL 334W recommended. Permission of department internship coordinator required. A structured work experience involving writing and editing in a professional setting.
472/572. America in Vietnam: The Government and the Media in Conflict. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 110C and junior standing, or permission of the instructor. An examination of America's role in Vietnam and how the interaction of the media with political and military leaders shaped the subsequent foreign policy decisions and military conduct.
477/577. Language, Gender and Power. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: junior standing and three hours of literature, or permission of the instructor. This interdisciplinary course explores how language reflects and interacts with society, with particular emphasis on gender and race. Topics include definition, framing, stereotypes, language taboos, and powerful and powerless language.
480/580. Investigative Reporting Techniques. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 380. This coruse will acquaint students with electronic research skills essential to the practice of print and broadcast journalism. With a focus on both high tech and traditional research skills, the course will provide instruction in the uses of computer-assisted reporting, spreadsheet and database analysis programs, locating databases compiled by government agencies, filing requests through the Freedom of Information Act, and following paper trails to records of courthouse, property, and corporate public filings.
481/581. Advanced Public Relations. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 381 or permission of the instructor. Designed to strengthen the skills of the public relations practitioner with emphasis on the creative aspects of problem solving. Attention is given to crisis public relations, interviewing, speech writing, and graphics.
482/582. Sports Journalism. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: passing score on the Writing Sample Placement Test, ENGL 110C and 111C. This is primarily a sports writing course in which students are introduced to various types and styles of sports stories that are representative of sports journalism as practiced in newspapers and magazines. The course also explores the role of sports in American society.
483W/583. Advanced News Reporting. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 380 or permission of instructor. Designed to familiarize students with the rudiments of beat reporting, including such areas as coverage of the criminal justice system, city government, business and labor, health and the environment, the arts and culture, and science and technology. Students will also receive instruction in the use of public records. Guest lectures by reporters who work on these beats.
484/584. Feature Story Writing. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: nine semester hours in English. Course includes discussion and practice of writing a variety of newspaper and magazine feature stories. Students will write and critique stories on people, places, businesses, trends, and issues. Assistance is given in the marketing of manuscripts.
486/586. Media Law and Ethics. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: junior standing or permission of the instructor. Designed to introduce students to components of communication law that may affect the professional writer or broadcaster. Topics include defamation, constitutional constraints, freedom of information, privacy, copyright, and telecommunications law. Ethical issues relating to the mass media will also be examined.
492/592. Modern World Drama. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of the instructor. A study of selected major dramatic works of the world, including the non-Western world. Works written in languages other than English will be read in translation. The course begins with Ibsen in the late nineteenth century and continues to the present.
493/593. Contemporary World Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: one 300-level literature course or permission of the instructor. Fiction, poetry, and plays written during the last fifty years in nations throughout the world. Most texts will have been written originally in languages other than English. Emphasis is on the universality of the human experience as depicted in a variety of cultures.
495/595, 496/596. Topics in English. 1-3 credits each semester. Prerequisite: three semester hours in literature. The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit small groups of qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, because of their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule booklet and will be more fully described in a booklet distributed to all academic advisors.
497, 498. Tutorial Work in Special Topics in English. 3 credits each semester. Prerequisites: senior standing and approval of the chair of the Department of English. Independent study in literature, writing, or linguistics according to a program of reading and/or writing designed under the direction of an instructor.
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600 Courses
600. Introduction to Research and Criticism. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Required of most graduate students in English, usually in the first semester. Survey of English as an academic discipline; issues and trends in scholarly journals; research strategies and conventions for graduate-level papers and master's theses; critical approaches to literature. 615. Shakespeare. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. An application of advanced theoretical and critical approaches to Shakespeare's works. May be repeated more than once for credit if different group of works or themes is being studied.
632. Eighteenth-Century British Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. A study of the literature written in the British Isles from the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 until 1800, focusing on how the flowering of satire and the emergence of literary forms such as periodical journalism, "picturesque" poetry, and the novel interacted with the growth of distinctly modern institutions and philosophies such as a free, commercial press, market capitalism, colonialism, political radicalism, and industrialism.
641. Nineteenth-Century British Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. A study of a selection of the literature written in Britain during the romantic and Victorian ages, focusing on the social, historical, and ideological contexts informing its production. Texts analyzed include poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.
645. Twentieth-Century British Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Studies of major poets, dramatists and prose writers. Some attention will be given to the movements, trends, forces, and ideas of the period.
647. Postcolonial Literature and Theory. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. An introduction to the discourse of anticolonial critical theory through the literature produced in countries outside of Europe and the West.
650. Creative Writing. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: Admission to the MFA program and permission of the instructor. Guided study and practice in writing short stories, novels, poetry, and creative nonfiction, offered in specific sections of Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction. This course can be repeated for credit. Students planning to write a creative thesis must take this course at least twice with their thesis director.
655. Topics in World Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Examination of a theme, genre, or other literary topic as it appears in the literature of several countries. All works are assigned in English translation if not originally written in English. Specific topics are listed in the schedule booklet, and course descriptions appear in a booklet distributed to all academic advisors.
656. American Literature to 1810. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Intensive study of a variety of texts from several genres reflecting the historical forces, aesthetic movements, social trends, and representative works of the period.
657. American Literature 1810-1870. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Intensive study of a variety of texts from several genres reflecting the historical forces, aesthetic movements, social trends, and representative works of the period.
658. American Literature 1870-1945. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Intensive study of a variety of texts from several genres reflecting the historical forces, aesthetic movements, social trends, and representative works of the period.
659. American Literature 1945-Present. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Intensive study of a variety of texts from several genres reflecting the historical forces, aesthetic movements, social trends, and representative works of the period.
660. Craft of Narrative. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: graduate standing. A detailed study of the techniques of ficiton and nonfiction with some emphasis given to the various theories informing the genres.
661. Craft of Poetry. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: 15 undergraduate hours in literature and graduate standing or permission of the instructor. A detailed study of the techniques of poetry with some emphasis given to the various theories informing the genre.
662. Cybercultures and Digital Writing. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: three units of digital writing or instructor's permission. In this course, students will explore the social, theoretical, and cultural implications of composing with the ever-evolving digital writing technologies. They will also consider how to study the practices the writers use to compose with these technologies.
664. Teaching College Composition. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. An intensive examination of alternative approaches to teaching first-year and advanced composition at the college level, with special attention to current schools of composition theory and research.
665. Teaching Writing with Technology. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 439W/539. Students in this course will explore different writing environments and educational applications and learn how they are designed to help writers compose, collaborate, research and think. Sutdents will assess the values and theoretical assumptions underlying those applications and learn to articulate their own philosophies of using technologies in the writing classroom..
668. Graduate Internship and Project in Professional Writing. 3 credits. Prerequisites: 15 graduate credits in English. Structured work experience involving extensive writing and editing in a professional setting. The result of the internship is an analytic paper and a portfolio of written work.
670. Methods and Materials in TESOL. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. A practical introduction to methods, materials, and course organization in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Methods discussed, demonstrated, and practiced include Total Physical Response, the Natural Approach, the Silent Way, the Audio-lingual Method, and the Communicative Approach.
671. Phonology. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 440/540 or permission of the instructor. An examination of the sound systems of natural languages, with emphasis on English and how it differs from other languages. Discussion of articulatory and acoustic phonetics with exercises in transcription and analysis. Comparison of current theories.
672. Syntax. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 440/540 or permission of the instructor. An examination of the syntactic structures, morphology, and semantics of natural languages, with emphasis on English. Practice in syntactic analysis and formal description. Comparison of current syntactic and semantic theories.
673. Discourse Analysis. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: English 440/540 or equivalent. A survey of various concepts and issues related to analyzing the structure of spoken and written discourse in English: the intonation unit, the verbalization of given and new information, conversational analysis, textual cohesion, speech act theory, and scripts and schemes in narratives.
674. Internship in Applied Linguistics. 3 credits. Prerequisite: 12 graduate credits in linguistics. A structured work experience involving teaching or work in applied linguistics in a professional setting. To be documented by a portfolio of written work.
675. Practicum in TESOL. 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 670 and permission of the instructor. Supervised practice in teaching English to speakers of other languages.
676. Semantics. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. This course is about meaning and definition; semantics is the area of linguistic theory that addresses lexical meaning. Also included are related areas of pragmatics (nonlexical meaning) and syntax, as well as practical concerns of dictionaries (lexicography) and legal/regulatory definition. The major course project is practical: students collect and organize data to improve on linguistic and dictionary definitions.
677. Language and Communication Across Cultures. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. An investigation of how language and cultural differences affect communication. Readings from linguistics, anthropology, and literature address problems of intercultural communication.
678. Sociolinguistics. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Study of how language affects and reflects society, with emphasis on ethnography of communication, quantitative analysis, discourse analysis, language variation, pidgins, creoles, etc.
679. First and Second Language Acquisition. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. An investigation of first and second language acquisition with emphasis on examining evidence about second language learning which supports or fails to support different approaches to teaching a second language.
685. Writing Research. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: 6 graduate credits in English. This course explores current methods and methodologies in writing research. Students will design and carry out original studies of academic, professional, or personal writing as it is practiced in classrooms, work places, and other settings.
686. Introduction to Rhetoric and Writing Studies. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. This course presents key concepts, principles, traditions and conversations that define the field of rhetoric and composition, surveying major texts, movements, issues and methodologies. This course is designed primarily to prepare students for advanced courses in professional writing; however, it will also benefit any student who is interested in gaining insights about language, knowledge, and power from the perspective of rhetoric.
687. Colloquium for Teachers of English. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Study and discussion of recent research in and new materials for the teaching of English. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.
694. Thesis Colloquium. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: can be taken after 24 graduate hours have been completed. All MFA students are required to take ENGL 694 before their final semester. The course brings together all genres in a collaborative focus in which students discuss specific thesis projects, format requirements, publishing opportunities and reading lists for the 10-page prefatory essay required for their defense.
695. Topics. 3 credits. The advanced study of a selected topic in English. Topics courses will appear in the course schedule booklet and will be more fully described in a booklet distributed to all academic advisors.
696. Independent Readings. 3 credits. Designed for the advanced student (15-20 hours) who wants to study in-depth a sharply focused area of literature, linguistics, or pedagogy. Before registering for the course, the student must make out a prospectus with the instructor and submit it. No graduate student is permitted to take more than two independent readings courses.
698-699. Thesis. 3 credits each semester. (Note: Students in Creative Writing M.F.A. may enroll for thesis credit only after their written exams.)
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700/800 Courses
701/801 Texts and Technologies. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Tracing the development of writing technologies from Ancient Greece through contemporary blogs and wikis, this course focuses on the relationships between a text's physical qualities and its composition, production, and reception.
705/805 Discourse and Rhetoric Across Cultures. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: admission into the Applied Linguistics M.A. or the Ph.D. in English. The course is an introduction to cultural linguistics and to theories underlying some of the major strands of empirical and philosophical studies of language: structuralism, generative grammar, speech acts, cognitive linguistics, discourse, narrative, semantics, pragmatics, metaphor, and translation.
706/806 Visual Rhetoric and Document Design. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. This course focuses on how visual elements, whether verbal or graphical, work within different types of documents. Theory and research in visual rhetoric and technical communication will used to develop models for how people process visual information in terms of a variety of social and cultural contexts.
710/810 Major Debates in English Studies. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Writing, Language, Literature: This course introduces students to the principal questions and concerns of the field and includes a comparison and contrast of the subspecialties in English, including how they form and address key issues.
715/815 Professional Writing Theory and Practices. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. This course surveys the history of professional writing, competing theories and research methodologies in the field. The tensions between workplace practices, professional writing scholarship, and professional writing pedagogy will also be explored.
716/816 Professional Writing in/for International Contexts. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 715/815. This course focuses on the linguistic and cultural factors that business writers and technical writers must consider when working with/for a global audience. Students will learn to approach cross-cultural communication as a process that starts with research the target audience.
720/820 Pedagogy and Instructional Design. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 664 or equivalent. Students in this course will be prepared to develop pedagogical plans, teach and assess writing in four instructional areas: advanced and professional writing courses, writing across the curriculum, workplace instruction, and distributed learning. New pedagogical tools--especially computer-based technologies--will be taught, analyzed and tested.
721/821 Composition as Applied Rhetoric. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: 3 credits of a graduate level rhetoric or composition course or instructor's permission. Students will examine how the field of rhetoric has shaped composition pedagogy in the United States from its inception at Harvard to postmodern possibilities of today's writing classroom.
725/825. Scholarly Editing and Textual Scholarship. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Instructor approval required. Surveys the theory and practice of scholarly editing, of the physical description of texts as material artifacts, and of the historical and social contextualization of texts as material artifacts. Focus is on texts produced in manuscripts and print, but consideration is given to oral texts and digital texts.
740/840 Empirical Research Methods and Project Design. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. This course focuses on the theory and design of empirical research conducted in academic and nonacademic settings. Students will examine the methodological complexities of ethnography, meta-analysis, feminist research and other approaches.
750/850. Service Learning in English Studies. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Instructor approval required. Students will engage in service learning activities and apply various concepts and skills from their experience and coursework to identify and respond to the needs in the community. An analytical paper and portfolio of service-learning materials are required.
760/860 Classical Rhetoric and Theory Building. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Analysis and discussion of classical theories of rhetoric, with attention to how rhetoric describes discourse in the public sphere.
763/863 Seminar in Discourse Analysis. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 705/805 or permission of the instructor. This course focuses on relationships among language users, text, grammar, context, and purpose within a discourse perspective. Readings and assignments emphasize theoretical and methodological issues related to interactive discourse, registers and genres, narrative and identity, and language, ideology and power.
764/864 Theories of Literature. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. An in-depth study of selected theories about the form, history, and cultural significance of literature, such as narrative theory, poststructuralism, Marxism, feminism. Specific topics may vary by semester, but all sections will engage comprehensively with a body of theoretical texts and concerns.
765/865 Modern Rhetoric and Theory Building. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits.Prerequisite: ENGL 600 or equivalent. This course concerns the development of rhetoric as an academic discipline in the twentieth century, in particular how rhetoric has distinguished itself from literary, historical, philosophical, and linguistic modes of inquiry.
766/866. New Media Theory and Practice I. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 539 or equivalent. This course involves hands-on instruction in a variety of software packages used to create websites and multi-media projects. Students will explore the rhetorical, literary, and technical aspects of their own projects as well as other web-based and multimedia compositions/products
770/870 Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Lecture 3 hours: 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 540 or permission of the instructor. This course introduces basic concepts, methods, and techniques used to investigate topics and problems in applied linguistics. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches are presented. Methods include surveys, ethnographies, case studies, and experimental designs. Two major goals are emphasized: to become better readers of research reports and to develope research and analytic skills applicable to applied linguistics and related fields.
771/871. New Media Theory and Practice II. Lecture 3 hours; 3 hours. Prerequisite: ENG 766/866. This course builds on the study of new media textual production and consumption in English Studies begun in New Media Theory and Practice I and gives students the opportunity to engage in more advanced theoretical and production work. This course will focus on the integration of multiple modes and media using a variety of software and hardware.
773/873. Seminar in Discourse Analysis. Lecture 3 hours; 3 hours. Instructor approval required. Prerequisite: ENG 705/805. This course focuses on relationships among language users, text, grammar, context, and purpose within a discourse perspective. Readings and assignments emphasize theoretical and methodological issues related to interactive discourse, registers and genres, narrative and identity, and language, ideology and power.
778/878 Seminar in Sociolinguistics. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. This seminar investigates socially meaningful language variation. We will focus on everyday types of speech that people use to situate themselves in social worlds. Topics include ethnography of communication, language ideologies, social and regional variation, and quantitative analysis.
790/890 Seminar in Textual Studies. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: Instructor approval. This course will provide an intensive examination of a specific topic or issue in textual studies and serve as a field course for Rhetoric and Textual Studies
791/891 Seminar in Literary Study. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: Student must be enrolled in doctoral program to take this course. Intensive seminar in a variable literary or literary-cultural topic.
892. Dissertation Seminar. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: All core, field, and elective coursework must be completed prior to enrollment. This course is taken prior to doctoral candidacy exams. It enables students to develop and refine a topic for the dissertation, do preliminary research, and construct a bibliography under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Students will also us the seminar to prepare bibliographies to be used in candidacy exam.
793/893. Seminar in Rhetoric. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: Instructor approval. This course will provide an intensive examination of a specific topic or issue in rhetoric and serve as a field course for Rhetoric and Textual Studies.
794/894. Seminar in New Media. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: Instructor approval. This course will provide an intensive examination of a specific topic or issue in new media and serve as a field course for Professional Writing and New Media.
795/895. Topics. 3 credits. Prerequisite: students must be enrolled in doctoral program to take this course.Variable course material for students in PhD in English degree program.
797/897. Independent Study in English. Hours to be arranged; 3 credits. Prerequisite: graduate standing. Provides opportunities for doctoral students to do independent research in areas of their interests.
898 Directed Research. 1-9 credits. Prerequisite: instructor approval. This course can be taken as a supplement to the Dissertation Seminar for independent investigation in the topic for dissertation.
899. Dissertation. 1-9 credits. Prerequisite: 892 Dissertation Seminar and passing Candidacy examination. This course is to be taken only by students who have passed the candidacy exams for the purpose of researching and writing the dissertation.
999 Dissertation. A one-hour pass/fail registration required of all graduate students to maintain active status during the final semester prior to graduation. After successfully passing the candidacy examinations, all doctoral students are required to be registered for at least one graduate credit each term until the degree is complete.
