English Courses Spring 2025

WRITING TUTORIAL
ENGL 180
M. Schaffer

Substantial scheduled tutorial work in writing.

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
ENGL 200
T/TH: 10:00 – 11:15 AM
C. Ericson

This course introduces students to the reading of literature in the English language. Through close attention to the practice of reading, students are invited to consider some of the characteristic forms and functions imaginative literature has taken, together with some of the changes that have taken place in what and how readers read. Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar or SAGES First Seminar.

INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING
ENGL 203
M/W: 3:20 – 4:35 PM | 4:50 – 6:05 PM | T/TH: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
R. Schaer | C. Ring

A course exploring basic issues and techniques of writing narrative prose and verse through exercises, analysis, and experiment. For students who wish to try their abilities across a spectrum of genres.

READING FICTION
ENGL 257A
M/W/F: 11:40 AM – 12:30 PM | T/TH 5:30 – 6:45 PM | T/TH: 4:30 – 5:15
A. Kid | J. Orlock

This course introduces students to prose narrative forms in English by exploring their intersecting histories and their contemporary developments. As we read these texts in their historical and social contexts, we will pay particular attention to the ways in which prose fiction represents gender, class, sexuality, ability, nationality, race, and indigeneity. Our work will require careful reading, critical thinking, and scholarly, argument-based writing (including revision), as we appreciate the diversity of fiction’s forms and features. We will introduce and develop the key terms, concepts and practice of literary studies. The specific focus of the course may vary. Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar or SAGES First Seminar.

READING POETRY – AFRICAN-AMERICAN POETRY
ENGL 257B
T/TH: 10:00 – 11:15
C. Elliott

This course will help you to read and enjoy poetry by introducing you to the history of poetic forms in English. We’ll pay close attention to the enchanting details of poetic expression, as well as to the cultivation of individual styles and to the place of poetry in a world defined by global movements of many kinds. Our work will require careful reading, critical thinking, and scholarly, argument-based writing (including revision), as we appreciate the diversity of forms and features of poetry in English. We will introduce and develop the key terms, concepts and practice of literary studies by turning to poems for our test-cases; examples may include the sestina, sonnet and villanelle, ghazal, pantoum, haiku, and open forms. The specific focus of the course may vary. Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar or SAGES First Seminar.

THE POLITICS OF BEAUTY AND LITERATURE
ENGL 280
M/W: 4:50 – 6:05 PM
M. Jewell

Does having a tattoo hurt your chances of receiving your dream job? Does wearing lipstick make you look less intelligent? Why is it so important to have a good hair day? These are some questions taken up by the authors we are reading in this course — and the answers to which require a complex consideration of one’s social position in terms of gender, race, social class, sexual identity, and ability. In this communication-intensive course, we will examine how literary authors engage with the politics of beauty and appearance in their works in order to call attention to important issues of equality and access to opportunity. We will read the works of poets, short story writers, and novelists, alongside those of cultural critics, philosophers, and filmmakers who call attention to the specifically-political nature of body size, hair, skin tone, modes of dress, and other body issues. Our ultimate goal is to uncover and analyze the complex, intersectional power relations involved in past and present beauty standards. Students will complete sequenced writing assignments, a researched essay and works-in-progress presentation, and a final short reflection paper to be included in the Experience Portfolio.

THE POLITICS OF BEAUTY AND LITERATURE
ENGL 301
T/TH: 1:00 – 2:15 PM
G. Demeter

This course offers introductory analysis of modern English from various theoretical perspectives (e.g., structural, sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic, and cognitive linguistic). In particular, the course provides an introduction to theoretical concepts and methods of linguistics, such as morphology, phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and dialects, as well as writing systems and the nature and form of grammar. It is designed for any student with interest in language or its use; no prior linguistic background is assumed. This course provides humanities and social science students with training in the description and explanation of important technical aspects of language. This course also provides students of communication disorders with a basic foundation in language science, crucial information to understanding language acquisition. Offered as ENGL 301 and ENGL 401.

ENGLISH LITERATURE SINCE 1800
ENGL 302
T/TH: 10:00 – 11:15 AM
M. Clune

A survey of major British authors from Wordsworth to the present. Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar (AIQS) or SAGES First Seminar.

INTERMEDIATE WRITING WORKSHOP: FICTION
ENGL 303 / 303C
T/TH: 10:00 – 11:15 AM
M. Clune

Continues developing the concepts and practice of the introductory courses, with reading, writing, and discussion of fiction in various forms, including the short story, the novella and the novel. Maximum 6 credits. Offered as ENGL 303 and ENGL 303C.

INTERMEDIATE WRITING WORKSHOP: CREATIVE NON-FICTION
ENGL 306
T/TH: 12:45 – 2:00 PM
B. Mauk

A writing workshop that focuses on non-fiction. Students will study and write narrative journalism, the memoir, and the personal essay. Maximum 6 credits.

FEATURE / MAGAZINE WRITING
ENGL 307 / 307C
M/W: 3:20 – 4:35 PM
B. Mauk

Continues developing the concepts and practices of the introductory course, with emphasis on feature writing for magazines (print and online), story structure, fact-checking, reporting techniques and freelancing. A student may not receive credit for both ENGL 307 and ENGL 307C. Offered as ENGL 307 and ENGL 307C.

SHAKESPEARE: COMEDIES AND ROMANCES
ENGL 325 / 325C
T/TH: 3:20 – 4:35 PM
M. Vinter

Close reading of selected plays of Shakespeare in the genres of comedy and romance (e.g., “The Merchant of Venice,” “Twelfth Night,” “Measure for Measure,” “The Tempest”). Topics of discussion may include issues of sexual desire, gender roles, marriage, the family, genre conventions. Assessment may include opportunities for performance. A student may not receive credit for both ENGL 325 and ENGL 325C. Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar (AIQS) or SAGES First Seminar. Offered as ENGL 325, ENGL 325C, ENGL 425, and THTR 335.

ENGLISH LITERATURE, 1780-1837 – JANE AUSTEN
ENGL 329
T/TH: 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
M. Clune

Aspects of English literature and its contexts in the early 19th century. Genres might include poetry, prose fiction, political and philosophical writing, literary theory of the period. Writers such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Blake, Austen, Byron, the Shelleys. Maximum 6 credits. Offered as ENGL 329 and ENGL 429.

AMERICAN LITERATURE 1914 – 1960 – HEMINGWAY / FITZGERALD / STEIN
ENGL 358
T/TH: 4:00 – 5:15 PM
W. Marling

Aspects of American literature and its contexts from the First World War to the Cold War. Genres studied might include fiction, poetry, drama, polemics. Writers such as T.S. Eliot, Pound, Stevens, Moore, W.C. Williams, Dos Passos, West, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Cather, Faulkner, Barnes, Miller, T. Williams, O’Neill. Maximum 6 credits. Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar (AIQS) or SAGES First Seminar. Offered as ENGL 358 and ENGL 458.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE – HARLEM RENAISSSANCE
ENGL 363H
TH: 2:30 – 3:45 PM
C. Elliott

A historical approach to African-American literature. Such writers as Wheatley, Equiano, Douglass, Jacobs, DuBois, Hurston, Hughes, Wright, Baldwin, Ellison, Morrison. Topics covered may include slave narratives, African-American autobiography, the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Aesthetic, literature of protest and assimilation. Maximum 6 credits. Offered as AFST 363H, ENGL 363H, ETHS 363H, WLIT 363H, ENGL 463H, and WLIT 463H.

THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE
ENGL 365E
T/TH: 2:30 – 3:45 PM
W. Marling

Study of fictional and/or autobiographical narrative by authors whose families have experienced immigration to the U.S. Among the ethnic groups represented are Asian-American, Jewish-American, Hispanic-American. May include several ethnic groups or focus on a single one. Attention is paid to historical and social aspects of immigration and ethnicity. Maximum 6 credits. Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar (AIQS) or SAGES First Seminar. Offered as ENGL 365E, ENGL 365EC, ENGL 465E, WLIT 365E and WLIT 465E.

TOPICS IN FILM – SCIENCE FICTION FILMS
ENGL 368 / 368C
T/TH: 10:00 – 11:15 AM
R. Spadoni

Individual topics include Horror Films, Storytelling & Cinema, Science Fiction Films, Films of Alfred Hitchcock, American Cinema & Culture, History of Cinema, and many others. This course has no prerequisites and welcomes first year students. Other than the number of credits from one department a student can apply toward graduating, there is no limit to the number of times Topics in Film can be taken. A student who has previously taken ENGL 368C may receive credit for ENGL 368 only if the themes/topics are different. Offered as ENGL 368, ENGL 468, WLIT 368, and WLIT 468.

AMERICAN WOMEN’S POETRY
ENGL 373
M/W: 3:20 – 4:35 AM
M. Jewell

This course surveys American women’s poetry from the seventeenth century to the present. We will read a range of poetry illustrating the roles of women poets in the development of the nation’s literary, cultural, and social history. We will pay close attention to how women poets use traditional and innovative poetic forms to represent lived experiences and to engage the political realities of their varying historical moments. Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar (AIQS) or SAGES First Seminar. Offered as ENGL 373, ENGL 473, and WGST 374.

DISCIPLINARY WRITING SEMINAR – MODERNISM AND MONEY
ENGL 380
M/W: 12:45 – 2:00 PM
M. Jewell

This seminar explores a significant literary period, topic, author, or theme in the study of literature. Readings vary by term and include both primary texts and secondary sources. Students will gain practice in the written analysis of literature, interacting with major historical and cultural discourses that literature engages, and producing distinct and recognizable forms of literary argument. This course will provide students with the concepts, skills, and strategies needed to succeed in their capstone course. Requirements include active class participation, the close reading paper, an argumentative research paper, and a presentation. Required of all English majors, preferable in the junior year.

INDEPENDENT STUDY AND CREATIVE PROJECTS
ENGL 390 / 390C

Up to three semester hours of independent study may be taken in a single semester. Must have prior approval of faculty member directing the project. Projects may be critical or creative in nature.