DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
B.A. English (Writing) - Course Descriptions
ENG 2121 Intermediate Writing (4)
This course furthers students' education in composing non-fiction essays (including text-based compositions and multi-media pieces). The course emphasizes public
writing; that is, writing meant to engage audiences beyond the members of the class.
To facilitate reaching such audiences, the course will experiment with delivery
technology, such as wikis, blogs, video compositions, and social networks. Sections
are organized around contemporary themes, providing students with opportunities
to write in multiple genres about current issues and trends. Prerequisites: English 1102 or 1103ENG 2122 Introduction to Creative Writing (4)
Introductory instruction in analyzing, evaluating, and writing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. Required of English Writing majors, this course should be
taken by the end of the sophomore year. Prerequisites: English 1102 or 1103ENG 2250 Literatures in English 1 (4)
Surveys the major texts and traditions of literature in English, from its beginnings to about 1800. English Literature majors must take either 2250 or 2255, and should complete this requirement by the end of the sophomore year. Prerequisites: English 1102 or 1103ENG 2255 Literatures in English 2 (4)
Surveys majors works written in English between 1800 and the present day.
English Literature majors must take either 2250 or 2255, and should complete this
requirement by the end of the sophomore year. Prerequisites: English 1102 or 1103ENG 3111 Writing Fiction (4)
Practice in analyzing, evaluating, and writing short fiction, focusing on elements of craft such as plot, characterization, point of view, and setting. Prerequisites: ENG-2122ENG 3112 Writing Poetry (4)
Practice in writing poetry, with particular attention to the nature of the poetic line, meter, rhyme, figures of speech, sound effects, forms like the ballad and sonnet, and ways to avoid sentimentality and triteness. Prerequisites: ENG-2122ENG 3129 Writing Creative Non-fiction (4)
Practice in analyzing, evaluating, and writing literary non-fiction, with particular attention to style, voice, point of view, and setting. Prerequisites: ENG-2122ENG 3300 Anglo-Saxon and Medieval British Literature (4)
Examines influential literary works from c. 750 to 1400 C.E., including the Old English epic of Beowulf and other heroic poems in translation, Chaucer's major
works, and the earliest compilations of the legends of King Arthur, Thomas Malory's
Le Morte Darthur. Prerequisites: ENG-2206 and ENG-2250ENG 3310 Early Modern British Literature (4)
Readings in selected poems, plays, and prose from early modern Britain, c. 1500 to 1800. Prerequisites: ENG-2206 and ENG-2250ENG 3330 Nineteenth-Century British Literature (4)
Readings in British literature from c. 1780 to 1900, with particular attention to the intersections between the arts and politics, science, and philosophy. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 3350 Twentieth-Century British Literature (4)
Readings in the major themes and aesthetic characteristics of British literature between 1900 and 2000, with particular attention to literature's role in social
commentary, the depiction of warfare, and modernist poetic and narrative techniques. Prerequisites: ENG- 2206ENG 3400 American Literature: Colonial and Federal (4)
Readings in major genres and authors from the colonial and revolutionary eras of the future United States, with particular emphasis on understanding the texts in their historical, intellectual, and cultural frameworks. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 3410 American Literature: Romanticism (4)
Examines representative works of early nineteenth-century American romantic writing, emphasizing on the American Renaissance, 1830-1865, and on the
relationship between literary developments and social change. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 3420 American Literature: Realism and Naturalism (4)
Examines the development and evolution of literary realism and naturalism in the context of post-Civil War cultural history from 1865-1914. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 3530 Shakespeare on Stage and Screen (4)
Designed for non-English majors, this course examines the history, major traditions, and interpretive issues of performing Shakespeare's plays, both on the stage and in electronic media. Prerequisites: English 1102 or 1103ENG 3881 Special Topics (Variable Credits)
Course may be repeated.ENG 4110 Digital Storytelling (4)
Practice in analyzing, evaluating, and producing creative works in a digital environment, weaving together images, music, narrative and voice in order to create
characters, situations, experiences, and insights. This is a studio course with class
hours divided between lecture/discussion and lab time. Prerequisites: EITHER ENG-3111, ENG-3112, or ENG-3129ENG 4111 Advanced Techniques in Fiction (4)
Advanced work in writing fiction, focusing on voice, perspective, characterization, style, and form. Prerequisites: ENG-3111ENG 4112 Advanced Techniques in Poetry (4)
Advanced work in writing poetry, focusing on unified sound, imagery, and structure. Prerequisites: English 3112ENG 4113 Advanced Techniques in Creative Non-fiction (4)
Advanced work in writing creative non-fiction, focusing on developing techniques for creating plot and character under the factual constraints imposed by nonfiction, authorial subjectivity and presence, the faulty nature of memory, and the
importance of speculation and attitude. Prerequisites: ENG-3129ENG 4200 Studies in Critical Theory (4)
Advanced study in the history, philosophy, methods, and practice of literary theory, emphasizing primary sources and application of theory to sample texts. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 4205 Genre Theory (4)
Advanced examination of the theoretical underpinnings of genre, with particular emphasis on the philosophical, experiential, and aesthetic implications of classifying literature according to formal, contextual, and aesthetic categories. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 4220 Topics in Literary and Cultural Studies (4)
Advanced studies of the intersections between literature and popular culture. Topics vary from semester to semester; see English Department website for current
and upcoming course descriptions. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 4305 Studies in Medieval Language and Literature (4)
In-depth study of topics in early English literature. Prerequisites: ENG-2206, 2250ENG 4315 Studies in Early Modern English Language and Literature (4)
In-depth study of the early modern period, focusing on individual authors, themes, schools of thought, formal considerations, or historical movements. Prerequisites: ENG-2206, 2250ENG 4355 Studies in Nineteenth-century British Language and Literature (4)
In-depth examination of topics, literary characteristics and trends, and themes in British literature and culture between 1790 and 1900. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 4370 Studies in British Modernism and Postmodernism (4)
Advanced study of topics in British literature, language, and culture between 1900 and the present day. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 4410 Studies in Early American Literature and Culture (4)
In-depth examination of critical issues, themes, and topics surrounding the intersection of American literature and culture between first European contact and
1865. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 4460 Studies in American Modernism and Postmodernism (4)
Advanced study of topics in twentieth-century American literature and culture. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 4531 Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances (4)
In-depth study of selected Shakespeare comedies and romances. Prerequisites: ENG-2206 and 2250 or 2255ENG 4532 Shakespeare: Histories and Tragedies (4)
In-depth study of selected Shakespeare histories and tragedies. Prerequisites: ENG-2206 and 2250 or 2255ENG 4540 Studies in Shakespeare (4)
Advanced study of topics in Shakespeare. Prerequisites: ENG-2206 and 2250 or 2255ENG 4600 Major Authors (4)
In-depth study of the works of 1-2 significant authors. Authors studied will vary from semester to semester; see English Department website for current and
upcoming course descriptions. Prerequisites: ENG-2206ENG 4999 Senior Project (4)
Individually-directed course in completing a substantial research or creative work and compiling a major portfolio. Prerequisites: Senior standing