Courses

LITERATURE

150W. Freshman Seminar: Special Topics.

Fall and Spring (4,4) Staff.

An exploration of a specific topic in literary or linguistic studies. Writing is emphasized. Normally only available to first year students.

200-level: Introductory courses in literature (open only to academic freshmen, academic sophomores, and declared English majors)

203. British Literature I.
(GER 5) Fall and Spring (3,3) Blank, Conlee, Hagedorn , Keilen, McLendon, Minear, A. Potkay, M. Potkay, Savage, Wiggins.

A survey of British literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, required for the English major. The course covers narrative, dramatic, and lyric poetry, including works by Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton.

204. British Literature II.
(GER 5) Fall and Spring (3,3) Melfi, Meyers, Morse, A. Potkay, Raitt, Wheatley, Wilson.

A survey of British literature from 1675-1900, required for the English major. The course includes Augustan satire, Romantic and Victorian poetry, and the Victorian novel.

205. An Introduction to Shakespeare.
(GER 5) Fall and Spring (3,3) Blank.

A general introduction to Shakespeare's major poetry and plays. Students will read eight to ten plays, chosen to reflect the major periods in Shakespeare's dramatic development, and some poetry, especially the sonnets. (It is suggested that students have previously taken English 203 or another 200-level course, or have AP credit for 210.)

207. American Literature: Themes and Issues.
(GER 5) Fall and Spring (3,3) Barnard, Barnes, Braxton, Dawson, Kennedy, Knight, Lowry, Pinson, Putzi, Scholnick, Wiggins, Zuber.

An introduction to American literature through an analysis of major continuing themes, such as the meaning of freedom; literature and the environment; urban-rural dichotomies.

209. Critical Approaches to Literature.
(GER 5) Fall and Spring (3,3) Wenska.

An introduction to important critical approaches to literature such as traditional (historical/biographical, moral/philosophical), formalist, psychological, archetypal and feminist. (Appropriate for students intending to major in English or having AP credit for English 210.) (Formerly ENGL 202)

210. Topics in Literature.
(most topics will fulfill GER 5) Fall and Spring (3,3) Staff.

An introduction to a topic in literature, or in literature and another discipline, designed for non-majors. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

275W. University Seminar.
Fall and Spring (4) Staff.

A reading-, writing-, and discussion-intensive seminar. Topics vary by semester and by instructor. Restricted to transfer students and co-enrolled students. Students receiving a grade of "C-" or better in the seminar will have satisfied the lower-division writing requirement.

300-level: Historical surveys and other period-based courses in literature.

310. Literature and the Bible.
Fall (3) A. Potkay, M. Potkay.

This course introduces students to the principal biblical narratives, their historical contexts, and the ways they have been interpreted by Western authors. Readings from the King James version of the Bible will include the major books of the Old and New Testaments. Lectures will examine the literary qualities of the biblical texts and the artistic traditions associated with them.

311. Epic and Romance.
Fall (3) Hagedorn, Wiggins.

A study of the development of these major genres, with illustrative works drawn from ancient, medieval and Renaissance periods; includes English and Continental authors. (Formerly ENGL 435)

314. Old English.
Fall (3) M. Potkay.

An introduction to Old English, including elementary grammar and phonology and the reading of prose and short poems; collateral readings in the history and culture of the period. (Formerly ENGL 409)

315. Beowulf.
Spring (3) M. Potkay. Prerequisite: ENGL 314.

An intensive study of the text in Old English, with the aim of understanding Beowulf as a great work of literature. Emphasis is placed on the structure and the themes of the poem. Collateral readings in recent criticism. (Formerly ENGL 410)

316. Arthurian Literature.
Spring (3) Conlee, Hagedorn, M. Potkay.

A study of selected works from the Arthurian literary tradition. Major emphasis is upon works from the medieval period (e.g., Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chrétien de Troyes and Malory), but some attention is also given to Arthurian literature in the 19th and 20th centuries. (Formerly ENGL 434)

322. Medieval Literature.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Conlee, Hagedorn.

A survey of selected major works and other representative examples of Old and Middle English literature, exclusive of Chaucer. The course explores the development of typical medieval attitudes and themes in a variety of literary forms and genres. (Formerly ENGL 312)

323. The English Renaissance.
Fall (3) Blank, Wiggins.

A survey of the poetry, prose and drama of Tudor England, including selected works of More, Sidney, Spenser, Marlowe, and Shakespeare.

324. The Early Seventeenth Century.
Spring (3) Keilen, Wiggins.

A survey of poetry, prose and dramatic forms from John Donne and Ben Jonson to 1660, including early poems of Milton and Marvell.

325. English Renaissance Drama.
Fall (3) Savage.

A study of the dramatic literature written by Shakespeare's contemporaries, including Dekker, Kyd, Marlowe, Jonson, Tourneur, and Webster. (Formerly ENGL 429)

331. English Literature, 1660-1744.
Fall (3) A. Potkay, Wilson.

A survey including poetry, fiction and drama. Some attention to arts related to literature. Emphasis on comedy and satire. Major figures studied include the Earl of Rochester, Dryden, Swift, Pope, Gay, and Fielding.

332. English Literature, 1744-1798.
Spring (3) A. Potkay, Wilson.

A survey of the poetry and prose of the period, with special attention to the intellectual/historical contexts. Major figures studied include Johnson, Gray, Hume, Gibbon, Smart, and Blake.

333. The Novel to 1832.
Fall (3) A. Potkay, Wilson.

This course studies selected British and Continental novels from the early modern through Romantic periods, drawing upon authors such as Cervantes, Defoe, Fielding, Sterne, Rousseau, Goethe, Austen, and Scott. (Formerly ENGL 439)

341. The English Romantic Period.
Fall (3) A. Potkay, Wheatley.

A survey of poetry, prose and fiction of the period between 1798 and 1832, with special attention to the works of the major Romantic poets.

342. The Victorian Age.
Spring (3) Joyce, Meyers.

A survey of major writers during the reign of Victoria. Emphasis is on social and intellectual issues as expressed primarily by leading poets and essayists from Carlyle to Hardy.

343. English Novel, 1832-1900.
Spring (3) Joyce, Morse.

Novels by Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Dickens, Trollope, Gaskell, Eliot and Hardy are studied as primary examples of the nature and development of the English novel during the Victorian period. (Formerly ENGL 440)

344. The World Novel After 1832.
Spring (3) Staff.

A study of selected novels written mostly by authors who are not Anglo-American. Focus of readings will vary from year to year (e.g., history of the genre; 19th-century Europe; postcolonialism). (Formerly ENGL 436)

352. Modern British Literature.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Burns, Gray, Heacox, Joyce, Melfi, Meyers.

A survey from the end of the Victorian era through at least the post-World War II period. Selected works by such writers as Conrad, Yeats, Joyce, Lawrence, Woolf, and Thomas are emphasized.

355. Modern Fiction.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Gray, Kennedy, Melfi.

Reading, analysis and discussion of the principal American and British fiction writers from 1890 to the present, chosen to illustrate contemporary tendencies in matter and technique. (Formerly ENGL 452)

356. Modern Poetry to 1930.
Fall (3) Hart, MacGowan.

Development of modern British and American poetry from transitional poets Hopkins, Housman and Hardy through the first generation modernist poets. Reading, interpretation and discussion, with emphasis on Yeats, Pound, Eliot, Lawrence, Williams, and Stevens. (Formerly ENGL 456)

357. Modern Poetry since 1930.
Spring (3) Hart.

Development of modern British and American poetry from second-generation modernist poets through confessional and contemporary poets. Reading, interpretation and discussion, with emphasis on Auden, Thomas, Roethke, Lowell, Plath, and Berryman. (Formerly ENGL 457)

358. Modern Drama to 1940.
Fall (3) Begley.

Survey of modern drama which traces the historical development of character against the theories of Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche and Freud. Students read plays by Ibsen, Strindberg, Hauptmann, Chekhov, Rostand, Shaw, Pirandello, O'Neill and Brecht, in conjunction with acting treatises. (Formerly ENGL 458)

359. Modern Drama since 1940.
Spring (3) Begley.

Survey of modern and contemporary drama that examines textual and performative representations of Being. Students read plays by Sartre, Genet, Ionesco, Beckett, Weiss, Baraka, Soyinka, Shange, Churchill, and Kushner, in conjunction with critical readings on artistic and philosophical movements. (Formerly ENGL 459)

360. Contemporary Literature.
Fall and Spring (3) Burns, Gamber, Gray, Kennedy, Schoenberger.

A survey of contemporary literature, including such movements as confessional and beat poetry, theater of the absurd, postmodernism and magic realism. (Formerly ENGL 370)

361. American Literature to 1836.
Fall (3) Putzi, Wenska.

A survey from Columbus to Poe, emphasizing the Puritan/Enlightenment backgrounds of such writers as Bradford, Bradstreet, Taylor, Edwards, Franklin, Brown, and Freneau.

362. The American Renaissance.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Barnes, Scholnick.

A survey of the mid-19th century, emphasizing the writers of the Concord Group, Emerson, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, and Dickinson.

363. American Literature, 1865-1920.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Dawson, Donaldson, Lowry, Putzi.

A survey from the Gilded Age to the end of the First World War, emphasizing such writers as Mark Twain, Howells, James, Stephen Crane, Norris, Dreiser, and the Regionalists.

364. American Literature, 1912-1960's.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Dawson, Donaldson, MacGowan, Pinson, Wenska.

A survey from the rise of the modernist poets and the Lost Generation to the 1960s, emphasizing such writers as Pound, Eliot, W. C. Williams, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, O'Connor, Lowell, and Plath.

365. Early Black American Literature.
Fall (3) Braxton, McLendon, Pinson, Weiss.

Survey of Black American literature and thought from the colonial period through the era of Booker T. Washington, focusing on the ways in which developing African American literature met the challenges posed successively by slavery, abolition, and emancipation.

366. Modern Black American Literature.
Spring (3) Braxton, McLendon, Pinson.

Survey of African American literature from the 1920s through the contemporary period. Issues addressed include the problem of patronage, the "black aesthetic," and the rise of black literary theory and "womanist" criticism.

371. Topics in American Literature.
Fall and Spring (3) Staff.

Advanced study of a specific topic in American literature. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

380. Topics in a Literary Period.
Fall and Spring (3) Staff.

In-depth study of a specific topic from within or across the traditional historical periods of British or American literature. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

400-level: Thematic and theoretical courses in literature; single-author courses, senior research seminars, independent studies, and honors classes

411. Topics in Literary Theory.
Fall and Spring (3) Staff.

Topics in theory, exploring questions of aesthetics, the history of the study of literature, literature's function as representation, its relationship to the world and to other disciplines. Topics vary but may include contemporary literary theory, psychoanalysis, and postmodernism. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

411A. Theory of Literature.
Fall (3) Heacox.

A study of the major attempts to identify and define the nature of literature, our responses to it and its relation to life and to the other arts. The emphasis is on modern and contemporary literary theory, but with some concern for the historical tradition. (Formerly ENGL 408)

412. Topics in Literature and Other Arts.
Fall and Spring (3) Staff.

Exploration of the intersections among written, visual, and/or performing arts. Topics vary from semester to semester but may include Shakespeare and Film, art and literature of the Harlem Renaissance, and race, representation, and arts in the U.S. South. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

414. Topics in Women Writers.
Fall and Spring (3) Staff.

Study of fiction, non-fiction, and/or poetry by selected women writers. Topics vary from semester to semester but may include British women writers, medieval women writers, contemporary women writers. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

414A. Major African American Women Writers.
Spring (3) McLendon, Braxton, Pinson.

This course studies the fiction and non-fiction of major African American women writers such as Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Gloria Naylor. Some attention to black feminist/womanist and vernacular theoretical issues through selected critical readings. (Formerly ENGL 463)

416. Topics in Gender and Sexuality.
Fall and Spring (3) Staff.

Courses that address literary and/or theoretical treatments of gender and sexuality. Topics vary from semester to semester and may include issues such as sexual identity, queer theory, feminist criticism, masculinity studies and literature and the formation of sexual identity. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

416A. Literature and the Formation of Sexual Identity.
Spring (3) Heacox.

A study of the homosexual tradition and the formation of sexual identity in 19th-20th-century British and American literature. Authors read include Oscar Wilde, E. M. Forster, Willa Cather, Thomas Mann, Christopher Isherwood, Sigmund Freud and Michel Foucault. (Formerly ENGL 445)

417. Topics in Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality.
Fall and Spring (3) Staff.

Study of literature focusing on changing cultural definitions of race, ethnic identity, and the shaping of (and rationale for) national literatures. Topics will vary but may include comparative and cross-cultural studies. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

417A. Literature of the Americas.
Spring (3) Gamber.

A study of works that extend the definition of "American" literature beyond the national boundaries of the United States. Focus of readings will vary from year to year (e.g., Caribbean literature, U.S./Latin American literary relations, multiculturalism). (Formerly ENGL 437)

417B. Harlem in Vogue.
Fall (3) McLendon, Braxton, Pinson, Weiss.

Exploration of the 1920s movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, focusing on the ways race, gender/sexuality, and class informed the artists' construction of identity. Writings by Hughes, Hurston, Larsen, Toomer, among others; some attention to visual art and music. (Formerly ENGL 462)

419. Study of a Single Author or Auteur.
Fall and Spring (3) Staff.

In-depth study of a single author or auteur. Topics vary from semester to semester but may include Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, William Faulkner, Oscar Wilde, Orson Welles. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

420. Chaucer.
Fall (3) Conlee, Hagedorn.

A study of The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde as expressions of Chaucer's art. Emphasis is placed on the narrative and dramatic features of the poetry as vehicles for the presentation of medieval attitudes and themes. (Formerly ENGL 413)

421. Shakespeare History and Comedy.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Blank, Minear, Savage, Wiggins.

A study of the major history plays, including consideration of Renaissance political theory, and of the forms and conventions of Shakespearean comedy.

422. Shakespeare Tragedy.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Blank, Minear, Savage, Wiggins.

A study of approximately 12 tragedies, with emphasis on Shakespeare's development as a verse dramatist. Special attention is given to the nature of tragedy.

426. Milton.
Spring (3) Savage.

A study of the major poetry and prose, with emphasis on Paradise Lost and the theological and literary traditions behind the poem.

465. Topics in English.
Fall and Spring (1-3,1-3) Staff.

Exploration of a topic in literature or in the relations between literature and other disciplines. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

475. Research Seminar in English.
Fall and Spring (4,4) Staff.

Study in depth of a specialized literary topic. Students write and present research papers for a critical discussion. Non-majors may enroll upon consent of the department chair. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

*480. Independent Study in English.
Fall and Spring (1-3,1-3) Staff. Prerequisites: Student must have at least a 3.0 in English.

A tutorial on a topic agreed upon by the student and instructor and approved in advance by the departmental Undergraduate Program Committee. Normally open only to majors who have completed at least 18 credits towards the major. Normally may be taken only once.

*494. Junior Honors Seminar.
Spring (4) Morse.

Study in depth of a specialized literary topic, emphasizing student discussion and the preparation of critical papers. This course is restricted to concentrators planning to enroll in senior Honors. Students are admitted by the departmental committee on Honors.

†495-496. Honors.
Fall, Spring (3,3) Staff.

Honors study in English comprises (a) supervised reading in the field of the student's major interest; (b) presentation two weeks before the last day of classes of the student's graduating semester of an Honors essay or a creative writing project upon a topic approved by the departmental Honors committee; and (c) oral examination in the field of the student's major interest. Students who have not completed ENGL 494 may be admitted only under exceptional circumstances. Creative Writing Honors students may substitute for ENGL 494 either three Advanced Creative Writing courses, or two Advanced Creative Writing courses and a Creative Writing Independent Study (the project of the Independent Study must be different from the proposed Honors project). For College provisions governing the Admission to Honors, see catalog section titled Honors and Special Programs.

*498. Internship.
Fall, Spring (1-3) Staff. Prerequisites: Student must have at least a 3.0 in English.

Must be approved in advance on a case-by-case basis by the departmental Undergraduate Program Committee. Graded pass/fail. Normally open only to majors who have completed at least 18 credits towards the major. Normally may be taken only once.

CREATIVE AND EXPOSITORY WRITING

WRIT 101. Writing.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Ashworth, Davis, Zuber.

Practice in writing under supervision, with frequent conferences. This course may be used to satisfy the lower-division writing requirement by students who are not exempted. Each section is limited to 16 students.

200-level: Introductory course

ENGL 212. Introduction to Creative Writing.
(GER 6) Fall and Spring (2,2) Ashworth, Pease, Schoenberger.

Workshop format emphasizes the basics of writing fiction and poetry. Class meets for one two-hour session per week. No previous writing experience is required. Open to academic freshman and academic sophomores with priority given to academic freshmen. (Formerly ENGL 206)

300-level: Intermediate courses

*WRIT 300. Contemporary Theory and College Writing.
Spring (1) Zuber.

This course is designed to train students who have applied to work in the Writing Resources Center by analyzing the writing and speaking processes and the dynamics of one-on-one peer consultations.

ENGL 367. Advanced Expository Writing.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Lowry, Meyers, Melfi, Pease, Schoenberger, Zuber.

Practice in writing papers of various types under supervision, emphasizing style and expository techniques. Sections limited to 15 students each. (Formerly ENGL 301)

*ENGL 368. Creative Writing: Fiction.
(GER 6) Fall and Spring (3,3) Schoenberger.

An opportunity for students to develop their abilities in imaginative writing of fiction under supervision. Sections limited to 15 students each. (Formerly ENGL 306)

*ENGL 369. Creative Writing: Poetry.
(GER 6) Fall and Spring (3,3) Hart, Pinson, Schoenberger.

An opportunity for students to develop their abilities in imaginative writing of poetry under supervision. Sections limited to 15 students each. (Formerly ENGL 305)

400-level: Advanced courses

*ENGL 466. Seminar in Non-Fiction Writing.
Spring (3) Staff.

A seminar in writing the kinds of non-fiction that appear regularly in magazines and newspapers, with reading for emulation in Didion, McPhee and others. Designed for students interested in writing careers. (Formerly ENGL 407)

*ENGL 467. Advanced Workshop in Fiction Writing.
Fall (3) Burch, Schoenberger.

An advanced workshop in writing narrative fiction, with emphasis on short fiction, the novella or the screenplay, for students of demonstrated promise and achievement. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

*ENGL 468. Advanced Workshop in Fiction Writing.
Spring (3) Staff.

An advanced workshop in writing narrative fiction, with emphasis on short fiction, the novella or the screenplay, for students of demonstrated promise and achievement. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

*ENGL 469. Advanced Workshop in Poetry Writing.
Fall (3) Hart, Schoenberger.

An advanced workshop in poetry writing for students of demonstrated promise and achievement.

*ENGL 470. Advanced Workshop in Poetry Writing.
Spring (3) Burch, Pinson, Schoenberger.

An advanced workshop in poetry writing for students of demonstrated promise and achievement.

†ENGL 495-496. Honors.
Fall, Spring (3,3) Staff.

Honors study in English comprises (a) supervised reading in the field of the student's major interest; (b) presentation two weeks before the last day of classes of the student's graduating semester of an Honors essay or a creative writing project upon a topic approved by the departmental Honors committee; and (c) oral examination in the field of the student's major interest. Students who have not completed ENGL 494 may be admitted only under exceptional circumstances. Creative Writing Honors students may substitute for ENGL 494 either three Advanced Creative Writing courses, or two Advanced Creative Writing courses and a Creative Writing Independent Study (the project of the Independent Study must be different from the proposed Honors project). Creative Writing Honors involves the completion of a sustained project in creative writing. For College provisions governing the Admission to Honors, see page catalog section titled Honors and Special Programs.

LINGUISTICS

200-level: Introductory course in linguistics

220. Study of Language.
(GER 3) Fall and Spring (4,4) Staff.

An introduction to linguistics, the scientific study of human language. Considers languages as structured systems of form and meaning, with attention also to the biological, psychological, cultural and social aspects of language and language use. (Cross listed with ANTH 204)

300-level: Intermediate courses in linguistics

303. History of the English Language.
Fall (3) Taylor.

A study of the history of the English language from Old English to the present. Some attention is given to contemporary developments in "World English."

304. Generative Syntax.
(GER 3) Fall (3) Reed. Prerequisite: ENGL 220/ANTH 204.

This introduction to generative syntax investigates the structures and operations underlying sentences currently used by speakers of English. The course focuses on one linguistic model, with attention given to linguistic theory, alternative models and issues in syntax and semantics.

307. Phonetics and Phonology.
(GER 3) Spring (3) Staff. Prerequisite: ENGL 220/ANTH 204.

A study of sound patterns and word-formation rules in English and other languages. Focus on analysis with some attention to theoretical issues.

400-level: Advanced courses in linguistics; senior research seminars and independent studies

400. Meaning and Understanding in Western Cultural Thought.
(GER 4A) Fall (3) Taylor.

A critical approach to the history of Western thinking about meaning, understanding, language and mind: tracing the integration of these topics into Western cultural and intellectual traditions, from Classical Greece and Rome up to modern developments in 20th-century European and American thought.

404. Historical Linguistics.
(GER 3) Fall (3) Martin. Prerequisite: ENGL 220/ANTH 204.

A study of the kinds of change which languages may undergo. Covers the nature and motivation of linguistic evolution, and the methods by which unattested early stages of known languages may be reconstructed. (Cross listed with ANTH 411)

405. Descriptive Linguistics.
(GER 3) Spring (4) Martin, Reed. Prerequisites: ENGL 304,ENGL 307 and ENGL/ANTH 418, or consent of instructor.

A study of contemporary methods of linguistic analysis, with emphasis on data drawn from a wide variety of languages; in-depth analysis of a single language. Language universals, language types and field methods are discussed. (Cross listed with ANTH 412)

406. Language and Society.
(GER 3) Spring (3) Taylor. Prerequisites: ENGL 220/ANTH 204 and either ENGL 303 or ENGL/ANTH 415, or consent of instructor.

A study of the place of language in society and of how our understanding of social structure, conflict and change affect our understanding of the nature of language. (Cross listed with ANTH 413)

415. Linguistic Anthropology.
(GER 3) Spring (3) Staff. Prerequisite: ENGL 220/ANTH 204.

This course will introduce students to the history and theories of linguistic anthropology with emphasis on North American languages. Students will approach these subjects through readings, class discussions and problem sets. (Cross listed with ANTH 415)

418. Language Patterns: Types and Universals.
Fall (3) Martin. Prerequisite: ENGL 220/ANTH 204.

A survey of common patterns and constructions in language ranging from word order to case, agreement, voice, aspect, relative clauses, interrogation and negation. Major themes include the unity and diversity of language and the techniques used to measure it. (Cross listed with ANTH 418)

464. Topics in Linguistics.
Fall and Spring (1-3,1-3) Staff. Prerequisite: ENGL 220/ANTH 204 or consent of instructor.

Investigation of a major sub-field of linguistics. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.

474. Research Seminar in Linguistics.
Spring (4) Martin, Reed, Taylor. Prerequisites: ENGL 220/ANTH 204 and consent of the instructor.

Study in depth and independent research/writing about a topic in linguistics. Students who are not linguistics majors may enroll with instructor's permission. May be repeated for credit with different topic.

*481. Independent Study in Linguistics.
Fall and Spring (1-3,1-3) Staff.

A tutorial course on a topic agreed upon by the student and instructor and approved in advance by the departmental Undergraduate Program Committee.