Department of English
Description of 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 (ordinarily open only to academic freshmen and academic sophomores)
203. British Literature I.
(GER 5) Fall and Spring (3,3) Conlee, Hagedorn, Hailey, McLendon, A. Potkay, M. Potkay, Savage.
An introductory survey of British literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, designed for potential English majors. 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) Cothran, Melfi, Meyers, Morse, A. Potkay, Raitt, Wheatley,
An introductory survey of British literature from 1675-1900, designed for potential English majors. 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,Hailey.
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 200-1evel course, or have AP credit for 210.)
207. American Literature: Themes and Issues.
(GER 5) Fall and Spring (3,3) Barnard, Barnes, Braxton,
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 concentrate 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. If there is no duplication of topic, may be repeated for credit.
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.
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, as well as 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.
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, Hailey.
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) Hailey.
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) 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,
A survey including poetry, fiction and drama. Some attention to arts related to literature. Emphasis on comedy and satire. Major figures studied will include the Earl of Rochester, Dryden, Swift, Pope, Gay and Fielding.
332. English Literature, 1744-1798.
Spring (3) A. Potkay,
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,
This course will study select 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 the major writers during the reign of
343. English Novel, 1832-1900.
Spring (3) 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
352. Modern British Literature.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Burns, Gray, Heacox, 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) Kennedy, Melfi.
356. Modern Poetry to 1930.
Fall (3) MacGowan.
Development of modern British and American poetry from transitional poets Hopkins, Housman and Hardy through the first generation modernist poets.
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.
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 will 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 which examines textual and performative representations of Being. Students will 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, 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) Wenska.
A survey from
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)
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)
A survey from the rise of the modernist poets and the Lost Generation to the 1960’s, 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.
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, its 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 will be 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 Michael 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
Fall (3) Staff.
A study of works that extend the definition of “American” literature beyond the national boundaries of the
417B.
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.
Fall and Spring (3,3) 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.
Fall and Spring (3,3) 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.
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. Open only to concentrators who have completed at least half of the major requirements. 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 Literature 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 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. Open only to concentrators who have completed at least half of the major requirements. Normally may be taken only once.
CREATIVE AND EXPOSITORY WRITING
WRIT 101. Writing 101.
Fall and Spring (3,3) Ashworth, M. Davis, Zuber, Staff.
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. NOTE: Writing 101 is graded A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, R, I, or F. To receive credit, students must receive a grade of C- or better. Students who complete, but do not pass the required course work, will have a grade of R, meaning repeat, posted to their academic record. The grade of F may be awarded only to those students who do not complete their course work. For those students who do not repeat the course within two semesters of receiving an R, a grade of F will be awarded.
200-level: Introductory course
212. Introduction to Creative Writing.
(GER 6) Fall and Spring (2,2) Ashworth, Burch, 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.
367. Advanced Expository Writing.
Fall and Spring (3,3)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)
*368. Creative Writing: Fiction.
(GER 6) Fall and Spring (3,3) Burch, 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)
*369. Creative Writing: Poetry.
(GER 6) Fall and Spring (3,3) Hart, Pinson.
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
*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)
*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.
*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.
*469. Advanced Workshop in Poetry Writing.
Fall (3) Schoenberger.
An advanced workshop in poetry writing for students of demonstrated promise and achievement.
*470. Advanced Workshop in Poetry Writing.
Spring (3) Schoenberger, Pinson.
An advanced workshop in poetry writing for students of demonstrated promise and achievement.
†495-496. Honors.
Fall, Spring (3,3) Staff.
Honors study in Literature 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 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) Cooper, Martin, Reed, Taylor.
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 220)
300-level: Intermediate courses in linguistics
303. History of the English Language.
Fall (3)
A study of the history of the English language from Anglo-Saxon 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 220.
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) Cooper. Prerequisite: ENGL 220/ANTH 220.
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)
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
404. Historical Linguistics.
(GER 3) Fall (3) Martin. Prerequisite: ENGL 220/ANTH 220.
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) Reed. Prerequisite: ENGL 304 or ENGL 307 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)
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 220.
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.
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 220 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) Cooper, Martin, Reed, Taylor. Prerequisites: ENGL 220/ANTH 220 and consent of the instructor.
Study in depth and independent research/writing about a topic in linguistics. Students who are not linguistics concentrators 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.
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