English
Faculty
William Beverly, Assistant Professor of English (Program Chair)
Loretta Shpunt, Professor of English
Elizabeth Child, Associate Professor of English
Jacqueline Padgett, Associate Professor of English
Deonne Minto, Assistant Professor of English
Wendy Bilen Thorbjornsen, Assistant Professor of English
Description
The English Program provides all students with the opportunity to become familiar with English as an effective tool in speaking and writing, to explore the range of literature in English from the earliest periods to the present, and to develop facility in original writing in various genres. Embracing the interdisciplinarity of Trinity's curriculum and its focus on gender, race, and ethnicity, the courses offered by the English Program invite students to study the rich traditions of and the current challenges to the standard canon of literary works. Thus, the Program encourages students to focus on: texts, whether printed, filmed, electronically published, or performed; gender issues in literature; and literary treatments of social concerns. The Program proposes to students the study of literary traditions, of literature by and about women, and of literature written in English by members of diverse cultures in the United States and internationally.
Requirements for the major are carefully selected to ensure that each student is able to construct a dynamic program of study built on a core of courses that provide an understanding of literary genres, of themes and movements, and of major figures. Consistent with the mission of Trinity, the English Program stresses the development of the ability to analyze, criticize, and synthesize the structures and ideas encountered in texts; the viewing of literature as the reflection of diverse cultures; and the understanding of literature as a sociological and political event and as a commentary on human values, particularly values related to justice, gender, and race.
Through research projects and participation in seminars and class discussions, students develop the ability to reason, write, and speak persuasively. In their capstone experience in the senior year, the Program's faculty members encourage English majors to view themselves as independent researchers. The English Program supports both a major and a minor in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Major Requirements
To fulfill the requirements of the B.A. in English, students must complete 36 hours of required coursework in the following areas:
Writing about Literature
Major British or American Authors Requirement |
3 credits
6 credits
|
| Major Figures Requirement |
9 credits |
African-American Literature |
3 credits |
| Additional Requirements |
12 credits |
| Senior Colloquium |
3 credits |
Writing about Literature (3 credits)
ENGL 150 Writing about Literature
ENGL 150 Writing about Literature
This course introduces students to the study of literature. Students will engage in critical reading, analysis and discussion, founding argument on close textual reading, and the development and writing of thesis-centered essays about literature. Literary criticism and theory, research methods, and documentation techniques will also be covered.
3 credits
General Education: Knowledge and Inquiry
Major British or American Authors Requirement (6 credits)
TWO of the following courses, which examine the work of writers whose ideas and achievements have shaped and are shaping literature in English. It is recommended that students pursue one of the two sequences, either 211/212 of 214/215:
ENGL 211 Major British Writers I
ENGL 211 Major British Writers I
Studies varied authors and movements from the early periods of English literature to the 18th century to provide students with the necessary tools for literary analysis and with a sense of the literary history of Britain and its colonies. Formerly ENG 215 Major Authors I.
3 credits
ENGL 212 Major British Writers II
ENGL 212 Major British Writers II
Studies varied British and Anglophone authors, texts, and films from 1800 to the 20th century in order to promote students' skills in literary analysis and their knowledge of the history of literature in English, including such important literary movements as modernism and post-colonialism. Formerly ENG 216 Major Authors II.
3 credits
ENGL 214 Major United States Writers I
ENGL 214 Major United States Writers I
Studies varied major works and authors from the earliest US writing through the late nineteenth century. Formerly ENG 251 American Literature I.
3 credits
ENGL 215 Major United States Writers II
ENGL 215 Major United States Writers II
Studies major US literary works in a variety of genres from the late 1800s to the present, including poetry, fiction, and drama. Formerly ENG 252 American Literature II.
3 credits
African-American Literature Requirement (3 credits)
ENGL 220 African American Literature
ENGL 220 African American Literature
This course introduces students to the study of African American literature, including the vernacular tradition, the New Negro Renaissance of the early twentieth century, periods of realism and modernism in the late 1940s and early 1960s, the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, and newer voices at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century. Students will practice literary analysis and study the literary techniques and genres belonging to this literature, as well as the ways in which the texts attempt to reinvent, disrupt, or challenge traditional European/North American literary traditions and criticisms. Many of the texts will engage the meaning of race, the forced migration of Africans to the Americas, racism and black resistance to it, institutionalized enslavement and strategies for survival, economic oppression, the celebration of blackness, and the literary achievements of black authors. Biographical, historical, and political contexts will be examined as ways to enrich the reading of the texts.
3 credits
General Education Requirement: Knowledge and Inquiry
Major Figures Requirement (9 credits)
THREE courses at the 300-level or above specifically devoted to the work of one author or a limited set of authors; acceptable courses include, for example:
ENGL 325 Works of Shakespeare
ENGL 325 Works of Shakespeare
Studies selected plays of Shakespeare in all the major genres, including comedy, tragedy, history, and romance, as well as introduces students to Shakespearean poetry.
3 credits
ENGL 374 The Films of Spike Lee
ENGL 374 The Films of Spike Lee
Examines the major films of African American director Spike Lee, concentrating on the political and social issues raised in his work and the tecniques he uses, including music, camera angles, and episodic storytelling, to support his narrative structures. This course fulfills the major figure requirement for English majors.
3 credits
ENGL 428 Milton: Literature and Politics in the Seventeenth Century
ENGL 428 Milton: Literature and Politics in the Seventeenth Century
Examines the poetry and prose of John Milton, with special attention to his major epic, Paradise Lost. Attention will also be given to contemporary critical reception, especially in terms of reader response theories as well as the feminist reaction to and recovery of Milton. Formerly ENG 403 Milton Seminar: Literature and Politics in the 17th Century.
3 credits
Prerequisites: Sophomore status
ENGL 434 Novels of Jane Austen
ENGL 434 Novels of Jane Austen
Analyzes the novels of Jane Austen and selected filmed adaptations to evaluate the ways in which the novels comment on gender and ideology and contribute to the evolution of the novel as a genre. Formerly ENG 347 Novels of Jane Austen.
3 credits
ENGL 435 The Bronte Sisters
ENGL 435 The Bronte Sisters
Analyzes the novels of Anne Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, and Emily Bronte; their links to biography; and their exploration of women's lives and roles, with consideration of intertextuality as evidenced in the works of film directors, poets, and novelists which turn on the Bronte sisters themselves and their works, such as Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea. Formerly ENG 447 The Brontë Sisters.
3 credits
ENGL 447 Samuel Beckett on the Absurd
ENGL 447 Samuel Beckett on the Absurd
Examines the works of Samuel Beckett, especially in terms of how his writings draw upon and reproduce absurdism and existentialism in the twentieth century.
3 credits
ENGL 451 Writers of the American South
ENGL 451 Writers of the American South
Inquires into the effect of Southern life, history, and culture on the development of American authorship, focusing on the work of two or three authors. Writers to be considered may include Kate Chopin, Zora Neale Hurston, Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner, and others.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II
ENGL 470 Wright, Ellison, and Baldwin
ENGL 470 Wright, Ellison, and Baldwin
Examines the novels, short stories, and essays of Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin. Themes addressed may include racial and ethnic politics and literature, world conflict, Paul Gilroy's theory of ""the Black Atlantic
ENGL 476 Seminar on Toni Morrison
ENGL 476 Seminar on Toni Morrison
Examines the novels and selected shorter writings of Toni Morrison, with special interest in the literary commentary on race, gender, and oppression. Formerly ENG 303 Seminar on Toni Morrison.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II
Additional Requirements (12 credits)
FOUR additional English courses at the 200-level or higher, two of which should be at the 300-level or higher
Senior Colloquium (3 credits)
ONE Senior Colloquium:
ENGL 499 Senior Colloquium
ENGL 499 Senior Colloquium
Encourages the English majors to synthesize their studies in English and other fields; directs students in the writing of an original and scholarly research paper. Offered in the Fall semester. Formerly ENG 497 Senior Colloquium.
3 credits
Prerequisites: Senior status
Minor Requirements
Writing about Literature (3 credits)
ENGL 150 Writing about Literature
ENGL 150 Writing about Literature
This course introduces students to the study of literature. Students will engage in critical reading, analysis and discussion, founding argument on close textual reading, and the development and writing of thesis-centered essays about literature. Literary criticism and theory, research methods, and documentation techniques will also be covered.
3 credits
General Education: Knowledge and Inquiry
Major British or American Authors Requirement (6 credits)
TWO of the folllowing courses, which examine the work of writers whose ideas and achievements have shaped and are shaping literature in Englihs. It is recommended that students pursue one of the two sequences, either 211/212 or 214/215:
ENGL 211 Major British Writers I
ENGL 211 Major British Writers I
Studies varied authors and movements from the early periods of English literature to the 18th century to provide students with the necessary tools for literary analysis and with a sense of the literary history of Britain and its colonies. Formerly ENG 215 Major Authors I.
3 credits
ENGL 212 Major British Writers II
ENGL 212 Major British Writers II
Studies varied British and Anglophone authors, texts, and films from 1800 to the 20th century in order to promote students' skills in literary analysis and their knowledge of the history of literature in English, including such important literary movements as modernism and post-colonialism. Formerly ENG 216 Major Authors II.
3 credits
ENGL 214 Major United States Writers I
ENGL 214 Major United States Writers I
Studies varied major works and authors from the earliest US writing through the late nineteenth century. Formerly ENG 251 American Literature I.
3 credits
ENGL 215 Major United States Writers II
ENGL 215 Major United States Writers II
Studies major US literary works in a variety of genres from the late 1800s to the present, including poetry, fiction, and drama. Formerly ENG 252 American Literature II.
3 credits
Major Figures Requirement (3 credits)
ONE course at the 300-level or above specifically devoted to the work of one author or a limited set of authors (see above)
Electives (6 credits)
TWO additional courses in the English Program at the 200-level or above
Program Policies
Advanced Placement:
The English Program accepts AP credit for major and minor requirements and in lieu of certain English courses.
CLEP Policy:
Students interested in receiving credit for CLEP examinations should contact the Program Chair.
Grades in Major and Minor Courses:
Students are required to earn a grade of "C" (2.0) or better in all courses counted to fulfill requirements for the major or minor in English.
Pass/No Pass:
The pass/no pass grading option is not accepted in courses to be applied for the major or minor in English.
Senior Assessment:
All majors are required to take ENGL 499 Senior Colloquium
ENGL 499 Senior Colloquium
Encourages the English majors to synthesize their studies in English and other fields; directs students in the writing of an original and scholarly research paper. Offered in the Fall semester. Formerly ENG 497 Senior Colloquium.
3 credits
Prerequisites: Senior status
Senior Colloquium in English for which students write an independent supervised comprehensive and scholarly research paper.
Study Abroad:
Students are encouraged to plan their studies to allow for the possibility of study abroad.
TELL Policy:
Students with substantial experiential learning are encouraged to apply for TELL credit in English.
Transfer Credits:
Students may apply transfer credit in English toward the major and minor in English if the transferred courses parallel courses required for the major or minor. Transfer students who elect an English major must complete a minimum of 12 credits in English major courses at Trinity, of which three must be in ENGL 499 Senior Colloquium
ENGL 499 Senior Colloquium
Encourages the English majors to synthesize their studies in English and other fields; directs students in the writing of an original and scholarly research paper. Offered in the Fall semester. Formerly ENG 497 Senior Colloquium.
3 credits
Prerequisites: Senior status
. Similarly, transfer students who elect an English minor must complete a minimum of 6 credits in English courses at Trinity.
Course Descriptions
ENGL 030 Fundamental Writing Skills
ENGL 030 Fundamental Writing Skills
Designed to help students acquire skills necessary to write effective paragraphs. Focuses on sentences and paragraph construction, the writing process, grammar, usage, and mechanics.
Students may not take this course pass/fail.
3 credits
Prerequisite: Score of up to and including 56 on Sentence Skills portion of Accuplacer test.
ENGL 060 Composition Skill
ENGL 060 Composition Skill
Focuses on writing clear, effective compositions. Students will learn how to construct paragraphs, how to state topics, and how to develop narratives and analyses. This course may not be taken pass/fail. This course is only open to students in the Associate's degree program.
3 credits
Prerequisite: Grade of C or higher in ENGL 030 OR score of 57 or higher on Sentence Skills portion and score of 7 or 8 on Writing portion of Accuplacer test.
ENGL 100 College Writing Workshop
ENGL 100 College Writing Workshop
Introduces college writing to students who are transitioning from high school to college. Students will practice creative, narrative, and thesis-driven writing through short exercises and assignments and will also review mechanics and sentence formation. A term paper synthesizing shorter work will teach organizational skills, revision, and editing. Classes will include lecture, discussion, in-class writing, and peer review.
2 credits
ENGL 103 Grammar and Writing Workshop
ENGL 103 Grammar and Writing Workshop
Reviews structures of English grammar, usage, style, and skills appropriate to writing at the college level. Formerly ENG 103 Grammar and Writing Workshop. This course may not be taken pass/fail by students in the School of Professional Studies.
3 credits
Prerequisite: Score of up to and indlcuding Sentence Skills portion of Accuplacer test.
ENGL 105 Introduction to College Writing
ENGL 105 Introduction to College Writing
Serves students working toward competence and fluency in college-level reading and writing. CAS and SPS students who place into English 105 must complete the course with a grade of C or better in order to register for English 107. Formerly ENG 105 Introduction to College Writing. This course may not be taken as pass/fail by students in the School of Professional Studies.
3 credits
Prerequisites for College of Arts and Sciences: Placement test proficiency
Prerequisites for School of Professional Studies: Grade of C or higher in ENGL 103 OR score of 57 or higher on Sentence Skills portion and score of 7 or 8 on Writing portion of Accuplacer test.
ENGL 105S Intro College Writing with Supplemental Instruction
ENGL 105S Intro College Writing with Supplemental Instruction
Serves students working toward competence and fluency in college-level reading and writing. CAS and SPS students who place into English 105 must complete the course with a grade of C or better in order to register for English 107. Formerly ENG 105 Introduction to College Writing. A weekly laboratory supplements instruction for this course.
4 credits
Prerequisites for College of Arts and Sciences: Placement test proficiency
ENGL 106 Writing for Academic & Profess. Success
ENGL 106 Writing for Academic & Profess. Success
Focuses on planning, writing, and revising compositions for academic and professional purposes, including informational, analytical, evaluative, and persuasive compositions. Develops skills in accessing, evaluating, using, and documenting informational sources. Introduces students to professional writing applications, including memos, resumes, and reports. This course is only open to students in the Associate's Degree program. No other students are allowed to register.
ENGL 107 College Composition
ENGL 107 College Composition
Develops skills necessary for effective writing of thesis-centered essays at the college level, including analytical, critical, and argumentative essays. Research and documentation techniques included. Students in the School of Professional Studies may not take this course pass/fail. Formerly ENG 107 College Composition.
3 credits
Prerequisites for College of Arts and Sciences: ENGL 105 with grade of ""C"" or better or placement test proficiency
Prerequisites for School of Professional Studies: ENGL 105 with a grade of C or better OR score of 9 or higher on Writing portion of Accuplacer test.
General Education: Foundational Skills Area
FLC Area I Core Area I: Skills for Work and Life
ENGL 150 Writing about Literature
ENGL 150 Writing about Literature
This course introduces students to the study of literature. Students will engage in critical reading, analysis and discussion, founding argument on close textual reading, and the development and writing of thesis-centered essays about literature. Literary criticism and theory, research methods, and documentation techniques will also be covered.
3 credits
General Education: Knowledge and Inquiry
ENGL 200 Introduction to Creative Writing
ENGL 200 Introduction to Creative Writing
Concentrates on offering students guided creative writing instruction in fiction, poetry, and drama; provides an introduction to reading, analyzing, and writing in these genres. Prepares students for ENGL 301 and ENGL 302.
3 credits
Prerequisites: ENGL 107 (may be taken concurrently)
ENGL 201 Instruction in Writing and Peer Tutoring
ENGL 201 Instruction in Writing and Peer Tutoring
Introduces students to contemporary Writing Center theory. The course allows students to evaluate that theory critically and determine which aspects will shape their developing methods as they tutor students in the college's Writing Center. Fulfills the Major Requirement for an internship or practicum. Formerly ENG 201 Instruction in Peer Tutoring.
3 credits
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
ENGL 208 Writing the Literary Analysis
ENGL 208 Writing the Literary Analysis
Deepens critical reading and argumentative writing skills. The course will engage students in writing thesis-centered essays about literature, supported by evidence gained from close reading of texts. The course will introduce students to literary criticism and theory. Research and documentation techniques will also be covered.
3 credits
ENGL 209 Business Writing
ENGL 209 Business Writing
Familiarizes students with basic types of standard business writing, including memos, letters, resumes, reports, and manuals, and with techniques appropriate to such writing. Formerly ENG 384 Business Writing.
3 credits
Prerequisite: ENGL 107
Core Area I: Skills for Work and Life
ENGL 211 Major British Writers I
ENGL 211 Major British Writers I
Studies varied authors and movements from the early periods of English literature to the 18th century to provide students with the necessary tools for literary analysis and with a sense of the literary history of Britain and its colonies. Formerly ENG 215 Major Authors I.
3 credits
ENGL 212 Major British Writers II
ENGL 212 Major British Writers II
Studies varied British and Anglophone authors, texts, and films from 1800 to the 20th century in order to promote students' skills in literary analysis and their knowledge of the history of literature in English, including such important literary movements as modernism and post-colonialism. Formerly ENG 216 Major Authors II.
3 credits
ENGL 214 Major United States Writers I
ENGL 214 Major United States Writers I
Studies varied major works and authors from the earliest US writing through the late nineteenth century. Formerly ENG 251 American Literature I.
3 credits
ENGL 215 Major United States Writers II
ENGL 215 Major United States Writers II
Studies major US literary works in a variety of genres from the late 1800s to the present, including poetry, fiction, and drama. Formerly ENG 252 American Literature II.
3 credits
ENGL 217 Early African-American Literature
ENGL 218 Introduction to African American Literature I
ENGL 219 Introduction to African American Literature II
ENGL 219 Introduction to African American Literature II
Familiarizes students with African American literature from the late 19th century through the Harlem Renaissance and on to later 20th century and contemporary writing. Formerly ENG 255 Introduction to African American Literature II.
3 credits
ENGL 220 African American Literature
ENGL 220 African American Literature
This course introduces students to the study of African American literature, including the vernacular tradition, the New Negro Renaissance of the early twentieth century, periods of realism and modernism in the late 1940s and early 1960s, the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, and newer voices at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century. Students will practice literary analysis and study the literary techniques and genres belonging to this literature, as well as the ways in which the texts attempt to reinvent, disrupt, or challenge traditional European/North American literary traditions and criticisms. Many of the texts will engage the meaning of race, the forced migration of Africans to the Americas, racism and black resistance to it, institutionalized enslavement and strategies for survival, economic oppression, the celebration of blackness, and the literary achievements of black authors. Biographical, historical, and political contexts will be examined as ways to enrich the reading of the texts.
3 credits
General Education Requirement: Knowledge and Inquiry
ENGL 250 Women in Popular Culture
ENGL 250 Women in Popular Culture
Explores the cultural images and realities of contemporary women and their lives. Print, film, television, short fiction, and artifact will be used to document cultural rates. Cross-tallied with WST 250.
3 credits
General Education Requirements: Capstone Seminar
ENGL 267 Multicultural United States Literature
ENGL 267 Multicultural United States Literature
Examines largely contemporary writings by writers representing the diverse cultures in the US with a consideration of the ways in which difference or ""the other"" may be constructed. Formerly ENG 200 Multicultural US Literature.
3 credits
Core Area II: Understanding the Self and Society
ENGL 268 The American Family on Film
ENGL 268 The American Family on Film
Considers film as ""composed realism"" and provides a sociological overview of the American family as portrayed in films such as Ordinary People, Crooklyn, My Family (Mi Familia), Moonstruck, Fiddler on the Roof, and others. Formerly ENG 306 The American Family on Film.
3 credits
ENGL 271 Literature of the African Diaspora
ENGL 271 Literature of the African Diaspora
Introduces students to the study of literature written by authors of African descent in Europe and the Americas and explores the development of an international and multicultural consciousness with Africa and the Diaspora as its referents. Formerly ENG 204 Literature of the African Diaspora.
3 credits
FLC Area II - Literature Cluster
ENGL 273 African American Poetry
ENGL 275 21st Century Texts
ENGL 275 21st Century Texts
Examines texts that have emerged as part of the electronic revolution and the combination of art forms. The course will consider blogs, independent films, ""fan fiction
ENGL 277 Women Warriors in Film and Fiction
ENGL 277 Women Warriors in Film and Fiction
Examines representations of the figure of the female warrior, from the Amazons to G.I. Jane, in fiction, film, drama, and television. Formerly ENG 218 Women Warriors in Film and Fiction.
3 credits
ENGL 283 Stories and Their Writers
ENGL 283 Stories and Their Writers
Introduces the study of prose fiction, both classic and contemporary, in its multicultural contexts, with attention to form, theme, major figures, and historical contexts and influences. Formerly ENG 205 Stories and Their Writers.
3 credits
FLC Area II - Literature Cluster
ENGL 285 Plays and Playwrights
ENGL 285 Plays and Playwrights
Introduces students to the study of drama as a genre with its origins in Greek tragedy; students will read and analyze plays from classical Greece, the medieval period, the 19th and 20th centuries, and today's theater in order to understand the development of drama; plays currently in production in Washington, DC, will be reviewed. Formerly ENG 206 Plays and Playwrights.
3 credits
FLC Area II - Literature Cluster
ENGL 287 Tales of Terror: Gothic Fiction and Film
ENGL 287 Tales of Terror: Gothic Fiction and Film
Introduces students to major works in the Gothic genre from the 18th century to the present; emphasizes characteristics and evolution of horror as a topic for narrative.
3 credits
FLC Area II - Literature Cluster
ENGL 299 First-Year Honors Seminar
ENGL 299 First-Year Honors Seminar
Offers students the opportunity to explore in depth specialized topics in British, US, and global literature. Recent topics have included the concept of ""voice"" in contemporary US culture, the history of women's authorship in Europe and the US, and the evolution of the heroine as a figure in fiction, drama, and film. By invitation only. Formerly ENG 199 Freshman Honors Seminar.
3 credits
FLC Area II (Literature Cluster)
ENGL 301 Creative Writing: Poetry
ENGL 301 Creative Writing: Poetry
Concentrates on the critical analysis of student writing in poetry, with readings in contemporary US poetry. Formerly ENG 373 Creative Writing: Poetry.
3 credits
Prerequisites: ENGL 107
ENGL 302 Creative Writing: Fiction
ENGL 302 Creative Writing: Fiction
Concentrates on the critical analysis of student writing in fiction, with readings of US short stories. Formerly ENG 372 Creative Writing Fiction.
3 credits
Prerequisites: ENGL 107
ENGL 304 Creative Writing: Creative Nonfiction
ENGL 304 Creative Writing: Creative Nonfiction
Course Description: This course explores the study and practice of student writing within the creative nonfiction (or literary nonfiction) genre, with particular attention paid to the personal essay and memoir (or personal narrative). Students will read a variety of short works and experiment with their own writing, incorporating techniques explored in class. Rather than concentrating on the type of nonfiction generally pursued within journalism, this course focuses on the art of presenting true stories, issues, and ideas within a literary context, using devices such as plot, setting, character, theme, symbolism, and image.
Credts: 3
Prerequisites: ENGL 107
ENGL 321 Arthurian Literature
ENGL 321 Arthurian Literature
Studies Arthurian history, legend, and literature from its earliest sources to contemporary writings and film. Formerly ENG 315 Arthurian Literature.
3 credits
ENGL 322 Early Modern English Drama
ENGL 322 Early Modern English Drama
Focuses on the plays of selected canonical writers and recently rediscovered playwrights in early modern England. Formerly ENG 343 Early Modern English Drama.
3 credit
ENGL 325 Works of Shakespeare
ENGL 325 Works of Shakespeare
Studies selected plays of Shakespeare in all the major genres, including comedy, tragedy, history, and romance, as well as introduces students to Shakespearean poetry.
3 credits
ENGL 332 Romanticism
ENGL 332 Romanticism
Studies Romanticism as expressed in several genres, especially poetry, and its attention to intellectual, artistic, and political concerns in texts of late 18th and early 19th century British literature. Formerly ENG 321 Romanticism.
3 credits
ENGL 348 Modernisms
ENGL 348 Modernisms
Explores modernism as a global literary movement in the early 20th century.
3 credits
ENGL 363 American Short Fiction
ENGL 363 American Short Fiction
Analyzes selected short fiction by US writers and the history, traditions, and revisions of short fiction genres in texts ranging from the early 19th century through contemporary fiction. Formerly ENG 355 American Short Fiction.
3 credits
ENGL 365 Contemporary United States Fiction
ENGL 365 Contemporary United States Fiction
Considers the issues explored by contemporary US writers and the challenges they make to traditional fictional genres, including the novel. Formerly ENG 361 Contemporary American Fiction.
3 credits
ENGL 371 Women in Fiction
ENGL 371 Women in Fiction
Studies the representation of women in fiction by women writers of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Formerly ENG 362 Women in Fiction.
3 credits
ENGL 372 19th Century African-American Narrative
ENGL 372 19th Century African-American Narrative
Examines African American literary tradition in the 19th century, which was inextricably bound with the history of slavery and freedom, Reconstruction and its failure, and the establishment of Black national identity. Readings include slave narratives, speeches, essays, and the emergence of African American fiction.
3 credits
ENGL 373 African American Women Writers
ENGL 373 African American Women Writers
Examines the history and images of African Americans, especially women, in selected works by African American women writers ranging from Zora Neale Hurston to Toni Morrison. Formerly ENG 363 African American Women Writers.
3 credits
ENGL 374 The Films of Spike Lee
ENGL 374 The Films of Spike Lee
Examines the major films of African American director Spike Lee, concentrating on the political and social issues raised in his work and the tecniques he uses, including music, camera angles, and episodic storytelling, to support his narrative structures. This course fulfills the major figure requirement for English majors.
3 credits
ENGL 377 Women in Contemporary American Film
ENGL 377 Women in Contemporary American Film
Examines the stereotypical images of women in contemporary American film, including images of the Madonna, the temptress, the witch, and the virgin. Formerly ENG 365 Women in Contemporary American Film.
3 credits
ENGL 378 African American Women in Film
ENGL 378 African American Women in Film
Considers the images of African Americans presented in film and especially in the work of African American actors, directors, screenwriters, and producers. Formerly ENG 369 African American Women in Film.
3 credits
ENGL 379 Images of Men in Contemporary Film
ENGL 379 Images of Men in Contemporary Film
Views and analyzes contemporary films featuring stereotypical images of men in Western culture and the revisions of those images in certain films. Formerly ENG 350 Images of Men in Contemporary Film.
3 credits
ENGL 380 History of the Novel
ENGL 380 History of the Novel
Studies the evolution of the novel in European, South American, and US literatures. Formerly ENG 345 Development of the Novel.
3 credits
ENGL 381 Literary Representations of Nursing
ENGL 381 Literary Representations of Nursing
Course Description: Focuses on narratives, poetry, and film by and about nurses in order to understand theories and representations of the body, illness, disability, trauma, suffering, health, and healing and in order to values teh multicultural conceptions of the body, disease, wellness, and medical practice.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
ENGL 385 Modern Drama
ENGL 385 Modern Drama
Examines modernist and postmodernist dramatic genres and the concerns these dramas show for social issues, philosophical theories, and intellectual trends. Formerly ENG 348 Modern Drama.
3 credits
ENGL 399 Honors Seminar: Trading Spaces: Migration, Narrative & Econ
ENGL 399 Honors Seminar: Trading Spaces: Migration, Narrative & Econ
Examines migration, humanity's ceaseless ebb and flow across all the spaces of the globe, through the twin lenses of literature and economics. In literature, we explore narratives of men and women driven to ""trade spaces"" through various intersections of necessity and desire. Through economics, we examine the socioeconomic patterns that underlie wide-scale relocations of peoples, from the industrialization of early modern Western economies to the global trade in women of the post-modern era.
3 credits
Prerequisites: Honors Program or permission of Instructor
FLC Seminar II
Cross-listed with ECON 399
ENGL 428 Milton: Literature and Politics in the Seventeenth Century
ENGL 428 Milton: Literature and Politics in the Seventeenth Century
Examines the poetry and prose of John Milton, with special attention to his major epic, Paradise Lost. Attention will also be given to contemporary critical reception, especially in terms of reader response theories as well as the feminist reaction to and recovery of Milton. Formerly ENG 403 Milton Seminar: Literature and Politics in the 17th Century.
3 credits
Prerequisites: Sophomore status
ENGL 434 Novels of Jane Austen
ENGL 434 Novels of Jane Austen
Analyzes the novels of Jane Austen and selected filmed adaptations to evaluate the ways in which the novels comment on gender and ideology and contribute to the evolution of the novel as a genre. Formerly ENG 347 Novels of Jane Austen.
3 credits
ENGL 435 The Bronte Sisters
ENGL 435 The Bronte Sisters
Analyzes the novels of Anne Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, and Emily Bronte; their links to biography; and their exploration of women's lives and roles, with consideration of intertextuality as evidenced in the works of film directors, poets, and novelists which turn on the Bronte sisters themselves and their works, such as Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea. Formerly ENG 447 The Brontë Sisters.
3 credits
ENGL 447 Samuel Beckett on the Absurd
ENGL 447 Samuel Beckett on the Absurd
Examines the works of Samuel Beckett, especially in terms of how his writings draw upon and reproduce absurdism and existentialism in the twentieth century.
3 credits
ENGL 451 Writers of the American South
ENGL 451 Writers of the American South
Inquires into the effect of Southern life, history, and culture on the development of American authorship, focusing on the work of two or three authors. Writers to be considered may include Kate Chopin, Zora Neale Hurston, Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner, and others.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II
ENGL 470 Wright, Ellison, and Baldwin
ENGL 470 Wright, Ellison, and Baldwin
Examines the novels, short stories, and essays of Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin. Themes addressed may include racial and ethnic politics and literature, world conflict, Paul Gilroy's theory of ""the Black Atlantic
ENGL 476 Seminar on Toni Morrison
ENGL 476 Seminar on Toni Morrison
Examines the novels and selected shorter writings of Toni Morrison, with special interest in the literary commentary on race, gender, and oppression. Formerly ENG 303 Seminar on Toni Morrison.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II
ENGL 477 Seminar on Alice Walker
ENGL 491 Internship
ENGL 491 Internship
Offers experiences in fields related to the English major, primarily in research, teaching, and writing or publishing in professional contexts. Formerly ENG 380 Internship.
3 credits
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
ENGL 492 Independent Study
ENGL 492 Independent Study
Offers guidance to students who seek to study a selected topic in literature independently.
1 credit
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
ENGL 498 Independent Study
ENGL 498 Independent Study
Offers guidance to students who seek to study a selected topic in literature independently. Formerly ENG 493 Independent Study.
3 credits
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
ENGL 499 Senior Colloquium
ENGL 499 Senior Colloquium
Encourages the English majors to synthesize their studies in English and other fields; directs students in the writing of an original and scholarly research paper. Offered in the Fall semester. Formerly ENG 497 Senior Colloquium.
3 credits
Prerequisites: Senior status