Major:
English (B.A.)
Departments/Programs:
| Courses | 42 hours |
|---|---|
| Masterpieces of Literature (choose one of the following): |
3 hours |
| ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies | 3 hours |
Literature (choose one of the following):
|
3 hours |
| Writing (choose one of the following): |
3 hours |
| Language Theory (choose one of the following): |
3 hours |
| Electives | 21 hours |
|---|---|
| (Select from any English or Journalism course, excluding ENG 001 English Language and Writing. At least 6 hours must be upper-level (200-level).) |
| Senior Comprehensive | 6 hours |
|---|---|
| ENG 298 Ways of Reading: Theory and Practice and ENG 299 Senior Workshop |
Approved Selected Topics (ENG 190 Selected Topics or ENG 290 Selected Topic) may be used for the major with permission of the department chair.
Up to 9 elective hours in the English major may be satisfied with internship or laboratory coursework (JOURN 169 Journalism Laboratory, JOURN 297 Journalism Internship, ENG 297 Internship).
Up to 3 hours of THTRE 100 Play Reading may be used as elective hours toward the English major or minor.
Note: At least 12 hours of coursework in the English major must be taken at the 200 level.
An introductory course designed to help students appreciate the literary record of human relationships with nature, the supernatural, and each other. Each course examines a particular question or condition as it is represented in a restricted number of literary works, with core readings from the Bible, Greek or Roman classical literature, Shakespeare, literature by women, and literature by writers of color. Current offerings include the following:
Encountering Others This course looks at texts that represent moments of contact, conflict, or exchange between different cultures, or between a society and those individuals the society has designated as 'different' in some crucial way.
Coming of Age-Becoming Women, Becoming Men This course looks at texts that represent the forces and processes that are part of maturation, especially those related to gender identity. This course focuses on gender issues and includes feminist perspectives. Note: This course also counts for Gender Studies credit.
Families and Relationships This course will examine how writers from different historical eras and cultural contexts write about family, in every sense of that word. Writing the Self 'Who am I?' This is the quintessential question that all human beings ask. This course examines how writers from different historical eras and cultural contexts use various narrative strategies to construct a sense of self. We will also examine numerous theories that seek to explain what constitutes the 'I' that locates the self as a palpable center of self-awareness, as well as how genre influences the accounting of personal history.
Sexualities This course is designed to help students appreciate the literary record of romantic relationships. Specifically, the course will explore how writers from different historical periods and cultural milieus address the issue of human sexuality. Note: same-sex relationships will be routinely read about and discussed in the class. Note: This course also counts for Gender Studies credit.
Law and Justice The courtroom is a place where one's telling and interpretation of stories can mean the difference between life and death, so the analysis of literature and the practice of the law are already intertwined. This course explores the connection further by focusing on literary works that deal with the principle of justice and the application of law.
Revolution This course looks at texts that represent moments of sudden change, upheaval, and transformation, both within societies and within individuals.
Religion and Spirituality Religion is a virtually universal constant in recorded human history, but with answers of different religions to humankind's big questions have varied enormously. What is the origin and purpose of evil? What is death? What things should be held sacred? What is the nature of the divine? How should we treat other people - and should we distinguish between those who share our beliefs and those who do not? This course will study some of the ways these questions have been answered, from most ancient times to the present.
The Environment How are nature and the natural world imagined through literary texts? In the western tradition, "nature" is usually considered separate from humanity - a passive landscape designed to be dominated and used by humans for human purposes. What is the origin of this cultural attitude? What alternative views do we find in the history of western literature? What does the literary record of nature look like in some non-western cultural traditions? Is nature best understood as a universal category apart from human culture or is the idea of nature created by human culture? This course will explore such questions by reading texts from different eras and cultural traditions.
War Virtually every culture has experienced war, and cultures often define and understand themselves through the memories of their wars. Literature about war, from western civilization's founding epic, Homer's Iliad, to blogs maintained by contemporary soldiers, provides us with not only some of our most memorable images of courage, loyalty, and self-sacrifice, but also compelling evidence of war's cruelty, horror, and senselessness; its themes encompass both enormous historical and cultural change and the most intimate, personal suffering.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing.
An introductory course designed to help students appreciate the literary record of human relationships with nature, the supernatural, and each other. Each course examines a particular question or condition as it is represented in a restricted number of literary works, with core readings from the Bible, Greek or Roman classical literature, Shakespeare, literature by women, and literature by writers of color. Different topics are offered on a rotating basis for ENG 101 Masterpieces of Literature, however, only the topics of "Coming of Age-Becoming Women, Becoming Men" and "Sexualities" are available as GEND 101 Masterpieces of Literature: Coming of Age or Sexualities.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing.
Coming of Age-Becoming Women, Becoming Men This course looks at texts that represent the forces and processes that are part of maturation, especially those related to gender identity. This course focuses on gender issues and includes feminist perspectives.
Sexualities This course is designed to help students appreciate the literary record of romantic relationships. Specifically, the course will explore how writers from different historical periods and cultural milieus address the issue of human sexuality. Note: same-sex relationships will be routinely read about and discussed in the class.
Masterpieces of Dramatic Literature is an introductory course designed to provide a historical perspective on the literary record of human interactions with nature, the supernatural, and other humans. Utilizing dramatic texts selected from a range of cultures, genres, and time periods (including core readings from Greek or Roman classical literature, the Bible, Shakespeare, non-Western literature, literature by women, and literature by writers of color), students will devise strategies for reading, discussing, and writing about dramatic literature. These strategies will include consideration of biographical materials, cultural contexts and analysis of the functions of drama and theatre, in particular historical and geographical circumstances. Students will also be asked to consider how texts come to be valued as masterpieces, and the politics involved in such valuation.
A chronological survey of Western Civilization from 1500 to the present, focusing on the literary record which exemplifies changing societies; artistic and literary styles; and philosophical, religious, and political patterns. The course will include a reexamination of Biblical texts in the Reformation, the revival and imitation of classical texts in the Renaissance, absolutism and its critics, the revolutionary and Romantic movements, ethnic minorities, colonialism, the crisis of Western thought in the twentieth century, and the impact of totalitarianism.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)
Readings, written composition, and discussion of a selection of significant European writers from the Renaissance to modern times.
This course is designed to equip new English majors and minors with the textual expertise and vocabulary needed for the analysis and discussion of various texts. It will cover English prosody (including meter, sounds patterns, and traditional closed forms), and the technical vocabulary appropriate to the discussion of fiction and drama.
A survey of British literature is designed as a foundation course for majors. Its aim is to provide a historical perspective of British writers and genres, from the Anglo-Saxon beginnings to the end of the Neoclassic era.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and a Masterpieces of Literature course (ENG 101 Masterpieces of Literature, HIST 116 Western Civilization through Literature, MLANG 134 Masterpieces of European Literature, or THTRE 101 Masterpieces of Dramatic Literature).
A survey of British literature designed as a foundation course for majors. Its aim is to provide a historical perspective of British writers and genres, from the beginnings of the Romantic Movement to the present.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and a Masterpieces of Literature course (ENG 101 Masterpieces of Literature, HIST 116 Western Civilization through Literature, MLANG 134 Masterpieces of European Literature, or THTRE 101 Masterpieces of Dramatic Literature).
A survey course providing a historical perspective on the culture of the U.S. through the study of its literature from the colonial beginnings to the Civil War.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and a Masterpieces of Literature course (ENG 101 Masterpieces of Literature, HIST 116 Western Civilization through Literature, MLANG 134 Masterpieces of European Literature, or THTRE 101 Masterpieces of Dramatic Literature).
A survey course providing a historical perspective on the culture of the U.S. through the study of its literature from the Civil War to the present.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and a Masterpieces of Literature course (ENG 101 Masterpieces of Literature, HIST 116 Western Civilization through Literature, MLANG 134 Masterpieces of European Literature, or THTRE 101 Masterpieces of Dramatic Literature).
A systematic study of the outstanding literary artist of the English language: comedies, tragedies, and historical plays.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies or [course:THTR-002=l} and junior standing.
An advanced course focusing primarily on British medieval literature. Its aim is to provide depth of knowledge by concentrating upon a single author, genre, or theme that distinctively represents the medieval period. Training in scholarship is provided through individual projects in literary research and analysis. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and junior standing.
An advanced course focused primarily on British Renaissance literature. Its aim is to provide depth of knowledge by concentrating upon a single author, genre, or theme that distinctively represents the Renaissance period. Training in scholarship is provided through individual projects in literary research and analysis. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and junior standing.
An advanced literature course designed to provide depth of knowledge by concentrating upon a single author, genre, or theme that distinctively represents literature from the years 1660-1800. Training in scholarship is provided through individual projects in literary research and analysis. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and junior standing.
An advanced literature course designed to provide depth of knowledge by concentrating upon a single author, genre, or theme that distinctively represents the nineteenth century or some portion of the century. Training in scholarship is provided through individual projects in literary research and analysis. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and junior standing.
An advanced literature course designed to provide depth of knowledge by concentrating upon a single author, genre, or theme that distinctively represents the twentieth century or some portion of the century. Training in scholarship is provided through individual projects in literary research and analysis. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and junior standing.
An analytical course designed to provide intensive study of the fiction genre, or some aspect of the genre, and to improve students' techniques and standards of literacy analysis and judgment. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and junior standing.
An analytical course designed to give students exposure to some of the major achievements of British, Continental, and American dramatists. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and junior standing.
An analytical course designed to provide intensive study of poetics and the various genres in verse, and to improve students' techniques and standards of literary analysis and judgment. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and junior standing.
An analytical course designed to provide intensive study of the different genres of literary non-fiction writing, and to improve students' techniques and standards of literary analysis and judgment. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and junior standing.
This course in the development of the novel since the end of World War II, uses examples drawn primarily from Great Britain, the United States, and the Anglophone world.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and junior standing.
Fiction and essays by women from various cultures (including the U.S., Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean) will be the focus of this course. The multicultural, international reading list will provide students insight into the lives and experiences of women most likely very different from themselves; thus they can appreciate and learn from the differences and make connections across cultures.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and ENG 101 Masterpieces of Literature.
A thematic course designed to complement the more traditional offerings in British and American literature. The emphasis will be on the shock of colonization, the oppression of imperialism, and the struggle for independence. Attention will also be paid to the encounter of the individual with the questions of God, family, love, war, work, change, and death.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and a Masterpieces of Literature course (ENG 101 Masterpieces of Literature, HIST 116 Western Civilization through Literature, MLANG 134 Masterpieces of European Literature, or THTRE 101 Masterpieces of Dramatic Literature).
A study of Shakespeare's work and life on site in London and Stratford-upon-Avon. Coursework includes attendance at six productions at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, a visit to the Shakespeare Globe Museum and New Globe Theatre in London, a theatre tour and workshop conducted by the Royal Shakespeare Company, lectures by resident scholars at the Shakespeare Centre, and visits to all the Shakespeare Trust Properties and Holy Trinity Church. The course culminates in a major paper developed from research at the Shakespeare Centre Library and the Royal Shakespeare Collection. This course may be counted toward the English major in lieu of ENG 200 Shakespeare.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing and permission of the instructor.
This course supplements the basic American survey courses. Its aim is to acquaint students with representative autobiography, fiction, drama, poetry, literary criticism, and essays by African-American writers from Frederick Douglass to Toni Morrison.
Prerequisite(s): ENG-001 and a Masterpieces of Literature course (ENG 101 Masterpieces of Literature, HIST 116 Western Civilization through Literature, MLANG 134 Masterpieces of European Literature, or THTRE 101 Masterpieces of Dramatic Literature).
The focus of this course is on the writing process and its product, the central activity being to study the effects of writing on both writer and reader. The course is conducted as a workshop in which students read their own compositions to the class and respond to the compositions of their classmates.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing.
An introduction to the writing of fiction with an emphasis upon a variety of forms, techniques, and narrative voices. Discussion of student writing will take place in a workshop setting.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing or permission of the instructor.
An introduction to the writing of poetry with an emphasis upon a variety of forms and techniques. Discussion of student writing will take place in a workshop setting.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing or permission of the instructor.
An advanced writing workshop covering rhetorical principles (invention, arrangement, style, presentation) of various disciplines. Students will complete writing projects related to their professional interests.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.
An advanced course in the writing of fiction within a continued emphasis on a variety of forms, techniques, and narrative voices. Discussion of student writing will take place in a workshop setting. Specific topics will vary by semester. Course may be repeated for credit with the permission of the instructor.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 117 Fiction Writing or permission of the instructor.
An advanced course in the writing of poetry with a continued emphasis on a variety of forms and techniques. Discussion of student writing will take place in a workshop setting. Specific topics will vary by semester. Course may be repeated for credit with the permission of the instructor.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 119 Poetry Writing or permission of the instructor.
An introductory course in journalism concentrating upon basic techniques of news gathering and writing, including a basic history of news media.
Analysis of and practice in writing news feature stories for a variety of publications. The course will stress audience appraisal, interviewing, and research.
Students study principles of linguistic analysis and survey various theories of English grammar. Topics include: English phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and subfields of linguistics such as: sociolinguistics (regional and ethnic dialects, issues of gender), historical linguistics, and psycholinguistics (language acquisition, language and the brain).
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and sophomore standing.
An introductory course in the historical and grammatical development of Modern English from Old English and Middle English.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and sophomore standing.
Students will study the early history of rhetoric, drawing upon the Greek and Roman traditions and those of at least one additional culture. Students will focus on the major tenets of these rhetorical traditions, enabling them to analyze a variety of texts from multiple cultural perspectives.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing and sophomore standing.
A course in which students will concentrate in depth on one subfield or topic in the domain of linguistics. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing, ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and one 100-level language theory course.
(Normally offered every other year.)
A course in which students will concentrate in depth on one topic within the domain of rhetoric. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing, ENG 100 Introduction to Textual Studies and one 100-level language theory course.
(Normally offered every other year.)
A course designed to help students write with clarity, confidence, and conviction through regular practice in writing (including argument and exposition, writing as discovery, and personal exploration). Particular attention will be given to the role of revision in the writing process. This course also includes a study of language and its social roles, with special attention to the origin, development, and current nature of the English language.
A course in the theory and development of literary criticism including a general overview of theories of literary criticism before the 20th-century and 20th-century critical theories.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
A senior-level research and writing seminar. In this course students produce a research paper of approximately 20 pages or an original work (e.g., a short story) supplemented with a 10-page essay that explains their work critically. At the end of the term, students make panel presentations about their work to the entire department, and each paper is read by two faculty chosen by each student.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
A topical course designed to investigate any relevant subject matter not included in any of the standard courses. The title, content, and credit will be determined by current, mutual interests of students and faculty. This course will usually be a course in literature, but it may sometimes be a course in language or writing.
An advanced course designed to investigate any relevant subject matter not included in any of standard courses. The title, content, and credit will be determined by current, mutual interests of students and faculty. This course will usually be a course in literature, but it may sometimes be a course in language or writing. This course may be offered to meet a group requirement for a major only by approval of the department chair.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or instructor approval.
Working session during which staff members produce the weekly newspaper, The Reveille. May be repeated. Credit is limited to 4 hours.
Pass/Fail only.
On-the-job training with a newspaper or other sponsor involved with communications. Work may include writing, photography, or production. Each internship will be designed individually to benefit both student and sponsor. Sponsors may be secured either by the student or by the department.
Pass/Fail only.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
A project course in which students serve as apprentices in their chosen fields. Students' progress and performance will be supervised and evaluated jointly by the cooperating supervisor and instructor. Each project will be individually designed to suit the student's professional interests.
Pass/Fail only.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
Play reading is a course that focuses on the reading, discussion, and interpretation of dramatic texts. Its aim is to provide a concentrated study of both content and form of selected texts in an effort to broaden knowledge of dramatic techniques genre, and strategies for interpretation. Dramatic texts will vary each semester with the goal that students will gain knowledge of a large quantity of plays during a four-year period. This course may be repeated for credit up to eight times for Theatre Arts majors and up to three times for Theatre Arts minors.