Undergraduate Course Offerings
See Also: Fields of Study
Completion of the Freshman Composition requirement is prerequisite to all English courses at the 200, 300, and 400 levels.
English 201 British Literature I: Beowulf through Johnson (3)
Major literary works from three periods – Middle Ages, Renaissance and Restoration, and 18th century. Writing-emphasis course. (AH)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 202 British Literature II: Wordsworth to the Present (3)
Major literary works from three periods – Romantic, Victorian, and 20th century. Writing-emphasis course. (AH)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 206 Introduction to Shakespeare (3)
An overview of Shakespeare’s world and his work. (AH) (WC)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 207 Honors: British Literature I (3)
Enriched section of 201. (AH) (RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
Registration Restriction(s): 3.25 GPA.
English 208 Honors: British Literature II (3)
Enriched section of 202. (AH) (RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
Registration Restriction(s): 3.25 GPA.
English 221 World Literature I: Ancient through Early Modern (3)
Writing-emphasis course. (AH)(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 222 World Literature II: The Eighteenth-Century to the Present (3)
Writing-emphasis course. (AH)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 226 Introduction to Caribbean Literature (3)
Survey of the major genres in Caribbean literature. Course makes cross-cultural and cross-national comparisons; general overview of themes and styles. Major authors may include: Naipul, Rhone, Brathwaite, Hodge, Mais, Lovelace, and Marshall. Writing-emphasis course. (AH)
(Same as Africana Studies 226) (RE)
Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 231 American Literature I: Colonial Era to the Civil War (3)
Development of American literature from its beginnings to the Civil War. Writing-emphasis course. (AH)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 232 American Literature II: Civil War to the Present (3)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 233 Major Black Writers (3)
Black American literature as a literary tradition. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Africana Studies 233.) (AH)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 237 Honors: American Literature I: Colonial Era to the Civil War (3)
Enriched section of 231. (AH)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
Registration Restriction(s): 3.25 GPA.
English 238 Honors: American Literature II: Civil War to the Present (3)
Enriched section of 232. (AH)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
Registration Restriction(s): 3.25 GPA.
English 251 Introduction to Poetry (3)
Poetry as a distinct mode of artistic expression. Critical tools for perceptive reading of poems. Writing-emphasis course. (AH)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 252 Introduction to Drama (3)
Critical tools for perceptive reading of play texts. Writing-emphasis course. (AH)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 253 Introduction to Fiction (3)
Fiction from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries, emphasis on the novel. Critical tools necessary for judging varieties of fiction. Writing-emphasis course. (AH)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 254 Themes in Literature (3)
Study of important themes in English, American, and World literatures. Some sample themes are religion, crime, law, ecology, science, exploration, revolution, colonization, initiation, education. Multi-genre focus. See Timetable for topics. Writing-emphasis course (AH) (WC)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 255 Public Writing (3)
Rhetorical strategies for effective communication about public issues. Students will learn to write for multiple audiences and may be asked to participate in collaborative writing projects with business, academic, or political organizations. (WC)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 262 Introduction to Poetry Writing (3)
Practice in writing poetry, combined with study of models and techniques. Writing-emphasis course.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 264 Introduction to Fiction Writing (3)
Practice in writing fiction, combined with study of models and techniques. Writing-emphasis course.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 281 Introduction to Film Studies (3)
Selected world cinema feature films. Critical techniques necessary for understanding and analysis of narrative cinema. Basic elements of film expression and contours of film history. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Cinema Studies 281.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 295 Business and Technical Writing (3)
Principles of written communication in science and business. (WC)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 301 British Culture to 1660 (3)
English literature in the context of parallel developments in art, architecture, music, and social and intellectual history. Writing-emphasis course.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 302 British Culture: 1660 to Present (3)
English literature in the context of parallel developments in art, architecture, music, and social and intellectual history. Writing-emphasis course.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 321 Introduction to Old English (3)
Language and literature of England from c. 700 to c. 1100. Reading of prose works and shorter poetry in Old English. Cultural context of Anglo-Saxon England explored through critical essays, histories, and primary texts in translation. Focus on manuscript evidence and medieval and modern textual practices. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Linguistics 321.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 331 Race and Ethnicity in American Literature (3)
Examines the role of ethnic and racial identity in the literature of the United States. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Africana Studies 331.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 332 Women in American Literature (3)
Women as writers and as subjects in American literature from its beginnings to the present. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Women’s Studies 332.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 333 Black American Literature and Aesthetics (3)
Black American literature and aesthetics since 1899 with emphasis on cultural evaluations and the principles of being “American.” Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Africana Studies 333.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 334 Film and American Culture (3)
American films as both works of art and social documents. Relationship between the medium of film and American culture in the 20th- century. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as American Studies 334; Cinema Studies 334.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 336 Caribbean Literature (3)
Survey of the major works of Caribbean literature; focus on Caribbean “maroon aesthetics” and the reinvention of European conventions and language; emphasis on poetry, drama, prose fiction, applicable theory and critical terms. Major authors may include: Brodber, Rhone, Lamming, Brathwaite, Naipul, Walcott, Selvon, Kincaid, and Marshall. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Africana Studies 336.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118
English 351 The Short Story (3)
American, British, and International. Content varies.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 355 Rhetoric and Writing (3)
Strategies of writing on personal and academic subjects. Discussion of student and professional writing. (WC)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 360 Technical and Professional Writing (3)
For students who need to sharpen their technical communication skills. Writing of definitions, process descriptions, proposals, abstracts, executive summaries, and major reports. (WC)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – junior.
English 363 Writing Poetry (3)
Introduction to writing poetry. (WC)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 364 Writing Fiction (3)
Introduction to writing novels and short stories. (WC)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 365 Writing the Screenplay (3)
Introduction to writing screenplays. (Same as Cinema Studies 365.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 371 Foundations of the English Language (3)
Phonology, morphology, and syntax of English. History of the English language to 1800. (Same as Linguistics 371.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 372 The Structure of Modern English (3)
Descriptive study of contemporary English with emphasis on phrase, clause, and sentence structure. (Same as Linguistics 372.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 376 Colloquium in Literature (3)
Methods and object-- ives of literary study. Conferences to plan student’s program in major.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
Recommended Background: 200-level literature package.
English 381 American Tales, Songs, and Material Culture: An Introduction to Folklore (3)
Modern folklore/folk-life studies. Emphasis upon folktale, tall tale, myth, legend, folk balladry and music, proverbs, riddles, superstitions, games, food, crafts, art, and architecture. (Same as American Studies 381.)
(RE) Prerequisite (s): 102 or 118.
English 389 Literature of the English Bible (3)
A literary and historical approach to the Bible, including characteristics of its narrative and poetic art, and analysis of the different types of literature found in it: myth, legend, folktale, law, history, biography, poetry, prophecy, and apocalypse. (Same as Religious Studies 389.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 398 Junior-Senior Honors Seminar (3)
Seminar for students admitted to English honors program. Variable content determined by instructor, but usually focused on a particular literary period, genre, or issue. (WC)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
Comment(s): Enrollment limited to 15. See Director of Undergraduate Studies in English for details.
English 401 Medieval Literature (3)
Reading and analysis of a selection of literary works from the Old and Middle English period, as well as some continental texts; most will be read in modern English translation, and no previous knowledge of Middle English is required. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Medieval Studies 405.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 402 Chaucer (3)
Reading and analysis of the Canterbury Tales and Troylus and Criseyde in Middle English. (Same as Medieval Studies 406.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 403 Introduction to Middle English (3)
A survey of the language and literature of England from the 12th through the 15th centuries. Reading of prose works and shorter poetry will be done in Middle English with special attention paid to grammar, style, dialect, and language change. The class will explore the culture of medieval England through critical essays, histories, and supplementary texts in translation.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 404 Shakespeare I: Early Plays (3)
Shakespeare’s dra-matic achievement before 1601. Reading and discussion of selected plays from romantic comedies, including Twelfth Night; English histories, including Henry IV; and early tragedy, including Hamlet.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 405 Shakespeare II: Later Plays (3)
Shakespeare’s dramatic achievement between 1601 and 1613. Reading and discussion of selected plays from great tragedies, including Othello; problem plays, including Measure for Measure; and dramatic romances, including The Tempest.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 406 Renaissance Drama (3)
English theatre between 1590 and 1640. Representative plays by Shakespeare’s contemporaries – Marlowe, Webster, and Jonson.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 409 Spenser and his Contemporaries (3)
Principal achievements in prose and poetry of 16th-century authors – Spenser, Wyatt, Marlowe, More, Sidney, and Bacon.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 410 Milton, Donne, and their Contemporaries (3)
Principal achievements in prose and poetry of the first two-thirds of the 17th- century. Poetry of Milton, Donne, and Marvell. Prose of Browne, Bacon, and Walton.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 411 Literature of the Restoration and Early 18th- Century: Dryden to Pope (3)
Survey of English literature and culture from 1660 to 1745.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 412 Literature of the Later 18th- Century: Johnson to Burns (3)
Survey of English literature and culture from 1745 to 1800.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 413 Restoration and 18th-Century Genres and Modes (3)
Study of one major genre or literary mode such as drama, novel, poetry, nonfiction, prose, satire, romance, or epic written between 1660 and 1800. Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 414 Romantic Poetry and Prose I (3)
Emphasis on Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Blake with readings from Lamb, De Quincey, and other prose writers.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 415 Romantic Poetry and Prose II (3)
Emphasis on Keats, Shelley and Byron with readings from Hazlitt, Peacock, and other prose writers.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 416 Early Victorian Literature(3)
May include poetry by Tennyson and the Brownings; prose by Carlyle, Newman, and Mill.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 419 Later Victorian Literature (3)
May include poetry by the Pre- Raphaelites, Arnold, Hopkins, and Hardy; prose by Arnold, Ruskin, and Carroll; plays by Gilbert and Wilde.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 420 The 19th-Century British Novel (3)
Major novelists from Scott to Hardy.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 421 Modern British Novel (3)
Authors such as Joyce and Woolf through contemporary British fiction writers.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 422 Women Writers in Britain(3)
Emphasis on the lit-eary consciousness and works of women writers in Britain. Course content will vary. Authors covered may include Marie de France, Margery Kempe, Aemilia Lanyer, Elizabeth Cary, Aphra Behn, Franc- es Burney, Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and Doris Lessing. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Women’s Studies 422.) Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 423 Colonial and Post-Colonial Literature (3)
Emphasis on historical and theoretical methodologies for reading colonial and post-colonial literature. Repeatability: May be repeated with instructor’s consent. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 431 Early American Literature (3)
From the earliest texts to 1830, including exploration and discovery, Native American, colonial, revolutionary, and early national works.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 432 American Romanticism and Transcendentalism (3)
Prose and poetry of the American Renaissance from 1830 to the end of the Civil War. Includes writers such as Cooper, Emerson, Fuller, Poe, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Douglass, Jacobs, Whitman, and Dickinson.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 433 American Realism and Naturalism (3)
Literature from the time of the Civil War to World War I. Includes writers such as Alcott, Twain, Howells, James, Jewett, Harper, Crane, Norris, and Wharton.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 434 Modern American Literature (3)
World War I to the present.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 435 American Novel before 1900 (3)
Traces the development of the American novel from the late 18th to the late 19th- centuries. Includes such writers as Rowson, Brown, Cooper, Hawthorne, Melville, Stowe, James, Twain, and Dreiser.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 436 Modern American Novel (3)
Authors such as Faulkner, Steinbeck, and Welty. (RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 441 Southern Literature (3)
Southern writing from colonial period into the 20th- century, including frontier humorists, local color writers, and the Southern Literary Renaissance.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 442 American Humor (3)
Development of American humor from the early 19th century into the 20th- century with particular emphasis on Mark Twain. (Same as American Studies 442.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 443 Topics in Black Literature (3)
Content varies according to particular genres, authors, or theories from 1845 to the present, including Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance, Richard Wright and Gwendolyn Brooks, writing by black women, international black literature in English, and black American autobiography. (Same as Africana Studies 443.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 451 Modern British and American Poetry (3)
Formal, cultural, and thematic movements in 20th-century British and American poetry published before 1950. Includes writers such as Yeats, Frost, Eliot, Pound,Williams, Moore, Stevens, Stein, Hughes, and Auden.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 452 Modern Drama (3)
Survey of British, American, and international drama from 1880 to the end of World War II. Includes such playwrights as Ibsen, Chekhov, Shaw, Synge, O’Neill, Glaspell, Treadwell, Hughes, Pirandello, Brecht, and Wilder. (Same as Comparative Literature 452.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 453 Contemporary Drama (3)
Survey of British, American, and international drama since World War II. Includes such playwrights as Williams, Miller, Beckett, Dürrenmatt, Stoppard, Churchill, Shepard, Mamet, Shange, Wilson, Friel, Maponya, Highway, and Kushner.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 454 20th-Century International Novel (3)
Fiction in English translation from such writers as Kafka and Camus through contemporary authors. (Same as Comparative Literature 454.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 455 Persuasive Writing (3)
Focuses on writing and anal-yzing persuasive texts in public, private, and academic contexts. (WC)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 355.
English 456 Contemporary Fiction/Narrative (3)
Formal, liter-ary-historical, and thematic movements in post-World War II British and American fiction and international fiction in translation. Focus on postmodern novels and short stories written after 1945, but readings may include some newly influential narrative forms such as the graphic novel, hypertext and digital fiction and the nonfiction novel.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118
English 459 Contemporary Poetry (3)
Formal, cultural, and thematic movements in poetry published since 1950. Includes such writers as Lowell, Bishop, Brooks, Ginsberg, Plath, Larkin, Ashbery, Heaney, Baraka, and Walcott.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 460 Technical Editing (3)
Editing technical material for publication. Principles of style, format, graphics, layout, and production management.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 360.
English 462 Writing for Publication (3)
Principles and practices of writing for publication. Dissertations, theses, articles, and reports in science and technology.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 360.
English 463 Advanced Poetry Writing (3)
Development of skills acquired in basic poetry-writing course.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 363.
English 464 Advanced Fiction Writing (3)
Development of skills acquired in basic fiction-writing course.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 364.
English 466 Writing, Layout, and Production of Technical Documents (3)
Principles of design for desktop publishing.
Production of various documentsto be incorporated into a professional portfolio.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 360.
English 470 Special Topics in Rhetoric (3)
Topics vary.
Repeatability: May be repeated with consent of department. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 355.
English 471 Sociolinguistics (3)
Language in relation to societies. Theoretical and empirical study of language variation in individuals (style-shifting) and among social, cultural, and national/international groups. (Same as Linguistics 471.)
Recommended Background: 371 or 372 or Linguistics 200 or consent of instructor.
English 472 American English (3)
Phonological, morphological, and syntactic characteristics of major social and regional varieties of American English with attention to their origins, functions, and implications for cultural pluralism. (Same as Linguistics 472.)
(DE) Prerequisite(s): 371 or 372 or Linguistics 200.
English 474 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3)
Introduces major issues surrounding teaching ESL/EFL, including politicalimplications of teaching ESL/EFL. Introduction to second languageacquisition, learner variables in language learning, traditional and innovative approaches to ESL/EFL, and basic features of American English grammar necessary for teaching ESL. (Same as Linguistics 474.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
Recommended Background: Second year of a foreign language.
English 476 Second Language Acquisition (3)
How humans learn second languages. Examines theoretical models and research on such issues as differences between first and second language acquisition; the effect of age; cognitive factors in second language acquisition; learner variables; sociocultural factors; and implications for second/foreign language instruction. (Same as Linguistics 476.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 477 Pedagogical Grammar for ESL Teachers (3)
Aspects of English syntax and morphology presenting difficulties for non-native learners of English. Basic and complex sentence structures; the noun and article system; and verb tense, aspect, modality, and complementation. (Same as Linguistics 477.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 479 Literary Criticism (3)
Historical survey of major works of literary criticism.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 480 Fairy Tale, Legend, and Myth: Folk Narrative (3)
Study of forms of folk narrative. Normally includes Grimms’, Andersen’s, Irish, English, Appalachian, African, and Native American tales.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 481 Studies in Folklore (3)
Topic varies.
Repeatability: May be repeated if topic differs. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 482 Major Authors (3)
Concentrated study of at least one of the most influential writers in British or American literary history (e.g., Donne, Pope, Austen, Tennyson, Whitman, Faulkner, Lawrence, Baldwin, or Morrison). Content varies.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 483 Special Topics in Literature (3)
Topic varies.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 484 Special Topics in Writing (3)
Original writing integrated with reading. Usually taught by a professional author.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 485 Special Topics in Language (3)
(Same as Linguistics 485.) Repeatability: May be repeated with consent of department. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 486 Special Topics in Criticism (3)
Special topics in theoretical and practical approaches to British and American literature. Content varies.
Repeatability: May be repeated with consent of department. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 489 Special Topics in Film (3)
Particular directors, film genres, national cinema movements, or other topics. Content varies. (Same as Cinema Studies 489.)
Repeatability: May be repeated with consent of department. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 490 Language and Law (3)
Language in the Anglo-American legal process. Focus on differences between spoken and written language, lexical and syntactic ambiguity, pragmatics, speech act analysis, and the language rights of linguistic minorities. (Same as Legal Studies 490; Linguistics 490.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 491 Foreign Study: Drama in Stratford and London (1-4)
Seeing, studying, and writing about drama as performed in London and Stratford-upon-Avon during the summer.
Repeatability: May be repeated once with instructor’s permission.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 492 Off-Campus Study: Drama in New York(3)
Seeing, studying, and writing about drama as performed in New York City.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 493 Independent Study (1-6)
Tutorial in subjects not adequately covered in regular courses.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
English 495 Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition (3)
Introduction to the historical, theoretical, and empirical modes of inquiry in rhetoric and composition and their implications for the teaching of composition.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 355.
English 496 The Rhetoric of Legal Discourse (3)
Nature of legal language and written discourse types (opinions, memoranda, briefs). Introduction to legal research resources and techniques. Issue identification and argumentative techniques. Students will write position papers, memoranda, and briefs. No prior legal knowledge necessary. (Same as Legal Studies 496.)
Recommended Background: 355 or consent of instructor.
English 498 Senior Honors Thesis (3)
Second semester of English honors program. Working individually, the student produces a substantial critical or creative project under the direction of two members of the professorial staff.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 398.
English 499 Senior Seminar (3)
Intensive study of an author, period, genre, or of problems in language, literary history, or theory. Content varies, but all sections address problems of value from an interdisciplinary perspective. Substantial research paper required. Capstone experience. Writing-emphasis course. (WC)
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 102 or 118.
Comment(s): Completion of 15 upper-division hours in English required.
Registration Restriction(s): English major