ENG-G 205 Intro. to the English Language (3 cr)

Acquaints the student with contemporary studies of the nature of language in general and of the English language in particular.
Offered fall semesters.

ENG-G 207 Grammar and Usage (3 cr)

Provides students with a foundation in traditional grammar and usage.
Offered spring semesters.

ENG-G 500 Introduction to the English Language (3 cr)

An introduction to the English language: its nature, structure, and development.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-G 552 Linguistics for Teachers (4 cr)

Topics in applied English linguistics, intended for English teachers at all levels.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-G 652 English Language Sociolinguistics (4 cr)

A survey course in American and British sociolinguistics, this course investigates the theoretical bases, the major works, and the methodological approaches of current sociolinguistics.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-G 660 Stylistics (4 cr)

Survey of traditional and linguistic approaches to the study of prose and poetic style. Attention will center on description of the verbal characteristics of texts, what those characteristics reflect about the author, and how they affect the reader.
Offered spring semesters.

ENG-D 600 History of the English Language (4cr)

Survey of the evolution of the English language from its earliest stages to the present, with reference to its external history and to its phonology, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 203 Introduction to Drama (3 cr)

Representative significant plays to acquaint you with characteristics of drama as a type of literature. Readings include plays from several ages and countries.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 204 Introduction to Fiction (3 cr)

Representative works of fiction; structural techniques in the novel. Novels and short stories from several ages and countries.
Offered Spring and Fall in even years.

ENG-L 205 Introduction to Poetry (3 cr)

A basic course that will enable students to talk and write about poetry.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 207 Women and Literature (3 cr)

Issues and approaches to the critical study of women writers and treatment in British and American literature.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 208 Topics in English and American Lit. (3 cr)

Selected works of English or American literature in relation to a single cultural problem or theme. Topics will vary from semester to semester.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 209 Topics in American Lit. and Culture (3 cr)

Selected works of American literature taught in relation to a single cultural problem or theme. Topics will vary from semester to semester.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 225 Introduction to World Masterpieces (3 cr)

An intensive study of masterpieces of world literature from Homer’s Odyssey to Goethe’s Faust, which present the archetypal patterns of human experience that recur in the great literature of the past and present.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 260 Introduction to Advanced Study of Literature (3 cr)

Introduces four principles essential to advanced study of literature: attention to language and varieties of figurative language, analysis of generic forms and modes, awareness of historical context and mediation of forms, and facility with traditional and contemporary theories of literature. Offered fall and spring semesters.

ENG-L 295 American Literature and Film (3 cr)

Film in relation to American culture and society. Topic varies. Works of literature may be used for comparison, but the main emphasis will be on film as a narrative medium and as an important element in American culture.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 301 English Literature Survey I (3 cr)

Representative selections with emphasis on major writers from the beginnings to Swift and Pope. Offered alternatively with ENG-L 309 in spring semester, odd years.

ENG-L 306 Middle English Literature (3 cr)

A survey of Middle English lyrics, drama, and romance, with special attention to Langland, The Pearl-poet, and Gover, designed to acquaint the student with the language and literary development of England from 1066 to 1500.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 309 Elizabethan Poetry (3 cr)

Will focus on the sonnets and longer poetic works by Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, Philip Sidney, and other poets of the Elizabethan period. Intended for the English major for those with some literature and writing background.
Offered alternatively with ENG-L 301 in spring semester, odd years.

ENG-L 315 Major Plays of Shakespeare (3 cr)

A close reading of a representative selection of Shakespeare’s major plays.
Offered fall semester, odd years.

ENG-L 332 Romantic Literature (3 cr)

British literature and culture in the age of Romanticism and the revolutionary era (ca. 1780-1830). Poetry, fiction, drama, and non-fiction writings from major and minor authors, such as Austen, Blake, Byron, Coleridge, Scott, the Shelleys, Keats, Wollstonecraft, and the Wordsworths.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 335 Victorian Literature (3 cr)

Major poetry and prose, 1830-1900, studies against social and intellectual background of period.
Offered occasional spring semesters.

ENG-L 345 Twentieth-Century British Poetry (3 cr)

Modern poets, especially Yeats, Eliot, Auden; some later poets may be included.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 346 Twentieth-Century British Fiction (3 cr)

20th-century novel and its techniques and experiments, chiefly Lawrence, Joyce, Woolf, and recent novelists.
Offered occasional fall semesters.

ENG-L 347 British Fiction to 1800 (3 cr)

Forms, techniques and theories of fiction as exemplified by such writers as Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Smollett, and Sterne.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 349 British Literature Since 1900 (3 cr)

British literature from the twentieth century through the present, including a variety of literary genres. Offered occasional fall semesters.

ENG-L 350 Early American Writing and Culture to 1800 (3 cr)

Examination of a range of literary and cultural communications from the period of exploration and colonization of the Americas through the Revolutionary era. Special attention paid to the interactions between rhetoric and history, and to religious, scientific, political, racial, and literary discourses. Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 352 American Literature 1865-1914 (3 cr)

Surveys American literature through the development of realism, regionalism, naturalism, and the beginnings of modernism. Considers literature’s relation to social and cultural phenomena of this era, such as urbanization, industrialization, immigration, racial tensions, labor strife, changing gender roles, and the spread of mass media and consumer culture.
Offered fall semester, odd years.

ENG-L 354 American Literature since 1914 (3 cr)

Study of modernist and contemporary American writers in various genres, 1914 to the present, including Frost, Stein, Faulkner, O’Connor, Baldwin, Morrison, and others.
Offered fall semester, even years.

ENG-L 355 American Fiction to 1900 (3 cr)

Survey of a range of literary fiction in nineteenth-century America, examining a variety of forms including the novel, sketch, short story, as well as modes (Gothic, romance, sentimental, adventure). Attention will be paid to the historical, cultural, and political contexts in which canonical and lesserknown authors wrote.
Offered spring semester, even years.

ENG-L 356 American Poetry to 1900 (3 cr)

Includes work of Bradstreet, Taylor, the fireside poets, Poe, Emerson, Whitman, Dickinson, and Crane.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 357 20th Century American Poetry (3 cr)

Examination of the general trends and important contributions found in the work of major and minor American poets.
Offered spring semester, odd years.

ENG-L 360 American Prose (Excluding Fiction) (3 cr)

Examines—but is not limited to—such nonfiction genres as the personal or political essay, science writing, journalism exposé, history, biography, film criticism, memoir, travel and speech writing. The instructor may focus on a particular genre or period.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 361 Studies in 19th Century American Lit (3 cr)

Study of 19th century American literature focused on a particular literary, cultural, or thematic movement or issue of the time.
Offered fall semesters, even years.

ENG-L 364 Native American Literature (3 cr)

A survey of traditional and modern literature by American Indians, especially of the high plains and southwest culture areas, with particular attention to the image of the Indian in both native and white literature.
Offered occasionally spring odd years.

ENG-L 367 Literature of the Bible (3 cr)

Study of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament with emphasis on questions of reading and interpretation.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 369 Studies in American & British Authors (3 cr)

Studies in single authors (such as Wordsworth and Melville), groups of authors (such as minority writers), and periods (such as American writers of the 1920s). Topics vary from semester to semester. May be repeated once for credit.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 371 Introduction to Critical Practices (3 cr)

Study of and practice in critical methodologies. Can be focused on specific topics.
Offered fall semesters.

ENG-L 378 Studies in Women and Literature (3 cr)

British and American authors such as George Eliot, Gertrude Stein; groups of authors, such as the Bronte sisters, recent women poets; or genres and modes, such as autobiography, film, and criticism. Topics will vary from semester to semester.
Offered spring semester, even years.

ENG-L 379 American Ethnic and Minority Lit. (3 cr)

A survey of representative authors and works of American ethnic and minority literature with primary focus on Black, Hispanic, and Native Americans.
Offered spring semester, odd years.

ENG-L 381 Recent Writing (3 cr)

Selected writers of contemporary significance. May include groups and movements (such as black writers, poets of projective verse, new regionalists, para journalists, and other experimenters in pop literature, folk writers, and distinctly ethnic writers); several recent novelists, poets, or critics; or any combination of groups. May be repeated once for credit.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 382 Fiction of the Non-Western World (3 cr)

An in-depth study of selected narratives from the fiction of the non-western world. Focus and selections vary from year to year.
May be repeated once for credit.
Offered fall semester, odd years.

ENG-L 383 Studies in British or Commonwealth (3 cr)

Study of a coherent period of British or Commonwealth periods(such as medieval, Elizabethan, Victorian England, or modernCanada), with attention to the relations between literature, the other arts, and the intellectual milieu.
Offered fall semester, even years.

ENG-L 384 Studies in American Culture (3 cr)

Study of a coherent period of American culture (such as the Revolution, the Progressive Era, the Great Depression), with attention to the relations between literature, the other arts, and the intellectual milieu.
Offered spring semester, odd years.

ENG-L 390 Children’s Literature (3 cr)

Historical and modern children’s books and selections from books; designed to assist future teachers, parents, librarians, or others in selecting the best in children’s literature for each period of the child’s life.
Offered spring semester, odd years.

ENG-L 391 Young Adult Literature (3 cr)

Study of books suitable for junior high and high school classroom use. Special stress on works of fiction dealing with contemporary problems, but also including modern classics, biography, science fi, and other areas of interest to teenage readers.
Offered spring semester, even years.

ENG-L 392 Topics in Children's Literature (3 cr)

Studies in periods, such as contemporary American children’s literature or Victorian fantasies for children; or genres such as picture books or children’s poetry. Topics will vary from semester to semester.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 394 Film as Literature (3 cr)

The course approaches the analysis of films through the cinematic equivalent of the tools of literary criticism. It will introduce students to the elements of filmmaking and the methods of literary analysis as a way of reaching an understanding of how films mean.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 395 British and American Film Studies (3 cr)

Intensive study of specific topics related to film narratives; Emphasis on American or British film as a cultural phenomenon.
Topic varies.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-L 450 Seminar: British & American Authors (3 cr)

Intensive study of a major author or school of closely related authors.
Offered as needed.

  • Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing, English majors only.

ENG-L 460 Seminar: Literary Form, Mode, Theme (3 cr)

Study of texts written in several historical periods united by a common mode or form (narrative, romanticism, lyric, etc.), or by a common theme (Bildungsroman, the city and the country, the two cultures question, the uses of literacy, etc.).

ENG-L 506 Intro to Methods of Criticism and Research (4 cr)

The conditions and assumptions of studying English, with emphasis on criticism and research on a culturally and historically diverse range of texts.
Offered fall semesters.

ENG-L 553 Studies in Literature (4 cr)

Primarily for secondary-school and junior-college teachers of English. Emphasis on thematic, analytic, and generic study. With consent of instructor, may be repeated once for credit.

ENG-L 643 Readings in Colonial and Post Colonial Literatures (4 cr)

Study of literature within the historical, cultural and political context of European colonialism and anti- or post-colonial resistance. Topics might include the role of literature in the formation of nations and national consciousness, literatures of particular nations, or postcolonial theory. 

ENG-L 649 British Literature Since 1900 (4 cr)

The study of selected works of British Literature since 1900, with an emphasis on modernism and post-colonialism.  Genres include poetry, fiction, and drama. 

ENG-L 646 Readings in Media/Literature/Culture

Introductory study of issues in literary editing, textual culture, or digital humanities. This course examines theoretical approaches to the study of media, literature, and culture in order to address issues of literary editing, textual culture, or digital humanities. Using and creating digital humanities resources, students will engage topics in literature and culture.

ENG-L 651 American Literature 1609-1800 (4 cr)

Intensive historical and critical study of all genres from John Smith through Charles Brockden Brown.

ENG-L 653 American Literature 1800-1900 (4 cr)

Intensive historical and critical study of all genres from Washington Irving through Frank Norris.

ENG-L 666 Survey of Children’s Literature (3-4 cr)  

A survey of literature written for children and adolescents from the medieval period to the present.

ENG-L 680 Special Topics in Literature (4 cr)

Readings in sociological, political, psychological, and other approaches to literature.

ENG-L 682 Topics in Children's Literature (4 cr)

Studies in periods, such as contemporary American children’s literature or Victorian fantasies for children; or genres such as picture books or children’s poetry. Topics will vary from semester. May be repeated with different topics, for a maximum of 9 credits.
Offered occasionally.

ENG-W 131 Reading, Writing, and Inquiry I (3 cr)

W131 teaches skills of critical reading, thinking, and writing to help students meaningfully engage artifacts, events, and issues in our world. The course builds students’ abilities to read written and cultural texts critically; to analyze those texts in ways that engage both students’ own experiences and the perspectives of others; and to write about those texts for a range of audiences and purposes as a means of participating in broader conversations. Assignments emphasize the analysis and synthesis of sources in making and developing claims.
Offered fall, spring, and summer semesters.

ENG-W 206 Creative Writing (3 cr)

Exploratory course in the writing of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. Offered fall and spring semesters.

ENG-W 230 Science Writing (3 cr)

Instruction in preparing scientific reports, proposals, visuals, and research projects with instruction in CBE documentation and style.
Offered spring semesters.

ENG-W 231 Professional Writing Skills (3 cr)

To develop research and writing skills requisite for most academic and professional activities. Emphasis on methods of research, organization, and writing techniques useful in preparing reviews, critical bibliographies, research and technical reports, proposals and papers.
Offered fall, spring, and summer semesters.

  • Prerequisites: ENG-W 131 (with a grade of C or better)

ENG-W 234 Technical Report Writing

Instruction in preparing technical reports, and technical instructions and descriptions with an introduction to the use of graphics.

ENG-W 270 Argumentative Writing (3 cr)

Offers instruction and practice in writing argumentative essays about complicated and controversial issues. The course focuses on strategies identifying issues, assessing claims, locating evidence, deciding on a position, and writing papers with clear assertions and convincing arguments.
Offered fall and spring semesters.

  • Prerequisites: ENG-W 131 (with a grade of C or better)

ENG-W 280 Literary Editing and Publishing (3 cr)

Principles of editing and publishing literary writing. Kinds of journals, varieties of formats (including print and e-zine), introduction to editing and production processes. Possible focus on genre publishing (fiction, poetry, non-fiction prose), grant writing, Web publishing, etc.

ENG-W 290 Writing for Teachers (3 cr)

Studies academic writing as a means of discovery and record. Study of and practice in the procedures, conventions, and terminology of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
Offered spring semester, occasional summers.

ENG-W 301 Writing Fiction (3 cr)

Further exploration in the art of fiction writing. May be repeated once for credit.
Offered fall semester.

ENG-W 303 Writing Poetry (3 cr)

Further exploration in the art of poetry writing. May be repeated once for credit.
Offered fall semester.

ENG-W 311 Writing Creative Nonfiction (3 cr)

Writing workshop in such modes as personal essay, autobiography, and documentary. Course focuses on understanding and practicing the rhetorical and stylistic choices available to writers of creative nonfiction: options for structure, pacing, language, style, tone, detail, description, authorial presence and voice, etc. May be repeated once for credit.
Offered fall semester.

ENG-W 321 Advanced Technical Writing (3 cr)

Instruction in preparing technical reports, with an emphasis on the use of graphics.
Offered spring semester, online.

ENG-W 323 Digital Writing (3 cr)

Writing no longer means merely words on the printed page. Today writing means selecting among and scripting multiple media, including photographs, charts, video, images, audio, diagrams, hyperlinks, and more. Students learn how to layer and juxtapose media to create sophisticated messages. The course explores a wide range of interactive writing skills and formats, including blogs and writing for web pages.
Offered fall semesters.

ENG-W 324 Technical Editing (3 cr)

Technical editing introduces the basic principles of editing documents for grammar, syntax, organization, style, emphasis, and audience awareness. The course focuses on common methods of copy-marking documents; distinguishing between grammatical and stylistic emendations; methods of analyzing, critiquing and revising manuscripts; and techniques for creating successful writers/editors.
Offered fall semesters.

ENG-W 350 Advanced Composition (3 cr)

Close examination of the assumptions and choices that govern content and style, and practice in the techniques of producing a variety of researched papers incorporating primary and secondary research, appropriate to audience and purpose.
Offered occasionally online.

ENG-W 395 Individual Study of Writing (3 cr)

Topics vary by semester.
Offered spring semester, odd semesters, online.

ENG-W 400 Issues in Teaching Writing (3 cr)

Focuses on the content of rhetoric and composition, as well as considers fundamental theoretical and practical issues in the teaching of writing. Reviews rhetorical and compositional principles that influence writing instruction, textbook selection, and curriculum development.
Offered occasionally online.

ENG-W 401 Advanced Fiction Writing (3 cr)

Focused work in the art and profession of fiction writing. May be repeated once for credit. Offered spring semester.

  • Co-requisite: ENG-W 301 or permission of instructor.

ENG-W 403 Advanced Poetry Writing (3 cr)

Focused work in the art and profession of poetry writing. May be repeated once for credit.
Offered spring semester. Crosslisted with ENG-W303.

  • Co-requisite: ENG-W 303 or permission of instructor.

ENG-W 405 Writing Prose Nonfiction (3 cr)

Variable topics relating to the production of non-fiction prose. Includes an intensive written project that may involve research as well as production of essays.
May be repeated once for credit.
Offered spring semester.

  • Prerequisites: ENG-W 132 or 200-level writing course

ENG-W 411 Directed Writing (3 cr)

Individual critical or creative project worked out in collaboration with a member of the staff who agrees before registration to serve as a consultant.
Offered as needed.

ENG-W 470 Senior Seminar in Professional and Technical Writing (3 cr)

Intensive study of a major issue or problem in rhetoric or technical communications. Offered spring semester.

ENG-W 500 Teaching Composition: Issues & Approaches (4 cr)

Consideration of fundamental issues in the teaching of writing and the major approaches to composition instruction. Specific topics include teaching invention and revision, diagnosing errors, teaching style and organization, making assignments, and evaluating student writing.
Offered in summer session.

ENG-W 501 Teaching of Composition in College (4 cr)

Practical teaching of composition; current research methodologies, theories and policies. May be offered as a practicum for new instructors of regular and basic sections of ENG-W 131 or as a practicum for those teaching the non-native sections.
Offered fall semesters.

ENG-W 507 Graduate Creative Nonfiction Writing (4 cr)

An advanced course in creative nonfiction prose. Seminar study of examples in the genre, including travel writing, reportage, portrait/self-portrait, memoir, and analytic meditation. Adaptation of creative writing technique for use in nonfiction. Workshop discussion of student work in progress. Class presentations on editing, publishing, and the nonfiction book proposal. Course may be taken twice for M.A. credit.

ENG-W 509 Writing and Literary Studies (4 cr)

This is the core course in the writing and literacy track of the English master's program. Students will read, analyze, discuss, and write about key issues in writing and literacy, laying a foundation for further study. Special emphasis will be placed on research methods in this field. This course engages students in intensive study of writing and literacy, focusing on issues such as the literacy of one or more literary communities, modes of information literacy, or issues in the scholarship or rhetoric and composition. It introduces graduate students to the importance of literacy concerns in developing research questions focused on the writing practices of individuals and groups. It also provides practice for developing advanced critical reading skills when responding to primary and secondary sources.

ENG-W 511 Advanced Fiction Writing (4 cr)

Study and practice in the writing of fiction. Analysis of examples from contemporary literature accompanies class criticism and discussion. Course may be taken twice for M.A. credit.

ENG-W 513 Writing Poetry (4 cr)

Poetry writing workshop on the study of prosody and form (including formal elements of free verse) in the context of writing by class members. Course may be taken twice for M.A. credit.

ENG-W 590 Teaching Composition: Theories and Application (4 cr)

Drawing on current scholarship and relevant statements from the rhetorical tradition, W590 examines theoretical assumptions in the design of classroom practices. The course focuses on knowing what we teach-and why-when we say that we teach writing. It also investigates how theories of reading, language, and technology apply to composition; how processes are central to written composition and teaching it; and how learning to write involves social and individual activities. Students respond to the assigned readings and analyze writing experiences taken from a variety of contexts, culminating in an independent project on a specific issue.

ENG-W 600 Topics in Rhetoric and Composition (4 cr)

Covers selected issues in current composition and rhetorical studies. This course introduces graduate students to the practical and theoretical topics involved in current composition and rhetoric theory such as basic writing, research methods, teaching technical/professional writing, or multimodality. Each course offering will explore a specific issue through lecture, discussion, workshop, and online instruction.

ENG-W 609 Independent Writing Project (4 cr)

Individual creative or critical projects negotiated with the professor who agrees to offer tutorial assistance.

ENG-W 611 Writing Fiction I (4 cr)

Graduate level admission standing required.

ENG-W 613 Writing Poetry I (4 cr)

Graduate level admission standing required.

ENG-W 615 Writing Creative Nonfiction (4 cr)

Writing workshop in such modes as personal essay, autobiography, and documentary. Graduate level admission standing required.

ENG-W 620 Advanced Argumentative Writing (4 cr)

Examines techniques for analyzing and constructing arguments for different disciplines and professions, especially the use of proofs, evidence, and logic. Considers major issues of argument, such as the ethics of persuading audiences and the use of style. Student write several researched arguments on political, legal, scientific and academic issues.
Offered fall semesters.

ENG-W 680 Craft of Writing (4 cr)

Elements of poetic prosody and/or the major fictive techniques: nature of stress, concepts of meter, nature of rhythm, pro sodic uses of syntax, theories of fictive realism, nature of fictive romance, point of view, etc. Students will do some writing.

ENG-W 682 Sp. Topics: Rhetoric & Composition (4 cr)

Topics are variable and change with evolution of scholarship in the field and instructor expertise. Past topics have included: technology, popular culture, history of writing instruction, and theoretical perspectives such as feminist rhetorical methods.

ENG-Y 398 Professional Practice in English (1-6 cr)

Supervised opportunity to learn through direct field experience, with guidance from a faculty mentor. The student will complete a variety of writing and research tasks for a community partner in an internship experience. Repeatable for up to 6 credits total.