Department of English
200-level courses
Please note: some items require a free Microsoft Office Viewer. Please select the appropriate viewer and download it from the Microsoft web site. Each Office file type link is labelled as such.
201 - European Literary Classics: Ancient to Renaissance
201-01 TR 9:30-10:45 - D. Baker
English 201 surveys the most influential texts of the Judeo-Christian tradition from the beginning through the early modern period. We will read selections from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible; the Iliad, the Aeneid, and the Divine Comedy, and the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, and Montaigne as well as several Greek and Renaissance plays in their entirety. The graded assignments will include quizzes, a midterm and a final exam.
208 - Topics in Global Literature
208-01 MWF 9:00-9:50 - S. Atchison
209 - Topics in Non-Western Literature
209-01 TR 14:00-15:15 - M. Rifkin
Indigenous Writing Around the World
Over the past thirty years, the term “Indigenous” has taken on a particular meaning in international law. It refers to peoples whose territories have been incorporated without their consent into an enveloping nation-state that is founded by outsiders. All of the countries in the Americas, for example, fit this pattern. Writings by members of such groups address their struggle to maintain political autonomy and distinct social systems amidst the invasive presence of settlers and interference in Indigenous matters by settler governments. In this course, we will read examples of different kinds of writing by Indigenous authors. We will consider the continuities in the situations they describe and the rhetorical strategies they use while also addressing how varied nation-states’ legal and economic systems affect the form and content of Indigenous texts from those particular countries. Authors will be chosen from Indigenous groups in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Australia, and New Zealand. Requirements will include regular electronic postings, two essays, reading quizzes, and a final.
210 - Literature and the Arts
210-01 TR 14:00-15:15 - C. Golden
This course will look closely at Literature and the arts, including film, architecture, music and the visual arts (painting, sculpture, and photography). Over the semester, we will examine 20th and 21st Century American Literature and students will focus on the social, political, and historical forces at work during this time. The course will be divided into four significant moments in American Literature: Modernism, the Harlem Renaissance, Postmodernism, and 21st Century experimentation.
211 - British Authors: Medieval-Neoclassical
All 211 sections meet General Education Core Requirements
for Literature (GLT) and AULER/CLER (BL/CBL).
Requirement for English major. Pr. sophomore standing, or English major, or
permission of instructor.
211-02 MWF 11:00-11:50 - A. Vines
We will study major works from the Middle Ages through the eighteenth century by writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Behn, Pope and their contemporaries. Our emphasis will be on close reading of these texts within their literary, cultural, and historical contexts. Class will consist of a combination of lecture and discussion. Assignments will include reading quizzes, one paper, and three exams.
211-03 TR 9:30-10:45 - J. Feather
"This course will examine how English texts from the 6th century to the early part of the 18th century have been organized into a literary tradition in order to articulate a sense of English national identity out of a broad multi-cultural context. Looking at the texts in historical context we will practice close reading and basic literary analysis. Class will consist of both lecture and discussion. Requirements: three exams, weekly questions, and a short essay."
211-04 TR 11:00-12:15 - J. Feather
"This course will examine how English texts from the 6th century to the early part of the 18th century have been organized into a literary tradition in order to articulate a sense of English national identity out of a broad multi-cultural context. Looking at the texts in historical context we will practice close reading and basic literary analysis. Class will consist of both lecture and discussion. Requirements: three exams, weekly questions, and a short essay."
212 - Major British Authors: Romantic to Modern
All 212 sections meet General Education Core Requirements for Literature (GLT) and AULER/CLER (BL/CBL). Requirement for English major. Pr. sophomore standing, or English major, or permission of instructor.
212-04 TR 9:30-10:45 - R. Langenfeld
English 212 surveys writers in British literature from the Romantic, Victorian, and Modernist eras. Since we have but a few months to cover over two centuries of literature, we must select representative figures from these eras to help us understand key features of literary history since the late 1700s into the early twenty-first century.
The course format will include a mixture of lecture, class discussion, group work, movies, audio readings, and use of the course website.
Texts
» E-Reserves in Jackson Library via Your Blackboard Account
» Jean Rhys. Wide Sargasso Sea (W. W. Norton). At Amazon.com
212-05 TR 12:30-13:45 - R. Langenfeld
English 212 surveys writers in British literature from the Romantic, Victorian, and Modernist eras. Since we have but a few months to cover over two centuries of literature, we must select representative figures from these eras to help us understand key features of literary history since the late 1700s into the early twenty-first century.
The course format will include a mixture of lecture, class discussion, group work, movies, audio readings, and use of the course website.
Texts
» E-Reserves in Jackson Library via Your Blackboard Account
» Jean Rhys. Wide Sargasso Sea (W. W. Norton). At Amazon.com
221 - Writing of Poetry: Introductory
221-01 MW 14:00-15:15 - J. Craft
221-02 TR 9:30-10:45 - J. Whitaker
This is an introductory course in the writing & study of poetry. We will discuss what makes a poem, what makes it work well, & why/how it does so, & we will workshop one another’s poems with enthusiasm & care. We will also discuss formal, technical, generic, & stylistic concerns through close readings. This course is reading intensive & we will use as our guides Mary Oliver's Poetry Handbook, The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry, edited by J.D. McClatchy, and The Greensboro Review. Classes will be conducted in a workshop/discussion format.
225 - Writing of Fiction: Introductory
225-01 MWF 12:00-12:50 - G. Lester
English 225 is an introduction to writing fiction. If you are committed to sharpening your fiction writing through careful and meticulous study of both published and student work, then this is the place for you. This course will focus on both craft (the nuts-and-bolts of telling stories) and vision (how your work engages mystery, beauty, and truth). If this is what you want to do then welcome.
You will be responsible for two 10-12 page short stories, a revision of one of these stories, six 2-page "shapes," and a 2-page interview assignment. You will provide written critiques of your classmates' longer stories and occasional written reactions to our readings. You will also meet individually with your instructor to discuss your work.
251 - Major American Authors: Colonial to Romantic
All 251 sections meet General Education Core Requirements
for Literature (GLT) and AULER/CLER (BL/CBL).
Requirement for English major. Pr. sophomore standing, or English major, or
permission of instructor.
251-01 TR 11:00-12:15 - J. Clark
251-02 MW 14:00-15:15 - S. Ferguson
251-04 MWF 9:00-9:50 - K. Weyler
Requirement for English major. Pr. sophomore standing, or English major, or permission of instructor.
This course surveys representative writings from the time of European exploration in the New World through 1865. Class meetings will be discussion-oriented. Course requirements include three exams, an essay, and frequent in-class writings. This course is required for the English major; it also fulfills the GLT category. Required Texts: The Bedford Anthology of American Literature.
252 - Major American Authors: Realist to Modern
Pr. sophomore standing, or English major, or permission of instructor.
252-01 TR 11:00-12:15 - S. Romine