ENG - English Course Descriptions
Is designed to help students become better writers. Students read and discuss classic and contemporary literary works used as models for their own writing. Students are introduced to a variety of writing activities throughout the course, including the four major discourses of writing (description, narration, exposition, and persuasion). Writing guidelines and rhetorical strategies are studied as students work through the stages of the writing process. Grammatical correctness and accuracy will be expected of student writing. Students build awareness of their own writing style.
Is designed to continue with the development of the student as writer. Concentration on the organizational structure of the thematic process equips the student with the necessary skills for any academic discourse. The research paper is emphasized, with guidelines and strategies for doing research. Students read and discuss classic and contemporary literary works used as models for their own writing. Students build awareness of their own writing styles. Grammatical correctness and accuracy will be expected of student writing.
Serves as the department's gateway course to the study of literature, introducing students to fundamental generic questions and an array of current critical approaches to literature. Student work is focused upon the critical reading of one or two exemplary English language masterworks in each of three literary genres-poetry, drama, and prose fiction-in conjunction with the study of several significant critical essays devoted to each of these works. Evaluation is based upon several (at least three) student papers submitted during the course of the semester that stake out and defend a position on the literary work in relation to the critical approaches studied. Required of all English majors and education majors seeking AYA certification in English.
Is designed to improve the student's ability to read and appreciate poetry. By studying representative poems, the student can acquire knowledge of various kinds of poems, learn and practice a technique of critical reading, and understand the unique power that poetry exercises over the hearts and minds of men. (Does not meet upper-level major requirement.)
Is designed to improve the student's ability to read and appreciate fiction. By studying representative stories, the student can understand how different aspects of fiction (conflict, plot, characterization, style, point of view, etc.) illuminate themes and ideas that often elude a casual reading. (Does not meet upper-level major requirement.)
Is designed to improve the student's ability to read and appreciate dramas. Since nearly all dramas are intended for enactment on a stage, the reader's imaginative powers are required to appreciate fully the playwright's intent. By studying representative plays, students gain insight into the richness and diversity of drama and enhance their capacity to appreciate live dramatic productions. (Does not meet upper-level major requirement.)
Treats epics that are foundational for ideas and images of Western literature, as well as epics that serve the same role in non-Western countries. The epic is examined as literature, history, philosophy, theology, ethics, and travel guide combined. Western works may include the Homeric epics, The Aeneid, Jerusalem Delivered, The Song of Roland, Parzifal, or the Morte D'Arthur. Non-western epics may include sections from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Analects of Confucius, or the Mali Epic of Son-Jara among others.
Invites students to explore changing relations between the individual and society in and through classic examples of Western epic. Course readings allow students to see both continuity and difference in the passage from Greek and Roman epic (e.g., Iliad and The Aeneid) to Dante's Christian masterpiece, The Divine Comedy. St. Augustine's reflections on the soul in the Confessions provide an important hinge in the course as we explore the movement from pagan classical to medieval Christian conceptions of culture, society, and selfhood.
Focuses upon examples of lyric poetry and drama, with special attention to voice and the way in which selected examples of these two literary genres characterize human subjectivity. The course proceeds through three units: ancient lyric and dramatic voices (Greek lyric and tragedy, the Psalms); early modern/Renaissance lyric and dramatic voices (several plays of Shakespeare, as well as selected sonnets and other English lyric poetry of the period); and modern lyric and dramatic voices (e.g., Wordsworth, Keats, Hopkins, Yeats, Eliot, and a novel such as Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment). Each unit contains representative masterpieces that are significant for an understanding of the development and articulation over time of a specifically Christian literary voice.
Offers an intense practice in the process of exposition. Students will work with audience and purpose, along with the rhetorical devices used both in argumentative and persuasive writing. Both analytical writing and an advanced research study will complete this course. Computer-assisted instruction is utilized as a tool in the writing process.
Is a background course in Greek and Roman mythology. Readings will be taken from classical literature in translation as well as from later compilations. Attention will be given to the many ways in which classical mythology still touches our culture in art, music, and literature. The implications of various myths for psychology, anthropology, theology, philosophy, and history will be discussed.
Examines a particular theme (or themes) that can be fruitfully addressed through selected literary, philosophical, biblical, and theological readings. Through the theme or themes addressed, students are introduced to concepts, images, and stories that have played and continue to play a significant role in literature and art (e.g., Plato's ladder of loves, the cave allegory, the chariot of the soul, and so on; Aristotle on friendship, the unmoved mover, places of invention and poetics, and so on; biblical well-springs of literature; various Patristic and medieval contributions); at the same time, students are guided to discover and think about the many ways in which philosophical and theological thinking and discourse relate to the reading and analysis of literary works. Theme(s) will be listed as part of the title.
Studies the experience of the African-American as found in American literature from colonial times to the present, including representative works from writers of color. Special prominence is given to slave narratives of the 19th century and images of the African-American in 20th century works.
Is the study of the phonology, morphology, syntax and grammar of the English language, and its relationship to other languages in the Indo-European family. Students learn methods of representing the sounds of current English, as well as those of earlier forms of English, the common Germanic language from which it evolved, and the Indo-European parent language.
Is a fundamental course in the principles of effective communication, including intrapersonal and interpersonal communication as a basis for effective public speaking. Work on development of the speaking voice, correct diction, and enumeration is stressed.
Surveys the ideas, images, legends, and verse method that form American poetry from colonial times to the early 20th century. Attention is given to the English and traditional quality of the poetry as well as the desire to forge a new literature based on the sense of America as a unique experiment.
Studies the origins and development of American literature including the study of 16th century Spanish voyages of discovery, colonial Puritanism, and the Civil War period. Emphasis is given to the development of literary forms such as the sermon, the Puritan hagiography, the novel, the short story, and the corresponding evolution of myths of American identity.
Concerns the literary reflections on the cataclysmic events of the American Civil War and its aftermath in modern America. This course examines how the nation's premier writers and poets attempt to define American identity within the crises of the modern world.
Comprises primarily a close study of Dante's masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, though additional readings in his epistles, La Vida Nuova, De Monarchia, and the Convivio might illumine the major work. An understanding of the cultural, political, and theological background of the work is the major goal of the course.
Explores the Romantic ideal in literature as it appeared in various European nations. Dominant themes and forms of the movement are encountered in the works of major romantics and their contemporaries, such as Goethe, Schiller, Novalis, and Heine (Germany); Rousseau, Hugo, and Balzac (France); Foscolo and Leopardi (Italy); and Kierkegaard (Denmark).
Deals with the genre of informational writing found in scientific prose and in business communication. Not only are composition and format skills stressed, but the strategy behind this writing is also studied, especially with the job-packet section (résumé/interview). A foundation of composition knowledge is necessary for this course. Computer-assisted instruction as a tool in the writing process is optional.
Continues with the argumentative process where audience analysis becomes a focus and where the appeal to both logic and emotion is studied and modeled. Students should know composition techniques and should have a command of the research process.Computer-assisted instruction as a tool in the writing process is utilized.
Covers the study of syllogistic/logical strategy, persuasive writing, and the principles involved not only in rhetoric, but also in the rhetorical act. Focus on fallacious argumentation in political and advertising rhetoric alerts students to manipulative techniques. Critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills are the main ingredients of this class. Students need a thorough understanding of research and composition skills before taking this course.
Explores Shakespeare's development as a writer of comedies and historical dramas. By studying plays representative of different phases in Shakespeare's career, students gain an appreciation of his growing mastery over the genre of comedy and historical plays. Attention is given to Shakespeare's development in plotting, characterization, and style from his early plays to the maturity of the high comedies. While this course primarily enables students to deal with the plays as literature, attention is also given to their nature as theatrical productions.
Explores Shakespeare's development as a writer of tragedies and romances. The nature of tragedy is explored as Shakespeare's growing mastery over this genre is traced-from the early, derivative plays to the pinnacle of achievement in this form, and beyond. By studying Shakespeare's romances, students gain an appreciation of his last phase, the period of the tragi-comedies. While this course primarily enables students to deal with the plays as literature, attention is also given to their nature as theatrical productions.
Studies English literature from its beginning to about 1485. Works such as The Dream of the Rood, The Wanderer, Beowulf, Bede's Ecclesiastical History, and Mallory's Le Morte de Arthur will be read in translation. Middle English works will be read in their original forms.
Is designed to meet the needs of students who will teach English on the secondary level or who will continue with graduate studies in English. The study of grammar includes traditional, structural, and transformational terminology and characteristics. The methodology includes sentence expansion, sentence combining, and other classroom teaching strategies. Grammar will be approached as a functional and rhetorical device to the writing process and not in total isolation. Students who register for this course should have some general knowledge of grammar.
Is designed to meet the needs of those students who are working on secondary certification. Since composition theory is part of the high school curriculum, students can concentrate on methods of teaching composition. The nucleus of this course focuses on the stages of the writing process, along with various teaching techniques. Students have the opportunity to simulate a classroom situation where they will present a lesson in composition study so that different methods can be critiqued for their effectiveness.
Affords students the opportunity to appreciate the richness and variety of the Father of English Poetry." Chaucer's writings will be examined as exemplary works of Christian humanism. Working in the poet's own Middle English (itself a rewarding challenge), students experience the moral complexity and timelessness of The Canterbury Tales as well as several lesser-known works such as The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, or Troilus and Cressida."
Provides training and practice in the use of imaginative writing: the short story, poetry, and the one act play, with particular emphasis given to the demands of each genre. Students will read good works, learn the value of risk, language play, precision, and revision as they participate in a workshop approach.
Teaches scansion and other elements of contemporary formal prosody. Students in this course will imitate poetic forms, and in doing so both develop a sense of the relationship between content and reusable forms, and discover the value of surprise and revision. A workshop approach will be employed as they study forms such as sonnet, villanelle, rondeau, sestina, and haiku.
Studies the major literature in English from 1485 to 1650. Particular emphasis will fall on the extraordinary luxuriance of literary works that examine religious and political issues near the end of the reign of Elizabeth I-the period that produced Lyly, Spenser, Sidney, Shakespeare, Donne, Marlowe, and Jonson.
Examines the tendency in the late 16th and early 17th centuries to create a poetry that fused the earthly and the transcendental, the human and the divine. Attention will be given to such poets as Donne, Crashaw, Herbert, Vaughan, Traherne, and Marvell.
This course offers an intensive study of representative films of one of the premier film directors of the 20th century, "Master of Suspense" Alfred Hitchcock. Students will learn to identify Hitchcock's characteristic style and themes, read major film criticism on Hitchcock, and learn how to write about film in composing their own criticism. Particular attention will be given to the Cahiers du Cine'ma school of Hitchcock criticism, which claims a special place for Hitchcock's Catholic sensibilities, notably in terms of the doctrine of Original Sin, and the related cinematic concept of "transference of guilt."
Actually begins in 1660 with the restoration of Charles II to the English throne. Writers in this period actively engaged in the great struggles over religion, politics, and philosophy. Consequently, some of the greatest satires in the English language emerged, typified by the works of John Dryden, Jonathan Swift, and Alexander Pope. This course emphasizes these writers, but also examines new literary expressions of the period such as Restoration Comedy, the periodical essay, the mock-epic, the biography, and literary criticism.
Provides students with an historical overview of late modernist critical theory and creative work before moving into the postmodern period. There it will show students how serious poets have wrestled with poetic matters of theme and Christian belief. Christian poets studied might begin with people like Allan Tate, Richard Wilbur, and Thomas Merton, and move into the contemporary scene with poets like Kathleen Norris, Les Murray, and Paul Mariani.
Provides students with an historical overview of late modernistic critical theory and creative work before moving into the postmodern period. There it will show students how serious fiction writers have wrestled with technical matters and matters of theme and Christian belief. Fiction writers studied might begin with people like Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, and Flannery O'Connor, and move into the contemporary scene with writers like Larry Woiwode, Andre Dubus, and Ron Hansen.
Explores the poetic reaction to the so- called "Age of Reason" and the Industrial Revolution, attempting to balance reason with spirit and imagination, and industrialization with a renewed emphasis on nature. The poetry of this period (1798-1832), particularly the works of Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats, will be read and analyzed.
Is a survey of the literature of England after the Romantics and before the 20th century, the period of Victoria's reign (1837-1901). A study of the nonfiction prose of this period gives the student a background of the major ideas of the period, which tried to yoke the spiritual/creation power of the individual to social forms including the rise of democracy, the advent of evolutionary theory, the waning of religious faith, and experiments with socialism-all of which will offer background to the major poetry of the era.
Concentrates on the revolution in the theater that occurred with the establishment of the so-called "people's theater" in France, in Germany, and in Russia during the late 19th century. By exploring the themes, characterizations, and styles (both literary and theatrical) of playwrights such as Ibsen, Chekov, Strindberg, Shaw, O'Casey, Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, Sartre, Beckett, Brecht, and Arthur Miller, students will appreciate the diversity and the difficulty in understanding what is "modern" in modern drama.
Provides an in depth study of representative masterworks of Russian literature. Exploring prose and poetry of spiritual, literary, and political influence, the course traces the interplay of typically Russian elements and European influences. Authors studied may include Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoi, Solzhenitsyn, Mandelstamm, Akhmatova, and others.
Is the study of representative texts from the late 18th through the 20th century, examining how women philosophers and novelists have responded to such issues as the birth of modern feminism, women's place in the public sphere, art and what it means to be a woman artist, and marriage and the family. Authors studied may include Jane Austen, Mary Wollstonecraft, Willa Cather, Zora Neale Hurston, and Sigrid Undset.
At least one previous literature course.
Introduces students to the fundamentals of professional editing and proofreading, especially as they pertain to the copyediting of manuscripts written according to The Chicago Manual of Style. Topics include the editorial process, conventions and controversies in editing, and the role of the editor in publishing. Students gain intensive, hands-on practice with the mechanics of both copyediting and proofreading. To these ends, emphasis will be placed on issues pertaining to diction, grammatical usage, and punctuation.
Is a work-experience opportunity with the purpose of expanding education by applying accumulated knowledge in the areas of literature, writing, or drama. The faculty member serving as the director of the internship may require a capstone paper or project about the internship that serves to integrate the student's work experience with scholarship. Students should have at least a 3.0 quality point average in the major and at least a 2.5 average overall. Students seeking internships are approved individually by the academic department. A contract can be obtained from the Career Services Office in Starvaggi Hall, and a contract and registration must be made prior to doing the internship. Internships count as general electives.
English junior or senior standing and permission of the department chair. Internships must be preapproved.
Traces the development of the drama in England from its beginnings in medieval liturgy through the Elizabethan Period (excluding Shakespeare) and the Restoration. Because the Elizabethan theater was rich in both number and quality of plays, that period (1556-1603) will constitute a major focus of the course.
Allows students to explore Shakespeare's plays and poetry across genres. A generous selection of works will be offered, either organized by theme (e.g., moral virtue, female characters, family relationships) or by chronological development, cross-genre influence (e.g., the fool in tragedy vs. comedy), or performance history.
Offers intense practice in the writing of short stories. Students will read good contemporary work and workshop their own writing as they attempt to make art from the margins, to tackle tough Christian issues. And in the process of doing so, they will learn to manipulate the elements of fiction, including, among others, point of view, characterization, setting, symbol, and psychic distance.
Offers intense practice in the writing of poetry. Modeling and a workshop focus will help students to appreciate and value surprise, density of image, and questions regarding line and rhythm as they attempt to, in Frost's words, move from "delight to wisdom."
Is an introduction to the development of narrative line, character, and dialogue in an original dramatic text. By the end of the semester, the student will have completed a short play, which will receive a staged reading and open critique.
DRA 408
Studies the novel as a genre from its beginnings to about 1850. Major writers such as Bunyan, Defoe, Swift, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Austen, and the Brontë sisters will be considered as examples of major concerns and ideas.
Analyzes works of selected major writers from the mid-19th century to the present. Primary attention is given to the ideas that emerge from the conflict of a religiously ordered society with a modern vision based on determinism in Dickens, the Brontës, Hardy, Ford, Joyce, Waugh, and Greene, among others.
Concerns the genesis of the novel in American literature. Attention is given to the evolution of the American novel from various myths and images of American history. Representative masterpieces by writers such as Cooper, Hawthorne, Melville, Cather, Faulkner, O'Connor, Ellison, Percy, and others will be studied.
Presents a thoughtful selection of Western and non-Western literature designed to illustrate the variety of cultural representations as well as the tensions between Western and non-Western nations and ideals from approximately 1914 to the present. Works may include prose, poetry, and non-fiction by Achebe, Solzhenitsyn, Endo, Mishima, Borges, Mafouz, Marquez, Soyinka and others.
Is designed to help students experience the genre of creative nonfiction and to study its characteristics. This literature, known as the literature of fact, is that branch of writing which employs literary techniques and artistic vision associated with fiction or poetry in order to report actual events and persons. Students discuss and analyze creative nonfiction readings, using them as models for their own writing.
Is a specialized in-depth study of the works of a single American author or a few related authors. This course may be repeated for credit if different authors are studied. Author(s) will be listed as part of the course title.
Is a specialized in-depth study of the works of a single British author or a few related authors. This course may be repeated for credit if different authors are studied. Author(s) will be listed as part of the course title.
Is a specialized in-depth study of the works of a single world author or a few related authors. This course may be repeated for credit if different authors are studied. Author(s) will be listed as part of the course title.
Undertakes a detailed analysis of statements from the Classical Period to the present using established theoretical and aesthetic standards. Students will explore not only the nature of literature, but also the very nature of the true and the beautiful, as well as of taste. They will test their criteria for evaluating works of literature against those of the most celebrated literary theorists and practitioners.
Requires all English majors to write a thesis on an approved literary problem; all students enrolled in ENG 434 must also submit with their completed thesis a portfolio composed of samples of their English course work. Please see the "Portfolio Letter" found under the heading "Thesis Info" on the English department website for full instructions.
Treats British and American poetry since the late 19th century. It focuses on the elements that define American poetry and modernity, as well as the fundamental shifts that cause us to call poetry modern. Major figures include Pound, Eliot, Yeats, and Frost and many other British and American poets.
Explores the nature of "modernism." By examining selected novellas and short stories by writers such as Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, James, Kafka, O'Connor, Bellow, Baldwin, Ellison, Gaines, Joyce, Faulkner, and Hemingway, attention is given to both thematic and stylistic features in order to better understand what is "modern" about modern fiction.
Is designed to survey the development and variety of John Milton (1608-1674) through a close study of his major poetry and prose works. A thorough reading of his epic Paradise Lost will crown the course, though a study of his earlier poetic development will illuminate that masterpiece for the student, and his prose pamphlets in support of the Puritan revolution will offer some historical and intellectual background to the period.
Concerns itself with the major literary theorists of the 20th century.