English

To read well and to write well are fundamental tasks of the literate person. Since the founding of the University, the mission of the English Department has been to teach students those literary texts written or translated into English that express “the best that has been known and said.” The curriculum emphasizes literature because of its power “to teach and to delight” and its attention to truth and beauty. It stresses critical reading to develop analytical skills. The major in English develops language and writing skills because there is a fundamental relationship between accurate reading, clear thinking and well–organized oral and written expression. The ability to write and speak well is, moreover, good in and of themselves. The English major also recognizes the need to nurture the imagination both in its emphasis on the aesthetic values of literature and in its courses in creative writing. The English major prepares students for graduate work in departments of English and in other fields, as well as for careers in writing and in primary and secondary education; the major imparts knowledge, attitudes, and skills appropriate for many types of professional careers.

English majors follow a program of readings in periods of English and American literature; they also take courses that concentrate on single authors. Many courses include the study of films. English majors study literary criticism in a specialized course, but they explore important critical approaches to literature in many classes. Courses in creative writing and in advanced prose writing are important components of the English major curriculum. The department encourages English majors to take elective courses in nontraditional literary studies to increase their appreciation of diverse cultures and points of view.

Objectives

  • 1. Students majoring in English will be competent in oral and written expression and research methods.
  • 2. Students majoring in English will demonstrate a basic knowledge of the major authors, the major literary texts, and the cultural, intellectual, and philosophical backgrounds of the traditional historical periods of English and American literature.
  • 3. Graduates will be capable of analyzing and criticizing literary texts according to historical, formal (generic), and reader–response critical schools. They will understand the major tenets of archetypal and psychological critical schools and of postmodern criticism.

The department assesses students’ achievement in the major by a variety of means, including examinations, oral presentations, and papers in required courses. In their senior year, all English majors must present a thesis or produce a portfolio of creative writing or expository prose prepared under the direction of a professor in a chosen area. A jury of professors before whom the students present and defend their work will judge the thesis or portfolio.

Degrees and Certificates

Classes

ENGL 1301: Composition I

In this course, students will learn and practice the strategies and processes that successful writers employ as they work to accomplish specific purposes. In college, these purposes include comprehension, instruction, entertainment, persuasion, investigation, problem-resolution, evaluation, explanation, and refutation.

ENGL 1310: Introduction to Academic Writing

Intensive study of grammar and usage, and development of analytical and writing skills necessary for college level courses. Students must earn a grade of at least “C” for admission to the first core curriculum English course: ENGL 1341– The Classical Tradition: Literature and Composition I. The 3 credit hours for 1310 do not fulfill any core curriculum requirement in English. They may, however, count toward the total number of hours required for graduation.

ENGL 1311: The Culture of Writing

This course is intended to aid students in their transition into an academic culture that depends on writing for much of its most important communication. The course will include the review and application of principles and techniques of effective writing, critical reading, and critical thinking. Prerequisite: Acceptance in the Mendenhall Summer Institute. Co-Requisite: MATH 1325.

ENGL 2327: American Literature I

A survey of American literature from the period of exploration and settlement to the present. Students will study works of prose, poetry, drama, and fiction in relation to their historical and cultural contexts. Texts will be selected from among a diverse group of authors for what they reflect and reveal about the evolving American experience and character.

ENGL 3306: Modern Catholic Writers

Study of the authors whose Catholicism makes up a significant component of their works. Works studies may range from the nineteenth to the twenty–first century and may include all genres. May focus on the early twentieth century English Catholic literary revival. Authors may include Newman, Hopkins, Belloc, Chesterton, Claudel, von le Fort, Bernanos, Waugh, Tolkien, Flannery O'Connor, and Walker Percy.

ENGL 3312: Perspectives in World Literature

An overview of Classical, Medieval, Renaissance and Modern world literature, focusing on the abiding impact of this literature across and within cultures. For students with 6–9 credit hours of transferred English core credit only.

ENGL 3314: Development of the Novel

A study of the early development of the novel in English, from Richardson through Austen. May include study of works of Fielding, Sterne, Smollett, Goldsmith, and others; may also include study of works of precursors such as Defoe.

ENGL 3316: Shakespeare

A selection of comedies, tragedies, history plays and romances; intellectual and social backgrounds; the theater milieu.

ENGL 3326: Milton

Intensive study of Paradise Lost; minor works and selected prose; Milton as Puritan and Humanist.

ENGL 3330: The Augustan Age

Major works of Dryden, Pope and Swift; selected plays of the Restoration and 18th century; intellectual background and aesthetic theory of the Enlightenment.

ENGL 3335: Professional Writing and Editing

Provides historical and theoretical background in professional writing and editing, including editing in literary and organizational settings. Explores professional writing’s emergence as a field of scholarship and practice.

ENGL 3337: Creative Writing: Play Writing

Workshop on play writing; emphasis on discussion of students' writing and attention to the performative dimensions of dramatic writing, including the composition of dialogue as well as construction of character, situation, and plot. Limited enrollment.

ENGL 3344: Victorian Poetry

Selected works of Tennyson, Arnold, Browning and some notable minor poets; historical and intellectual backgrounds; aesthetic theory.

ENGL 3380: Introduction to Film and Literature

A study of film as literary text and the primary form of dramatic presentation in contemporary culture. The course will offer students the opportunity to view film masterpieces in various genres as well as adaptations of major theatrical or literary works in a seminar format. Students will be introduced to the critical apparatus necessary to view motion pictures as a literary medium.

ENGL 4199: Senior Thesis/Writing Portfolio

A one hour credit appended to any appropriate upper division course, required of all English majors before graduation. The research project or the writing portfolio includes oral presentation to a jury of professors and peers. This final writing project and oral presentation is designed as a part of the major's capstone experience. Prerequisites: [9 Hrs ENGL (Lower Div Core) & Instructor's Consent] OR [6 Hrs ENGL Transfer Credit, ENGL 3312, & Instructor's Consent].

ENGL 4307: Advanced Creative Writing

This course will be offered every other year for undergraduate and graduate students who plan to attend graduate school in creative writing, or who simply prefer an advanced workshop in which to hone skills as a poet or fiction writer.

ENGL 4310: American Literature I

Selected works of the Colonial and Romantic period, with emphasis on Anne Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, Jonathan Edwards, Franklin, Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, Whitman, Melville and Frederick Douglass. An exploration of the Puritan Vision (and critics of it) as well as Transcendentalism and the evolution of distinctively American literature.

ENGL 4314: Modern Poetry

Selected works of major and minor English and American poets; emphasis on Yeats, Eliot and Stevens.

ENGL 4319: Shakespearean Topics

Focused study of selected aspects of Shakespeare dramatic artistry and influence; organized around special topics, genres, or themes.

ENGL 4323: Literary Magazine

A production class, responsible for publication of the English Department’s formal literary magazine. Activities include solicitation of works, editing, page layout, graphic design and negotiation with printers. Permission of faculty member required.

ENGL 4326: Advanced Rhetoric

Study and application of rhetoric from both historical and practical perspectives. Includes reading and discussion of major texts that address patterns of discourse, communication, and other issues of rhetoric in a classical and a modern context.

ENGL 4327: Austen

Study of the novels of Jane Austen as set in their relevant historical, cultural, and literary context.

ENGL 4328: Dickens

Study of the novels of Charles Dicke11s as set in their relevant historical, cultural, and literary context.

ENGL 4329: Hardy

Study of the novels of Thomas Hardy as set in their relevant historical, cultural, and literary context.

ENGL 4334: Feature Magazine (Thoroughfare)

A collaborative production class, responsible for publication of the English Department's feature magazine (Thoroughfare). Activities include solicitation of submissions, editing, page layout, graphic design, and negotiation with printers.

ENGL 4339: Dante

Intensive study of the poetry of Dante Alighieri, read in translation, including La Vita Nuova together with the three canticles of the Commedia: the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

ENGL 5380: Introduction to Film as Literature

A study of film as literary text and the primary form of dramatic presentation in contemporary culture. The course will offer students the opportunity to view film masterpieces in various genres as well as adaptations of major theatrical or literary works in a seminar format. Students will be introduced to the critical apparatus necessary to view motion pictures as a literary medium.