MLA-English

Workshop on writing; emphasis on discussion of students’ writing. Limited enrollment.

Study of the Bible as a unique masterpiece of world literature. Examination of the forms and genres of various parts of the Bible and the distinctive quality of its literary artistry.

Study of authors whose Catholicism makes up a significant component of their works. Works studied 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 studied may include Newman, Hopkins, Belloc, Chesterton, Claudel, von le Fort, Bernanos, Waugh, Tolkien, Flannery O'Connor, and Percy.

Workshop on writing poetry; emphasis on discussion of students’ writing. Limited enrollment. Prerequisite: Instructor Consent.

Workshop on writing fiction; emphasis on discussion of students’ writing. Limited enrollment. Prerequisite: permission of faculty member. Prerequisite: Instructor Consent.

Study of Irish poetry, fiction, and drama from the Irish Revival/Modern period through the contemporary renaissance.

The Canterbury Tales; the nature of Chaucer’s literary achievements. Spring.

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 transferred English credit hours only.

A study of representative 18th and 19th century achievements in long fiction.

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

Study of the images and symbols that express the tensions inherent in human existence: body and spirit; time and evil; the Catholic tradition within literature and art.

A selection of Early Renaissance writings from More through Hooker; emphasis on the high achievements of the 1580’s and 1590’s in the Age of Elizabeth.

A selection of Late Renaissance writings; emphasis on Donne, Jonson and their followers in “metaphysical” and neoclassical poetry; major contributions to devotional and secular prose.

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

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

Professional Writing & Editing

Workshop on memoir writing; emphasis on discussion of students' writing. Limited enrollment.

Workshop on memoir writing; emphasis on discussion of students' writing. Limited enrollment.

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.

Selected works of Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Keats and Shelley; historical and intellectual backgrounds; aesthetic theory. Fall, even years.

Classical and contemporary theories of literature and schools of criticism. Required of English majors and English joint majors, and recommended to minors in their junior year. Oral seminar presentation required as a grade component.

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

Study of the British novel from Jane Austen to Joseph Conrad. Authors to be studied may include the Bontes, Dickens, George Eliot, Hardy, and others.

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.

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. Fall, odd years.

Growth of realism and naturalism. The impact of the two world wars. A detailed study of contemporary writers.

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

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

Selected plays and major trends from Ibsen to contemporary dramatists.

Historical survey of texts written in English by women authors. Introduction to the feminine literary tradition and to feminist criticism.

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. Spring.

Study of the British novel from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present.

Study of the American novel from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present.

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.

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.

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."

Instruction and practice in writing for various purposes and audiences. The skill of editing and critiquing as a means of improving writing skills. Prerequisites: writing sample, permission of faculty member. Spring.

A one-semester internship in advanced writing and editing under the supervision of the department.

Student research on a selected problem in the field pursued under the guidance of an assigned member of the faculty.

Selected topics of mutual interest to the faculty member and students.