400

Prerequisites: Junior or Senior standing; completion of the Literary Analysis requirement or ENGL 222, or permission of the instructor.

Together we'll read and translate literature in Old English (the oldest form of the language we speak today). Though most great writers of the period are anonymous, we will read and analyze their works with an eye to understanding their culture and history. (H1, WS)

Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and 9 credits in literature at the 200-level or above. 
This course explores how “literature” overlaps with “popular culture.” We will consider several stories that have captured imaginations across boundaries of time and genre and use cultural theory and literary criticism to examine the conventions, expectations, and possibilities of the different genres and media in which they appear. (CT)

Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. Basic linguistic concepts and methodology as applied to the English language—its history, structure, varieties and acquisition. Special emphasis on the social aspects of English.

Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. An overview of literature written for and about adolescents, focusing both on authors and various themes and topics, with an emphasis on contemporary material. (H2)

Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing and ENGL 313 or permission of the instructor. An examination of how directors have adapted Shakespeare’s plays to the medium of film. Our work will involve close reading of six plays and analysis of 12 to 15 film versions. Each student will present a seminar paper at the end of the course. (CT)

Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing and ENGL 219 or instructor approval. This advanced fiction workshop intensifies and expands upon the writing and critical reading skills covered in English 219. Students will develop and refine elements in their fiction such as voice, structure, dialogue, setting, and pacing. Also useful for Curriculum and Instruction MA students who are now or will soon be teaching creative writing. (CW)

Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and ENGL 219 or instructor approval. This course follows up the ENGL 219 introductory creative writing course, and is designed for those students who are serious about refining their craft. It is also geared toward those students enrolled in the M.A. program in Curriculum and Instruction who are now or will soon be teaching creative writing. A key difference between ENGL 421/521 and 219 is that this course will be devoted entirely to the writing of poetry. (CW)

Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing and instructor approval. An in-depth study of two writers who embrace language and celebrate the human spirit. Readings may include Faulkner’s The Unvanquished, The Sound and the Fury, Light in August, and Absalom, Absalom!, as well as Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved, and Jazz. (WS)

Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing or permission of the instructor. Considers recent global fiction that transcends boundaries of nation and language. Raises questions about race, gender, religion, political allegiance, violence, memory, history, and East/West relations. Authors may include Achebe, Gordimer, Salih, Endo, Nabokov, Ishiguro, Ondaatje, Roy, Lahiri, Rushdie, and Coetzee. (H2, CT)

Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and 9 credits in literature at the 200-level or above. Advanced study in an area of current interest to faculty and students, including an introduction to major schools of contemporary criticism. Juniors and seniors will explore a topic, period, author or question in literary history or theory.

Prerequisite: By invitation of the department.  The departmental honors paper is a two-semester senior-year program designed for students who wish to pursue intensive research or special projects in close coordination with faculty advisers. Departmental honors students are known as the Christine P. Tischer Scholars and receive 6 credits for this work.