English Courses
Writing | Literature | Language | Journalism | Advanced | Skill

Writing Courses

101 Freshman Writing. Development of composing and revising skills throughout the writing process. Instruction in academic report writing, including: 1) library, interview and on-line research; 2) issues of plagiarism; and 3) methods of documentation. Includes small group workshops and individual conferences with instructor. (Required of all students except may be waived through AP placement examination; must be repeated if grade earned is NC.) Fall, spring.

200 Literature and Writing. (HUMANITIES). A writing-intensive course focusing on the ways readers and writers use literature to think about complex issues. In addition to various formal and informal writing assignments, the course will include a significant research component wherein students will conduct library research and produce an appropriately documented paper. Topics will vary.

201 Expository Writing. Writing experience and study of professional texts, focused on effective handling of fundamental issues: focus of exploration, topic selection, genre selection, technical concerns and audience.

203 Creative Writing. The writing of poetry, fiction, or plays at an introductory level. The course offers coaching about craft issues and includes study of professional texts. Course will include small-group workshops and conferences with instructor.

301 Writing Nonfiction. Emphasizes a balance between writing that relates to the self and writing that relates to the larger world. Instruction, experience and reading in topics that may include reflective writing, essay writing, writing to take action, and expository writing. Includes small-group workshops and conferences with instructor.

304 Advanced Creative Writing: Poetry. Advanced writing experience focusing on poetry. Includes coaching, writing experience and the study of professional texts. Students will revise toward professional-level performance. Includes small-group writing workshops and conferences with instructor.

305 Advanced Creative Writing: Fiction. Advanced writing experience focusing on fiction. Includes coaching, writing experience and the study of professional texts. Students will revise toward professional-level performance. Includes small-group writing workshops and conferences with instructor.

306 Advanced Creative Writing: Drama. Advanced writing experience focusing on drama. Includes coaching, writing experience and the study of professional texts. Students will revise toward professional-level performance. Includes small-group writing workshops and conferences with instructor.

310 Teaching Writing. Designed for all prospective elementary teachers and secondary teachers of English. Offers study of prominent teaching philosophies and methods in the field of writing. Provides a writing workshop experience demonstrating such methods. Includes experience working with students from local schools, and individual conferences with instructor.

401 Writing Seminar. Explores theoretical questions about writing, such as gender and language or the relationship between written language and the empirical world. Includes texts by teachers, creative writers, writing theorists and philosophers of language. Students prepare major papers and meet individually with instructor.


Literature Courses top

230 Methods of Literary Study. Methods, terminology and library resources useful to students of literature, including investigation of the history and ethical implications of literary criticism and practice in writing about literature.

241 Survey of British Literature I. Major works of British literature through the Eighteenth century.

242 Survey of British Literature II. Major works of British literature from the Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-first centuries.

250 Special Topics. A study of literature and cultural contexts designed around a theme or topic. The course will have significant writing and research components. Offered as needed.

254 Survey of American Literature. Major works of American literature.

255 Studies in Non-Western Literature. Literary works outside the traditions of European and American literature. The works studied may vary greatly from year to year.

285 Literature in Focus. A reading and discussion course typically concentrating on one long work of literature, such as Tom Jones, Middlemarch or Ulysses. May be taken four times with different subjects. Open to freshmen.

340 Medieval Literature Including Chaucer. Eighth to Fifteenth century literature. Works may include Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon poetry in translation; Arthurian Romances; Piers Plowman; Gawain and the Green Knight; Canterbury Tales; and Troilus and Criseyde.

341 Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Literature. Major developments in poetry, prose and drama. May include works by Wyatt, Surrey, Sidney, Marlowe, Spenser, Jonson, Donne and Milton .

342 Shakespeare. A selection of Shakespeare's plays including comedies, tragedies, histories and/or romances. Learn more about Shakespeare by studying abroad at Oxford.

343 Eighteenth Century Literature. May include such authors as DeFoe, Fielding, Swift, Pope, Johnson, Sterne, Wollstonecraft, Equiano, Franklin and Paine.

344 Romantic to Victorian Literature. Literature from the Romantic to mid-Victorian periods in England and America. Authors may include Wordsworth, Austen, Byron, Keats, P.B. Shelley, M. Shelley, Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Stowe, Douglas, Dickens, the Br÷ntes, Emerson, Thoreau, and Tennyson.

345 Realism and Naturalism. Literature from the late Nineteenth to early Twentieth century. Authors may include Whitman, Dickinson, Twain, Hardy, James, Hopkins, Conrad, Chopin, and Yeats.

346 Modernism and Postmodernism. Literature of Modernism and its rise and Postmodernism. Authors may include Woolf, Joyce, Frost, Faulkner, Cather, Wright, Garcia Marquez, Morrison, Atwood, Rich, and Gordimer.

349 Post-Colonial Literature. A study of the literature and theory of Post-Colonialism. The specific literature studied, which may vary from year to year, comes from societies that are not historically European. This may include works from Africa, the Pacific, India and the Caribbean.

360 Children's Literature. Poetry and prose selected especially for children, including both classic and recent works, with attention to notable illustrators and publishers. Designed for students preparing for elementary teaching or library work, the course is credited toward a planned minor but not toward a departmental major or minor. Spring.

407 Literature Seminar. An in-depth study of a movement, genre, specific author or other subject related to literature. May be repeated once for credit.


Language Courses top

332 English Language. A study of the form, structure and history of English. Topics may include grammar, syntax, language acquisition, sound and structure changes, the influence of migration and the political implications of language.


Journalism Courses top

271 Journalism I: Theory and Practice. Principles of newsgathering and writing for community journalism, introducing the editing process and including workbook or College newspaper assignments.

371 Journalism II: Theory and Practice. Developing longer news stories and features, columns and editorials, including an introduction to photo-editing, layout and page design. Freelancing for community newspapers or assignments for the student-edited College newspaper.

375 Publication Planning and Production. Leadership and management principles for the production process from goal setting through distribution, including revenue and budgetary considerations. Content development, coaching writers, format design, layout, copy-editing, page-proofing and computer-assisted production will be studied.


Advanced and Special Classes top

199 Exploratory Internship.

299 Experimental Course.

399 Professional Internship.

451 Independent Study. Advanced study in areas beyond regular course offerings.

499 Advanced Experimental Course.


Skill Courses top

080 College Text Reading I. Strategies for improving comprehension and building vocabulary. Emphasis is placed on locating, understanding and integrating significant information within college-level texts. Students should be concurrently enrolled in a course requiring heavy reading. May be repeated with permission of instructor.

081 College Text Reading II. Using a strategic, content-based approach, students learn to apply questioning techniques, writing strategies and critical thinking skills to their college reading. Students should be concurrently enrolled in a heavy-reading content course. May be repeated with permission of instructor.

090 Study Skills I. Personal and academic growth through the application of learning principles to college study. Students assess their learning styles and analyze current learning theory to develop effective study strategies. Emphasis is placed on applying strategies to individual learning goals and monitoring effectiveness. May be repeated with permission of instructor.

091 Study Skills/Study Table. Students analyze the relationships of athletic and academic success as they develop effective study strategies. Strategies and learning principles are applied to individual learning goals. Recommended for freshman athletes.

119 Speed Reading. Improve reading rate with paced/timed exercises. Through eye pattern training, the eyes make fewer fixations. This effective technique will decrease the amount of time reading while improving comprehension.

120 Research Paper Writing. Systematic explanation of the process of research writing. Students develop the necessary technical skills for the completion of a polished research paper.

190 Reading Preparation for the GRE, LSAT, and MCAT. Identification and application of the critical reading and test-taking skills required by pre-professional exams such as the GRE, LSAT, and MCAT. Class time is spent critically analyzing reading passages, developing vocabulary and analogous reasoning capabilities, developing appropriate reading strategies and practicing test-taking skills. Instruction is individualized and test specific.