ENGL 101: Composition 1, with various instructors at various times (consult the Schedule of Classes), is the first-semester composition course that all students take to fulfill general education requirements. Before they can enroll in English 101, students with ACT scores at or below 17 must take English 031, 032 or 033, a tutorial-style course that prepares students for the demands of English 101 (listed in the schedule).
ENGL 201: Composition 2, a variable-topic writing-intensive course, is the second semester of the composition program for non-English majors. (English majors take English 284 instead.) The course stresses both critical reading and writing skills.
ENGL 210: Introduction to Literature, Dr. Hoche (T
6:30-9:20
). This course, designed especially for non-English majors fulfilling general education requirements, will give students a taste of the best that has been written and thought about in three literary genres: short fiction, drama, and poetry. Class meetings will consists mainly of lecture followed by open discussion. Students sit three exams and will be involved in one dramatic performance.
ENGL 213: Background to Literature, Epic
Heroes Dr.
Benkert (TTH 11-12:15). What does it take to be a hero? That depends on who you ask and when you ask them. One might even ask whether a portrayal of epic heroism is even possible in the post-enlightenment world of the novel, or the post-modern world of reality TV. The class will begin at the beginning with Homer’s Achilles and Odysseus, and end in our own century with Tolkien’s Aragorn and Frodo as seen through Peter Jackson’s recent film adaptation.
ENGL 222: British Literature II, Dr. Duszenko (MWF 11-11:50). This is a chronological survey of British literature from the Romantic Period to the present. Class meetings will mostly consist of discussion of literary works and issues raised by these works. Students will keep a reading journal and sit two midterm examinations and a final examination.
ENGL 241: American Literature II, Dr. Pearson (TTH
12:30-1:45
). This course surveys canonical texts of American literature from the Colonial Period through the Civil War. Authors include Christopher Columbus, Cabeza de Vaca, Captain John Smith, Anne Bradstreet, Mary Rowlandson, Michael Wigglesworth, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Frederick Douglas, Herman Melville, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Emily Dickinson. Classes will consist primarily of student-based discussion with occasional lectures on background material. Students will take three exams and keep a reading journal. Note: Engl 241 and Engl 242 need not be taken in sequence.
ENGL 484: Critical Theory, Dr. Pearson (TTH
9:30-10:45
). This course will familiarize students with various critical approaches to literary texts, including formalist criticism, structuralist criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, reader-response criticism, Marxist criticism, and feminist criticism, with the aim of making them more appreciative and sophisticated readers. Part of the semester will be devoted to using these critical approaches as interpretive lenses to read selected works of literature, whether poetry, drama, short stories, or drama. Students will take three exams and write a substantial critical essay. Note: This course is indispensable for students planning to complete graduate work in literature.
ENGL 488: Literary Studies Review, (half semester) Dr. Hastings (MW
4:00
). A review of the historical and generic categories of literary expression, with particular attention to the distinctions between literary periods and literary works representative of those periods; a review of vocabulary specific to literacy study; preparation for exit examinations; review of students’ portfolios. Required of all English majors immediately preceding or during the semester of their graduation; taken in conjunction with capstone seminar course (ENGL 422, 425 or 490). S/U grading. 1 credit
ENGL 490: Senior Seminar: (William Wordsworth) Dr. Hastings (MWF 3-3:50). A highly focused and topical course. The format includes student presentations and discussions of reports based on literature, practices, problems and research. Seminars may be conducted over electronic media such as Internet and are at the upper division and graduate levels. Enrollment is generally limited to fewer than 20 students. Prerequisite: ENGL 101. 1-4 credits
LING 425: Modern Grammar, Dr. Whiteley (TTH
3:30-4:45
). This course studies the structure of modern English at the sentence level. Because this is a linguistics course, it takes a descriptive approach to grammar (analytically describing the rules that make sentences intelligible) rather than a prescriptive approach (prescribing “correct” versus “incorrect” grammar). Students will learn to recognize the parts of speech, phrase boundaries, the constituents of phrases, and the functions of phrase constituents. Some attention will be given to the semantic properties of sentences (what sentences really mean when they seem to mean something else). In order to assist students in retaining the material and to assure that they are sufficiently prepared for each successive unit, there will be frequent quizzes. Students may opt either to sit a final examination or to write a small-scale field-research paper on variations in English grammar. This course fulfills the linguistics requirement for the English major (BA). It partially fulfills the linguistics requirement for the English teaching major (BSEd.).
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