English Courses
An introduction to the various literary genres: poetry, drama and fiction. Specific syllabus at the discretion of the instructor, but texts will come from the continents of Africa, Asia, Central and South America and from the Pacific Islands.
An introduction to various literacy genres: poetry, drama and fiction. Specific syllabus at the discretion of the instructor. Emphasis on the literature of western Europe and the United States. Focus on literature and its relation to society
Selected works of English and American literature, in all three major genres, focusing on a particular issue or topic of contemporary interest, such as sports, women in literature, science fiction, popular culture, existentialism, religion. Emphasis on how the various writers present these problems in styles peculiar to their genres. Students may repeat this course once for credit with consent of discipline coordinator.
Please contact your instructor for specific topic.
Selected works in English literature with emphasis on historical, cultural, and aesthetic values, including material from Beowulf to Boswell. Lecture and discussion
Selected works in English literature with emphasis on historical, cultural, and aesthetic values, including material from the romantic period to the Second World War. Lecture, discussion.
(Also AFS/WMS 222) Selected poetry, drama, fiction, autobiography, and essays by African-American authors, with emphasis on literary excellence. Authors range from Phillis Wheatley to Frederich Douglas, Imamu Amiri Baraka, Alice Walker, and Ishmael Reed. Lecture, discussion.
(Also WMS 223) This course focuses on literature in English written by women. We study themes and techniques common to the literature by women. From the late Middle Ages until the present, we examine texts that challenge beliefs about female inferiority, promote a women’s perspective on gender and allow for a discussion of self-esteem, motherhood, privacy and women’s power.
(Also AFS/WMS 226) Varied works of western and/or non-western literature that illustrates how different races, ethnic groups, genders, and classes view themselves
(Also REL 227) Selected poetry, fiction, drama, and non-fiction that explore such topics as faith, the nature and presence of God, death and immortality, spirituality, sin, and salvation. The course invites students to examine and reflect on the interrelationship of literary expression and a theological understanding of the world.
(Also LAC 232) Survey of Latin American literature from the sixteenth century to the present. Emphasis is upon literary discourses the reflect and shape the diverse array of Latin American cultural identities throughout the region.
(Also AFS/PHL 248) Broad review of the literary period known as the Harlem Renaissance or the New Negro Movement. An examination of poetry, fiction, critical essays, art and music for social and aesthetic values projected in the artistic production of the day. Highlighting the transnational, transethnic texture of African-American social consciousness.
This course is designed as an intensive study in English grammar, punctuation, and usage. After reviewing the intricacies of English grammar, students will be required to apply their knowledge by revising and editing their own written work.
A study of the entire genre of fiction, including some novels. Emphasis will be placed on fiction of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Selected plays representing the major periods of the drama from the Greeks to the present, with attention to the religious, social, and theatrical forces that shaped these works. Lecture and discussion.
A study of the genre of poetry with emphasis on formal innovations and evolution of the art form. Focus will vary according to instructor’s discretion.
(Also WMS 258) There is more to Gothic literature than ghosts and spooky houses. This course examines how the genre dramatizes and explores the dark impulses that arise in the human psyche; it also studies how gender and sexuality shape the writing of this literature and the attitudes that it expresses. The course may focus on American Gothic literature or British Gothic literature, and may be repeated for credit when that focus changes.
(Also AFS/PHL 259) Contemporary African-American Thought explores the intellectual contributions of prominent African-American writers and philosophers from the late twentieth century to the present. Through literary analysis, discussion, and participation in a class conference, students investigate the cultural, political, aesthetic, and philosophic dilemmas of the African Americans in the contemporary age.
The course explores the world of fantasy created by writers of the most imaginative form of fiction. We will explore contemporary and classic novels and short works and our focus will be to differentiate this genre from others. Students will try out story-telling techniques and analyze underlying meanings of works..
(Also LAC 264) Study of Caribbean literature with emphasis upon the oral and literary traditions of the English-speaking Caribbean. Consideration is also given to creole Caribbean languages and the ways in which they have shaped the development of Caribbean literature and cultures.
(Also HIS 267) This course will examine the evolution of the English language by reading texts (e.g. Beowulf, Chaucer, the King James Bible) to trace the development of the language from Old to Modern English. In order to explore the debates about language in modern America, we will also examine the evolution of the controversies surrounding African-American English.
(Also AFS/LAC 268) Haitian literature explores the literary contributions of prominent writers, artists, and filmmakers from Haiti and the Haitian Diaspora. All course texts are in translated to English. Using the literature as a lens, the course investigates Haitian history and Haitian cultural discourses. Haiti’s historic and cultural impact in the Caribbean region and throughout the Americas is also considered.
This course offers traditional and recent approaches to studying various genres, themes, national and global traditions, historical periods, and critical issues in children’s literature. Topics and texts vary from semester to semester. As topics change, this course may be repeated for credit.
A historical and cultural survey of major American figures of the 19th century, including new research on women and African-American figures. Writers may include Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Melville, Dickinson, Poe, Hawthorne and Frederick Douglass.
A study of literature of the United States in the first half of the 20th century. Writers may include Faulkner, Cather, O’Neil, Elliot, Pound, Hughes, Hurston and Hemingway.
This course examines the relationship between literature, film and theory. More specifically, it examines how literature and film can encapsulate crucial aspects of a theoretical text, enriching and expanding our experience and understanding of it.