English classes in our department range from general survey courses to classes that offer a more in-depth look at a literary genre, writer, literary time period, and theoretical approach. Below is the list of English courses offered in Spring 2025. Please see the University Catalog for a complete list of courses offered by our department.
ENGL 124
| Anne Fearman Section 01 Section 02 | Our class will explore the theme of the American Dream: from its historical and mythical narrative creation through its contemporary meaning; from accessibility to application; and from exclusion to expansion. |
| ENGL 127 Becoming Americans | Mary Weiser Section 01 | Students will delve into historical and recent American literature across multiple genres and in relation to multiple institutions and media that relates to the experience of "becoming Americans." |
| ENGL 132 Word and Sound | Alison Pipitone Section 01 Section 02 | This is an online/asynchronous course, open to students with or without songwriting experience. Students will complete assignments on lyrics; music; production; close listening- and more! We will also explore the concept of Resilience in songs, using three eras in history as a starting point. |
| ENGL 144 Reading Humanity | Prof. Daniel Laurie Section 01 Dr. Emily VanDette Section 02
| This section of Reading Humanity focuses on group dynamics and the sense of belonging. The key questions we will consider are: What does it mean to belong? What does it mean to be an outsider? And what’s at stake in conformity?
This section of Reading Humanity focuses on the theme "Representing Animals," and the course explores depictions of animals in literary works, philosophical discussions, and examples from art history. |
| ENGL 167 Border Crossings | Dr. Ici Vanwesenbeeck Section 01 | This section of the course, “Border Crossings: Away from Home” will focus on the experience of refugees, exile, and migration in parts of the world affected by war, conflict, and political unrest. Students will study literary narratives (multi genre) about homelessness, displacement, memory, nostalgia, melancholia, in specific relation to war and armed conflict. |
| ENGL 167 Border Crossings | Dr. Birger Vanwesenbeeck Section HR | Can the Holocaust be represented? To capture the scope and magnitude of the Nazi atrocities has been said to lie beyond the limits of literary or artistic imagination, even as artists have recognized the need to do so. This course offers an overview of how various writing types sought to bear witness to the Holocaust. |
| ENGL 205 Epic and Romance | Dr. Ici Vanwesenbeeck Section 01 | This course introduces students to seminal texts in world literature that are thematically centered around war and love. Our readings will span from antiquity to present day. |
| ENGL 206 Survey of American Literature | Dr. Emily VanDette Section 01 | This class explores U.S literary history from the Puritan era through the post-Civil War era. The reading list includes diverse genres and perspectives, and we will consider authors and their texts in relevant historical contexts. |
| ENGL 213 Texts and Contexts | Dr. Heather McEntarfer Section 01 | Students will research topics of their choice, consider them through theoretical lenses, and write about them in different genres for different audiences. The course will have an education focus, but will be appropriate for non-education majors. |
| ENGL 216 Science Fiction | Dr. Bruce Simon Section 01 | I'll be choosing works and organizing units for this "historical, comparative, and generic survey of science fiction" with an eye toward their contemporary relevance and resonance (e.g., we'll definitely have an AI unit!). Please see the Fall 2022 syllabus for a look back at my most recent such decisions, and scroll to the end for links to earlier syllabi. |
| ENGL 227 Stage/Screen (Ancient Greeks, Roman Freaks, Cinematic Geeks) | Dr. Shannon McRae Section 01 | Are you or a loved one obsessed with ancient Rome? Now you can have friends! We read Greek plays, Greek and Roman myths, and Roman satire and watch recent movies that interpret them. You'd be surprised how different and how much the same we are now than back then. |
| ENGL 274 Social Justice and the Written Word | Dr. Christina Jarvis Section 01 Section 03 | This course will explore key U.S. social justice movements and voices from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. In addition to examining central principles, strategies, and ideas from these movements, we will analyze the societal factors and individual and group identities that inspired people to create social change. |
| ENGL 274 Social Justice and the Written Word | Dr. Saundra Liggins Section 02 | Using a foundation of the themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion, in this 100% online course we will how the written word is used as social critique and to effect social change. Our specific focus will be on literature and speeches of the Civil Rights Movement. |
| ENGL 296 American Identities | Dr. Bruce Simon Section 01 | What has it meant, what does it mean, what could it mean, what should it mean to be an American? This semester, we will focus on the power and future of the stories we tell ourselves and each other about “America." |
| ENGL 318 Studies in Poetry | Dr. Natalie Gerber Section 01 | Whether you are a fiction writer or a poet, here's a chance to expand your toolbox by close attention to the devices associated with poetry but found in effective prose, marketing, campaign ads, etc. We'll write imitations, original verse or lyrics, and learn a lot about language! |
| ENGL 324 Myth and Symbol in Literature | Dr. Shannon McRae Section 01 | Myths get to dimensions of human experience that more realistic stories don't--the things we see out of the corners of our eyes, or that float through our brains when we're half asleep, or that we remember from when we were little. This class is about that sort of thing. |
| ENGL 326 Victorian Literature | Dr. David Kaplin Section 01 | An introduction to selected Victorian fiction, poetry, drama, and non-fiction prose in the context of individual and group efforts to find or manufacture order and sense during times of great social, technological, economic, and political change. Includes a 3-week role immersion game of authors, publishers, and cultural influencers. |
| ENGL 340 Black Women Writers | Dr. Saundra Liggins Section 01 | On his final appearance on The Daily Show, Trevor Noah said that America should "talk to Black women because, unlike everybody else, Black women can't afford to f*ck around and find out." In this course we will examine works of fiction and non-fiction to see how Black women writers addressed their times and continue to speak to ours. |
| ENGL 344 Contemporary Multi-Ethnic American Literature | Dr. Jeanette McVicker Section 01 | What's the story of 'America' look like in the work of contemporary multi-ethnic US writers? We'll take an intersectional approach to writers across genres to compare their take on 'American' literature. |
| ENGL 373 Grammar for Everyone | Dr. KimMarie Cole Section 01 | Every native speaker of a language or dialect knows that language well. Usually that's unconscious knowledge. This semester we'll explore and play to bring those ideas to our conscious awareness and experiment with how to make effective choices when we speak and write. |
| ENGL 381 Film after 1945 | Dr. Shannon McRae Section 01
| After WWII, everything was confusing, and it stayed that way until sometime last year, when it all got cleared up. In this class, we watch a lot of movies that are confusing, but in a good way! And then we learn some concepts to talk about them. You will be smarter and be able to confuse your friends and family with your weird taste in movies and obscure French vocabulary! |
| ENGL 387 American Film Directors: Spike Lee | Dr. Saundra Liggins Section 01 | The focus of this course will be on one of the preeminent directors of the 20th and 21st centuries, Spike Lee. |
| ENGL 397 Discourses of Enlightenment | Dr. Birger Vanwesenbeeck Section 01 | This course is lit! We will analyze a variety of literary, political and philosophical texts from the Age of Enlightenment by placing them within the historical context of the eighteenth century and by pondering their legacies and contemporary relevance. |
| ENGL 427 Major Authors: Fern and Twain | Dr. Emily VanDette
| This section of ENGL 427 features Mark Twain and Fanny Fern, 2 US authors famous for their wit and satire. The course includes readings by Twain and Fern, as well as research and writing assignments. |
| ENGL 512 Victorian Literature and Game Design | Dr. David Kaplin Section 01 | We will study role-immersion pedagogy for the classroom, analyzing the one used in undergraduate Victorian Literature, and students will develop their own grade-appropriate games. |
| ENGL 520 Topic in Literature and Culture: Science Fiction | Dr. Bruce Simon Section 01 | An interdisciplinary exploration of the stakes of science fiction for English Studies today (for instance, we'll definitely have an AI unit!). Please see the Fall 2022 syllabus for a look back at my most recent such decisions in ENGL 216, and scroll to the end for links to earlier syllabi. |