English Courses

Introductory Literature Courses

This category is intended mainly for nonmajors, and no more than 6 credits (with the exception of Introduction to Poetry and Shakespeare) can be counted toward the fulfillment of requirements in the English major. However, some courses that concentrate on basic practice in critical reading of literature and in critical writing are strongly recommended for beginning English majors.

307-10500    Introduction to American Literature      HU LA 3a

Study of literary modes, such as fiction, poetry, essays, and drama, in which American writers have expressed ideals of individual conduct and social relationships or have appraised and challenged the practices of society. Emphasis is placed on class participation. 3 credits. (F-S,Y)

307-10700    Introduction to Literature      HU LA 3a

Works of English, American, or European literature from early or recent times are considered in relation to one or more recurrent themes. Emphasis is placed on class participation. 3 credits. (F-S,Y)

307-10900    Introduction to Drama      HU LA 3a

Critical discussion of drama, covering a broad range of forms and techniques, with an emphasis placed on class participation. Recommended for beginning English majors. Also offered through the London Center. 3 credits. (F-S,Y)

307-11000    Introduction to Fiction      HU LA 3a

Critical discussion of fiction, covering a broad range of forms and techniques. Emphasis is placed on class participation. Recommended for beginning English majors. Also offered through the London Center. 3 credits. (F-S,Y)

307-11200    Introduction to the Short Story      HU LA 3a

Critical discussion of short stories, covering a broad range of forms and techniques, with an emphasis placed on class participation. 3 credits. (F-S,Y)

307-11300    Introduction to Poetry      HU LA 3a

Critical discussion of poetry, covering a broad range of forms and techniques, with an emphasis placed on class participation. Recommended for beginning English majors. 3 credits. (F-S,Y)

307-20100    Critical Practice      HU LA 3a

 An examination of the discipline of literary studies. Explores issues that concern literary critics as they read and write about works of literature, including the historical development of literary studies, canonicity, the conventions of literary-critical discourse, and the assumptions and interpretive consequences of different theoretical and critical approaches to literature. Designed to develop skills for reading both primary and secondary texts. Intended for English majors; open to nonmajors on a space-available basis. Prerequisites: One course in English. 3 credits. (S,Y)

307-21000    The Literature of Horror      HU LA

Survey of horror literature from its commercial origins in the 18th century through contemporary writers. Writers whose works are examined include Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, Franz Kafka, Bram Stoker, and H. P. Lovecraft. Prerequisites: One course in literature. 3 credits. (S,Y)

307-21100    Jewish-American Writers      HU LA 3a

Study of dramas, short stories, and novels of Jewish-American writers who have gained prominence since the 1950s, such as Miller, Malamud, Mailer, Singer, Roth, and Bellow. Prerequisites: One course in the humanities or social sciences, or sophomore standing. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-21400    Science Fiction      HU LA 3a

Survey of fantasy and science fiction from H. G. Wells to Harlan Ellison. Prerequisites: One course in the humanities or social sciences, or sophomore standing. 3 credits. (IRR)

307-21600    Contemporary British Fiction      HU LA 3a, h

Deals with works of British fiction since World War II for their literary value and for their portrayal of British society during the last five decades. Prerequisites: One course in the humanities or social sciences, or sophomore standing. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-21800    Twentieth-Century American Drama      HU LA 3a

Study of the leading American dramatists of the 20th century, such as O'Neill, Behrman, Odets, Sherwood, Anderson, Wilder, Hellman, Miller, Williams, Inge, Albee, and Eliot. Prerequisites: One course in the humanities or social sciences, or sophomore standing. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-21900    Shakespeare      HU LA 3a, h

Study of six to eight Shakespeare plays as examples both of the way dramatic literature works and of the achievement of the greatest of English writers. Since plays vary each semester, course may be repeated once for credit. Prerequisites: One course in the humanities or social sciences, or sophomore standing. Also offered through the London Center. 3 credits. (F-S,Y)

307-22000    Black Women Writers      HU LA 3a

Study of black women writers such as Hurston, Angelou, Morrison, and Walker. Prerequisites: One course in the humanities or social sciences, or sophomore standing. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-22500    Literary Modernism and the Visual Arts      HU LA 3a, h

Introduction to the concept of literary modernism as it developed from 1900 to 1925, a period during which a close relationship between literature and the visual arts existed. The use of the visual arts of the period as a lens through which to read modern literature provides an enhanced understanding of modern writers. Prerequisites: One course in literature; sophomore standing. 3 credits. (F,Y)

Periods of Literature

Of the following five courses, three are required of all English majors. Majors must also take either the remaining two Periods of Literature courses or 6 credits of designated substitute courses (a list of substitutes is available in the department).

307-23100    Ancient Literature      HU LA 3a, h, g

Works that have dominated the Western imagination and set standards for art and life for nearly 3,000 years: the epics of Homer and Virgil, the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes, and selections from the Bible. Prerequisites: One course in the humanities or social sciences, or sophomore standing. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-23200    Medieval Literature      HU LA 3a, h

Readings are drawn from the northern European epic, medieval romances, and medieval drama. Also Dante, The Divine Comedy; Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde, The Canterbury Tales. Prerequisites: One course in the humanities or social sciences, or sophomore standing. 3 credits. (F-S,Y)

307-27100    Renaissance Literature      HU LA 3a, h

The continental backgrounds: Renaissance writers in Italy, France, and Spain. Major trends in English literature from the early 16th century through Milton, with an emphasis on Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. Prerequisites: One course in the humanities or social sciences, or sophomore standing. 3 credits. (F-S,Y)

307-27200    The Enlightenment (1660-1770)      HU LA

The neoclassical drama of France and England: Molière, Restoration comedy. Also Voltaire, major works of Dryden, Pope, Swift, and Johnson. The rise of the novel: Defoe, Fielding, Smollett, and Richardson. Prerequisites: One course in the humanities or social sciences, or sophomore standing. 3 credits. (F-S,Y)

307-28100    Romantic-Victorian Literature      HU LA

Romanticism in France and Germany; English romantic and Victorian poetry. The movement toward realism, especially in the French and English novel. Prerequisites: One course in the humanities or social sciences, or sophomore standing. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

Upper-Level Courses

Upper-level courses are intended primarily for juniors and seniors but may be taken by sophomores who can meet the prerequisites.

307-31100    Dramatic Literature      HU LA 3a, h

307-31200    Dramatic Literature      HU LA 3a, g

First semester: Studies in dramatic literature prior to Ibsen. Second semester: Studies in modern drama. Prerequisites: Any three courses in English, history of the theater, or introduction to the theater. 3 credits. (307-31100-F, 307-31200-S,Y)

307-31600    Creative Writing Workshop in Poetry      FA LA

Discussion and practice in writing poetry. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (IRR)

307-31800    Short Story      HU LA

Survey of 19th- and 20th-century short stories, British and American, by Poe, Hawthorne, Crane, Joyce, Hemingway, Lawrence, Bowen, Nabokov, Updike, Malamud, et al. History and development of the short story. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (IRR)

307-31900    Great American Writers before 1890      HU LA

Puritan writers, Benjamin Franklin; romantic writers such as Poe, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, Twain, Whitman, and James. Lecture and discussion. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-32000    Great American Writers after 1890      HU LA

Stephen Crane, Dreiser, and the naturalist movement. Later writers such as Sherwood Anderson, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, and Ellison. Poets such as Robinson, Frost, Eliot, and Stevens. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-32400    Literature of the Bible      HU LA

A study of major narratives and poetry from the Bible, together with their influence on subsequent literature. Emphasis is placed on literary strategies and historical knowledge that enable critical understanding. Prerequisites: Three courses in the humanities. 3 credits. (S,E)

307-32500    Studies in Medieval English Literature      HU LA

Topic varies. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-33100    Studies in the English Renaissance      HU LA

Topic varies. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-34100    Studies in the Enlightenment (1660-1770)      HU LA

Topic varies. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-35000    Imagining Herself: Women's Autobiography      HU LA

 Examination of the way women have employed autobiography as a form of self-expression and gender definition. Consideration of the way autobiographies differ from other forms of personal expression and how they can be analyzed as literary texts. Authors may include Beryl Markham, Zora Neale Hurston, Audre Lorde, Annie Dillard, Dorothy Allison, Maxine Hong Kingston, Nancy Mairs, May Sarton, and Temple Grandin. Prerequisites: Three courses in the humanities, one of which is an English course; sophomore standing. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-35200    Studies in 19th-Century English Literature      HU LA

Topic varies. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-36300    Irish Literature      HU LA

A study of the sudden flowering of Irish literature between 1885 and 1939 and its influence on the political and social history of the time. Readings from Yeats, Joyce, Synge, and O'Casey as well as lesser known figures of the period. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. Also offered through the London Center. 3 credits. (IRR)

307-36500    Studies in the Novel      HU LA

Studies in the novel, with topics varying from semester to semester. Concentration may be on a theme, a period, a type, etc. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-37000    American Poetry      HU LA

A survey of the main currents of American poetry from the middle of the 19th century to the present. Beginning with the poetry of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, the course establishes the dialectic poles of attraction for American writing, concentrating on such major 20th-century poets as Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, T. S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams, Theodore Roethke, Robert Lowell, and James Wright. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. It is recommended that students take either 307-11300 Introduction to Poetry or 307-10500 Introduction to American Literature prior to this course. 3 credits. (IRR)

307-37200    Studies in American Literature      HU LA

Studies in different selected figures in American literature each semester. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. Since content varies each semester, course may be repeated once for credit. Also offered through the London Center (F-S). 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-37300    Renaissance Drama      HU LA

Study of the English drama after Shakespeare. Visits to museums and sites in London for the background of the Jacobean and early Caroline periods. Readings from Beaumont, Fletcher, Ford, Jonson, Middleton, and Webster. Prerequisites: 307-21900 or 307-27100. Also offered through the London Center (S,Y). 3 credits. (IRR)

307-37400    Shakespeare and the Jews      HU LA

 This course examines Shakespeare's representations of Jews in light of three historical contexts: medieval English and continental literature about Jews; Elizabethan literary anti-Semitism and debates about usury, commerce, religion, and treason; and modern productions, rewritings, and critical readings of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice by both Jews and non-Jews. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature courses, including 307-21900. 3 credits. (IRR)

307-37700    Nineteenth-Century British Novel      HU LA

The writings of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Henry James, and Thomas Hardy in their historical and cultural context. Critical approaches to the study of the novel. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. Also offered through the London Center (F). 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-37800    Twentieth-Century British Novel      HU LA

The development of the British novel from the end of the 19th century. A comparison of theme, style, and structure within the historical and cultural context. Authors such as James Joyce, D. H. Lawrence, E. M. Forster, Graham Greene, and William Golding. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. Also offered through the London Center (S,Y). 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-38200    Modern Literature I      HU LA

Introduction to modern literature through representative figures: Mann, Gide, Lawrence, Joyce, Yeats, Eliot, Auden. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (IRR)

307-38300    Modern Literature II      HU LA

Supplement to 307-38200, providing a broader survey of modern literature. Such authors as Woolf, Conrad, Thomas, Forster, Waugh. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (IRR)

307-38700    Teaching Literature in High School      HU LA

Designed for potential high school teachers of English. Study of various works of literature frequently taught in high school, with an emphasis on presentation to younger students. Prerequisites: 9 credits of literature. 3 credits. (IRR)

Seminars and Tutorials

Open to upper-class English majors and to other upper-class students with permission of instructor. 3 credits. Seminars 307-41000 through 307-47900 vary in content from semester to semester and provide an opportunity for advanced research and discussion.

307-41000    Seminar in Medieval English Literature      HU LA

Prerequisites: 307-23200; permission of instructor. (F or S,Y)

307-42000    Seminar in Shakespeare      HU LA

Prerequisites: 307-21900; permission of instructor. (F or S,Y)

307-43000    Seminar in the English Renaissance      HU LA

Prerequisites: 307-27100; permission of instructor. (F or S,Y)

307-44000    Seminar in the English Enlightenment (1660-1770)      HU LA

Prerequisites: 307-27200; permission of instructor. (IRR)

307-45000    Seminar in 19th-Century Literature      HU LA

Prerequisites: 307-38100; permission of instructor. (IRR)

307-46000    Seminar in 20th-Century English Literature      HU LA

Prerequisites: Four literature courses, at least two of which are at level 2 or above; junior standing. (F or S,Y)

307-46500    Seminar in Drama      HU LA

Selected topics in classic or contemporary drama. Prerequisites: Either four literature courses, or one of 307-31100 or 307-31200; permission of instructor. 3 credits. (F or S,Y)

307-47000-307-47900 Seminars in American Literature      HU LA

Topics may include Hemingway, contemporary American poetry, Whitman/Dickinson, Hawthorne/James, 20th-century women writers, among others. Prerequisites: 307-31900 or 307-32000, if appropriate. Additional or other prerequisites may be specified when appropriate. (F or S,Y)

307-48000    Studies in Literary Criticism      HU LA

Selected topics in the history and theory of literary criticism. Prerequisites: Four literature courses; permission of instructor. 3 credits. (IRR)

307-49500    Internship      NLA

 Allows students to combine literary study with on-site work experience under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. Internships require the approval of both the sponsoring agency and the faculty supervisor. Also available through the London Center. A maximum of 3 credits may be used to fulfill requirements for the English major. Prerequisites: Four literature courses; junior standing or above; permission of instructor. Variable credit. (IRR)

307-49900    Independent Study      U LA

 For the specially qualified student, by agreement with a faculty member. Offered on demand only. Prerequisites: Permission of the department. Variable credit, usually 3.