Division of Humanities

Mark Rasmussen (chair), Wilma Brown, Helen Emmitt, William Lewis, Mark Lucas, Daniel Manheim, Milton Reigelman, John Ward, Maryanne Ward, Philip White, Lisa Williams; student: Rebecca Bush

ENG 210, 220, 230;
ENG 301 or 302;
One course each selected from ENG 310-339. 340-369, 370-399 (One of these courses must be a seminar taken during the junior year and numbered 330-339, 360-369, or 390-399);
One additional 300-level ENG course;
ENG 500.


Requirements for the English Minor

Three courses chosen from among ENG 210, 220, 230, and either 301 or 302;
Two 300-level ENG courses numbered 303 or higher.

Requirements for the Creative Writing Minor

Four creative writing courses, chosen from among FRS 121, DRA 330, ENG 140, 240, 250, 280 or other creative writing courses approved by the English program. ENG 240 and 280 may be repeated for credit toward the minor;
One literature course in English.

Note: ENG 500 is open to senior English majors only; courses numberd 330-39, 360-69, and 390-99 are open to English majors as well as to English minors with permission of the instructor. All other ENG courses are open to non-majors without special permission.

English Courses

ENG 140 Fundamentals of Poetry Writing
A workshop class devoted to the writing of poetry and to relevant readings designed to guide and inspire the beginning writer.

ENG 205 Children’s Literature
An introduction to children’s literature for elementary school teachers stressing an examination of literary kinds and genres and the critical analysis and evaluation of both text and illustrations.

ENG 210, 220 British Literature-I, II
Survey of major works of British literature from the medieval period to the 20th century, with emphasis upon understanding and evaluating literary works in their historical and cultural backgrounds. Together with ENG 230, provides a general introduction to prosody, the vocabulary of literary analysis, and the varieties of literary criticism.

ENG 230 American Literature
Survey of major works of American literature from its beginnings to the 20th century, with emphasis upon understanding and evaluating literary works in their historical and cultural backgrounds. Together with ENG 210, 220, provides a general introduction to prosody, the vocabulary of literary analysis, and the varieties of literary criticism.

ENG 235 Literature in Translation
Selected topics in foreign literature in English translation. 2003-2004 topics:

ENG 235 Third World Women Writers
A study of a variety of writings (poetry, prose, drama, non-fiction) by third-world women writers from India , Latin America , Africa , and China . After a brief survey of the traditions in or against which third-world women authors write, the course explores some of the cultural issues addressed by them. We will also utilize feminist theory to analyze the relationship between gender and cultural history. As time permits we will look at several films produced by third-world women. The course includes a weekend trip to Chicago . Readings in English; no prerequisites.

ENG 235 Major French Writers
A study of some of the most renowned French texts in each of the major literary movements of the last two centuries, from romanticism to "Nouveau roman." Offered in Strasbourg.

ENG 240 Intermediate Poetry Writing
A workshop class. Students write approximately a poem a week to be workshopped by class members and then revised. Reading and discussion of several new volumes of poetry by contemporary poets. Prerequisite: ENG 140 or FRS 121 or ENG 250 or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for additional credit.

ENG 250 Poetic Forms: History and Practice
Discussion of poetic forms including the sonnet, sestina, villanelle, prose poem, free verse, and syllabic poetry (among others), with creative assignments. Designed to benefit writers wishing to enrich their knowledge of the craft and their creative abilities, as well as students of literature interested in poetry's history and technical aspects.

ENG 280 Creative Writing: Fiction or Poetry
Practice in the writing of short fiction or poetry, under the guidance of a visiting writer-in-residence. Offered on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis only. May be repeated for additional credit.

ENG 282 Creative Non-Fiction
A workshop in reading and writing creative non-fiction, under the guidance of visiting writer-in-residence Peter Trachtenberg, author of The Casanova Complex and Seven Tattoos . Students complete exercises in the representation of facts, chronology, voice, and point of view, culminating in the writing of one substantial work of creative non-fiction (personal essay, memoir, or experimental journalism). Readings include excerpts from such examples of the genre as Michael Herr's Dispatches , Peter Reich's A Book of Dreams , Julia Blackburn's Daisy Bates in the Desert , and Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine . Offered on a pass/unsatisfactory basis only.

ENG 301 Shakespeare-I
A study of the development of Shakespeare as dramatist, with emphasis on the histories and romantic comedies. (Also listed as DRA 331.)

ENG 302 Shakespeare-II
A study of the mature Shakespeare, with emphasis on the later tragedies and romances. (Also listed as DRA 332.)

ENG 305 Literary Criticism: Theory and Practice
What is literature? What is literature good for? What makes a work of literature good? What does it mean to "interpret" a literary work? What makes a particular interpretation good? These are some of the great questions addressed by literary theory, from Plato to the present. In this course we will read and discuss some classic responses to these questions, and we will consider as well such recent critical approaches as the New Criticism, reader response theory, Marxist criticism, feminist criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, structuralism, deconstruction, new historicism, and cultural studies. The course has two aims: first, to help us become more aware of what we do, and why we do it, when we study literature; and, second, to help us write better literary criticism ourselves, as we apply a range of methods to the works we study.

ENG 306 History of the English Language
A history of the English language, from its roots in Indo-European to the present day. Individual student projects focus on such topics as Black English, Kentucky English, slang, gender bias in language, and the history of dirty words.

ENG 310-339 Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature
Study of topics, authors, and genres within the medieval and Renaissance periods. Courses numbered 330-39 are limited-enrollment seminars. The 2003-2004 topics are listed below.

ENG 314 Paradise Lost
An intensive study of Milton 's Paradise Lost.

ENG 315 The Romance of Arthur
A study of the literature surrounding the figure of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, from its origins in the early Middle Ages to the present. Readings drawn from such works as the Arthurian romances of Chretien de Troyes, the Middle English verse romance Gawain and the Green Knight , Malory's Morte Darthur , Tennyson's Idylls of the King, Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court , and Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon . We will also consider offshoots of Arthurian legend in the visual arts, opera, and such films as Excalibur, The Fisher King, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail .

ENG 340-369 Studies in Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Literature
Study of topics, authors, and genres within the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Courses numbered 360-69 are limited-enrollment seminars. The 2003-2004 topics are listed below.

ENG 342 Austen and Dickens
A discussion of the best works of these two novelists, while paying appropriate attention to recent biographies and contemporary criticism. Film versions of works by these novelists provide the class with another way of analyzing their work. The course treats the relationship between comic vision and cultural criticism in novels like: Emma, Persuasion, Great Expectations, and Bleak House.

ENG 343 Victorian Literature: the Age of Reform
Political, religious, and educational reforms from 1832-1900 treated both in prose and poetry of the era. Authors include: Dickens, Trollope, Eliot, Tennyson, Arnold and Carlyle.

ENG 362 The Nineteenth Century Novel
A study in the narrative connections which were the bases for the various sub-genres of the novel (courtship, social, gothic, autobiographical) popular in the 19 th century. The course focuses on four authors who both used and transcended these connections. Prerequisite: Priority to junior English majors.

ENG 370-99 Studies in Twentieth-Century Literature
Study of topics, authors, and genres within the twentieth century. Courses numbered 390-99 are limited-enrollment seminars. The 2003-2004 topics are listed below.

ENG 373 Southern Literary Renaissance
An exploration of the literature of the modern South. Works by William Faulkner, Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, Zora Neale Hurston, Katherine Anne Porter, Tennessee Williams, Flannery O'Connor, and others.

ENG 375 Flannery O'Connor
A study of the life and work of the 20th-century American short story writer Flannery O'Connor. Readings include Wise Blood, selected letters, and all of O'Connor's short stories. There will be a three-day field trip to O'Connor sites in Georgia.

ENG 376 Contemporary British Literature
A study of novels, short fiction, poetry and drama by British and Commonwealth writers since World War II.

ENG 377 Ireland : Literature and Landscape Prof. Emmitt off-campus
Readings in Irish literature associated with both the cityscape of Dublin and the rural landscape of the Emerald Isle. Open to students who have paid the deposit for this off campus program. (Conducted in
Ireland .)

ENG 378 Modern Poetry
A broad sweep of poetry from the turn of the century until 1960. Poets covered include Gerard Manley Hopkins, Thomas Hardy, Gertrude Stein, D.H. Lawrence, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, Hilda Doolittle,Marianne Moore, Hart Crane, Louise Bogan, Laura Riding, Langston Hughes, W.H. Auden, and Theodore Roethke, with closer looks at Yeats, Williams, Frost, and Stevens. In addition to reading and discussing these poets' work, the class looks at the emergence of modernity in poems and at the important ideas and breakthroughs of this period in poetry. Students are responsible for two short papers, one long paper, and several short assignments.

ENG 391 Modern American Short Fiction
A study of American short fiction of the 20th-century, with a focus on interlocking collections. Works by Gertrude Stein, Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, John Barth, and Gloria Naylor.

ENG 500 Senior Seminar
The senior seminar topics for 2003-2004 were Twain, Faulkner and American Humor; Contemporary Irish Poetry.



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