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English (ENGL, CRWR)
Professors: Feinstein, Leiter (Chair), Preston (Chair)
Assistant Professors: Braham, Nguyen, Wagner
Lecturers: Hebert-Leiter, Kauffman, Warner
- Majors: Literature, Creative Writing
- Courses required for either major: 10
- Capstone requirement for Literature: ENGL 421 and Portfolio
- Capstone requirement for Creative Writing: CRWR 411 or 412
- Minors: Literature, Writing
Literature (ENGL)
Designed for students who choose English as a liberal arts major that prepares them for a wide range of career options; for students who choose English as their subject area for early childhood certification or who wish to earn secondary certification in English; for students who wish to improve their verbal and analytic ability in preparation for a specific career, such as technical writing, business, or law; and for students who intend to pursue graduate study in British or American literature.
The department offers two majors in English: Literature and Creative Writing. Students may not double major in English Literature and Creative Writing.
Major Requirements
A minimum of ten courses is required for the Literature major. Required courses are ENGL 217, 220, 221, 421; two courses selected from ENGL 222, 223, and 229; one from ENGL 335 and 336; two additional 300-level ENGL courses; one elective beyond composition in either English or Creative Writing; and a departmentally-approved Portfolio.
Students interested in English 7-12 teacher certification should refer to the Education Department handbook for specific requirements.
Capstone Requirement
Senior majors must successfully complete ENGL 421. They must also hand in a portfolio of writing during the first week of their final semester. The portfolio must include four major papers from English courses and a self-assessment essay.
Minor Requirements
The English Department offers minors in Literature and Writing (see Creative Writing). The mMinor in Literature requires five ENGL courses (excluding ENGL 106) in literature, at least three of which must be numbered 300 or above.
106
COMPOSITION
Extensive practice in analytical writing. Special emphasis on developing the composing skills needed to articulate and defend a position in various situations requiring the use of written English.
115
INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE: SELECTED TOPICS
An introduction to the study of literature organized topically according to each instructor. Prerequisite or corequisite: ENGL 106 or consent of the instructor, May be repeated for credit when topics are different.
217
INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY CRITICISMAn introduction to the history and theories of literary criticism. Readings in both critical and literary texts will be paired with the practical application of theoretical perspectives in analytical writings. Prerequisite: ENGL 106 or consent of instructor. Not open to juniors or seniors except for newly declared majors or with consent of instructor. Fulfills either Domestic or Global Cultural Diversity Requirement.
219
HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
A study of the origins and development of the English language. It examines how linguistic change and historical forces have shaped our common tongue, using representative readings in Old, Middle, Early Modern, and Present Day English. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills either Domestic or Global Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate years.
220
BRITISH LITERATURE I
A survey of literary forms, dominant ideas, and major authors from the Anglo-Saxon period through the 18th century. Includes a brief study of language development to Chaucer and emphasizes writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Swift, Pope, and Johnson. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Global Cultural Diversity Requirement.
221
BRITISH LITERATURE II
A survey of British literature from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with an emphasis on major literary movements and their historical contexts. Covers Romanticism, Victorian literature, and Modernism. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Global Cultural Diversity Requirement.
222
AMERICAN LITERATURE I
Survey of American literature from the beginning to 1865, with emphasis on divergent perspectives of the popular national narrative. Authors studied include: Anne Bradstreet, Benjamin Franklin, Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, 107, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Domestic Cultural Diversity Requirement.
223
AMERICAN LITERATURE II
Survey of American literature from 1865 to 1945, emphasizing such authors as Mark Twain, Charles Chesnutt, Kate Chopin, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Domestic Diversity Requirement.
225
CLASSICAL LITERATURE
A study, in translation, of Greek and Roman works that have influenced Western writers. Literary forms studied include epic, drama, satire, and love poetry. Writers include Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Virgil, Juvenal, Horace, Lucretius, and Ovid. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Global Cultural Diversity Requirement.
229
AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE
A survey of major works and authors of African American literary history from slavery to the present, focusing on such authors as Douglass, J. W. Johnson, Hurston, Hughes, Wright, Ellison, and Morrison. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Domestic Cultural Diversity Requirement.
242
STRANGE NEW WORLDS: A SURVEY OF SPECULATIVE FICTION
An exploration of science fiction and fantasy from the nineteenth century to the present. The course traces the history of these interrelated genres as they evolve over time in literature, television, and film, with a focus on what has made these genres so culturally impactful and so beloved. Prerequisite: ENGL 106 or consent of instructor. Fulfills Domestic Cultural Diversity Requirement.
311
MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
Readings focusing on Old and Middle English poetry and prose from Bede’s Ecclesiastical History to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Study of lyric, narrative, and romance with emphasis on the cultural context from which these forms emerge. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Global Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate years.
312
BETWEEN ANGELS AND DEMONS: THE LITERATURE OF THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE
An examination of themes and literary forms of the Renaissance. Authors include Donne, Marlowe, More, Shakespeare, Sidney, Spenser, and Surrey. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Global Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate years.
313
RESTORATION AND 18TH-CENTURY LITERATURE
Consideration of selected themes, writers, or modes of Restoration and 18th-century literature (1660-1800) with emphasis on the social, political, and intellectual life of that era. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Global Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate years.
314
ROMANTIC LITERATURE
Concentrated study in the writers, texts, and themes of the Romantic period (1789-1832) with emphasis on the social, political, and intellectual life of that era. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Global Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate years.
315
VICTORIAN LITERATURE
A concentrated study of the literature and culture of the Victorian period (1832-1901). The course explores themes that significantly shaped the era, which may include the science and politics of evolution, empire and anticolonialism, and industrialization. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Global Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate years.
325
ASIAN AMERICAN LITERATURE
An examination of Asian American history, culture, and identity as mediated in cultural texts such as novels, poetry, film, and television. Topics may include diaspora, memory, migration, and forms of orientalism. Prerequisite: ENGL 106 or consent of instructor. Fulfills Domestic or Global Cultural Diversity Requirements. Alternate years.
326
DIGITAL MEDIA STUDIES
An examination of how forms of digital media create meanings and structures of power. Objects of study may include software, computers and mobile devices, social media platforms, infrastructures, and representations of the same in cultural texts such as literature, film, and television. Students are introduced to relevant scholarship and methods drawn from literary and cultural studies, media studies, and science and technology studies. Prerequisite: ENGL 106 or consent of instructor. Alternate years.
331
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY FICTION
Examination of the novels and short fiction of such major writers as Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, Gabriel García Márquez, Kurt Vonnegut, and Toni Morrison with special emphasis on the themes of gender, race, and war as well as the stylistic developments of 20th-century fiction. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, 107, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Domestic Diversity Requirement.
332
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY POETRY
Studies in the themes and visions of modern and contemporary poets, beginning with Yeats and the American Modernists, covering a variety of central movements (such as the Harlem Renaissance), and concluding with a range of multicultural authors. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills either Domestic or Global Cultural Diversity Requirement.
335
CHAUCER
A study of representative work in the context of Chaucer’s life and times. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of the instructor. Fulfills Global Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate years.
336
SHAKESPEARE
A study of representative plays in the context of Shakespeare’s life and times. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Global Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate years.
337
ENVIRONMENTAL LITERATURE
An examination of environmental thinking and activism through primarily American twentieth-century and contemporary environmental literature, including novels, short stories, and creative nonfiction. Topics may include environmental justice, ecofeminism, environmental racism, and Indigenous futurism. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Alternate years. Fulfills Domestic Cultural Diversity Requirement.
339
LITERATURE AND GENDER STUDIES
An exploration of the intersection between gender studies and literary studies. The course introduces feminist and queer theory, followed by a thematic study that foregrounds feminist and LGBTQ+ authors and engages in intersectional analysis of gender, race, ethnicity, and class. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills either Domestic or Global Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate Years.
343
GLOBAL LITERATURE
A survey of contemporary English-language literature from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Oceania. The course examines how this body of literature analyzes and critiques the legacies of British colonialism and the global inequities produced in its wake. Includes an introduction to postcolonial theory. Prerequisite: ENGL 106, or consent of instructor. Fulfills Global Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate Years.
421
ADVANCED TOPICS IN LITERATURE
An upper-level literature course governed either by concept (such as a theme or movement) or author (one to three figures). Topics vary according to instructor. Prerequisite: At least one English course numbered 218 and above or consent of the instructor. May be repeated once for credit with consent of department. Alternate years.
470-479
INTERNSHIP
The department provides internships in editing, legal work, publishing, and technical writing.
N80-N89
INDEPENDENT STUDY
Recent studies include the role of Pennsylvania in the fiction of John O’Hara, the changing image of women in American art and literature (1890-1945), the hard-boiled detective novel, contemporary women writers, and Milton’s use of the Bible in Paradise Lost.
490-491
INDEPENDENT STUDY FOR DEPARTMENTAL HONORS
Recent projects include “The Function of the Past in the Fiction of William Faulkner” and “Illusion, Order, and Art in the Novels of Virginia Woolf.”
Creative Writing (CRWR)
Designed for students who aspire to careers as professional writers, as editors, and as publishers; for students who plan to continue studies in an M.F.A. or M.A. program; or for students who would like to discover their creative potential while pursuing a fundamental liberal arts education.
Ten courses are required for the Creative Writing major. Required courses are CRWR 201 and 202; one 200-level ENGL course; one from ENGL 331 or 332; one from ENGL 335 or 336; one from CRWR 341 or 342; two additional ENGL courses numbered 300 or higher; one additional 300-level CRWR course; and one capstone course from CRWR 411 or 412.
Students interested in English 7-12 teacher certification should refer to the Education Department handbook for specific requirements.
Capstone Requirement
Senior majors must successfully complete either CRWR 411 or 412.
Minor Requirements
The English Department offers minors in Literature (see ENGL) and Writing. The minor in Writing requires four courses. The required courses are CRWR 201 or 202; ENGL 217; one 300-level ENGL course with a writing-focused (“W”) designation; and one additional ENGL course numbered 300 or higher with a writing-focused (“W”) designation or a 300-level CRWR course.
201
INTRODUCTION TO POETRY
An introduction to making poems, starting with basic techniques—including imagery, metaphor, rhyme, meter—and developing them as the semester progresses. Students write and revise their work and share it with the class. Students also look at examples by distinguished poets. Prerequisite: ENGL 106 or consent of instructor.
202
INTRODUCTION TO FICTION
For students interested in storytelling techniques, this course explores the basics of character, plot, and prose. Students strengthen their writing skills through exercises, drafting short fiction, and studying examples by contemporary writers like Carmen Maria Machado, Kelly Link, and Kali Fajardo-Anstine. Prerequisite or corequisite: ENGL 106 or consent of instructor.
300
WORLDBUILDING
Covers the basics of designing a world for a creative project, such as a novel or video game, by studying other constructed worlds, such as Tolkien's Middle Earth, Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha, and the Star Wars universe. Students construct their worlds by creating a variety of documentation, from maps to mythologies to languages. Prerequisite: ENGL 106 or consent of the instructor. Fulfills Domestic Cultural Diversity Requirement.
320
ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING
Students explore environmental issues via different written forms ranging from fiction to podcast scripts. Through writing exercises, students practice how to tackle big picture issues like environmental justice or the climate crisis to create change. Prerequisite: ENGL 106 or consent of the instructor. Fulfills Domestic Cultural Diversity Requirement.
341
POETRY WORKSHOP I
An advanced workshop in the writing of poetry. Students receive intensive analysis of their own work and acquire experience in evaluating the work of their peers. Prerequisite: Grade of B or better in CRWR 201 or consent of instructor. Can be repeated for credit.
342
FICTION WORKSHOP I
This course focuses on developing storytelling techniques via writing short fiction. Students draft and revise several short stories and practice workshop methods commonly used in graduate programs and professional settings. Prerequisite: CRWR 202 or consent of instructor. Can be repeated for credit.
411
FORM AND THEORY: POETRY
An advanced workshop in which students are asked to write in various poetic forms, such as the sonnet, villanelle, sestina, and pantoum. Prerequisite: CRWR 341 or consent of instructor. Alternate years.
412
FORM AND THEORY: FICTION
Examines philosophical and aesthetic theories of fiction, and the resulting fiction based on those theories. Authors will most likely include Aristotle, Calvino, Gardner, Gass, and Nabokov. Prerequisite: CRWR 342 or consent of instructor. Alternate years.