2024-2025 Academic Catalog

English (ENG)

ENG-0100: College Writing (3 hours)

This course develops skills used in academic writing to prepare students to move into ENG-1100. Review of the writing conventions, sentence and paragraph development, and thesis development. This course will not satisfy general education, major, minor, elective and/or any other university degree requirements. Replaces: ENG-1000. Offered: Pass/Fail only.

ENG-1100: English Composition (3 hours)

Introduction to the skills and processes of academic writing, including critical reading, argument, and library research.

ENG-1101: Writing Studio Workshop (1 hour)

Students work with an English instructor in a workshop format to practice the skills, techniques, and conventions taught in ENG-1100. Corequisite: ENG-1100. Offered P/D/F only.

ENG-2000: Writing About Literature (3 hours)

Development of writing skills in the context of literary analysis and interpretation. Prerequisite: C or higher in ENG-1100.

ENG-2100: Linguistics (3 hours)

Linguistic analysis of English. Historical background and modern developments. Emphasis on transformational grammar.

ENG-2200: Non-Western Literature (3 hours)

Selected literature from various non-western countries, for example, Africa, China, Japan, the Mid-East, South America. Emphasis on 20th-century literature. IAI: H3908N.

ENG-2220: U.S. Latina/o Literature(s) (3 hours)

A survey of U.S. Latina/o literature from early immigrant to contemporary writers, examining various literary genres. Explores how U.S. Latina/os writing in English in the U.S. represent their experiences. The course will contextualize the historical experiences of different Latina/o groups and explore topics such as identity, the family, faith, the home, memory, sexuality, violence, politics and nationalism.

ENG-2300: Greek & Roman Mythology (3 hours)

Survey of ancient Greek and Roman myths about heroes, gods and the universe. Course illustrates the influence of these myths on the art, literature and culture of the modern world.

ENG-2400: African American Literature (3 hours)

An introduction to African-American literature with an exploration of multiple genres, examining the contributions of African-Americans to the literary canon. Emphasis on the historical trajectory of African American experience in the Americas, with special attention to the consequences of the slave trade and the African diaspora. Authors such as Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglas, W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, August Wilson and Toni Morrison.

ENG-2500: Classical World Literature (3 hours)

Selected literature in translation from various countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, India, and the Middle East, with a particular focus on the literature of the Mediterranean world. From the ancient world through 1650. Replaces: ENG-4710. IAI: H3906.

ENG-2600: Modern World Literature (3 hours)

Selected literature in translation from various countries of Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the near East, with a particular focus on the literature of Europe and Russia. From 1650 to the end of World War II. Replaces: ENG-4720. IAI: H3907.

ENG-3000: Introduction to Creative Writing (3 hours)

Exploration and creation of creative work across the four major genres: fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction. Emphasis on the basic elements and techniques of each genre. Students will engage in critical dissections of published creative works along with work-shopping their own creative work. Students will also experience literary events and readings in Chicago. All creative work will be critiqued by students and instructor. Prerequisite: C or higher in ENG-2000.

ENG-3100: British Literature to 1785 (3 hours)

A survey of British literature from the Anglo-Saxon period to the Restoration period. Provides students with an introduction to major authors and traces the development of major genres and themes. Serves as the first half of a two-part British literature survey. Prerequisite: A grade of C or higher in ENG-2000.

ENG-3200: British Literature II (3 hours)

A survey of British literature from 1785 to the present, providing students with an introduction to major authors of the Romantic, Victorian and modern eras. Traces the development of major genres and themes, situating texts in their cultural and historical contexts. Serves as the second half of a two-part British literature survey. Prerequisite: C or higher in ENG-2000 or instructor consent.

ENG-3300: Major American Authors (3 hours)

Introduction to some of the principal American writers, tracing the development of American letters in various genres from colonial America to the present day. Prerequisite: C or higher in ENG-2000 or instructor consent.

ENG-4000: Literary Theory & Criticism (3 hours)

Various contemporary critical approaches to the study of literature and to research tools and methods used in literary studies.

ENG-4150: Literature/Related Media for Adolescents (3 hours)

General survey of adolescent literature and related media materials for grades 6 through 12, including criteria for evaluation and study of trends and issues.

ENG-4330: Restoration/Neo-Classicism: 1660-1785 (3 hours)

Neo-classical literary attitudes and methods in the novel, essay and satirical poetry. Emphasis on Dryden, Swift, Pope and Johnson.

ENG-4370: Shakespeare (3 hours)

Advanced study of major plays in the development of Shakespeare. The more significant problems in Shakespeare criticism and interpretation.

ENG-4520: Twentieth Century American Fiction (3 hours)

Forms and themes in American fiction from World War I to the present. Writers include Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner and Morrison.

ENG-4530: Twentieth Century Poetry (3 hours)

Survey of 20th-century trends in British and American poetry from the beginnings of modernism to the present. Writers such as Yeats, Eliot, Frost, Stevens, Moore and Brooks.

ENG-4540: Modern Drama (3 hours)

Development of Western modern drama. Dramatists include Ibsen, Chekov, Shaw, O'Neill, Pirandello, Williams and Beckett.

ENG-4700: Playwriting (3 hours)

The art of dramatic writing for the stage. Turning personal and creative narratives into performable scripts with production in mind. Learning the major parts of a well-constructed play including: effective exposition, plot as event, character development and theatrical writing. Cross-Listed: THR-4700.

ENG-4810: Creative Nonfiction (3 hours)

A workshop course in writing creative nonfiction, emphasizing innovations of structure, language and style. This course combines reading and analysis of creative nonfiction with a workshop of students' writing. Field Trip: May be required. Prerequisite: C or higher in ENG-3000 or instructor consent.

ENG-4820: Writing Poetry (3 hours)

Fundamentals of the craft of writing poetry. Practice in the basic elements, techniques and genres of poetry. Student work critiqued in a workshop format. Field Trip: May be required. Prerequisite: C or higher in ENG-3000 or instructor consent.

ENG-4825: Writing Fiction (3 hours)

Fundamentals of writing short fiction. Practice in the basic elements, techniques and craft of fiction writing. Student work critiqued in a workshop format. Field Trip: May be required. Prerequisite: C or higher in ENG-3000 or instructor consent.

ENG-4900: Seminar in English (3 hours)

A focused, intensive investigation of a particular writer, literary problem, age, genre or topic. Emphasis on techniques of literary research and scholarship, culminating in a lengthy research paper. Serves as the capstone experience for the English major. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing.

ENG-4910: Topics in Literature (3 hours)

In-depth exploration of ideas and issues in the field of literary studies. Topics may include exploration in the works of a single author, analysis of a particular literary movement or time period, or new theoretical approaches to literary issues. Prerequisites: fulfillment of the University's composition and oral communication requirements. Course may be repeated under different topics.

ENG-4911: Topics in Creative Writing (3 hours)

A workshop course in selected topics within creative writing. Topics will vary. Field trips may be required. Course may be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: C or higher in ENG-3000 or instructor consent.

ENG-4920: Senior Project in Creative Writing (3 hours)

Supervised involvement in producing a significant manuscript of fiction, literary nonfiction, drama or poetry. Open to those enrolled in the Creative Writing minor who have a senior standing. Project must be approved by the department.

ENG-4950: Independent Study in English (1-6 hours)

ENG-4960: Research and Writing Capstone (1 hour)

An independent study to guide students through the research and writing of a long analytical paper. Must be taken in conjunction with another literature course, which will provide the topic and supervisor for the paper. This capstone is open only to English majors and minors with junior or senior standing. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing. Corequisite: Enrollment in a literature course with an ENG-prefix.

ENG-4980: Practicum in Teaching Composition (3 hours)

Theories and practice of teaching composition. Practical experience in working with writing students under the guidance of an instructor.

ENG-4990: Internship in English (3 hours)

Experience at professional sites which utilize English in a meaningful manner, supervised by site and University personnel. Prerequisite: Junior and Senior English majors/minors and department consent.