Department of English

This course is designed to provide an intensive examination of issues, approaches, and methods utilized in the teaching of literature, particularly literature written for children and young adults.

A study of The Canterbury Tales with an introduction to Middle English language and culture.

An extensive survey of the secular national dramas of Renaissance England that were written and performed by Shakespeare's contemporaries in London between 1576 and 1642. Students study the literary features, social contexts and ideological underpinning of representative works by Kyd, Marlowe, Jonson, Webster, Ford, and others.

This course introduces students to the Jewish literary traditions and the cultural trends shaping these traditions and the Jewish identity. It will examine the impact of such issues as immigration, family, marginality, the Holocaust, assimilation, cultural diversity, feminism, Israel, race and religion. Readings will include short stories, poems, essays, novels, and autobiographical writing.

The class provides students with a solid grasp of the Harlem Renaissance: what it was, why it came to be, and how it continues to resonate in American culture. Students will gain a greater understanding of this period and the ways in which the artistic endeavors of the Harlem Renaissance - especially the literature - helped to transform that era and make possible the growing respect for diversity that we now enjoy.

British literature from the Restoration of the monarchy after the Civil War and Puritan Commonwealth to the French Revolution, focusing on how cultural changes (legalized female actors, commercialized printing, colonialism, and growing market capitalism) interacted with the flowering of satire and scandalous theatrical comedy, and the emergence of modern literary forms (periodical journalism, "picturesque" poetry, and the novel).

A study of the literature written in Britain between 1770-1830, focusing on how the literary experiments and innovations of poets like Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Percy Shelley, Keats, Burns, and Barbauld, and of novelists like Mary Shelley, Radcliffe, and Scott interacted with cultural changes such as the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and the emergence of feminism and working-class radicalism.

This is a discussion/workshop course emphasizing contexts and strategies of text production in and across academic disciplines and professional settings. Students will produce a variety of texts designed to meet the needs of specific audiences.

A study of early British novels and how the novel genre developed from and in relation to other traditions such as the epic, romance, criminal biography, periodical journalism, and travel narrative.

A study of the chief writers and the cultural and philosophical backgrounds of the Victorian era, touching on the changes from the early to the later part of the period. Works analyzed include fiction, nonfiction prose, and poetry.

This course focuses on writing as a means of making and presenting management decisions.

This course will focus on writing for a number of government agencies through the application of rhetorical theory. The course will apply theory to practice in the process of assessing audience, context, and genre, as well as ethical writing practices.

Examination and analysis of a variety of novels in their editorial and cultural contexts.

This course will teach students the rhetorically sound development of digital media for a range of audiences within a variety of possible digital contexts through discussion of accessibility and the application of fundamentals of usability studies.

An introduction to linguistic analysis of world languages. Emphasis is on the analysis of sound systems (phonetics, phonology) and the structure of words and sentences (morphology and syntax).

This is a survey course that examines the American experience, American identity and American culture through travel "texts" that include prose, poetry, art, and film. The course takes an interdisciplinary American Studies approach, using lenses such as race, gender, and class.

This course is a descriptive study of English grammar as it relates to the contexts in which it is used, with implication for grammar pedagogy and TESOL classrooms.

This course focuses on the linguistic diversity of the American South, with an emphasis on different dialects and cultures throughout the region. In addition to consideration of the variation in the language system, it examines the social salience of stigmatized Southern varieties and dialect discrimination, directed towards Southern and African American speakers both inside and out of the South.

A study of the origins and development of the English language. Focus is on the changes of sounds, words, and language structures across time, with deep consideration of the social and cultural factors that shape the history of English.

The course is an introduction to forensic linguistics—the application of linguistic analysis to language as used in legal contexts (e.g., federal, state, and local code, legal documents, government and the judicial process, etc.). Course topics include interaction in the legal process (interviews, interrogations, courtroom discourse), authorship analysis, speaker identification and profiling, multilingualism, trademarks and product warnings, language and sexual crimes, and terrorism. Students become familiar with debates in the forensic domain, theoretical issues, and tools of analysis that are suited to forensic work.

Examination of the American novel from its origins in the late eighteenth century through World War I. The course will emphasize the novel as a genre, cultural trends during the period, and such relevant literary modes as romanticism, realism, and naturalism.

Examination of the American novel from the end of World War I to the present day. The course will emphasize formal issues related to the genre of the novel and relevant literary and cultural trends during the period including modernism and postmodernism.

A detailed study of technique in literary nonfiction with an emphasis on the memoir, the essay, reportage, and travel narrative. Especially designed for, but not limited to, creative writing students; supplements the creative writing workshops.

When people think of 'American English,' they usually have a standard form in mind. In this course, we focus on the variety of ways English is spoken in the U.S. and the social meaning of that variation. We also discuss language-based discrimination and strategies that can be used to confront it. Models for collecting, describing, and analyzing variation in American English are introduced and applied to real-life situations.

This course, an expansion of the principles and techniques learned in ENGL 451, focuses on the writing and criticism of the short story, the novella, and the novel. May be repeated for credit.

This course, an expansion of the principles and techniques learned in ENGL 452, focuses on the writing and criticism of poetry. May be repeated for credit.

A course in the techniques of writing nonfiction imaginatively within a factual context. Emphasis is placed on concern for reader psychology, selection of significant detail, and the development of a style at once lively and lucid. Assignments are made individually with regard to the student's field of interest - history, biography, science, politics, informal essay, etc. Advice is given on the marketing of promising manuscripts. May be repeated for credit.

A study of the theory and practice of teaching writing. Special attention will be given to the ways effective teachers allow theories and experiences to inform their pedagogical strategies.

A detailed study of fictional technique in the novel and short story, with emphasis on character development, conflict, point of view, plot, setting, mood, tone, and diction. Especially designed for, but not limited to, creative writing students; supplements the creative writing workshops.

A detailed study of technique in poetry, with emphasis on form, imagery, rhythm, and symbolism. Especially designed for, but not limited to, creative writing students; supplements the creative writing workshops.

A study of the diverse 'new' literatures in English of the Caribbean and Central America, Africa, India, as well as of Canada and Australia, in their current historical and political contexts.

Works of important American poets from 1900-1945 are studied.

This course applies concepts developed through women's studies scholarship and feminist literary criticism to works by women writers of different races and cultures.

This class offers an investigation of Native American literature both past and present and seeks to foster an appreciation for indigenous cultures, traditions, and the ongoing concerns that inform so much of Native literary output. By privileging Native centered approaches to narrative and history-keeping, the course hopes to promote a greater understanding of the issues Native peoples faced in the colonial milieu and the continued implications of those histories for Native communities and indigenous identities today.

An investigation of how African American literature has innovated, influenced, and been influenced by literary movements, historical events, social transitions, and political upheavals.

The course introduces students to key texts in Asian American literature, supported by critical studies (and on occasion films) to interrogate the theme of Asian American identities in their multiple forms. The course will examine sociopolitical histories that undercut the literature, and the contributions of Asian American writers to the breadth and scope of American as well as global literatures today.

This course engages students in a comprehensive exploration of video as a rhetorical narrative medium, with emphasis on the actual production of video work. Writing is also integrated into the production process. From brainstorming to storyboarding and critique, writing is positioned as an integral part of the course.

This class explores social hierarchy through the lenses of language and power. Using the metaphor of the 'cultural food chain' for the social order (gender, race, class, sexual orientation, and other aspects of personhood), we examine how language is central to reproducing hierarchies as well as confronting and disrupting them.

This is primarily a sportswriting course in which students are introduced to various types and styles of sports stories that are representative of sports journalism as practiced in newspapers and magazines. The course also explores the role of sports in American society.

Designed to familiarize students with the fundamentals of beat reporting and its practice in the multi-media environment of 'converged' newsrooms. The course emphatically focuses on writing but also provides instruction on how the tools and techniques of multimedia platforms are used to enhance storytelling. Emphasis is also placed on accessing information through web-based resources and government documents.

Course includes discussion and practice of writing a variety of newspaper and magazine feature stories. Students will write and critique stories on people, places, businesses, trends, and issues. Assistance is given in the marketing of manuscripts.

A study of the practice and function of writing editorials, commentary, reviews and columns for newspapers and online media. Lectures will focus on the techniques of crafting a persuasive argument, content analyses of Pulitzer Prize-winning editorials and columns, and guest lectures by newspaper editorial writers.

Designed to introduce students to components of communication law that may affect the professional writer or broadcaster. Topics include defamation, constitutional constraints, freedom of information, privacy, copyright, and telecommunications law. Ethical issues relating to the mass media will also be examined.

Advanced study of career opportunities and industry trends across a variety of fields, with a focus on reflection, synthesis, and professional development. Students will prepare a major project—as well as materials for career or educational advancement—and will discuss the nature, purpose, and value of an English degree.

A comparative study of selected major dramatic works of the world, featuring texts drawn from a range of cultures from around the globe. The course will begin in the late nineteenth century and continue to the present. Works written in languages other than English will be read in translation.

Fiction, poetry, and plays written during the last fifty years in nations throughout the world. Most texts will have been written originally in languages other than English. The course will focus on the comparative study of works produced in a variety of cultural contexts, and will explore a range of approaches to defining or circumscribing world literature.

The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit small groups of qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, because of their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule and will be more fully described in information distributed to all academic advisors.

The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit small groups of qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, because of their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule and will be more fully described in information distributed to all academic advisors.

Required of most graduate students in English, usually in the first semester. Survey of English as an academic discipline; issues and trends in scholarly journals; research strategies and conventions for graduate-level papers and master's theses; critical approaches to literature.

An application of advanced theoretical and critical approaches to Shakespeare's works. May be repeated more than once for credit if different group of works or themes is being studied.

A study of 19th Century British novels in context of the economic, social, and political issues of the period, emphasizing their formal and aesthetic concerns.

Guided study and practice in writing short stories, novels, poetry, and creative nonfiction, offered in specific sections of Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction. This course can be repeated for credit. Students planning to write a creative thesis must take this course at least twice with their thesis director.

Intensive study of a variety of texts from several genres reflecting the historical forces, aesthetic movements, social trends, and representative works of the period.

A detailed study of the techniques of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry with some emphasis given to the various theories informing the genres.

A detailed study of the techniques of poetry with some emphasis on the various theories informing the genre.

In this course, students will explore the social, theoretical, and cultural implications of composing with the ever-evolving digital writing technologies. They will also consider how to study the practices the writers use to compose with these technologies.

An intensive examination of alternative approaches to teaching first-year and advanced composition at the college level, with special attention to current schools of composition theory and research.

Students in this course will explore different writing environments and educational applications and learn how they are designed to help writers compose, collaborate, research, and think. Students will assess the values and theoretical assumptions underlying those applications and learn to articulate their own philosophies of using technologies in the writing classroom.

Structured work experience involving extensive writing and editing in a professional setting. The result of the internship is an analytic paper and a portfolio of written work.

The course is a practical introduction to methods, materials, and course organization in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). It includes topics such as teaching language skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), language assessment, teaching language in its cultural context, technology-enhanced language teaching and learning, and others.

The course is an introduction to the sounds and sound systems of natural languages with a particular focus on how sounds are produced and how they interact with one another in a stream of speech. It examines a variety of prosodic features of speech, including syllable structure, tone and stress, and connects the application of various phonological theories to language learning and teaching.

The course is a survey of the structure of mainstream English and focuses on language structure analyses in relation to the context of use and the speakers/writers who use it. It is based on a descriptive approach to the study of English across registers and genres and addresses language issues that may be problematic for English language users.

The course is a survey of approaches to the analysis of spoken and written discourse. Readings and assignments emphasize issues related to transcription methods, conversational discourse, narrative, social interaction, the influence of prior discourses on texts, and relationships between discourse and power.

A structured work experience involving teaching or work in applied linguistics in a professional setting. To be documented by a portfolio of written work.

Supervised practice in teaching English to speakers of other languages. Available to those enrolled in the M.A. in Applied Linguistics or TESOL Certificate who have completed core courses.

This course addresses the connections between language and culture both in terms of the ways in which language may encode aspects of culture similarly or differently as well as how cultural assumptions are often made based on linguistic differences across cultures. Readings and discussions also address the effects of culture on intercultural communication.

Sociolinguistics is the study of language in its social context with emphasis on ethnography and other qualitative methods, quantitative methods, and linguistic and social differentiation between individuals and groups.

The course is an overview of first and second language acquisition with an emphasis on examining evidence about second language learning which supports or fails to support different approaches to teaching other languages. It outlines the complexities and the interdisciplinarity of the field of language acquisition and introduces various research methods used in this area of inquiry.

This course offers students enrolled in the MFA in Creative Writing program the opportunity for rigorous study of contemporary master works in a particular genre. Designed to provide students with the opportunity to deeply investigate contemporary works for the required thesis reading list, this course counts as one of the literature requirements for the MFA degree. The course is best suited for students in the second year of the program; however, any MFA student may register. The course cannot be repeated for credit.

This course is designed to guide MFA creative writing students in an investigation of the historical works for the required thesis reading lists. Most course work will be individualized and flexible. Students in all genres will define the literary traditions they are operating in and study some of the foundational texts that inform those traditions.

This course is for MFA Creative Writing students, and is meant to provide basic concepts of literary editing and publishing, theoretical and practical frameworks, and hands-on/internship types of experiences managing/reading/editing for the MFA program's literary journal, Barely South Review. This course can count once toward elective credit in the MFA curriculum and may not be repeated for credit.

This course explores current methods and methodologies in writing research. Students will design and carry out original studies of academic, professional, or personal writing as it is practiced in classrooms, work places, and other settings.

This course presents key concepts, principles, traditions, and conversations that define the field of rhetoric and composition, surveying major texts, movements, issues, and methodologies. This course is designed primarily to prepare students for advanced courses in professional writing; however, it will also benefit any student who is interested in gaining insights about language, knowledge, and power from the perspective of rhetoric.

This course discusses theories of teaching, writing and literature and helps explore the challenges facing 21st century educators in terms of finding ways to reach the 21st century student. The course investigates ways to help students understand the inherent value of reading and writing. Additionally, the course looks at pedagogical models and examines how they can be applied to individual areas of expertise. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

All MFA students are required to take ENGL 694 before their final semester. The course brings together all genres in a collaborative focus in which students discuss specific thesis projects, format requirements, publishing opportunities and reading lists for the 10-page prefatory essay required for their defense.

The advanced study of a selected topic in English. Topics courses will appear in the course schedule and will be more fully described in information distributed to all academic advisors.

Designed for the advanced student (15-20 hours) who wants to study in-depth a sharply focused area of literature, linguistics, or pedagogy. Before registering for the course, the student must make out a prospectus with the instructor and submit it. No graduate student is permitted to take more than two independent readings courses.

Preparatory course designed to assist students in the development of a professional or teaching portfolio. Students will consult regularly with their committee.

Preparatory course designed to assist students in the writing of a thesis. Students will consult regularly with the faculty.

Writing of the creative thesis.

Tracing the development of writing technologies from Ancient Greece through contemporary blogs and wikis, this course focuses on the relationships between a text's physical qualities and its composition, production, and reception.

This course explores the history and future of the book, print technology, the way books are made, shared, collected, preserved, and discarded, and the status of the book within larger information systems—archives, libraries, and private collections—in the digital age. How do we reconceive the book and its place in the increasingly digital cultural archive?

The course is a survey of language use both within and across cultures. Topics include relationships between language and conceptualization (linguistic relativity); description and interpretation of linguistic and rhetorical patterns; the organization, expression, and analysis of cultural meaning (e.g. frames, cultural models, narratives); relational aspects of language use; and literacy practices.

This course focuses on how visual elements work within different types of documents. Theory and research in visual rhetoric and technical communication will be used to develop models for how people process visual information in a variety of social and cultural contexts.

This course introduces students to the principal questions and concerns of the field and includes a comparison and contrast of the subspecialties in English, including how they form and address key issues.

This course surveys the history of technical communication and explores competing theories and research methodologies in the field. The tensions between workplace practices, technical communication scholarship, and technical communication pedagogy will also be explored.

This course introduces students to the field of technical communication by way of classroom practice with the goal of professionalizing students as teachers of technical communication (or technical writing). Students are asked to design undergraduate course materials and projects, which will be informed by exploration of the extensive boundaries of the field and critical consideration of the most pressing questions facing technical communication scholars and the most common problems facing technical communication practitioners today.

Students in this course will be prepared to develop pedagogical plans, teach and assess writing in four instructional areas: advanced and professional writing courses, writing across the curriculum, workplace instruction, and distributed learning. New pedagogical tools, especially computer-based technologies, will be taught, analyzed and tested.

Students will examine how the field of rhetoric has shaped composition pedagogy in the United States from its inception at Harvard to postmodern possibilities of today's writing classroom.

Examines the social and institutional contexts that shape the expectations placed on writing instruction, the cross-cultural issues that affect how multilingual students compose English texts, and the curricular strategies for designing assignments and assessing multilingual writers' work.

Students will learn how to negotiate the intersection between online instruction and writing pedagogy by exploring and interrogating the ways that various means of course mediation shapes the literacy pedagogy an instructor can develop. ENGL 664 is recommended as a prerequisite.

Surveys the theory and practice of scholarly editing, of the physical description of texts as material artifacts, and of the historical and social contextualization of texts as material artifacts. Focus is on texts produced in manuscripts and print, but consideration is given to oral texts and digital texts.

A study of the British periodical press from the 1700s to c.1900 as an archival object revealing the life and culture of the Enlightenment, Romantic, and Victorian Eras. The course considers the sociocultural function of newspapers, monthlies, annuals, and serial novels, and critiques material and digital archival work.

Studies of major poets, dramatists and prose writers. Some attention will be given to the movements, trends, forces, and ideas of the period. The course coheres around a pertinent theme, historical moment, genre, or theoretical inquiry.

A study of the literature written in the British Isles from the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 until 1800, focusing on how the flowering of satire and the emergence of new literary forms such as periodical journalism, the novel, and “mock heroic” poetry interacted with the growth of distinctly modern institutions and philosophies such as a free, commercial press, market capitalism, colonialism, political radicalism, and industrialism.

Taking historical, cultural, and theoretical views, this course bridges literary studies with new media. How has technology historically affected literature and culture? Can the democratization of information accelerate literary development? Topics will include digital archives, intellectual property in the information age, and electronic textuality.

An exploration of the diffuse and disparate methods and practices of contemporary digital activism.

An increasing amount of scholarship in English studies focuses on the networked interactions between texts and other texts, people, technologies, etc. To account for these various types of relationships between different types of objects a number of theories of networks have emerged. This course considers key theoretical discussions that work to define nodes, relationships between them, and how networks emerge, grow, and/or dissolve.

An examination of the discourse of postcolonial critical theory literature produced in postcolonial, diasporic and global contexts.

Analyzes world literature’s disciplinary affordances and limitations and considers world literature’s tensions with comparative literature. Students examine a theme, genre, or other literary topic as it appears in the literature of several countries. All works are assigned in English translation if not originally written in English.

A study of the various theories that have emerged since the early twentieth century about the form, history, and cultural significance of narrative as a specific discursive mode. Theories will range from structuralist approaches to narrative elements like plot, perspective, and voice, to politically-engaged theories like Marxist, Feminist, and Queer narratology, as well as to more recent theories such as Storyworld/Possible Worlds theory. The focus will be on linguistic, “literary” narratives, but narratives in other media (such as film or graphic novels) and other genres (such a historiography) will be also be studied.

This course focuses on the theory and design of empirical research conducted in academic and nonacademic settings. Students will examine the methodological complexities of several different approaches and conduct empirical research projects in English studies.

A study of a selection of the literature written in Britain during the romantic and Victorian ages, focusing on the social, historical, and ideological contexts informing its production. Texts analyzed include poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

Students will engage in service-learning activities and apply various concepts and skills from their experience and coursework to identify and respond to the needs in the community. An analytical paper and portfolio of service-learning materials are required.

Intensive study of a variety of texts from several genres reflecting the historical forces, aesthetic movements, social trends, and representative works of the period.

This course works in and between the complex intersectional crossroads of critical race and sexuality studies, Black queer/quare studies, and performance studies. Insisting upon the inextricability of racial subjectivity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, it offers a study of critique, literature, and performance at the intersections of Black/Latinx social identities and movements in a US context, while remaining attentive to diasporic and global networks of people and power.

A study of the historical formation of cultural studies and the theoretical principles that underwrote its emergence, development, and institutional adaptation.

The goal of this course is to examine various approaches to Critical Race Studies and, in light of its theoretical commitments, explore its problems, possibilities, and limitations. How might we better understand our history and contemporary politics through the methodologies of critical race theory? Does critical race theory open up new areas for exploration or does it make our understanding of race and ethnicity more indefinite? Such an exploration will require us to think carefully about race and racism, but also other forms of identity like gender, class, and sexuality.

An investigation of the cultural discourse surrounding the figure of Pocahontas in Early American literature and history, observing its construction within the dominant archive and its performance over a period of four centuries. Also seeks to understand Pocahontas from within local indigenous traditions and a larger network of indigenous agency.

An intensive study of a variety of texts from several genres reflecting the historical forces, aesthetic movements, social trends, and representative works of the period.

Intensive study of a variety of texts from several genres reflecting the historical forces, aesthetic movements, social trends, and representative works of the period.

Analysis and discussion of classical theories of rhetoric, with attention to how rhetoric describes discourse in the public sphere.

This course introduces students to the methodological and analytical approaches to discourse analysis. Students explore what it means to engage in meaningful, grounded, data-driven research through an examination of original research articles and by designing and conducting their own discourse analysis research project.

An in-depth study of selected theories about the form, history, and cultural significance of literature, such as narrative theory, poststructuralism, Marxism, and feminism. Specific topics may vary by semester, but all sections will engage comprehensively with a body of theoretical texts and concerns.

This course concerns the development of rhetoric as an academic discipline in the twentieth century, in particular how rhetoric has distinguished itself from literary, historical, philosophical, and linguistic modes of inquiry.

This course involves hands-on instruction in a variety of software packages used to create websites and multi-media projects. Students will explore the rhetorical, literary, and technical aspects of their own projects as well as other web-based and multi-media compositions/products.

The course introduces general concepts, research methods, and techniques used in language analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches are discussed, including the use of surveys, case studies, and experimental study designs. Two main goals are emphasized: To become a better reader of research reports and to develop research and analytical skills applicable to the analyses of spoken and written language. Previous research-oriented coursework or experience is strongly recommended.

This course builds on the study of new media textual production and consumption in English Studies begun in New Media Theory and Practice I and gives students the opportunity to engage in more advanced theoretical and production work. This course will focus on the integration of multiple modes and media using a variety of software and hardware.

This course introduces students to literacy theory and challenges them to apply it in specific disciplines within English Studies.

This seminar focuses on language in society, with emphasis on the everyday types of speech that people use to situate themselves in social worlds. Topics include ethnography of communication, language ideologies, linguistic style and stance, social and regional variation, and qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis.

The course provides a hands-on introduction to the use of corpora in language studies, register, and genre analysis in combination with other methodologies. It is a survey of existing English language corpora and the central concepts and methods of corpus-based language analysis and material design. The main focus is on the use of corpora as a resource for research, teaching, and learning.

This course will provide an intensive examination of a specific topic or issue in professional writing and serve as a field course for Professional Writing and New Media.

This course will provide an intensive examination of a specific topic or issue in textual studies and serve as a field course for Rhetoric and Textual Studies.

Intensive seminar in a variable topic within literary or literary/cultural studies.

This course will provide an intensive examination of a specific topic or issue in rhetoric and serve as a field course for rhetoric and textual studies.

This course will provide an intensive examination of a specific topic or issue in new media and serve as a field course for Professional Writing and New Media.

Variable course material for students in the Ph.D. in English degree program.

Provides opportunities for doctoral students to do independent research in areas of their interests. Hours to be arranged.

Tracing the development of writing technologies from Ancient Greece through contemporary blogs and wikis, this course focuses on the relationships between a text's physical qualities and its composition, production, and reception.

This course explores the history and future of the book, print technology, the way books are made, shared, collected, preserved, and discarded, and the status of the book within larger information systems—archives, libraries, and private collections—in the digital age. How do we reconceive the book and its place in the increasingly digital cultural archive?

The course is a survey of language use both within and across cultures. Topics include relationships between language and conceptualization (linguistic relativity); description and interpretation of linguistic and rhetorical patterns; the organization, expression, and analysis of cultural meaning (e.g. frames, cultural models, narratives); relational aspects of language use; and literacy practices.

This course focuses on how visual elements work within different types of documents. Theory and research in visual rhetoric and technical communication will be used to develop models for how people process visual information in a variety of social and cultural contexts.

This course introduces students to the principal questions and concerns of the field and includes a comparison and contrast of the subspecialties in English, including how they form and address key issues

This course surveys the history of technical communication and explores competing theories and research methodologies in the field. The tensions between workplace practices, technical communication scholarship, and technical communication pedagogy will also be explored.

This course introduces students to the field of technical communication by way of classroom practice with the goal of professionalizing students as teachers of technical communication (or technical writing). Students are asked to design undergraduate course materials and projects, which will be informed by exploration of the extensive boundaries of the field and critical consideration of the most pressing questions facing technical communication scholars and the most common problems facing technical communication practitioners today.

Students in this course will be prepared to develop pedagogical plans, teach and assess writing in four instructional areas: advanced and professional writing courses, writing across the curriculum, workplace instruction, and distributed learning. New pedagogical tools, especially computer-based technologies, will be taught, analyzed and tested.

Students will examine how the field of rhetoric has shaped composition pedagogy in the United States from its inception at Harvard to postmodern possibilities of today's writing classroom.

Examines the social and institutional contexts that shape the expectations placed on writing instruction, the cross-cultural issues that affect how multilingual students compose English texts, and the curricular strategies for designing assignments and assessing multilingual writers' work.

Students will learn how to negotiate the intersection between online instruction and writing pedagogy by exploring and interrogating the ways that various means of course mediation shapes the literacy pedagogy an instructor can develop.

Surveys the theory and practice of scholarly editing, of the physical description of texts as material artifacts, and of the historical and social contextualization of texts as material artifacts. Focus is on texts produced in manuscripts and print, but consideration is given to oral texts and digital texts.

A study of the British periodical press from the 1700s to c.1900 as an archival object revealing the life and culture of the Enlightenment, Romantic, and Victorian Eras. The course considers the sociocultural function of newspapers, monthlies, annuals, and serial novels, and critiques material and digital archival work.

Studies of major poets, dramatists and prose writers. Some attention will be given to the movements, trends, forces, and ideas of the period. The course coheres around a pertinent theme, historical moment, genre, or theoretical inquiry.

A study of the literature written in the British Isles from the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 until 1800, focusing on how the flowering of satire and the emergence of new literary forms such as periodical journalism, the novel, and “mock heroic” poetry interacted with the growth of distinctly modern institutions and philosophies such as a free, commercial press, market capitalism, colonialism, political radicalism, and industrialism.

Taking historical, cultural, and theoretical views, this course bridges literary studies with new media. How has technology historically affected literature and culture? Can the democratization of information accelerate literary development? Topics will include digital archives, intellectual property in the information age, and electronic textuality.

An exploration of the diffuse and disparate methods and practices of contemporary digital activism.

An increasing amount of scholarship in English studies focuses on the networked interactions between texts and other texts, people, technologies, etc. To account for these various types of relationships between different types of objects a number of theories of networks have emerged. This course considers key theoretical discussions that work to define nodes, relationships between them, and how networks emerge, grow, and/or dissolve.

An examination of the discourse of postcolonial critical theory literature produced in postcolonial, diasporic and global contexts.

This course analyzes world literature’s disciplinary affordances and limitations and considers world literature’s tensions with comparative literature. Students examine a theme, genre, or other literary topic as it appears in the literature of several countries. All works are assigned in English translation if not originally written in English.

A study of the various theories that have emerged since the early twentieth century about the form, history, and cultural significance of narrative as a specific discursive mode. Theories will range from structuralist approaches to narrative elements like plot, perspective, and voice, to politically-engaged theories like Marxist, Feminist, and Queer narratology, as well as to more recent theories such as Storyworld/Possible Worlds theory. The focus will be on linguistic, “literary” narratives, but narratives in other media (such as film or graphic novels) and other genres (such a historiography) will be also be studied.

This course focuses on the theory and design of empirical research conducted in academic and nonacademic settings. Students will examine the methodological complexities of several different approaches and conduct empirical research projects in English studies.

A study of a selection of the literature written in Britain during the romantic and Victorian ages, focusing on the social, historical, and ideological contexts informing its production. Texts analyzed include poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

Students will engage in service-learning activities and apply various concepts and skills from their experience and coursework to identify and respond to the needs in the community. An analytical paper and portfolio of service-learning materials are required.

Intensive study of a variety of texts from several genres reflecting the historical forces, aesthetic movements, social trends, and representative works of the period.

This course works in and between the complex intersectional crossroads of critical race and sexuality studies, Black queer/quare studies, and performance studies. Insisting upon the inextricability of racial subjectivity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, it offers a study of critique, literature, and performance at the intersections of Black/Latinx social identities and movements in a US context, while remaining attentive to diasporic and global networks of people and power.

A study of the historical formation of cultural studies and the theoretical principles that underwrote its emergence, development, and institutional adaptation.

The goal of this course is to examine various approaches to Critical Race Studies and, in light of its theoretical commitments, explore its problems, possibilities, and limitations. How might we better understand our history and contemporary politics through the methodologies of critical race theory? Does critical race theory open up new areas for exploration or does it make our understanding of race and ethnicity more indefinite? Such an exploration will require us to think carefully about race and racism, but also other forms of identity like gender, class, and sexuality.

An investigation of the cultural discourse surrounding the figure of Pocahontas in Early American literature and history, observing its construction within the dominant archive and its performance over a period of four centuries. Also seeks to understand Pocahontas from within local indigenous traditions and a larger network of indigenous agency.

An intensive study of a variety of texts from several genres reflecting the historical forces, aesthetic movements, social trends, and representative works of the period.

Intensive study of a variety of texts from several genres reflecting the historical forces, aesthetic movements, social trends, and representative works of the period.

Analysis and discussion of classical theories of rhetoric, with attention to how rhetoric describes discourse in the public sphere.

This course introduces students to the methodological and analytical approaches to discourse analysis. Students explore what it means to engage in meaningful, grounded, data-driven research through an examination of original research articles and by designing and conducting their own discourse analysis research project.

An in-depth study of selected theories about the form, history, and cultural significance of literature, such as narrative theory, poststructuralism, Marxism, and feminism. Specific topics may vary by semester, but all sections will engage comprehensively with a body of theoretical texts and concerns.

This course concerns the development of rhetoric as an academic discipline in the twentieth century, in particular how rhetoric has distinguished itself from literary, historical, philosophical, and linguistic modes of inquiry.

This course involves hands-on instruction in a variety of software packages used to create websites and multi-media projects. Students will explore the rhetorical, literary, and technical aspects of their own projects as well as other web-based and multi-media compositions/products.

The course introduces general concepts, research methods, and techniques used in language analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches are discussed, including the use of surveys, case studies, and experimental study designs. Two main goals are emphasized: To become a better reader of research reports and to develop research and analytical skills applicable to the analyses of spoken and written language. Previous research-oriented coursework or experience is strongly recommended.

This course builds on the study of new media textual production and consumption in English Studies begun in New Media Theory and Practice I and gives students the opportunity to engage in more advanced theoretical and production work. This course will focus on the integration of multiple modes and media using a variety of software and hardware.

This course introduces students to literacy theory and challenges them to apply it in specific disciplines within English Studies.

This seminar focuses on language in society, with emphasis on the everyday types of speech that people use to situate themselves in social worlds. Topics include ethnography of communication, language ideologies, linguistic style and stance, social and regional variation, and qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis.

The course provides a hands-on introduction to the use of corpora in language studies, register, and genre analysis in combination with other methodologies. It is a survey of existing English language corpora and the central concepts and methods of corpus-based language analysis and material design. The main focus is on the use of corpora as a resource for research, teaching, and learning.

This course will provide an intensive examination of a specific topic or issue in professional writing and serve as a field course for Professional Writing and New Media.

This course will provide an intensive examination of a specific topic or issue in textual studies and serve as a field course for Rhetoric and Textual Studies.

Intensive seminar in a variable topic within literary or literary/cultural studies.

This course is taken prior to doctoral candidacy exams. It enables students to develop and refine a topic for the dissertation, do preliminary research, and construct a bibliography under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Students will also us the seminar to prepare bibliographies to be used in candidacy exams.

This course will provide an intensive examination of a specific topic or issue in rhetoric and serve as a field course for rhetoric and textual studies.

This course will provide an intensive examination of a specific topic or issue in new media and serve as a field course for Professional Writing and New Media.

Variable course material for students in the Ph.D. in English degree program.

Provides opportunities for doctoral students to do independent research in areas of their interests. Hours to be arranged.

This course can be taken as a supplement to the Dissertation Seminar for independent investigation in the topic for dissertation.

This course is to be taken only by students who have passed the candidacy exams for the purpose of researching and writing the dissertation.

This course is a pass/fail course for master's students in their final semester. It may be taken to fulfill the registration requirement necessary for graduation. All master's students are required to be registered for at least one graduate credit hour in the semester of their graduation.

This course is a pass/fail course doctoral students may take to maintain active status after successfully passing the candidacy examination. All doctoral students are required to be registered for at least one graduate credit hour every semester until their graduation.