Literature Specialization

Critical examination of selected works representing different historical and socio-cultural contexts.

Survey of major American authors from the colonial period to the present.

Historical survey of the literature of England to the twentieth century.

Study of the science and art of using written language to promote information gain, induce attitude change, and affect behavior. Beginning with Aristotelian concepts such as logos, ethos, and pathos, this course will provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills to generate, arrange, and write effective arguments. Psychological and sociological principles of persuasion will be examined and the various uses of argument in contemporary situations explored.

In-depth analysis of advertisements, speeches, film, and literature as persuasive texts. Students will learn both the nature and scope of persuasion and be introduced to several different methods for analyzing the argumentative strategies of texts. Among these are the traditional, Burkeian, sociological, feminist, and postmodern perspectives. Students will also consider the ethical, aesthetic, and political problems raised by texts designed to persuade an audience.

In-depth study of selected Shakespearean plays and poems. Emphasis on the author's artistic development. Same as TH 407.

Analysis of English grammatical structures. Emphasis on modern descriptive analysis.

Content to be determined each semester by the Department as requested by faculty and/or students to fill specified needs or interests. Students may repeat ENG 300 as long as course content varies with each repetition.

Activist Rhetoric has been offered since 2015.

Critical examination of selected novels.

Study of poetic and narrative works representing distinct Latino groups. Texts are examined within their sociopolitical and historical contexts. Latino/a writers bring together the Hispanic and U.S. literary traditions and provide a new literary perspective based on their history, migratory experience, and cultural diversity. Issues such as race, class, and gender, as well as ethnic and national identity, are thoroughly examined.

Study of literary works by women or themes concerning women in literature. Analysis of readings from the aesthetic and other theoretical points of view.

Examination of texts that reflect political, social, and cultural issues related to Caribbean life and culture. Students will read literature by Caribbean authors residing both inside and outside of their countries.

An examination of the major works of African American writers from colonial times to the present. (Formerly ENG 245).

Examination of the nature of literature and the methods of approaching it. Implications for criticism across the arts.

Critical examination of selected works from major writers of the period.

Critical examination of selected works from major writers of the period.

Critical examination of selected works from major writers of the period.

In-depth study of selected literary topics, works, figures, and genres. ENG 429 may be repeated as long as course content varies with each repetition.

In-depth study of major literary works of the period.

In-depth study of major literary works of the period.

Introduction of terminology and methodology for critical viewing of films. Discussion of the role of theory in film analysis. Practice in reading films as reflecting social, cultural, religious, economic, and aesthetic values of the periods and countries which produce the films. Prerequisite: COM 366 or PHO 421.

In-depth study of selected works of the period.

In-depth study of selected works of the period.

Courses taught under this heading focus on the way social relations of power are constructed in and by cultural practices and the workings and consequences of those relations and practices. These courses examine through verbal and non-verbal texts what seems natural and familiar in order to unmask these representations and to critically examine the implications of these cultural practices in everyday life. Prerequisite: ENG 112 or ENG 210

Courses taught under this heading focus on the distinctive social, political, cultural, linguistic and historical experiences of ethnic groups in the United States. These courses explore through verbal and non-verbal texts the ways places are represented as home, exile, or myth and how these representations affect the sense of self, gender, family, community, history, memory and nationalism. Additionally, special topics courses taught in this category include those grounded in postcolonial theory, i.e., examining texts as an assertion of power against colonialism and as agencies for exploring experimental or alternative forms of artistic expressions. Prerequisite: ENG 112 or ENG 210

Courses taught under this category focus on the construction and role of gender in culture. These courses examine verbal and non-verbal texts which through representations, shape gender identity by historical and cultural practices. These courses also examine gendered identities in terms of their construction, codification, representation and dissemination within society. Prerequisite: ENG 112 or ENG 210

Courses taught under this category focus on what contemporary theorists tend to call "family resemblances" or what psycholinguists would describe in terms of "prototypicality." The courses examine texts as familiar, codified, conventionalized and formulaic structures located within specific cultural contexts and, as such, influence and reinforce social conditions. Prerequisite: ENG 112 or ENG 210

A capstone course. Writing a senior paper analyzing text from at least three critical perspectives. Completing a comprehensive literature examination.