Courses & Topics

You will receive a well-rounded education through our core curriculum and classes in the English major. You may take courses that study individual genres, such as Art of the Short Story, Art of Poetry, and Introduction to Literary Studies.

Upper-division English courses fall under six different themes: Surveys, Topics, Authors, Language and Theory, Historical Periods and Traditions and Creative Writing.

Examples of these courses are as follows:

• Surveys: American Literature 1 and 2, British Literature 1 and 2, World Literature: Novels and World Literature: Poetry, Drama, Epic

Students may also take Theoretical Approaches, a rotating topics course. Recent and upcoming topics include: Black Lives and Social Justice in 20-21^st Century Literature, Rough Harmonies: Poetry & Self, Faith and Fiction, Mad Science and Lit, LGBTQ Lit, Latino Lit, Witch Lit and Graphic Novels.

• Topics: Scribbling Women in the 19^th Century, Feminist Fairy Tales, Detective Fiction, Postcolonial Literature, Reading Race in Shakespeare and Haunted America
  
  
• Language and Theory: Linguistics, History of the English Language and English Language Learners
  
  
• Authors: Plath and Sexton, Faulkner and Morrison, Zadie Smith, Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare and The Brontës
  
  
• Periods & Traditions: American Romanticism, Victorian Poetry and Prose: Women and Empire, Harlem Renaissance and Contemporary Literature 
  
  
• Creative Writing: Workshops in Fiction, Creative Nonfiction and Poetry
  
  
• All English majors also take a course in Literary Criticism. Seniors also take a Senior Capstone course where they undertake a self-designed final project according to their individual interests and career aspirations.