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English
Chair of the Department of English: Linda Simon
Associate Chair: Mason Stokes
Professors: Robert Boyers, Victor L. Cahn, Joanne Devine, Terence Diggory,
Carolyn Forché, Catherine Golden, Sarah Webster Goodwin,
Regina M. Janes, Susan Kress, Thomas S. W. Lewis,
Steven Millhauser, Rajagopal Parthasarathy, Phyllis A. Roth, Linda Simon, Steve Stern
Associate Professors: Barbara Black, Philip Boshoff, Kate Greenspan,
Michael S. Marx, Susannah Mintz, Mason Stokes
Visiting Associate Professor: Janet Casey
Assistant Professors: Linda Hall, Mark Rifkin
Visiting Assistant Professor: Dana Gliserman Kopans
Visiting Instructor: Daniel Swift
Writers-in-Residence: Greg Hrbek, Elizabeth McCracken, Darryl Pinckney
What is literature? What constitutes a literary education in the
twenty-first century? How many ways are there to read and write about
the same text, and how do we decide among various interpretations? How
does our understanding of a work change when we consider its context,
whether biographical, historical, cultural, or political? Why might we
ask questions in literature classes about race, class, gender, and
sexuality? Why should a student of literature study language? Why
should a student interested in creative writing read literature? How
does writing enable us to discover and shape our ideas? How does the
English major prepare students for living in, and thoughtfully
engaging with, the world?
The Skidmore English department invites students to consider such
questions and to frame their own. Throughout the curriculum, English
majors learn to read closely, think critically, challenge assumptions,
practice methods of interpretation and research, analyze the formal
qualities of texts, approach texts from various perspectives, place
texts in various contexts, and write with clarity, coherence, and
precision. As the English major progresses from introductory to
capstone courses, students are offered increasingly sophisticated and
elaborate writing and analytic tasks and called upon to perform
steadily more original, inventive, independent work.
Through class meetings, lectures, panels, and symposia, English
department faculty and students, as well as distinguished visitors,
create and nourish a vital intellectual environment. In addition,
publications such as Folio (edited and produced by students) and the
nationally recognized Salmagundi extend our community's ongoing
discussions and debates.
THE ENGLISH MAJOR: In addition to fulfilling all-college requirements
for the B.A. degree, the English major requires a minimum of
thirty-two credit hours and a total of at least ten courses (one at
the 100 level, 2-3 at the 200 level, and 6-7 at the 300 level), two of
which must be designated early period (pre-1800), taken at the 200 or
300 level, as follows:
INTERDEPARTMENTAL MAJORS: In conjunction with the relevant
departments, the English Department offers majors in English-Philosophy,
English-French, English-German, and English-Spanish. Students
wishing to declare an interdepartmental major should consult
with the chairs for specific program planning. See
Interdepartmental Majors.
HONORS: Departmental honors are awarded to a senior major who has maintained the required college and department grade
averages and who, by the end of the first semester of the senior year, has filed with the department a Declaration of
Intention to Qualify for Honors or who has enrolled in
EN389.
In addition to the necessary grade averages, qualification
requires work of exceptional merit in a
Senior Seminar; or in a senior thesis or project; or through a
Senior Honors Plan, specified in the student's Declaration, that will represent a culmination of the student's work in the major.
THE ENGLISH MINOR: Students wishing to declare a minor in English should consult with the chair for specific program
planning. The minor normally includes six courses in one of three areas of concentration:
Literature: Six courses, including
EN110,
one course from "Forms of Language and Literature," one course from "Language and Literature in
Context," and three courses from "Advanced Courses in Language and Literature" (other than
EN371).
Creative Writing: Six courses, including
EN211 or
213;
281 or
282;
at least two from the category "Advanced Courses in Language and Literature" (other than
EN371);
and two courses taken from the following combinations:
EN380 and either
EN381 or an Independent Study in writing;
EN379 and either
EN381 or an Independent Study in writing.
Expository Writing: Six courses, including
EN110;
EN205;
EN207;
EN303H or
364W;
one course from "Advanced Courses in Language and Literature" (other than
EN371);
and one course from "Forms of
Language and Literature" or "Advanced Courses in Language and
Literature."
Students wishing to complete a minor
in English should file a Declaration of Minor with the Registrar
before the last semester of the senior year at Skidmore and
maintain at least a 2.0 grade average in their concentration
for the minor.
Note: 200-level courses in
English are open to first-year students unless prerequisites
or restrictions are stated in the description.
ENHANCED COURSES: Selected English courses that ordinarily carry three credit
hours may carry four credit hours when designated as enhanced
courses, developing particular student skills and offering
a distinctive approach to learning. Enhanced courses are so
designated in the master schedule and follow one of the following
models:
Research in Language and Literary Studies (designated
xxxR): students develop research questions, establish bibliography,
review relevant literature, assess sources, and present research
findings in written reports and/or oral presentations.
Collaborative Learning in Language and Literary Studies
(xxxL): students work collectively or independently to contribute
to group projects, make group presentations, and/or present
collaborative papers.
Writing in Language and Literary Studies (xxxW): students
spend additional time drafting, revising, and critiquing to
hone their strategies of argumentation and analysis, to assess
their writing in the context of professional literary criticism,
and to attend not only to content but also to style and voice
in their critical papers.
Critical Perspectives in Literary Studies (xxxP): students
study critical and/or theoretical perspectives and apply them
to particular literary works.
COURSES IN WRITING
Courses in Expository Writing and Rhetoric
EN 100. ENGLISH
LANGUAGE SKILLS 3
Basic skills of the English language for special interest
students requiring such a course. Non-liberal arts. The Department
EN 103. WRITING
SEMINAR I 4
Introduction to expository writing with weekly writing assignments
emphasizing skills in developing ideas, organizing material,
and creating thesis statements. Assignments provide practice
in description, definition, comparison and contrast, and argumentation.
Additional focus on grammar, syntax, and usage. Students and
instructor meet in seminar three hours a week; students are
also required to meet regularly with a Writing Center tutor.
This course does not fulfill the all-College requirement in
expository writing. The Department
EN 105. WRITING
SEMINAR II 4
This seminar immerses students in the process of producing
finished analytical essays informed by critical reading and
careful reasoning. Special attention is given to developing
ideas, writing from sources, organizing material, and revising
drafts. Additional emphasis is on grammar, style, and formal
conventions of writing. Students respond to one another's
work in workshops or peer critique sessions. Weekly informal
writing complements assignments of longer finished papers.
This course fulfills the all-College requirement in expository
writing. The Department
EN 105H. WRITING
SEMINAR II 4
The honors sections of EN105 offer highly motivated students
with strong verbal skills the opportunity to refine their
ability to analyze sophisticated ideas, to hone their rhetorical
strategies, and to develop cogent arguments. Toward these
goals, students write and revise essays drawing upon a variety
of challenging readings and critique each other's work with
an eye to depth and complexity of thought, logic of supporting
evidence, and subtleties of style. The English Department
places some students in EN105H and encourages other students
to consult with their advisors, the director of the Honors
Forum, or the director of the Expository Writing Program to
determine if this level of Writing Seminar is appropriate.
Each section of EN105H focuses on a topic that is listed in
the master schedule and described in the English Department's
prospectus and on its Web page. This course fulfills the all-College
requirement in expository writing. The Department
EN 303H. PEER
TUTORING PROJECT IN EXPOSITORY WRITING 4
Examination of rhetoric, grammar,
and composition theory essential to writing, collaborative
learning, and peer tutoring. Students practice analytical
writing and critique expository essays. Weekly writing assignments
and a term project explore composition theory and tutoring
practices and analyze EN103 assignments. Participation in
a weekly supervised peer tutoring practicum with EN103 students.
Prerequisite: Completion of the Introductory
Requirement and upperclass standing. (This
is an Honors course.) P. Boshoff,
C. Golden, or M. Marx
Courses in Poetry and Fiction Writing
EN 281. INTRODUCTION
TO FICTION WRITING 4
An introduction to the writing of short stories. Writing and
reading assignments are geared to the beginning writer of
fiction. Workshop format with the majority of class time devoted
to discussions of student writing. Prerequisite:EN211.
(Fulfills arts requirement.) S. Millhauser, S. Stern, G. Hrbek, or E. McCracken
EN 282. INTRODUCTION
TO POETRY WRITING 4
An introduction to the writing of poetry. Writing and reading
assignments are geared to the beginning poet. Workshop format
with the majority of class time devoted to discussions of
student writing. Prerequisite:EN213.
(Fulfills arts requirement.) C. Forché
or R. Parthasarathy
EN 379. POETRY
WORKSHOP 4
Intensive practice in the writing of poetry. May be repeated
once for credit. Workshop format with most class time devoted
to discussion of student writing. Reading and weekly writing
assignments aimed at increasing the poet's range and technical
sophistication. Prerequisite:EN110;
one course from "Language and Literature in Context"; and
EN282. C. Forché
EN 380. FICTION
WORKSHOP 4
Intensive practice in the writing of fiction. May be repeated
once for credit. Workshop format with most class time devoted
to discussion of student writing. Readings and weekly writing
assignments aimed at increasing the fiction writer's range
and technical sophistication. Prerequisites:EN110;
one course from "Language and Literature in Context"; and
EN281. S. Millhauser, S. Stern, G. Hrbek, or E. McCracken
EN 381. ADVANCED
PROJECTS IN WRITING 4
Workshop format concentrating on discussion of projects. The
instructor determines whether the course will be offered in
fiction or in poetry. Preparation of manuscript to be considered
for departmental honors, in support of application for graduate
writing programs, and/or for publication. Prerequisites:Two sections in the workshop of the appropriate genre
(EN379
for Advanced Projects in Poetry,
EN380
for Advanced Projects in Fiction); or permission of instructor. The Department
Courses in Nonfiction Writing
EN 205. NONFICTION WRITING 4
Intensive practice in writing nonfiction prose, with emphasis
on expanding the writer's options, finding
a distinctive voice, and using strategies of inquiry, description,
exposition, argumentation, and persuasion. Prerequisite:
completion of college expository writing requirement. (This
course may be repeated for credit with a different topic.) The Department
A. Argumentation.
Instruction in classical and contemporary argumentative writing. Practice
in taking a stand and building a case. Analysis of arguments
from the perspective of logic, rhetorical appeals, and audience.
B. Personal Experience and the Critical Voice.
Intensive practice in the writing of polished essays that begin with
the writer's experiences and move on to explore the relationship
of the self to the larger world. Emphasis will be placed on
finding a personal voice, exploring a variety of contemporary
issues, developing one's ideas, and effectively revising one's
work. Readings include personal essays by both classic and
contemporary writers such as Montaigne, Lamb, Didion, and
Gates.
C. The Arts Review.
Intensive practice in writing arts reviews on topics such
as art exhibits, music performances, dance, films, public
lectures, and current literature. Writing assignments focus
on forms such as the short review, the essay review, and the
profile. Reading of selected reviews by accomplished writers
and critics, and analysis of writing from the popular press,
scholarly journals, and arts magazines. Requirements for the
course include attendance at arts events on the Skidmore campus
and throughout the Capital District.
D. Special Topics in Nonfiction
Writing. Intensive practice in
a particular form of expository writing or intensive exploration
of a subject with special attention to style and the development
of the writer's voice. Topics may include, for example, biography,
technical writing, or writing and the Internet. When offered as an honors course, this
will be recorded as EN205H.
INTRODUCTORY COURSES IN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
EN 110. INTRODUCTION TO
LITERARY STUDIES 4
Introduction to the practice of literary study, with a particular
emphasis on close reading. This course is writing intensive and will
include some attention to critical perspective and basic research
skills appropriate for literary analysis. (Fulfills all-College
requirement in expository writing.) Prospective English majors are
strongly encouraged to take EN 110 prior to enrolling in 200-level
courses. The Department
Forms of Language and Literature
EN 201. EVOLVING
CANON I 4
The first of a coordinated pair of courses offering instruction
in key writers, important texts, and the historical sequence
of literary movements from classical, continental, British,
and American literature. Evolving Canon I extends chronologically
through the first half of the seventeenth century. Intended
as a foundation for the English major, this course establishes
a shared experience of texts and concepts. Required of all
majors as preparation for 300-level courses. EN201 is a prerequisite
for EN202.
When offered as an honors course, this will be recorded as EN201H.
Required of all majors (class of 2006, 2007, and 2008) as preparation
for 300-level courses. (Fulfills humanities requirement.) The Department
EN 202. EVOLVING
CANON II 4
The second of a coordinated pair
of courses offering instruction in key writers, important
texts, and the historical sequence of literary movements from
classical, continental, British, and American literature.
Evolving Canon II extends chronologically from the second
half of the seventeenth century through the early twentieth
century. Intended as a foundation for the English major, this
course establishes a shared experience of texts and concepts.
Required of all majors as preparation for 300-level courses.
Prerequisite: Evolving Canon I. Required of all majors (class of 2006, 2007, and 2008) as preparation
for 300-level courses. The Department
EN 205. NONFICTION WRITING 4
(see "Courses in Writing")
EN 207. THE NATURE
OF LANGUAGE 3
A general introduction to language with special emphasis on
the nature and structure of linguistic systems, the representation
of meaning in language, and social and biological aspects
of human language. Topics include study of the origins and
defining characteristics of language; the relationship between
language and culture; the causes and impact of language variation;
children's acquisition of language; and the manipulation of
language, especially in the media and in advertising. J. Devine
EN 208. LANGUAGE
AND GENDER 3
Investigates the interaction of language and gender by raising
questions about society and culture in relation to language
use. Systematic examination of the following topics: the historical
roots of both beliefs and practices related to gendered-language
differences in speech and writing; differing structural and
functional characteristics of the language used by women and
men; the development of these differences in early childhood
and their personal and social purposes; and the language behavior
of men and women in cross-cultural contexts. J. Devine
EN 211. FICTION 3
Designed to enhance the student's capacity to read novels
and short stories. Explores fundamental techniques of fiction,
such as symbol and myth, irony, parody, and stream-of-consciousness,
within both conventional and experimental forms. Recommended
preparation for advanced courses in fiction. (Fulfills humanities
requirement.) The Department
EN 213. POETRY 3
Designed to bring the general student into a familiar relationship
with the language and structure of poetry. General readings
from the whole range of English and American poetry—from early
ballads to contemporary free forms—introduce students to representative
poets and forms. Recommended preparation for all advanced
courses in poetry. (Fulfills humanities requirement.) The Department
EN 215. DRAMA 3
The study of drama as literature. Reading of plays from different
historic periods, focusing on modes of comedy, tragedy, romance,
tragicomedy, and melodrama. Introduction to the varied possibilities
of form, such as expressionism, naturalism, and the absurd.
Recommended preparation for advanced courses in drama. (Fulfills
humanities requirement.) The Department
EN 217. FILM 3
Study of selected films that demonstrate the development of
various rhetorical or expressive techniques in the history of the movies. The course offers practical
approaches to film as a medium of communication and as an
art by examining a historical and international array of films, both
English language and subtitled, by such masters as Griffith,
Eisenstein, Chaplin, Stroheim, Lubitsch, Murnau, Pabst, Lang,
Clair, Sternberg, Renoir, Carne, Hitchcock, Wells, Ford, DeSica,
Rossellini, Ozu, Bergman, Antonioni, Ray, Truffaut, Resnais,
Tanner, and others. Lab fee: $25. (Fulfills humanities requirement.) R. Boyers
EN 225. INTRODUCTION
TO SHAKESPEARE 3
Selected comedies, histories, and tragedies. Primarily for
nonmajors. (Fulfills humanities requirement.) V. Cahn,
K. Greenspan, or D. Swift
EN 228. SPECIAL STUDIES: FORM 3
Introduction to a selected topic in literature and/or language, with
an emphasis on questions of form. May be repeated with a different
topic. (Fulfills humanities requirement;
EN228C designates a Cultural Diversity course;
EN228E designates an early period course;
EN228H designates an honors course;
EN228N designates a non-Western course;
EN228W designates a writing-intensive course.) The Department
EN 281. INTRODUCTION TO FICTION WRITING 4
(see "Courses in Writing")
EN 282. INTRODUCTION TO POETRY WRITING 4
(see "Courses in Writing")
Language and Literature in Context
EN 223. WOMEN
AND LITERATURE 3
An introduction to the study of women and literature, with
particular attention to the various ways literary works have
helped construct and also question differences between femininity
and masculinity. Matters considered include defining basic
terms (character, plot, genre, author, sex, gender) and exploring
the relations among those terms. (Fulfills humanities requirement.) C. Golden,
S. Kress, or S. Mintz
EN 227. INTRODUCTION
TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE 3
A chronological exploration of literature by African-Americans
from the early 1700s to the present, focusing on changes in
the content and style and the reasons for those changes, as
well as on specific writers. (Designated a Cultural Diversity course; fulfills humanities requirement.) M. Rifkin, M. Stokes
EN 229. SPECIAL STUDIES: TEXTS IN CONTEXT 3
Introduction to a selected topic in literature and/or language, with
an emphasis on the relation between text and context. May be repeated
with a different topic. (Fulfills humanities requirement; EN229N designates a non-Western course; EN229C
designates a Cultural Diversity course; EN229E designates an
early period course.) The Department
EN 230. THE BIBLE
AS LITERATURE 3
Acquaints students with the contents of the Bible, introduces
them to its history (dates of composition, establishment of
canon, history of translations , especially in English), and
provides practice in identifying and interpreting Biblical
allusion in literary works. Some attention will also be given
to doctrines and theological controversy.
(Fulfills humanities requirement.) R. Janes
EN 231. NON-WESTERN
LITERATURE: THE CLASSICAL WORLD 3
Hebrew, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Japanese literatures in translation;
readings may include books from the Hebrew Bible; selections
from the Mahabharata, the works of Kalidasa, Somadeva,
Li Po, Tu Fu, Po Chu-i, Wu Ch'eng-en, and Murasaki Shikibu.
Students read the texts in an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural
context. (Designated a non-Western culture course; fulfills humanities
requirement.) R. Parthasarathy
EN 232. NON-WESTERN
LITERATURE: THE MODERN WORLD 3
Hebrew, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Chinese, and Japanese literatures
in translation; readings may include selections from the works
of Agnon, Amichai, Oz, Megged, Yizhar, Premchand, Manto, Tagore,
Lu Xun, Zhang Jie, Kawabata, Mishima, Enchi Fumiko, and Hayashi
Fumiko. Students read the texts in an interdisciplinary and
cross-cultural context. (Designated a non-Western culture
course; fulfills humanities requirement.) R. Parthasarathy
EN 234. WESTERN
LITERATURE: THE MODERN WORLD 3
Books of the New Testament; selections from the works of St.
Augustine, Apuleius, Dante, Rabelais, Montaigne, Shakespeare,
Cervantes, Swift, Nietzsche, and Dostoyevsky. (Fulfills humanities
requirement.) The Department
EN 243. NON-WESTERN
ENGLISH LITERATURE 3
A study of the literatures in English from the Third World
(India, Africa, and the Caribbean) since the end of colonialism.
Major writers studied include Narayan, Rao, Anand, Achebe,
Ngugi, Aidoo, Head, Naipaul, Walcott, and Rhys. Students read
the texts in an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural context.
The course examines the implications of the emergence of English
as a global lingua franca, the conditions of societies caught
up between the opposing pressures of tradition and modernity,
and the displacement of the oral by the written tradition.
(Designated a non-Western culture course; fulfills humanities
requirement.) R. Parthasarathy
ADVANCED COURSES IN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
EN 310. THE AMERICAN
NOVEL 3
Critical approaches to the American novel. Readings may vary
from one year to the next, but usually include works by Hawthorne,
Melville, James, Twain, Dreiser, Cather, Hemingway, Faulkner,
Bellow, and Morrison. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. S. Kress or M. Stokes
EN 311. RECENT
FICTION 3
Studies of selected works of fiction published since the 1960s,
with particular reference to the expanding possibilities of
the genre. The readings feature authors such as Donald Barthelme,
Heinrich Boll, Jorge Luis Borges, Margaret Drabble, John Fowles,
John Gardner, William Gass, Gabriel Garciá Márquez,
and Joyce Carol Oates. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. The Department
EN 312. MODERN
BRITISH NOVEL 3
Study of generic, thematic, and cultural relationships among
selected novels of early twentieth-century writers such as
Conrad, Ford, Joyce, Lawrence, Forster, Woolf, and Huxley.
Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. T. Lewis or P. Boshoff
EN 313. MODERNIST
POETRY: 1890–1940 3
A study of major British, Irish, and American poets as exponents
of modernity: Yeats, Lawrence, Moore, Frost, Eliot, Pound, and
Stevens. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. R.
Boyers, T. Diggory, or R. Parthasarathy
EN 314. CONTEMPORARY
POETRY 3
A study of British, Irish, and American poets since the 1930s: Auden,
Thomas, Larkin, Heaney, Lowell, Berryman, Plath, and Rich.
Prerequisite: Completion of the Introductory Requirement. R.
Boyers, T. Diggory, or R. Parthasarathy
EN 315. EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY
NOVEL 3
A generic, thematic, and cultural consideration of selected
romances and novels by Behn, Defoe, Swift, Richardson, Fielding,
Sterne, Goldsmith, Burney, and Austen. The study begins with
the formulae of fictional romance and examines the development
of the more sophisticated, psychological novel as it rises
to eminence in English literature. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. R. Janes
EN 316. NINETEENTH-CENTURY
BRITISH NOVEL 3
A generic, thematic and cultural consideration of selected
novels by Austen, the Brontes, Thackeray, Dickens, Eliot,
Trollope, and others. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. C. Golden or B. Black
EN 337. THE CONTINENTAL
NOVEL 3
The continental novel as an expression of social, intellectual,
and artistic problems; not an historical survey. Readings
may vary from one year to the next but will include major
authors such as Stendhal, Flaubert, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy,
Proust, Gide, Mann. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. R. Boyers or S. Goodwin
EN 338. QUEER FICTIONS 3
A study of twentieth-century gay and lesbian literature, with a focus on
British and American authors. Students will explore a literary tradition
in which the invisible was made visible—in which historically
marginalized sexualities took literary shape. Questions to be considered
include: What strategies have lesbian and gay authors used to express
taboo subject matter, and how have these strategies interacted with and
challenged more traditional narrative techniques? How does the writing
of queer sexuality recycle and revise notions of gender? What kind of
threat does bisexuality pose to the telling of coherent stories? In what
ways do class, race, and gender trouble easy assumptions about sexual community?
Prerequisites:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. M. Stokes
EN 341. SPECIAL
STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE 3
Investigation of a special topic in medieval English literature
with special attention to medieval literary conventions and
to the cultural context in which they developed. Topics studied
may draw on the works of the Gawain-poet, Langland, Malory,
and others, and may focus on a genre, a theme, or a period.
Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. With permission of the
department, the course may be repeated once for credit. K. Greenspan
EN 342. SPECIAL
STUDIES IN CHAUCER 3
Chaucer's dream visions and The Canterbury Tales (ca.
1370–1400). The social, economic, religious, and literary
background of the High Middle Ages will clarify the satiric
aspects of individual tales. Chaucer's innovative handling
of the conventions of frame and link-between-tales leads to
speculation about the structure of the fragment as a competitive
sequence and about the formal correlatives to a justice if
not judicial at least poetic. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. K. Greenspan
EN 343. ELIZABETHAN
AND JACOBEAN DRAMA 3
Study of the drama of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth
centuries, exclusive of Shakespeare, but including such writers
as Marlowe, Jonson, Webster, Beaumont and Fletcher. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement.
Offered alternate years. R. Janes
EN 344. SPECIAL
STUDIES IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY POETRY AND PROSE 3
Topics, genres, traditions and authors selected from the wide
range of sixteenth-century non-dramatic literature, poetry
and/or prose. Topics studied may draw on such authors as More,
Sidney, Spenser, Shakespeare, and Queen Elizabeth. Selections
will vary depending upon the area of interest emphasized in
a given semester. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement.
Offered alternate years. R. Janes
EN 345. SHAKESPEARE:
COMEDIES, HISTORIES, AND ROMANCES 3
A study of selected comedies, histories, and romances. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. V. Cahn or D. Swift
EN 346. SHAKESPEARE:
TRAGEDIES 3
A study of ten tragedies. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. V. Cahn or D. Swift
EN 347. SPECIAL
STUDIES IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY POETRY AND PROSE 3
Topics, genres, traditions and authors selected from the non-dramatic
literature of the seventeenth century, poetry and/or prose.
Selections will vary depending upon the area of interest emphasized
in a given semester. Topics studied may draw on such authors
as Donne, Jonson, Bacon, Burton, Locke, Newton, and others.
Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement.
Offered alternate years. S. Mintz
EN 348. MILTON 3
Milton's English poetry, the vision it expresses, and its
stylistic range. The course focuses on a measured, close examination
of Paradise Lost especially noticing its heritage, its
structural genius, and its psychologizingand indicates the
ways in which this epic anticipates the succeeding ages of
great English fiction. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement.
Offered alternate years. S. Mintz
EN 350. RESTORATION
AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE 3
Literature in the ages of Dryden, Congreve, Swift, Addison,
Pope, Johnson, and Sheridan. Plays, essays, and the tradition
of derivative-epic poems, studied with regard to major social
and intellectual dispositions of culture: humanism, the new
science, individualism, psychology, mercantilism, urbanization,
and sentimentality. The study appreciates the vigorously renewed
dramatic tradition from the reopening of the theaters in 1660.
It also recognizes the shift from patrician verse toward bourgeois
prose manner in literature. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. R. Janes
EN 351. ENGLISH
ROMANTICISM 3
Studies in English romanticism, its philosophic and psychological
departures from neoclassic poetry, and its consequences for
modern literature. Emphasis on the major works of Blake, Coleridge,
Wordsworth, Byron, Keats, and Shelley. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. S. Goodwin or B. Black
EN 352. VICTORIAN
LITERATURE AND CULTURE 3
A study of nineteenth-century English literature and thought,
featuring such principal prose writers as John Stuart Mill,
Matthew Arnold, John Ruskin, Thomas Carlyle, Walter Pater,
and William Morris, and such poets as Alfred Tennyson, Robert
Browning, and Christina Rossetti. Emphasis is given to a wide
range of topics including political reform, evolution, the
rise of liberalism, the hero in history, the meaning of literary
ideas, and conceptions of beauty. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. R. Boyers
or B. Black
EN 356. AMERICAN
ROMANTICISM 3
Studies in American literature
in the first half of the nineteenth century, with particular
attention to the New England Transcendentalist movement. Readings
may vary from one year to the next, but usually include works
by Irving, Cooper, Poe, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller,
Melville, Stowe, Douglass, and Whitman. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. J. Casey, S. Kress,
T. Lewis, or M. Rifkin
EN 357. THE RISE
OF MODERN AMERICAN LITERATURE 3
Studies in American literature extending from the Civil War
to World War I and remarking the disintegration of Romanticism.
Readings may vary from one year to the next, but usually include
works by Twain, Howells, Dickinson, James, Chopin, Crane,
Dreiser, Wharton, Frost, and Robinson. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. S. Kress,
M. Stokes, or J. Casey
EN 358. TWENTIETH-CENTURY
AMERICAN LITERATURE 3
Studies in literature extending from World War I through the
1960s, with particular attention to the distinctive forms
and movements of twentieth-century writing in America. Readings
may vary from one year to the next, but usually include works
by Cather, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Porter, Eliot, Stevens,
Faulkner, Hurston, O'Connor, Bellow, and Ellison. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. S. Kress, M. Stokes, or J. Casey
EN 359. MODERN
DRAMA 3
Modern writers and principal modes (realism, expressionism,
absurdism) of drama since the late nineteenth century. Focus
on major British, Irish, and American dramatists (such as
Shaw, O'Casey, O'Neill, Miller, Osborne, Pinter) with reference
to continental pioneers (such as Ibsen, Brecht, Ionesco).
Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. T. Diggory or V. Cahn
EN 360. WOMEN
WRITERS 3
Advanced studies in selected women writers. Students will
read a group of women writers in the context of recent literary
criticism and feminist theory. Issues addressed may include
the relations among gender and style, psychological constructs,
genre, literary history, audience, and social context. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. C. Golden, S. Kress, or S. Mintz
EN 361. THEORIES
OF LITERARY CRITICISM 3
An examination of modern literary methodologies, including
new criticism, structuralism, archetypal criticism, and psychoanalytic
criticism. The course explores both the theories and their
practical application, with a concentration on a particular
literary problem of significance, such as the question of
meaning, the nature of the text, or the contribution of reader
response. Prerequisite: Completion of the Introductory Requirement.
The English Department will accept
PH341
as the equivalent of EN361. T. Diggory or S. Goodwin
EN 362. SPECIAL STUDIES IN LITERARY HISTORY (PRE-1800) 3
Studies in one or two authors of the British and American traditions,
or in a specific literary topic, genre, or question in literary
history or theory, prior to 1800. Prerequisite: Completion of the Introductory Requirement. The Department
EN 363. SPECIAL
STUDIES IN LITERARY HISTORY 3
Studies in one or two authors of the British and American
traditions, or in a specific literary topic, genre, or question
in literary history or theory. (EN363N designates a non-Western course;
EN363D designates a Cultural Diversity course.)
Prerequisite: Completion of the Introductory Requirement. The Department
EN 364. ADVANCED SPECIAL STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND
LANGUAGE 3
Advanced study of a selected topic in literature and/or language.
May be repeated with a different topic.
Prerequisite: Completion of the Introductory Requirement. The Department
EN 365. SPECIAL STUDIES IN JEWISH LITERATURE 3
Topics, genres, traditions and authors selected from the wide range of
Jewish literature both in English and in other languages (studied here
in translation). Special attention to the interaction of history,
culture, and literature in a variety of forms, such as folktale, novel,
journal and memoir. Depending on the focus in a given semester, students
may encounter, for instance, the wild, beautiful, tragicomic ghost of a
literature that haunts the Western canon at every turn, or the vital and
indispensable contributions of Jews specifically to American literature.
Prerequisite: Completion of the Introductory Requirement. S. Stern
EN 371. INDEPENDENT STUDY 3
Research in English or American literature and special projects
in creative writing. Independent study provides an opportunity
for any student already well grounded in a special area to
pursue a literary or creative writing interest that falls
outside the domain of courses regularly offered by the department.
The student should carefully define a term's work which complements
her or his background, initiate the proposal with a study-sponsor,
and obtain formal approval from the student's advisor and
the department chair. Application to do such work in any semester
should be made and approved prior to preregistration for that
semester or, at the very latest, before the first day of classes
for the term. English majors may take only one Independent
Study to meet requirements in "Advanced Courses in Language and Literature."
Prerequisite: Completion of the Introductory Requirement. The Department
CAPSTONE EXPERIENCES
EN 375. SENIOR SEMINAR IN LITERARY STUDIES 4
A seminar in which students explore a topic, author, or text while
progressing through the stages of writing a research paper. Common
discussion of individual projects and reading of published scholarship
emphasize research as a process of shared inquiry. Students practice
research methods, present work in progress, and complete a substantial
paper. Outstanding work may qualify the senior for departmental
honors. May substitute for
EN389.
Prerequisite: Completion of the Introductory Requirement and
Senior class standing. The Department EN 376. SENIOR PROJECTS 3
This offering allows a senior the opportunity to develop a
particular facet of English study that he or she is interested
in and has already explored to some extent. It could include
such projects as teaching, creative writing, journalism, and
film production as well as specialized reading and writing
on literary topics. Outstanding work may qualify the senior
for departmental honors. All requirements for a regular independent
study apply. May be repeated once for credit. Prerequisites: Completion of the Introductory Requirement
and permission of the department. The Department
EN 381. ADVANCED PROJECTS IN WRITING 4
(see "Courses in Writing")
EN 389. PREPARATION
FOR THE SENIOR THESIS 3
Required of all second-semester junior or first-semester senior
English majors who intend to write a thesis (EN390). Under
the direction of a thesis advisor, the student reads extensively
in primary and secondary sources related to the proposed thesis
topic, develops his or her research skills, and brings the
thesis topic to focus by writing an outline and series of
brief papers which will contribute to the thesis. Offered
only with approval in advance by the department. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. The Department
EN 390. SENIOR
THESIS 3
Intensive writing and revising of a senior thesis under the close guidance of the student's
thesis committee. The thesis provides an opportunity for English
majors to develop sophisticated research and writing skills,
read extensively on a topic of special interest, and produce
a major critical paper of 40 to 80 pages. Not required for
the English major but strongly recommended as a valuable conclusion
to the major and as preparation for graduate study.
Prerequisite:EN375 or
389;
and approval in advance of the thesis proposal by the department. The Department
INTERNSHIPS
EN 399. PROFESSIONAL
INTERNSHIP IN ENGLISH 3 or 6
Professional experience at an advanced level for juniors and
seniors with substantial academic and cocurricular experience
in the major field. With faculty sponsorship and department
approval, students may extend their educational experience
into such areas as journalism, publishing, editing, and broadcasting.
Work will be supplemented by appropriate academic assignments
and jointly supervised by a representative of the employer
and a faculty member of the department. Only three semester
hours credit may count toward the 300-level requirement of
the major. Prerequisite:
Completion of the Introductory Requirement. Must be taken S/U.
