Course Descriptions

Service Courses

The department offers these service courses for students as required by a placement test. Note: First day attendance in all writing courses is mandatory for a student to hold his/her place in the course.

ENL 101 Developmental Writing
A preparatory course for ENL 111 Effective Writing, this course is required of students identified by the English Placement Test as needing additional preparation in composition. Students receive course credit, but this course does not fulfill the graduation requirement in writing. The minimum passing grade for this course is 2.0.

ENL 111 Effective Writing
Emphasis is on exposition, including learning research techniques, and writing critical reviews. Attention is given to increasing students’ effectiveness in choosing, organizing, and developing topics; thinking critically; and revising for clarity and style. A writing lab is provided for those needing additional help. The minimum passing grade is 2.0.

HON 111 Effective Writing for Liberating Letters
This course takes a problem-based, process-oriented approach to expository writing. Attention is given to choosing, organizing, and developing topics; thinking critically; reading closely; and revising carefully for clarity and style. The minimum passing grade is 2.0.

ENL 112 Advanced Effective Writing
Advanced Effective Writing follows the same purposes and procedures as ENL 111; placement is determined by a writing sample submitted by students upon entry to the College. The minimum passing grade is 2.0.

ENL 217/218 English for Language Learners
Understanding spoken American English, speaking, reading college-level materials, and writing are the skills emphasized in these two courses. Testing determines placement in these courses; and testing, as well as course performance, determines whether the ELL requirement is met. Students continue in ELL until the requirement is completed but can receive credit for only two courses.

Literature, Language, and Theory Courses

The 200-level courses in the literature, language, and theory track of the English major develop foundational competencies in reading and interpreting literary texts, and provide opportunities for diverse literary discovery. These courses require ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112 as a prerequisite or co-requisite.

ENL 240 Introduction to Literary Study
This course develops students’ critical and analytical skills in reading and appreciating all kinds of literary texts and genres, including poetry, fiction, and drama. Emphasis is placed on learning fundamental terms and concepts that serve future literary inquiry and enjoyment. Required for communication arts/literature teacher licensure major. (Prereq. or co-req.: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 241 Introduction to Cinema Arts
An investigation of the cinematic qualities, theoretical principles, and technical and aesthetic evolution of the film medium. Includes the viewing and analysis of both feature length and short films, illustrating the international development of film form and selected aesthetic movements. (Prereq or co-req.: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 250 American Voices
American Literature is made up of many voices that are distinct from one another in any number of ways. This course foregrounds those voices that are usually identified by dint of ethnic rubrics. In each iteration, a specific ethnic literature such as Hispanic, Asian American, or Jewish literature will be emphasized. Check the departmental web page for further information or contact the instructor. (Prereq.: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 251 Introduction to African-American Literature
This course introduces students to the foundations, development, and production of modern African-American literature from its origins in the 18th century to the present,explores various literary genres, representative authors, epochal texts, and literary and ideological movements that have contributed to the shaping of the African American literary tradition. (Prereq or co-req.: ENL 111, or Hon 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 255 American Indian Literature
American Indian literature offers a survey of contemporary American Indian writing, including nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and drama. The course explores the richness and diversity of American Indian literature and the ways in which literature reflects and illuminates American Indian culture and traditions. The course emphasizes close readings of literature and public speaking skills through in-class presentation and small group discussion. Course  cross-lists with American Indian Studies. (Prereq or co-req.: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

Spotlight Courses

Offered alternating terms (content for each will vary by term—check online course descriptions)

ENL 260 Authors
A chance to investigate closely an author of significant influence in various cultural contexts. Course subjects may include “Shakespeare on Page, Stage, and Screen,” “Tolkien’s Life, Times, and Works,” “The Cinema of Orson  Welles,” “Mark Twain in the 20th Century,” and others. Check the departmental web page for the title of a given section. (Prereq or co-req: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 270 Themes
This course traces a specific theme through changing historical, literary, and cultural contexts. Course subjects may include “The Heroic Journey,” “Literature and Landscape,” “Utopian Visions,” and others. Check the departmental web page for the title of a given section. (Prereq or co-req: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 280 Genres
Students will consider literary and cultural developments that fix generic conventions and ways authors subvert or challenge those conventions. Course subjects may include “History of Mystery Fiction,” “The Short Story,” “Sports and Literature,” “Victorian Thrillers,” “The Musical on Stage and Screen,” and others. Check the departmental web page for the title of a given section. (Prereq or co-req.: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 290 Explorations in Language and Theory
An introductory course in applied literary or language theory. Course subjects may include “Cinema and Sexuality,” “Strategies in Reading the Novel,” “Challenging the Gaze,” “Language and Society,” and others. Check the  departmental web page for the title of a given section. (Prereq or co-req: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

The 300-level courses in the literature track in English concentrate on primary texts in historical and cultural contexts.  These courses ask students to practice interpreting literary texts by employing techniques, terminology, and research methods of the discipline, resulting in effective and substantive expository writing about the subject. Unless otherwise indicated, students must take ENL 220 or 221 (see writing courses), or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or gain consent of the instructor as a prerequisite.

British Literature

ENL 330 Shakespeare
Study of the bard’s major plays—comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances—for their literary, dramatic, and cultural significance. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221, or a 200-level literature, language, or theory course or THR 250, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 332 Renaissance and Reformation
A survey of 14th- to 17th-century British literature, with attention to its European contexts. Begins with the Reformation of the 14th century and Canterbury Tales and ends with the Puritan Revolution and Paradise Lost. Themes  include “the enchantment of evil”; the hero as lover and courtier; utopian dreams and the literature of conquest; the writer as politician; and the challenges to religious certainty in a post- Ptolemaic universe. Major writers include Marlowe, Spenser, Shakespeare, More, and Donne. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 333 British and American Literature of the 17th and 18th Centuries: Strange Shores
British and American writers of this period are surveyed, with attention to the historical, intellectual, and social influences of the major literary movements on both sides of the Atlantic. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 334 British Literature: Reason and Romanticism
This class investigates the literary texts now called Romanticism within the history and culture of late 18th- and early 19th-century Britain. The famous “big six” poets (Blake, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, Keats) will be studied in the context of poetic predecessors and influences (Burns, Cowper, Smith) and contemporary talents in other genres, including Austen, Wollstonecraft, and Scott. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221, or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 336 British literature: The Age of Victoria
If America was the world’s cultural and political leader in the 20th century, Britain was the leader of the 19th century. Students will study the literature and culture of Queen Victoria’s England and her empire from the 1830s through 1914 in all four major genres of poetry, fiction, drama, and essay. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200- level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 337 The British Novel: Love and Learn
This course traces two great structuring ideas—the love-plot and the education-plot—in the rise and development of the British novel in the 18th and 19th centuries. The course spans 150 years of literary history, while studying and critiquing the ways literary theorists and historians have explained and theorized British fiction. Authors surveyed include Defoe, Richardson, Austen, Trollope, Brontë, Eliot, and others. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 338 Readings in British and Commonwealth Drama
A variable survey of drama in English by British and Commonwealth playwrights, organized historically and/or thematically. Sample topics include “Mysteries and Moralities,” “London Onstage,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” and “What Is My Nation?” Readings range from the Middle Ages to the present. THR 250 satisfies the prerequisite for this course. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature course or THR 250, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 339 Modern British and Irish Writers
Writers of the first half of the 20th century are surveyed, with attention paid to their contribution to modernism, experimentation, and literary form. Virginia Woolf, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, Henry Green, D.H. Lawrence, Samuel Becket, and Muriel Spark are among the authors surveyed. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

American Literature

ENL 350 Readings in African-American Literature
This course offers a chance to look in depth at authors, themes, historical influences, and theoretical issues surrounding both classical and emerging minority literature. The course’s focus varies. A specific ethnic literature or a specific writer may be emphasized; at other times topics that cross the boundaries of minority literatures will be examined. Check the departmental web page for a given section’s emphasis. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 351 19th-Century American Literature
Covers the intellectual and social environment that affected the writers of the period. Many different genre—slave narratives, romances, tall tales, epic poetry—are considered. Douglass, Jacobs, Thoreau, Melville, Hawthorne, Twain, Emerson, Dickinson, James, and Wharton are among the authors surveyed. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 352 American Literature from 1900 to 1945
Naturalism, the rise of modernism, the development of social protest literature, significant movements such as the Harlem Renaissance, and other major developments of the period are charted. Cather, Dreiser, Elliot, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway, Hughes, and Hurston are among the writers considered. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 353 American Literature from 1945 to the Present
Writers surveyed include O’Connor, Bellow, Baraka, Baldwin, Ellison, Erdrich, Roth, Pynchon, Oates, Kingston, Mailer, Williams, Wideman, Morrison, as well as contemporary fiction writers represented by the Best American Short Stories anthologies. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 354 Contemporary American Poetry
A survey of the work of poets who have come into prominence since mid-20th century as represented in the anthology Contemporary American Poetry. Attention will be given to younger and/or less prominent poets represented in the Best American Poetry series. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL/AIS 355 Themes in American Indian Literature
The course is structured around a number of writers working within a particular theme such as “Native Voices of Minnesota,” “Voices from the Southwest,” “Poetics and Politics of Native Writing,” “Women and Power in Native Literature, ““Urban-Reservation: Homing,” and “American Indian Film-Literature Adaptation.” Students  focus on primary texts, comparing and contrasting theme, voice, aesthetic, or cultural emphasis as it shifts or arises across the group of texts. Course cross-lists with American Indian studies. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 358 Readings in American Drama
A variable survey of American drama from the early 20th century to the present, organized historically and/or thematically. Sample topics include “American Families,” “Blacks and Whites,” and “Sex and Self on the American Stage.” Readings range from O’Neill and Treadwell to Shanley and Parks. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature course or THR 250, or consent of instructor.)

World Literature in Translation

ENL 360 The Classical Tradition
A study of the major works of Greek and Roman literature, including Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Virgil, through Dante. Works are studied with reference to their mythological foundations, their cultural background, their  influence on later literature, and their enduring relevance. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 361 The Medieval World
A survey of medieval literature from the collapse of the Roman Empire to the 14th century, this course emphasizes themes of cultural collision and synthesis: pagans— both classical and “barbarian”—and Christians; Islam and  Christendom. Attention is paid to heroic traditions (myth, epic, saga, romance, hagiography); the literature of courtly and profane love; and visions of heaven and hell. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 362 Renaissance to Modern Literature
Study of masterpieces of literature, chiefly European, from the Renaissance to the modern period, including such authors as Molière, Cervantes, Rabelais, Voltaire, and Ibsen. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 365 Contemporary Postcolonial Fiction
This examination of contemporary world fiction includes work by authors from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and fiction written by indigenous authors worldwide. The course explores novels in relation to language, culture, and gender in an age of globalization and fragmented nationalisms, considering fictions in their literary, cultural, and social contexts. Cross-listed with Women’s Studies. Required for communication arts/literature teacher licensure major. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 367 Women and Fiction
The course studies novels and short stories by women across cultures. Emphasis on the conditions that have affected women’s writing (including race and class), the reflection of women’s unique experience in their writing, and the ways in which women writers have contributed to and modified the Western literary heritage. This course is cross-listed with Women’s Studies. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 368 Readings in World Drama
A variable survey of drama in translation from around the world, organized historically and/or thematically. Sample topics include “Classical Theaters,” “Spanish and Latin American Drama from the Renaissance to the Present,” “Social Issues in Contemporary World Drama.” (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature course or THR 250, or consent of instructor.)

Language, Media, and Theory

ENL 371 History of Cinema
A chronological survey of the development of cinema from the inception of the moving image in the late 19th century through the emergence of film as one of the most important popular art forms of the 20th century. Emphasis will be placed on important international cinematic artistic movements, such as Italian neorealism and the French New Wave, on cultural contexts that influenced the reception of film art, and on technological advancements that altered the medium and influenced both narrative and documentary filmmakers. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 380 Introduction to the English Language
A structural and historical overview of theoretical and social issues concerning the English language, including theories of language acquisition. Required for the communication arts/literature licensure major. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 385 Language and Power
Students will consider both spoken and written examples of language as a means of establishing, maintaining, or revoking power. They will also pay attention to gender differences in the use of language and analyze ways in which speakers and writers can both create and revise reality via the language they use. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

ENL 394 Composition: Theory and Practice
Students will examine composition as a relatively new field of study, one in which research in such areas as cognition, language acquisition, gender differences in language, and code switching are relevant. Using both spoken and written language, students will apply various theoretical positions to the language they and others use to communicate in a range of linguistic tasks. Recommended for licensure and potential graduate students. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or one 200-level literature, language, or theory course, or consent of instructor.)

The 400-level literature, language, and theory courses emphasize scholarship, criticism, and theory, and ask students to write and speak  professionally about literary texts. Any 300-level literature course or consent of the instructor serve as a prerequisite for the 400-level. One 400-level course must fulfill the keystone requirement.

ENL 410 Advanced Studies in Literature
Potential course subjects include “The Beats,” “American Indian Writers Speak,” “The Unteachable Novel,” “Studies in the American Romance,” “Black and White and Red All Over: Film Noir, Communism, and Race,” and others. Check the departmental web page for the subject of a specific term, and get a complete course description in the English Department. (Prereq.: Any 300-level literature course or consent of instructor)

ENL 430 Advanced Studies in Language, Theory, and Method
Through a focus on particular issues and problems in literary studies, this course engages students in a variety of past and current critical theories. Possible course topics include “Is There a Gay Literature?” “Realism Reconsidered,” “Cognition, Meaning, and Interpretation,” “Eco-criticism and the Nature of Reading,” “Readings in Theory,” and others. Check the departmental web page for the subject of a specific term, and get a complete course description in the English Department. (Prereq.: Any 300-level literature course or consent of instructor)

Writing Courses

Note: First day attendance in all writing courses is mandatory for a student to hold his/her place
in the course.

ENL 220 Intermediate Expository Writing
This course builds on the practices and methods of Effective Writing. Its workshop format stresses style and organization, the process of revision, self and peer evaluation, and the relationship between reading and writing. Required for the communication arts/literature teacher licensure major. (Prereq.: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 221 Expository Writing about the Arts and Popular Culture
A variant of English 220, this course also builds on the methods of Effective Writing, but in this version students work on content related to subjects in the world of art and literature. Particularly aimed at art, theater arts, and film majors. (Prereq.: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 223 Writing for Business and the Professions
This practical course is designed to improve writing skills for those entering business and professional careers. (Prereq.: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 226 Introduction to Creative Writing
The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the process of creative writing and to various genres, emphasizing poetry and short fiction, but including journal keeping and creative prose. (Prereq.: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 227 Journalism
An introductory newswriting course with an emphasis on writing for the print media. Students consider how to recognize news, gather and verify facts, and write those facts into a news story. (Prereq.: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 228 Broadcast and Online Journalism
This is an introductory newswriting course with an emphasis on writing for broadcast and online media. Students use an intensive practice model to learn the basics of newsgathering, writing, and production for radio and the internet. (Prereq.: ENL 111, or HON 111, or ENL 112)

ENL 320 Fiction One
Students draft a collection of short stories and critique others’ work in the writing workshop environment. Throughout the term, students will also read classic and contemporary short fiction, analyzing and examining the work of established writers as they learn to identify successful short fiction while creating their own work. (Prereq.: ENL 226)

ENL 321 Fiction Two
A writing workshop in which students will revise a body of short fiction, redrafting and polishing at least four short stories of varying lengths for inclusion in a portfolio of work. Students will also be expected to create at least one new work of short fiction during this workshop term. (Prereq.: ENL 320 or review and acceptance by instructor of four story drafts written by the student and offered as work the student will refine in Fiction Two.)

ENL 322 Poetry One
Students draft a collection of poems and critique others’ work in the writing workshop environment. Students will learn to identify successful poetry as they create their own poems; they will read published poetry and listen to new and established poets reading their own work. (Prereq.: ENL 226)

ENL 323 Poetry Two
In this writing workshop, students write and revise a collection of poems to be produced as a chapbook. Some of the poems written during this semester will be experiments with formal verse, such as villanelles and sestinas. (Prereq.: ENL 322 or review and acceptance by instructor of a collection of poetry written by the student.)

ENL 324 Creative Nonfiction
In this writing workshop, students develop a portfolio of creative works in the “fourth genre,” which may include memoir; personal essays; flash nonfiction; researched feature stories; mixed media, hypertext, and fragmented nonfiction; and lyric essays. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221 or 226)

ENL/THR 325 Playwriting
An introductory course in writing for theater. Students will learn the basics of dramatic structure, methods of script analysis, and techniques for the development of playscripts from idea to finished product. (Prereq.: ENL 111 and junior or senior standing, or consent of theater department chair. THR 250 or ENL 226 recommended.)

ENL 327 Quantitative Journalism: From Computers to Community
This course introduces students to gathering, analyzing, and presenting quantitative data by using computers and other sources. The course also incorporates off-campus resources to provide students with real-world experience of how data are incorporated into print, broadcast, and online journalism. This course is designed for persons wishing to explore use of quantitative data and for those preparing to enter the communication professions. (Prereq.: ENL 227 or 228)

ENL/FLM 328 Screenwriting
An introductory course in writing for film, this course will take students from story outline to the creation of a screenplay draft. In addition to writing their own scripts, students will review feature films and analyze work written by each member of the class, giving detailed critical analysis and engaging in discussion of aesthetics, craft, and form. (Prereq.: ENL 220 or 221, or 226, or 228)

ENL 420 Advanced Studies in Writing
The writing keystone is a final, summative seminar emphasizing collaboration, professional standards, and the creation of a publishable or performable completed product. The topic changes; check the departmental web page. (Prereq.: Any 300- level writing course)

ENL 427 Advanced Studies in Media Ethics and Theory
This course acquaints students with the concepts and functions of the news media in global society, exploring the interaction of ethical and legal principles of American journalism and considering the role of the news media in historical, economic, and technological contexts. The course will analyze situations that have arisen in the past and situations that arise now in a digitized information world. Students will study the special position given the media in the United States and will consider First Amendment protections and the media’s responsibilities to inform the public in a free and democratic society. (Prereq.: ENL 220, or 221, or 226, or 227, or 228; and any 300-level media writing course.)

ENL 490 English Keystone (.0 course)
Students seeking keystone credit must register for this no credit, P/N course, along with ENL 410, 420, or 430.

Directed Studies, Internships, and Independent Studies

ENL 291/391 Experiences in Thai Education and Culture
In this course, offered alternate years, students will spend approximately three weeks in May in Thailand. During this time, students will visit temples and sites in Bangkok, Chiangmai, and Prachuab Kirikhan. They will learn about Thai Buddhism, government, traditional customs, and culture. Students will also spend several days teaching English to Thai students in a Thai secondary school.

ENL 299 Directed Study

ENL 396 On-Campus Internships
This course is required for all communication arts/literature licensure students. It is normally taken with students enrolled in English 101 Developmental Writing. Interns prepare class presentations, assess student writing, and learn methods useful in teaching composition.

ENL 399 Off-Campus Internships

ENL 499 Independent Study and Honors Projects
Honors studies must be directed by a professor chosen by the student and approved by the department. Independent study projects not designated for honors must be approved by the chair of the department.