Catalog Course Descriptions
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English Courses
Undergraduate
Provides student writers with the skills and mindsets needed to effectively respond to a range of academic and public writing situations with a special focus on the role of language in written communication. Multilingual students—students who are fluent in English and/or students for whom English is an additional language—develop rhetorical reading and writing strategies that attend to the linguistic features and moves enacted in a range of non-fiction genres. Students learn to: engage in a process of discovery and consider diverse perspectives before making a judgment, taking a stance, or proposing a solution; locate, evaluate, and synthesize source material to discover and answer complex questions; and reflect on their linguistic choices and research and writing processes. Note: Students must attain a minimum grade of C to fulfill degree requirements. Equivalent to ENGH 101, ENGH 122.
Provides student writers with the skills and mindsets needed to effectively respond to a range of academic and public writing situations through particular attention to rhetorical flexibility and inquiry-based research. Students learn to engage in a process of discovery and consider diverse perspectives before making a judgment, taking a stance, or proposing a solution. Students learn to analyze and respond to a range of rhetorical situations (writing in various genres for different audiences and purposes); develop strategies to critically read a range of non-fiction genres; engage in in-depth inquiry and writing processes; locate, evaluate, and synthesize source material to discover and answer complex questions; and reflect on what they are learning and how they are applying new knowledge, as well as on their research and writing processes. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill degree requirements. Equivalent to ENGH 100, ENGH 122, ENGH 123.
Provides intensive practice in drafting, revising, and editing essays in common academic genres such as description, exposition, and analysis, with additional language support for building English fluency. Addresses logical, rhetorical, and linguistic structures of expository prose. This course is the first of a two-part course for students in the Undergraduate International Pathway Program. Limited to three attempts.
Provides intensive practice in drafting, revising and editing essays in common academic genres such as argumentation and research based writing, with additional language support for building English fluency. Addresses logical, rhetorical, and linguistic structures of expository prose, and builds critical reading strategies. This course is the second of a two-part course for students in the Undergraduate International Pathway Program. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill Mason Core degree requirement for written communication (lower level). Equivalent to ENGH 100, ENGH 101.
Provides student writers with the skills and mindsets needed to effectively respond to a range of academic and public writing situations, with additional language support for building English fluency. Multilingual students with developing proficiency in English learn rhetorical reading and writing strategies that attend to the linguistic structures and moves enacted in non-fiction genres. Students learn to: engage in a process of discovery and consider diverse perspectives before making a judgment, taking a stance, or proposing a solution; locate, evaluate, and synthesize source material to discover and answer complex questions; and reflect on linguistic choices and research and writing processes. Students develop linguistic proficiency in English through context-specific instruction and practice in the interplay of grammatical structures and rhetorical aims and receive individualized feedback on language usage/writing development. Min. grade of C required to meet degree requirement. Equivalent to ENGH 101.
Close analysis of literary texts, including but not limited to poetry, fiction, and drama. Emphasizes reading and writing exercises to develop basic interpretive skills. Examines figurative language, central ideas, relationship between structure and meaning, narrative point of view. Limited to three attempts.
Studies literary texts within the framework of culture. Examines texts within such categories as history, gender, sexuality, religion, race, class, and nation. Notes: Builds on reading and writing skills taught in ENGH 101. May be repeated within the term.
Major works of Western literature in historical progression. Focuses on writers such as Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Dante, Cervantes, Machiavelli, and Montaigne. Notes: All readings are in modern English. Courses build on reading and writing skills taught in ENGH 101. Limited to three attempts.
Major works of Western literature in historical progression. Covers writers such as Moliere, Mme. de Lafayette, Goethe, Ibsen, Flaubert, Dostoyevski, Tolstoy, Mann, Kafka, Borges, and Soyinka. All readngs are in modern English. Notes: Courses build on reading and writing skills taught in ENGH 101. Limited to three attempts.
Provides an interdisciplinary perspective on the development of technological systems, including scientific, creative, and social perspectives. Identifies ethical issues through analysis of abstract AI/ML technology. Teaches students how to communicate those issues to various stakeholders using the correct vocabulary. Uses rhetorical theory and practical frameworks to evaluate projects and develop guidelines that encourage more fair and equitable outcomes. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces students to core questions and methods in screen studies. Looks at the dynamic relationship between screen-based media and their cultural and historical contexts. Teaches analysis of a variety of aesthetic objects including film, TV, video games, animation, social media, and photography while considering how aesthetic practices shape and are shaped by questions of identity, formations of power, and issues of social justice. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to various topics in English; many have an interdisciplinary emphasis. Appropriate for non-majors. Topic changes each time course is offered. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces the fields of English studies, focusing on discipline-specific forms of practice within the concentrations in the major. Explores central concepts including reading, language, medium, text, author/producer. Maps histories and contexts of English as a discipline. Limited to three attempts.
Intensive practice in writing and analyzing expository forms such as essay, article, proposal, and technical or scientific reports with emphasis on research related to student's major field. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill degree requirements. Schedule of Classes designates particular sections of ENGH 302 in business, humanities, natural sciences and technology, and social sciences. Limited to three attempts.
Focuses on career choices and effective self-presentation for soon-to-be graduating students with majors in the humanities. Explores how skills typically learned In humanities majors can be leveraged for a successful transition to post-graduation employment. Equivalent to FRLN 309, HIST 385, PHIL 393, UNIV 420.
Advanced introduction to major movements and representative figures of two or more centuries or periods of American, British, European, or world literature. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Teaches students the conventions of writing in literary studies while emphasizing writing process. Develops interpretive skills for further study in the major though the teaching of in-depth close reading, intertextual analysis, and critical reading in scholarship. Limited to three attempts.
Overview of grammatical structure of English including word classes, phrases, and complex sentences. English grammar analyzed using modern syntactic theory. Students engage in language description through problem solving. Equivalent to LING 307.
Investigates a problem or debate central to the discipline of English. Teaches students how to read, understand, and engage with theoretical texts. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Studies literature by topics, such as women in literature, science fiction, and literature of the avant garde. Notes: Topic varies. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Explores experiences of women as both authors and subjects of imaginative literature. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Topics include folktales, personal narratives, legends, proverbs, jokes, folk songs, folk art and craft, and folk architecture. Considers ethnicity, community, family, festival, folklore in literature, and oral history. Discusses traditions in students' own lives. Limited to three attempts.
Studies how traditional mythologies are reflected in English and American literature and other texts as themes, motifs, and patterns. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces interpretive practices associated with cultural studies. Limited to three attempts.
Emphasizes popular fiction and adaptation of popular prose genres to media that have strong verbal and visual elements. Relationship between verbal and nonverbal elements of media such as film, comics, and radio. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces Middle English literature, with emphasis on the social, cultural, and political contexts that guided its production and preservation. Readings include selected English narrative, poetry, and drama written between 1300 and 1500, exclusive of Chaucer. Limited to three attempts.
Poetry and prose of early Renaissance in England. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces the works of English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. Studies a broad range of Shakespeare’s writings, including at least one comedy, one tragedy, and one history. Limited to three attempts.
Explores the works of English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. Studies select aspects of Shakespeare’s writing or critical issues surrounding it. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Major dramas and dramatists of English Renaissance, such as Lyly, Marlowe, Jonson, Middleton, Webster, and Ford. Limited to three attempts.
English poetry and prose from 1603 to 1688, excluding Milton. Limited to three attempts.
English literature from late 17th century to mid-18th century. Includes Dryden, Rochester, Behn, Defoe, Swift, Pope, and Montagu. Limited to three attempts.
English literature of later 18th century, time of American and French Revolutions, including new developments in novel, drama, biography, and poetry. Includes Johnson, Boswell, Blake, Goldsmith, Sterne, Gray, Cowper, Burney, Godwin, and Wollstonecraft. Limited to three attempts.
Restoration comedy of manners, sentimental comedy, and neoclassical and bourgeois tragedy. Theories of drama and conventions of staging. Includes writers such as Wycherley, Behn, Congreve, and Cowley. Limited to three attempts.
English novel from its beginnings through turn of 19th century. Covers works by Behn, Defoe, Haywood, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Burney, Smollett, and Austen. Limited to three attempts.
Works of major poets of Romantic period: Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats. Limited to three attempts.
Poetry and nonfiction prose by such authors as Carlyle, Arnold, Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Ruskin, Mill, and Wilde. Limited to three attempts.
Works by Dickens, Thackeray, the Brontes, Eliot, Trollope, and Hardy. Limited to three attempts.
Emphasizes Hardy, Yeats, Lawrence, Graves, Auden, Thomas, and Hughes. Fiction works employing poetic techniques, such as Joyce's Ulysses, may also be studied. Limited to three attempts.
Works by Conrad, Forster, Lawrence, Joyce, Woolf, Greene, Lessing, Spark, and Fowles. Limited to three attempts.
English or Irish drama from Yeats to the present. Plays by authors such as Yeats, Synge, O'Casey, Osborne, Wesker, Pinter, Friel, Churchill, and Gems. Limited to three attempts.
Works of first 200 years of American literature, including Edwards, Franklin, Irving, Cooper, and Bryant. Limited to three attempts.
Major writers of American Renaissance (1830-1865), with emphasis on Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, Poe, Stowe, Douglass, and Dickinson. Limited to three attempts.
Study of American literature of the Post-Civil War period (1865-1920). A range of genres will be considered with emphasis on the historical contexts of literary production. Attention will be paid to the literary modes of realism, regionalism, naturalism, and modernism. Limited to three attempts.
Major American novels of the pre-World War I period with emphasis on Brown, Cooper, Hawthorne, Melville, Twain, Howells, James, Crane, Dreiser, Norris, and others. Limited to three attempts.
Works by Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Dos Passos, Wolfe, Bellow, and Nabokov. Limited to three attempts.
American drama of 20th century, with special attention to playwrights such as Glaspell, O'Neill, Miller, Williams, Fornes, and Albee. Limited to three attempts.
Emphasizes work of Robinson, Frost, Stevens, Williams, Pound, Crane, Eliot, and Lowell. May include work of fiction employing poetic techniques, such as Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury . Limited to three attempts.
Concentrating on such poets as Phillis Wheatley, Jupiter Hammon, Lucy Terry, and George Moses Horton, examines significant African American literary, social, and political texts produced through 1865. Special attention to narrative accounts of enslavement and freedom by Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and Olaudah Equiano; political writings and orations of David Walker and Sojourner Truth; fiction of Harriet Wilson and William Wells Brown; and nonwritten cultural artifacts such as slave songs and spirituals. Limited to three attempts.
Emphasizes several major writers from Reconstruction to beginning of 20th century, concluding with W.E.B. DuBois's The Souls of Black Folk . Concentrating on evolution of African American fiction and poetry as well as political and social discourses on "race," explores how authors such as Frances E.W. Harper, Charles Chesnutt, Pauline Hopkins, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Anna Julia Cooper, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Booker T. Washington, and DuBois shaped the foundation for 20th-century African American literary art and aesthetics. Limited to three attempts.
Focusing on fiction, poetry, drama, and autobiography, explores evolution of African American literature and aesthetics and major social, cultural, and historical movements such as the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and emergence of black naturalism, realism, and modernism in the 1930s-40s. Major authors include Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Jessie Fauset, James Weldon Johnson, Jean Toomer, Nella Larsen, Margaret Walker, Chester Himes, Richard Wright, and Ann Petry. Limited to three attempts.
Encompassing array of genres and forms, examines black writing from mid-20th century to present. Engages textual, critical, political, and theoretical issues related to cardinal literary movements, such as Black Arts Movement of 1960s and Third Renaissance of 1980s-90s. Examines how musical forms such as blues, jazz, and rap shaped literary production. Major authors include Ralph Ellison, Gwendolyn Brooks, James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, Amiri Baraka, Alice Walker, Ernest Gaines, Gloria Naylor, August Wilson, and Toni Morrison. Limited to three attempts.
Studies particular ethnic American literatures. Focuses on literatures such as Asian American, Native American, Latino/a, Arab American, or Jewish American. Notes: May be repeated when topic (expressed by course subtitle and content) is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
American short story writers and novelists from World War II to present, including Mailer, Barth, Cheever, Oates, Gass, Beattie, Updike, and Morrison. Limited to three attempts.
Major American poets from World War II to present, emphasizing Roethke, Brooks, Rich, Dickey, Lowell, Ammons, Kizer, Sexton, Clifton, Plath, and Piercy. Limited to three attempts.
Selected European novels in translation. Focuses on continental novel from 18th century to end of 19th century. Includes works of Balzac, Goethe, Gogol, Stendhal, Turgenev, Flaubert, Dostoievski, Tolstoy, and Chekhov. Limited to three attempts.
Offered in cooperation with the Department of Modern and Classical Languages. Focuses on continental novel from beginning of 20th century to present. Includes Proust, Mann, Gide, Kafka, Yourcenar, Beauvoir, Calvino, and Garcia Marquez. Attention to influence of this literature on novel in English. Limited to three attempts.
Studies two cultures other than contemporary British or American culture through exploration of several textual forms such as written literature, oral literature, film, folklore, or popular culture. Specific cultures vary, but at least one is non- Western. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree.
Examines history and current status of conceptions of world literature, considering such topics as non-European influences on Western literature, shifting horizons of comparative literature, rise of postcolonial literature, place of translation, and role of international institutions such as UNESCO and the Nobel Prize. Focuses on degree to which these initiatives have been successful in promoting global understanding of literary production. Limited to three attempts.
Study of selected topics, periods, genres, or authors in literature written in English, originating in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Asia, or Africa, for example. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Representative plays of most influential European and American dramatists, with emphasis on dramatic styles such as realism, expressionism, epic, and existentialism. Studies Chekhov, Ibsen, Strindberg, Brecht, and Beckett. Limited to three attempts.
Considers fundamental concepts of documentary form, style, and subject matter, ethical considerations, and theories of documentary. Includes close analysis of a series of representative film and television texts. Limited to three attempts.
Learn to identify and analyze formal elements of television. Learn how to situate and evaluate television in their cultural and historical contexts, interpret specific texts, and understand the relationships among broadcasting and networks, citizenship, audiences, and the public sphere. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces film medium as an art form. Limited to three attempts.
Familiarizes students with an essential subfield of film and media studies—the relationship of urban space to screen cultures. Addresses the construction of the global city on screen in relation to questions of wealth and poverty; crime and criminality; surveillance, occupation, and the state of emergency; gender and sexuality; space, place, and shooting on location; among other things. Explores the central role the “global city” plays in the generation and global circulation of wealth while also attending to the marginal spaces of such cities. Limited to three attempts.
Provides a rhetorical foundation for web authoring and design in professional settings. Students will learn basic principles of writing for the web, information architecture, coding for accessibility, and usability testing. The production-oriented component of the course provides instruction in writing valid code and practice with web- and graphic-editing software tools. Limited to three attempts.
Critical reading of new media texts and creation of technology-enriched texts in variety of rhetorical genres. Instructs students in rhetoric of new media, whether produced as hypertext, multimedia, or interactive digital productions. Technology-enriched activities present complex textuality of words, images, word-as-image, and kinetic text. Limited to three attempts.
Combined workshop and studio course in technological and aesthetic issues of reading and writing hypermedia texts with emphasis on poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, mixed genre, drama, or performance. Explores how genre meets hypertext and hypermedia in original creative work. Includes techniques in authoring interactive hypermedia projects using digital media tools. Notes: May include reading assignments in hypertext and hypermedia theory. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces students to the field of writing studies, with a focus on definitions of writing and rhetoric and research methods applied to the study of writing from the perspective of multiple disciplines. Provides an overview of both historical and contemporary approaches to studying writing as object, process, practice, and occupation. Limited to three attempts.
Advanced rhetorical study of "the essay," and its variable nonfiction forms, with a focus on rhetorical genre study and the persuasive nature of nonfiction storytelling. Students will practice analyzing and writing "essay" forms, such as popular long-form nonfiction, hybrid (personal and academic) essays, literary journalism, research articles, and others, depending on student interests. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces editing as a textual and rhetorical practice. Addresses copyediting, stylistics, and design; revisions based on audience, purpose, and genre; multimedia editing; interactions between editors and authors. (Not a remedial course in fixing sentence errors.) Limited to three attempts.
Intensive study and practice in various forms of professional and technical writing, including proposals, reports, instructions, news releases, white papers, and correspondence. Emphasizes writing for variety of audiences, both lay and informed, and writing within various professional and organizational contexts. Limited to three attempts.
Experiential learning course in teaching of writing across disciplines. Students receive Writing Center training in theory and techniques of tutoring writing and work a minimum of 3 hours per week in Writing Center. Focus is on practical application of writing theory and pedagogy from course readings, development of tutoring skills, and self-reflection through journals and final paper. Notes: Students must submit two faculty recommendations and a sample of recent academic writing, and complete an interview with the director of the Writing Center. Equivalent to CHSS 390.
Intensive study of and practice in formal elements of poetry through analyzing models and weekly writing assignments. Depending upon specific instructor, can cover rhyme, meter, rhythm, lineation, stanza pattern, traditional and experimental forms, free verse and open-form composition, lyric, narrative, and dramatic modes. Limited to three attempts.
Intensive practice in the elements and forms of fiction, through analyzing models and completing weekly writing assignments. Covers short stories, short-shorts, longer narratives, and such elements as plot, narrative technique, dialogue, point of view, voice and style, along with tools such as evocation, description, and epiphany. Limited to three attempts.
Intensive study of and practice in various forms of nonfiction writing, through analyzing models and completing weekly writing assignments. Includes in-depth discussion and practice in such forms as biographies, documentaries, editorials, interviews, reports, reviews, and essays. Limited to three attempts.
Assignments include writing exercises and original works of poetry and fiction. May also include drama or creative nonfiction. Includes reading assignments in covered genres, and may include oral presentations or in-class performance. Original student work read and discussed in class and conference with instructor. Limited to three attempts.
Workshop in reading, writing poetry. Original student work read and discussed in class and conferences with instructor. Technical exercises in craft of poetry; may include reading assignments. Limited to three attempts.
Workshop course in reading and writing fiction. Original student work read and discussed in class and conferences with instructor. Includes technical exercises in craft of fiction; may include reading assignments. Limited to three attempts.
Workshop in reading and writing of nonfiction that makes use of literary techniques normally thought of in context of fiction, such as evoking senses and use of dialog. Original student work read and discussed in class and conferences with instructor. Includes technical exercises in artful creating of nonfiction; may include reading assignments. Limited to three attempts.
Emphasizes growth in awareness of literary scholarship as a discipline, providing opportunity for advanced study in literary and cultural criticism. Covers variety of topics, including consideration of a literary period, genre, author, work, theme, discourse, or critical theory. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Provides guidance in research methods to students writing an honor thesis as well as workshop for critiquing works in progress. May be taken concurrently with another approved course offered by English Department, in which case thesis work may substitute for some assigned work in second course by arrangement of both instructors. Limited to three attempts.
Intensive writing course. Honors students concentrating in nonfiction writing and editing may use English 416 to replace English 414 as first course in honors program. Notes: Honors students concentrating in creative writing may use ENGH 402 to replace ENGH 401. Honors students concentrating in nonfiction writing who take ENGH 401 and complete a nonfiction thesis may use ENGH 402 in conjunction with an advanced course in nonfiction writing to replace ENGH 400. Limited to three attempts.
Studies selected approach to literary criticism, as announced, with exercises in critical analysis. Includes new criticism, structuralism, psychoanalysis, and Marxism. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term.
Theory and practice of such modes as tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, romance, and satire, considered in separate semesters and drawn from variety of periods ranging from biblical times to present, with examples from drama, poetry, and fiction. Notes: May be repeated with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Exploration of various aspects of folklore and folklife such as folklore and literature, folk arts, folk song, and material culture. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term.
Examines the role of supernatural phenomena in individuals’ everyday lives. Introduces folkloristic approaches to the study of belief, paranormal experiences, and popular spirituality. Topics may include ghosts, spirit possession, superstitions, visions, near death experiences, dream interpretation, magic, the commodification of belief, and the supernatural and new media. Limited to three attempts.
Examines the traditional arts of everyday life, such as festive foods, mementos and other objects of memory, textile arts, pottery, carving in wood and stone, roadside shrines, and more. Explores the folk aesthetics of group-based creativity through the lenses of biography, history, literature, and folklore studies. Considers traditional objects as narratives in material form. Examples drawn from multiple cultures as well as traditions in students' own lives. Limited to three attempts.
Explores migration trends and concepts of identity and migration in folklore scholarship, literature, film, and popular media. Limited to three attempts.
Topic-based course in research methods. Students conduct advanced research in folklore studies using traditional and digital research tools and approaches. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Introductory survey of cultural, literary, and theoretical constructions of sexuality that seek to complicate traditionally fixed categories of identity. Examines various representations of human sexuality, with particular attention to intersections with gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, and class. Limited to three attempts.
Studies specific topic or theme in popular literature. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Studies selected topics, genres, themes or authors in medieval or Renaissance literature and culture. Notes: May be taken for credit by English or history majors. Specific topic may vary. Primary emphasis is literary or historical, depending on discipline of instructor. May consider relevant material from philosophy, theology, and art. May be repeated when topic is different. Equivalent to FRLN 431.
Major works of Chaucer, with emphasis on The Canterbury Tales . Limited to three attempts.
Milton's major poetic works, with emphasis on Paradise Lost . Limited to three attempts.
In-depth study of selected period of British literature. In addition to literary examples, materials may be chosen from art, philosophy, or popular culture of the time. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Study of one or two major figures in British literature. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Study of one or two major figures in American literature. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
In-depth study of selected period of American literature. In addition to literary examples, materials may be chosen from art, philosophy, or popular culture of time. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Major works of science fiction in terms of mode, themes, and narrative techniques, especially role of hypothesis in science fiction. Focuses on novels, short stories from early 19th century to present. Limited to three attempts.
Examines the history and criticism of children's literature and the strategies used by authors of children's literature to address their audience. Selected readings range from Puritan to contemporary writing for children, as well as influential works in educational philosophy, such as those by Locke and Rousseau. Limited to three attempts.
Study of selected topics, periods, or authors. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Study of selected topics, periods, or poets. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Studies selected topics, periods, or playwrights. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Special studies in literary nonfiction by topic, such as the personal essay, New Journalism, the "nonfiction novel," the memoir, or historical traditions of literary nonfiction. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Topic-based course in research methods. Students conduct advanced research in literary studies using traditional and digital research tools and approaches. Notes: May be repeated when the topic is different. May be repeated within the degree.
Under supervision of a faculty director, students report and reflect on their work as interns at organizations of their choosing, usually in writing and/or editing positions. For 3 credits, students work on site at least 135 hours as specified in the agreement developed with the internship supervisor and approved by the faculty director. Notes: Contact the English Department one semester prior to enrollment. No more than 3 credits can be counted in concentration or English minor. May be repeated with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Advanced studies of development of film language, both as cultural practice and medium for formal innovation. Topics might include studies of national cinemas, historical periods, genres, or individual directors. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Advanced studies of theories about various aspects of production, distribution, and reception of film-mediated experiences. Topics may include theories of spectator, semiotics, feminist film theory, theories of narrativity, structuralist film theory, or deconstruction. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
American and foreign films selected by type, period, or director with emphasis varying from year to year. Required viewings, student discussion, and written critiques. Notes: May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
A community-engaged research course. Students volunteer 15 hours with a community partner organization, study best community-partnership practices (particularly when working in historically marginalized communities), research a social issue of special interest to this organization, and compose “public” texts that draw on their research and experiences. Limited to three attempts.
Instruction in revising, editing, and preparing specialized writing for print production. Emphasizes methods of achieving clarity, accuracy, and completeness. Lecture and discussion on editing and printing techniques; practical exercise in revision, layout, and production. Limited to three attempts.
Study and practice of ethnographic writing. Students conduct ethnographic investigations and practice journal keeping, field note recording, interviewing, transcription, and interpretation. Includes introduction to current issues in ethnographic writing. Limited to three attempts.
Theory and practice of using computer programs to design and produce publications including brochures, fliers, newsletters, and small magazines. Includes readings, writing papers. and producing and editing copies and original publications. Limited to three attempts.
Research-based workshop course. Intensive practice in advanced nonfiction writing and study of the exigencies of public writing and audience engagement; emphasizes writing for publication, research process, and public awareness. Limited to three attempts.
Prepares students for the Society for Technical Communication Certification in Technical Writing, focusing on proficiencies in project planning, project analysis, content development, content management, and organizational design. May be offered with a focus on global and international users. This course serves as the capstone for the Professional and Technical Writing Minor. Limited to three attempts.
Advanced studies in rhetoric and writing. Introduces key rhetorical terminology and examines how texts construct meaning and how those meanings are determined within social contexts. Topics may include the relationship between rhetorics and poetics, rhetoric and new media, histories of rhetoric, global rhetorics, argument theory, discourse analysis, theories of technical communication, or advanced theories of composition and pedagogy. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Provides foundation in the skills and knowledge required to effectively create proposals for various types of organizations. Emphasizes best practices in management, presentation, and research skills necessary to find funding, manage proposal efforts, and build relationships with funders. Reviews editing, concision, and technical writing skills required for proposal writers. Limited to three attempts.
Workshop; intensive practice in creative writing and study of creative process. Intended for students already writing original creative work. Notes: Enrollment is controlled. Submit 8-10 pages of fiction to instructor for review. May be repeated with permission of instructor. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Workshop in varieties of nonfiction, along with creative process and techniques such as research and interview methods. Includes reading and writing of essays, biographies, autobiographies, travel, journalism, etc. Notes: Registration is controlled. Submit 8-10 pages of nonfiction to instructor for review. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Intensive practice in the craft of poetry and study of the imagination in creative process. Intended for students already writing original poetry. Notes: Enrollment is controlled. Submit 8-10 pages of poetry to instructor for review. May be repeated with permission of instructor. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Presentations of original work for critique by peers and faculty. Students synthesize what they have learned during prior work in the program through workshops for final revisions of manuscripts for the BFA portfolio. Students submit the revised manuscripts as their final submission for evaluation by faculty. Students receive guidance in research methods as they investigate the lives of writers and learn the procedures for such tasks as submitting original work for publication and applying for jobs. Limited to three attempts.
Intensive practice in creative writing and study of creative process. Workshop course. Concentrates on specialized literary type other than short story or poetry such as playwriting, screenwriting, children's literature, travel literature, autobiography, gothic novel, or translation. Notes: For students already writing original creative work. Students must submit typed manuscript at least one week before registration. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Intensive study of particular author, genre, period, or critical or theoretical problem in literature or linguistics, to be conducted by student in close consultation with instructor. Student produces at least one substantial piece of written work during semester on research findings. Notes: May be repeated with approval of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces the fields of English studies, focusing on discipline-specific forms of practice within the concentrations in the major. Explores central concepts including reading, language, medium, text, author/producer. Maps histories and contexts of English as a discipline. Limited to three attempts.
Studies selected topics, genres, themes or authors in medieval or Renaissance literature and culture. Notes: May be taken for credit by English or history majors. Specific topic may vary. Primary emphasis is literary or historical, depending on discipline of instructor. May consider relevant material from philosophy, theology, and art. May be repeated when topic is different. Equivalent to FRLN 431.
Advanced studies of development of film language, both as cultural practice and medium for formal innovation. Topics might include studies of national cinemas, historical periods, genres, or individual directors. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Advanced studies of theories about various aspects of production, distribution, and reception of film-mediated experiences. Topics may include theories of spectator, semiotics, feminist film theory, theories of narrativity, structuralist film theory, or deconstruction. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Graduate
Introduces research in English studies, including practice in library methods, writing critical bibliography, evaluating issues and problems, and surveying scholarly activities in department. May not be repeated for credit.
Provides historical and theoretical background in professional writing and editing in a seminar format. Explores professional writing's emergence as a field of scholarship and practice, emphasizes the relationships between rhetorical theories and practice, and introduces students to bibliographic research in the field. May not be repeated for credit.
Introduces theory, methods, and ethics of conducting research in rhetoric and professional writing. Students learn to conduct and evaluate research that may include rhetorical analysis, discourse analysis, historical methods, ethnography, user-centered design, document and usability testing, and others. May not be repeated for credit.
Instruction in revising, editing, and preparing specialized writing for printing. Emphasizes methods of achieving clarity, accuracy, and completeness. Lecture and discussion on editing and printing techniques; practical exercise in revision, layout, and production. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Under supervision of a faculty director, students report and reflect on their work as interns at organizations of their choosing, usually in writing and/or editing positions. For 3 credits, students work on site at least 135 hours as specified in the agreement developed with the internship supervisor and approved by the faculty director. Notes: Contact the English Department one semester prior to enrollment. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Theory and practice of using computer programs to design and produce publications including brochures, fliers, newsletters, and small magazines. Includes readings, writing papers, and producing and editing copies and original publications. May not be repeated for credit.
Combines study of basic research tools with field work and writing workshop experience. Helps students develop techniques and skills necessary for writing a research-dependent project of sufficient complexity to be of book or long essay length. Emphasis on finding story behind facts, using material from numerous sources. May not be repeated for credit.
Provides a rhetorical foundation for web authoring and design in professional settings. Teaches basic principles of writing for the web, information architecture, coding for accessibility, and usability testing. Production-oriented component provides instruction in writing valid code and practice with web- and graphic-editing software tools. May not be repeated for credit.
Provides an examination of major works on digital rhetoric and digital media framed by contemporary rhetorical theories that inform the emergent field of digital rhetoric. Course work includes projects that engage in the design, analysis, and assessment of digital media. May not be repeated for credit.
Provides foundation in the skills and knowledge required to effectively create proposals for various types of organizations. Emphasizes best practices in management, presentation, and research skills necessary to find funding, manage proposal efforts, and build relationships with funders. Reviews editing, concision, and technical writing skills required for proposal writers. May not be repeated for credit.
Advanced survey of selected genres, periods, areas, styles, and theoretical issues in literature. Notes: Baccalaureate degree highly recommended. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Intensive study of topics involving literary or other texts such as film, television, opera, and folklore. Notes: May be repeated with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Focuses on the history and criticism of children's literature by concentrating on selected historical periods and literary modes such as "Golden Age" children's literature, contemporary fantastic and children's literature, or Romantic and Victorian children's literature. Notes: May be repeated with permission of instructor. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduction to selected critical theories pertinent to textual analysis. May not be repeated for credit.
Students seeking permission must submit typed manuscript of original poetry. Intensive study of and practice in formal elements of poetry through analyzing models and weekly or biweekly writing assignments. Intended for students already writing original poetry. Covers rhyme, meter, rhythm, lineation, stanza pattern, traditional and experimental forms, free verse and open-form composition, lyric, narrative, and dramatic modes. Notes: Other interested students should contact the English Department at (703) 993-1180. May not be repeated for credit.
Intensive study of and practice in various forms of nonfiction writing through analyzing models and weekly writing assignments. Includes biographies, documentaries, editorials, interviews, reports, reviews, and essays. Notes: Other interested graduate students should contact the English Department at (703) 993-2763. May not be repeated for credit.
Students seeking permission must submit typed manuscript of original fiction. Intensive practice in formal elements of fiction through analyzing models and weekly or biweekly writing assignments. Intended for students already writing original fiction. Covers description, narration, plot, dialogue, voice, point of view, style, epiphany, and antifiction techniques. Notes: Other interested graduate students should contact the English Department at (703) 993-1180. May not be repeated for credit.
Advanced survey of topics in film and media including theories of production and the circulation of meanings in visual culture. Notes: May be repeated with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Explores types of folk narratives such as mythology, folktale, fairy tale, legend, family narrative, personal narrative. Focuses on tales from around the world. Considers aspects of storytelling such as storytelling as performance, storytelling as therapeutic modality, and storytelling during crises and conflicts. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Explores folklore and folklife topics such as folk narrative and story telling, folklore and literature, folksong, and folk arts. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Introduces theories of and hands-on experiences for students interested in studying pedagogical practice, classroom environments, and learners in context. Methodologies include ethnography, case study, grounded theory, quasi-experimental, narrative analysis, Activity Theory, Archival Research, and Assessment. Students will examine the relationships between methodological frames, pedagogical context and theories of learning. May not be repeated for credit.
Unpaid, approved work-study positions at specific sites arranged by interested students and their advisor. Under supervision of faculty advisor, student works as intern with site supervisor in agency of student's choosing, given advisor's permission. Notes: For 3 credits, students work 120 hours on site and write 3,500 words, or equivalent, given contract with advisor. Contact English Department one semester prior to enrollment. Equivalent to FOLK 699.
Provides students with hands-on experience in and knowledge of the worlds of paper and digital publishing through involvement in in real-world publishing projects. Course focuses on career-applicable publishing skills and knowledge, including editorial work, art and design, media and marketing, web content development and management, and/or business operations. May not be repeated for credit.
Involves students in real-world literary publishing as it occurs at Poetry Daily, the long-established organization, website, and app dedicated to the dissemination and discussion of contemporary poetry, providing them with hands-on experience in and knowledge of the worlds of on-line publishing and website management. The course will focus on career-applicable publishing skills and knowledge, including editorial work, art and design, media and marketing, web content development and management, and/or business operations. In addition, the course will provide students with a broad view of the world of contemporary poetry, providing them with a greater understanding of the professional and literary issues involved. May not be repeated for credit.
Non-MFA students seeking permission must submit manuscript of original written work in appropriate genre. Various sections offer work in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, each focusing in different ways on the practices and the craft development of writers. Numerous writing assignments mixed with reading followed by careful analytical and craft discussions. Notes: Assignments vary with genre and specific topic. May be taken concurrently with ENGH 564, 565, 566. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 15 credits.
Offers a craft seminar in writing for social media and online platforms. Students develop an online identity and presence, and compose work for public dissemination. Numerous writing assignments mixed with reading followed by careful analytical and craft discussions. May not be repeated for credit.
Methods of teaching literature. Includes study of methods of literary analysis, and ways of developing student responses to literature, with some classroom practice. Notes: Does not satisfy Virginia certification requirement in diagnostic or developmental reading. May not be repeated for credit.
Reading and discussion of several major texts that address patterns of discourse, communication, and other issues of rhetoric. Notes: Content varies. Recent offerings include 20th century rhetoric, collaborative writing, and computers and rhetoric. May not be repeated for credit.
Students work as ethnographers, studying selected sites where people write professionally, and analyzing ways production and reception of writing contribute to and result from local culture of each site. Lecture and workshop format. May not be repeated for credit.
Intensive study of theory and practice of technical and scientific writing, with emphasis on writing for variety of audiences. Focuses on writing and evaluating formal reports, articles for lay and technical audiences, proposals, theses, manuals, and other forms of technical prose. May not be repeated for credit.
Internships provide experience working in a teaching program such as school or writing center. Under direction of faculty member, students must secure cooperation of on-site supervisor. Notes: Students work minimum 3 hours per week per credit to be awarded, keep a weekly reflective and analytical log, and communicate regularly with faculty director. May not be repeated for credit.
Methods of teaching expository writing. Includes consideration of planning courses, practice in teaching and grading papers, and study of recent developments in teaching writing. May not be repeated for credit.
Intensive practice in craft of nonfiction and study of creative process. Intended for students already familiar with traditional and contemporary nonfiction, and already writing original nonfiction. Notes: At discretion of instructor, reading may be required. May be repeated for credit with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree.
Intensive practice in craft of poetry and study of creative process. Intended for students already familiar with traditional and contemporary poetic modes and already writing original poetry. Notes: At discretion of instructor, reading may be required. May be repeated for credit with permission of department. Registration is open only to students in the MFA program. May be repeated within the degree.
Intensive practice in craft of fiction and study of creative process. Intended for students already familiar with traditional and contemporary fiction and already writing original fiction. Notes: At discretion of instructor, reading may be required. May be repeated for credit with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree.
Workshop course. Intensive practice in creative writing and study of creative process. Concentrates on specialized literary type other than short story, such as essay, playwriting, film writing, children's literature, travel literature, autobiography, gothic novel, and translation. Notes: Intended for students already writing original creative work. Other interested graduate students should contact the English department at (703) 993-1180. May be repeated for credit with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 30 credits.
Offers advanced study of teaching practices in literature, composition, creative writing, linguistics, folklore, or film and media studies. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Intensive study of a selected period, movement, or genre in British or world Anglophone literature. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 24 credits.
Intensive study of a selected period, movement, or genre in American literature. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 24 credits.
Intensive study using research methods associated with specific topics, archives, or databases. Notes: Topics vary. May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Intensive study of a period in African-American literature between 1800 and present with focus to be determined by instructor. Considers different genres including autobiography, fiction, drama, poetry, essays, and oral artifacts such as slave songs, spirituals, and hip-hop. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Examines various cultural texts such as literature, drama, film, and folklore in terms of transnational circulation or production and reception in locations around the world other than Britain and United States. Engages with issues arising from globalization of English and interplay of global cultures. Notes: Texts studied in English or English translation. May be repeated with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Advanced seminar in topics in visual representation including film, television, and video, and in theories of production and circulation of meanings in visual culture. Notes: May be repeated with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Presents historically based introduction to major debates within feminist theory and criticism. Stressing gender in literature and its interpretation, explores diverse collection of feminist interpretive practices. May not be repeated for credit.
Advanced introduction to theoretical practice known as cultural studies, with attention to role in textual studies. Part of interdisciplinary cultural studies PhD and MA in English programs. May not be repeated for credit.
Explores advanced folklore and folklife topics such as bodylore, sense of place, festival, folk drama, and folk narrative studies. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 12 credits.
For students working on independent reading and research in poetry. Designed for students preparing to take the MFA reading exam in poetry but open to others with comparable reading projects in poetry. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Content varies. Notes: May be repeated with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Introduces the federal contract and grants proposal process and provides an overview of the federal acquisition process, the capture and proposal management processes, and best practices for writing winning proposals in the federal arena. Students work individually and in teams to write and manage proposals. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Includes readings and discussion in a wide range of topics related to writing and rhetoric. May focus on a specific theory, method or practice in writing and rhetoric. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic varies. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Offered at request of school division or other education agency to assist teachers in improving student writing and use of writing to learn. Notes: Content varies. May be repeated for credit with permission of department. May be repeated within the term.
Acquaints classroom teachers with current research on composing as well as methods of studying writing in school settings. Participants collect data and write up results of their research. May not be repeated for credit.
Acquaints classroom teachers with theory relating to writing and teaching composition. Focuses on explaining theories of participants, reading works of leading theorists, and developing statement describing implications of theoretical consistency in teaching writing. May not be repeated for credit.
Craft seminars, educational tours, independent studies, and special seminars dealing with selected topics in writing, linguistics, film, electronic media, and literature written in English. Notes: All tours are optional, and may be replaced by specified work conducted on campus. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits with permission of department, but no more than 6 credits of ENGH 699 may be applied to master's degree in English. No more than 3 credits of 699 may be applied to literature requirement for MFA degree. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Explores a variety of text-based and empirical approaches and methods for addressing questions and problems related to public rhetoric and writing programs. Seminar participants work through a complete research design and pilot study. May not be repeated for credit.
Major theories of literature and methods of analyzing and evaluating literary works. Notes: Topics vary. May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Provides students new to the PhD in Writing and Rhetoric with the opportunity to read widely in the fields of composition, professional writing, and public rhetoric. Students will examine and develop graduate-level reading practices, while exploring the main subfields of writing studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Examines the development of rhetorics within their historical and institutional contexts. Investigates rhetoric and rhetoricians across the development of oral rhetorics and the shift to written genres, the rise of scientific discourses, and the establishment of educational and bureaucratic organizations. May not be repeated for credit.
Examines scholarship on pedagogy, curriculum design and assessment, faculty development, and program management related to the practice of teaching or training writers in an institutional setting: two- and four-year colleges, K-12 schools, and workplace training seminars. May not be repeated for credit.
Examines current research in the field and the theories that inform it. Special emphasis is placed on workplace contexts and users in technological contexts. Course may include theories and methods such as activity theory, actor-network theory, complexity theory, cross-cultural rhetoric, digital rhetoric, discourse analysis, ethnography, genre theory, usability, and systems theory. May not be repeated for credit.
Covers the major theories of public rhetoric and the public sphere; explores how rhetoric influences public perceptions; examines publics as a site of interpretive mediation. May not be repeated for credit.
Intensive practice in craft of poetry for experienced writers. Notes: May be repeated for credit with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree.
Intensive practice in craft of fiction for experienced writers. Notes: May be repeated for credit with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree.
Intensive practice in craft of nonfiction for experienced writers. Notes: May be repeated for credit with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree.
Students complete a capstone project guided by instructor and a faculty consultant based on work produced in a previous graduate course. Class meetings focus on building skills in research, revision, and editing, discussing topics related to professionalization both in and out of academia, and revising work in a workshop environment. Students will produce a professional-quality article or similar final project. May not be repeated for credit.
Students complete a capstone project guided by instructor and a faculty consultant. Reflecting on theories and methods learned in previous course work and applying them to a concrete rhetorical situation, students produce a professional-quality project for a primary audience located in the professional workplace or the discipline of professional and technical writing. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Reading, research, and writing on specific project under direction of department member. Notes: Oral or written report required. For MA students: May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits with permission of department. For MFA students: 12 credits may be applied to the MFA requirements but no more than 3 credits may count toward completing the literature requirement. May be repeated within the degree.
ENGH 799:
Thesis (1-6 Credits)
Students who take ENGH 798 to develop thesis topic and then elect thesis option receive 3 credits for ENGH 799 on completion of thesis. Students who do not take ENGH 798, or who take it to work on project unrelated to thesis, receive up to 6 credits for ENGH 799 on completion of thesis. May be repeated within the degree.
Offers advanced study of rhetorical theory, histories of rhetoric, key figures in rhetoric, or rhetorical methods. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 12 credits.
Examines the theory and practice of writing program leadership. Investigates the principles that inform faculty support, curriculum development, program assessment, institutional alignment, and leadership approaches with regard to administering writing instruction. May not be repeated for credit.
Offers advanced study of theoretical, practical, or pedagogical topics related to composition. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Offers advanced study of theoretical, practical, or pedagogical topics related to professional writing and technical communication. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Offers advanced study of theoretical, practical, or pedagogical topics related to public rhetorics. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Reading, research, and writing on a specific project under direction of faculty member. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Work on PhD qualifying exams. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Work on research proposal that forms the basis for the doctoral dissertation. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 12 credits.
Doctoral dissertation research and writing under direction of student's dissertation committee. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 21 credits.
Explores advanced folklore and folklife topics such as bodylore, sense of place, festival, folk drama, and folk narrative studies. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 12 credits.
