Graduate students should take courses at the 5000, 6000 or 7000 level. 5000 level courses include a mixed enrollment of juniors, seniors, and graduate students. The call numbers for 5000 level courses are found in the course catalog for any given semester. 6000 and 7000 level courses are only taken by graduate students.
Once you have an idea of the courses you’d like to take during a given semester, you should contact the Graduate Director so that he/she can register you.
Each semester’s course offerings are posted on the English Department website well before the registration process begins. Listed below are the catalog descriptions for the courses that are offered by our department at the 5000, 6000, and 7000 level:
ENGL 5220 Studies in American Literature 3 hrs.
Study of a movement or a recurring theme in American literature, such as romanticism, realism, naturalism, humor, or racial issues.
ENGL 5300 Medieval Literature 3 hrs.
Readings in the medieval literary tradition. Some Middle English works will be studied in the original; works in Old English and continental literature will be studied mainly in translation.
ENGL 5320 English Renaissance Literature 3 hrs.
Readings in representative writers of the period 1500-1660.
ENGL 5340 Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature 3 hrs.
Readings in representative writers of the period 1660-1800, focusing on the diversity of literary forms in the period.
ENGL 5360 Romantic Literature 3 hrs.
Readings in poetry and criticism, with emphasis on such writers as Blake, Burns, the Wordsworths, Coleridge, Scott, Byron, the Shelleys, and Keats.
ENGL 5370 Victorian Literature 3 hrs.
Readings emphasizing such writers as Carlyle, Mill, Dickens, Thackeray, Eliot, Tennyson, the Brownings, and Arnold.
ENGL 5380 Modern Literature 3 hrs.
Readings in representative writers in the period 1890-1945, not exclusively in British and American literature.
ENGL 5390 Post-Colonial Literature 3 hrs.
Readings in representative writers from colonial and post-colonial cultures.
ENGL 5400 Contemporary Literature 3 hrs.
Readings in representative writers who have come to prominence chiefly since 1945.
ENGL 5550 Studies in Major Writers 3 hrs.
Study of the works of classical, European, British, or American writers. Limited to one or two authors. May be repeated for credit as long as the authors covered are different.
ENGL 5660 Creative Writing Workshop 4 hrs.
An advanced course in the writing of poetry, fiction, or drama, with class criticism of each student's writing. The course may be taken more than once.
ENGL 5740 Grammar for Teachers 4 hrs.
Deals with issues surrounding the teaching of grammar, various aspects of grammar itself, and ways of teaching grammar and developing students' grammatical competence.
ENGL 5820 Studies in Children's Literature 3 hrs.
A study in depth of significant themes, movements, and types of children's literature. Prerequisite: ENGL 282 or permission of the department.
ENGL 5830 Multi-Cultural American Literature for Children 3 hrs.
A course designed to develop an understanding of the cultural diversity of the American experience through multi-cultural oral and written literature for young people. Attention will be paid to developing criteria for selecting and evaluating literature which reflects diversity within the American heritage. Prerequisites: 16 hrs. of English course work, including ENGL 282.
ENGL 5970 Studies in English: Variable Topics 1-3 hrs.
Group study of special topics in literature, film, English language, and writing. Many of these special courses are organized around special events or speakers on campus or in the community, or in response to special needs or interests of students. Some topics are announced in the Schedule of Course Offerings ; some are added during the semester. Further information and full listing of topics may be obtained from the English Department, sixth floor Sprau Tower.
ENGL 5980 Readings in English 1-4 hrs.
Advanced students with good scholastic records may elect to pursue independently the study of some topic having special interest for them. Topics are chosen and arrangements are made to suit the needs of each student. Approval of English advisor required. May be elected more than once.
ENGL 6100 Seminar 3 hrs.
Study of a problem in literary history or criticism. May be repeated once with the permission of the graduate advisor.
ENGL 6150 Literary Criticism 3 hrs.
Readings in several significant theorists on the nature of literature, the characteristics of audience response to literature, and principles underlying the analysis and evaluation of literature. Works in at least two genres will be examined in light of these theoretical writings.
ENGL 6110 Literary Forms 3 hrs.
A study in form and technique in one of the four major literary genres: poetry, fiction, drama, non-fiction.
ENGL 6210 Studies in British Literature 3 hrs.
The advanced study of selected aspects of British literature. May be repeated once with the permission of the graduate advisor.
ENGL 6220 Studies in American Literature 3 hrs.
The advanced study of a topic in American Literary history, such as The American "Renaissance," The 1920's, The Transcendental Tradition in American Literature, Fiction (or Poetry, or Drama) in America, or The Development of Modern American Prose Style. May be repeated once with the permission of the graduate advisor.
ENGL 6300 Introduction to Graduate Studies 3 hrs.
This course is intended to provide graduate students with an introduction to the theory and practice of literary criticism at the professional level. The goal of course readings and discussion generally will be to aid students in the completion of a substantial research project of a kind suitable for publication.
ENGL 6400 The Nature of Poetry 3 hrs.
A study of styles, techniques, forms, and conceptions of poetry, involving practice in explication, both oral and written, of individual poems.
ENGL 6410 Studies in Modern Poetry 3 hrs.
An intensive study of the work of several modern poets.
ENGL 6420 Studies in Drama 3 hrs.
Selected areas of drama from classical times to the present.
ENGL 6440 Studies in the Novel 3 hrs.
An examination of significant forms and techniques employed in the novel from its beginnings to the modern age.
ENGL 6450 Studies in the Modern Novel 3 hrs.
An intensive study of the works of some important novelists of the twentieth century.
ENGL 6520 Studies in Shakespeare: Tragedy 3 hrs.
Selected tragedies of Shakespeare.
ENGL 6530 Studies in Shakespeare: Comedy 3 hrs.
Selected comedies of Shakespeare.
ENGL 6660 Graduate Writing Workshop 3 hrs.
Any given section of this course will focus on poetry, fiction, non-fiction or drama. Course organization will emphasize roundtable discussion of student writing. Course may be taken more than once; a student may elect up to 12 credit hours in one genre and up to 18 hours in all. M.F.A. candidates must take at least 6 hours in their area of specialization. Prerequisite: Open to graduate students accepted into the M.F.A. or PhD programs and, with the permission of the instructor, to other graduate PTG students.
ENGL 6690 Methods of Teaching College Writing 3 hrs.
A course required of those teaching the freshman composition course, ENGL 105, for the first time. Establishes the basic structure and methodology for teaching such a course. Participants prepare assignment sequences for their classes, design appropriate learning activities, and practice evaluating and responding to student writing. Participants are introduced to activities that reflect different theories and approaches to the teaching of composition.
ENGL 6720 Language, Dialects, and Sociolinguistics 3 hrs.
A course focusing on specific varieties of American English studied from historical, linguistic, literary, and/or social perspectives as the basis for application of sociolinguistic theory and research to a variety of topics. These may include the study of American culture and literature, educational implications of dialect diversity in monolingual and multilingual settings, the links between language and social identity, and gender/ethnic differences in language. Issues such as language change, attitudes toward language, and implications for teaching English will be explored in detail.
ENGL 6730 Psycholinguistics in Reading 3 hrs.
An examination of psycholinguistic insights into the nature of the reading process, with emphasis on practical implications and applications for the classroom.
ENGL 6760 Old English 3 hrs.
A course dealing with the grammatical structures of Old English and the sociolinguistic context in which this language was spoken and written, with a view to applying such linguistic study to translating and interpreting pre-1066 English literary texts, both poetry and prose, including Beowulf .
ENGL 6770 Middle English 3 hrs.
A course dealing with the grammatical structures of Middle English and the sociocultural context in which this language was spoken and written, with a view to applying such linguistic study to translating and interpreting Middle English texts, both prose and poetic, Chaucerian and non-Chaucerian, stemming from various regions of English-speaking Britain.
ENGL 6790 Studies in Composition Theory 3 hrs.
A course which examines various approaches to the teaching of composition. Aims to increase awareness of the relationship between theory and practice, acquaint participants with ongoing dialogues within the field, and help them identify and formulate their own professional stances. Attention will be given to the impact on composition theory of scholarship in fields such as classical rhetoric, linguistics, literary theory, cognitive psychology, human development and learning, social constructionism, and ethnology. Prerequisite: Teaching experience.
ENGL 6800 Advanced Methods in Teaching Literature 3 hrs.
A study of theories and methods of teaching literature.
ENGL 6810 Advanced Methods in Teaching Language and Composition 3 hrs.
A study of theories and methods of teaching language and composition.
ENGL 6900 Scholarship and Writing in the Profession 3 hrs.
In this seminar students will prepare the capstone Essay to be submitted as the culminating requirement for the M.A. in English. The course will include analysis and evaluation of journals and articles in areas relevant to the student's research topic, "workshop" review and editing of the paper, and preparation for oral presentation and discussion of the student's work in a Master's Colloquium. Graded on a Credit/No Credit basis. Prerequisites: ENGL 630 and prior completion of at least 21 hours of credit toward the Master of Arts in English.
ENGL 6910 Research and Scholarship in English Education 3 hrs.
As reflective practitioners in English classrooms, participants in this seminar will develop a research question, review relevant professional literature, conduct classroom and/or academic research using appropriate research techniques, and present findings orally and in a written paper or report that will be the capstone paper for the MA in English with an Emphasis on Teaching. Prerequisites: Students in the program who have completed at least 24 hours of the course of study and who have completed the core courses, the teaching of English courses, the English language course and the multicultural literature course may enroll.
ENGL 6970 Studies in English: Variable Topics 1-3 hrs.
Group study of special topics in language, literature, and composition. These special courses and workshops may be offered on campus, in the off-campus centers, or as in-service work in schools. Students may repeat this course, providing topics vary. For further information, consult the graduate advisor.
ENGL 6990 M.F.A. Project 3-6 hrs.
A collection of short fiction, a collection of poetry, a collection of one-act plays, a full-length play, or a novel. The work presented in fulfillment of this requirement must be judged by a committee of the graduate faculty to be worthy of publication or production; a public reading or performance is required.
ENGL 7000 Master's Thesis 6 hrs.
ENGL 7100 Independent Research 2-6 hrs.
ENGL 7110 Readings in Doctoral Specialization 3-6 hrs.
In consultation with a faculty member, the doctoral student will design a reading list of 20 to 30 books in a specialized area; students wishing additional guided reading may register a second time. The student will master these works independently and, in consultation with faculty members, select a representative list of approximately 20 works on which to be evaluated in a two-hour oral exam, conducted by a committee of at least two faculty members. Prerequisite: Doctoral candidacy.
ENGL 7120 Professional Field Experience 2-12 hrs.
ENGL 7130 Practicum in Teaching in the Discipline 3 hrs.
A practicum in teaching in the discipline will be done as collaborative teaching with an experienced faculty member in a broad-based undergraduate course in literature, language, creative writing, or advanced composition. There will opportunity for both guided praxis and reflection on praxis. May be repeated. Prerequisite: Consent of advisor.