Academic Programs

Bachelor of Arts

Non-Degree

Course Descriptions

100. BASIC ENGLISH. (3) Fall, Spring. Grammar and composition skills. Required for students who have no credit in college composition and who scored 18 or below on the ACT English examination (440 or below on the SAT critical reading examination). This course does not count as college credit, but is included in GPA calculations and counts toward athletic eligibility and financial aid eligibility.




111. INTRODUCTION TO UNIVERSITY WRITING AND RESEARCH. (3) Fall, Spring, Summer. This course trains students in outlining, drafting, revising, and proofreading highly-polished writing that is engaged with diverse points of view and that meets the requirements of university-level work. Students will learn to use grammar, sentence structure, paragraphing, and organization to explain an idea clearly with depth and detail. They will investigate other perspectives on their ideas using library and online resources, and they will learn the mechanics of proper citation and formatting. Designed to be taken at the beginning of a student’s studies, this course lays the groundwork for success in other university courses. A grade of C or higher is required to be eligible for ENG 211. Prerequisite(s): Prerequisite: ENG 100 or 19 or above on the ACT English examination, or 450 or above on the SAT critical reading examination, or 80 or above on the ACT COMPASS Writing Skills exam.

113. INTRODUCTION TO UNIVERSITY WRITING, RESEARCH, AND GRAMMAR. (3) Fall, Spring. This course, designed especially for students in the College of Education, trains them in outlining, drafting, revising, and proofreading highly-polished writing that is engaged with diverse points of view and that meets the requirements of university-level work. Students will learn to use grammar, sentence structure, paragraphing, and organization to explain an idea clearly with depth and detail. They will investigate other perspectives on their ideas using library and online resources, and they will learn the mechanics of proper citation and formatting. Designed to be taken at the beginning of a student’s studies, this course lays the groundwork for success in other university courses. This class also includes special units on the pedagogy of writing and on grammar skills and is recommended for education licensure majors. A grade of C or higher is required to be eligible for ENG 211. Prerequisite(s): Prerequisite:ENG 100 or 19 or above on the ACT English examination (450 or above on the SAT critical reading examination).

201. WORLD LITERATURE I. (3) Fall, Spring. Writers from ancient times through the Renaissance whose ideas are representative of concepts, movements, or creative expressions that have had significant impact upon western culture.


202. WORLD LITERATURE II. (3) Fall, Spring. Writers from the Neoclassic Age to the present whose ideas are representative of concepts, movements, or creative expressions that have had significant impact upon western culture.


211. CRITICAL READING, THINKING, AND WRITING. (3) Fall, Spring, Summer. This course gives students further training in university-level composition, reading, research, and critical thinking needed to produce well-organized, well-researched, polished writing that can make worthwhile contributions to real-world discussions in any field of study or work. All sections explore key human questions; specific themes vary by section. Past themes include technology, literature and the arts, food politics, theology, economics, science, and anthropology. Designed to be taken early in a student’s studies, this course lays the groundwork for success in other university courses. A grade of C or higher is required for university graduation. Prerequisite(s): Prerequisite: Earning a grade of C or higher in ENG 111 or ENG 113.

231. ENGLISH STUDIES. (3) Spring. An overview of literary studies, including history, genre, terminology, research methods, critical approaches, and film as literature. l

251. BRITISH LITERATURE I. (3, 3) Fall, Spring. Developments and significance of British literature, with its historical, social, and philosophical backgrounds from the beginning through the 18th century.


252. BRITISH LITERATURE II. (3, 3) Fall, Spring. Developments and significance of British literature, with its historical, social, and philosophical backgrounds from the from the 19th century to the present.


271.  AMERICAN LITERATURE I. (3, 3) Fall. Developments and significance of American literature, with its historical, social, and philosophical backgrounds from the beginning to the Civil War.


272.  AMERICAN LITERATURE II. (3, 3) Spring. Developments and significance of American literature, with its historical, social, and philosophical backgrounds from the mid-19th century to the present.


281. ADVANCED COMPOSITION. (3) Fall, Spring. Advanced development and polishing skills in writing, particularly expository and argumentative prose.
 Prerequisite: ENG 211.

285. TECHNIQUES OF RESEARCH. (3) Summer. Students will learn the purpose of research and its value to various discipline; will learn and practice finding appropriate sources of research for a given research question; and will learn research models to include identifying a research topic, narrowing the research question, conducting and writing a review of the literature on the topic/question selected, formulating hypotheses, developing the research design, collecting data, analyzing data, and drawing conclusions. Students will also learn to write in appropriate reporting formats. This course serves as the basis for the research internship. Course may be repeated for up to 6 hours credit. Prerequisite: Junior standing, 2.75 minimum GPA. Student must be enrolled as a McNair Scholar.

291. BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING. (3) Fall of even years. For students in all disciplines. Introduction to the theory and practices of composition in professional fields. Topics include correspondence, job search, electronic media, and report writing and presentations based on investigation of real-life problems in business and organizations.

312. WRITING POETRY. (3) Spring of odd years. Emphasizes the production of poetry in a workshop format.




313. WRITING FICTION. (3) Spring of even years. Emphasizes the production of prose fiction in a workshop format.




314. SCRIPT WRITING FOR TELEVISION AND FILM. (3) Fall of even years. The analysis and drafting of scripts for advertising, television, and narrative film, in a workshop format.

322. SYSTEMS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR. (3) Fall. Designed particularly for students who plan to teach English. Principles of traditional English grammar, comparative grammars, and dialect awareness.

351. INTRODUCTION TO PUBLISHING. (3) Summer with sufficient enrollment. An overview of book publishing with an emphasis on the developments in digital production. Intended to provide broad professional knowledge in manuscript evaluation, editing, design, marketing, and management as well as financial and legal issues related to the industry. Prerequisite: ENG with a C or higher.

355. ADVANCED SCREENWRITING FOR FILM. (3) Fall of odd years. This course teaches students how to develop the fundamental elements of a feature-film screenplay. Students will produce a short-film screenplay based on the ideas presented within the feature-length screenplay. Prerequisite: ENG 314.

360. AMERICAN POETRY. (3) Summer with sufficient demand. Poets studied in detail vary from year to year. May be repeated with the consent of the department chair.




367. COOPERATIVE EDUCATION. (0-6) Offered with approval of the department chair. See Cooperative Education catalog section.




370. OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE. (3) Fall of even years. British literature with emphasis on Chaucer.

371. SHAKESPEARE. (3) Spring. Spring of odd years. Shakespeare's development as a dramatic artist with close study of the texts of the comedies, tragedies, histories, and sonnets, along with discussion of the classic and recent film adaptations of the plays.

380. RENAISSANCE AND 17th CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE. (3) Fall of odd years. Excluding Shakespeare, study of major British writers of the period, including sonneteers, dramatists, Spenser, Donne, and Milton.




390. FILM AS LITERATURE. (3) Fall. Film as a collaborative art form. Elements that combine to make film a unique entity drawing from the worlds of literature, drama, photography and art to define its medium.




391. WRITING NONFICTION. (3) Fall of odd years. Emphasizes the production of nonfiction prose pieces for publication, using a workshop format. Prerequisite: ENG 281 or permission of department chair.




400. RESTORATION AND NEOCLASSIC LITERATURE. (3) Summer of odd years. An in-depth period study with major attention given to Dryden, Pope, Swift, and Johnson.




402. BRITISH ROMANTIC POETRY. (3) Summer of even years. The poetry of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, and Byron.




403. STUDY IN LITERATURE OR COMPOSITION. (3) Offered with sufficient demand. Specialized study of the literature of a particular author or field, or advanced study in composition. May be repeated with the consent of the department chair. Prerequisite: Consent of the department chair.




405. VICTORIAN STUDIES. (3) Fall. Offered with sufficient demand. In-depth study of the work of selected major Victorian poets, novelists, and nonfiction writers and how their texts reflect or comment of Victorian art and culture. Content may vary offering to offering.

408. STUDIES IN SHORT FICTION. (3) Spring of even years.  Reading and analysis of short fiction from a variety of cultures in the context of historical developments in the genre. Content varies from year to year and may be repeated with consent of the department chair.




410. STUDIES IN C. S. LEWIS. (3) Fall of odd years. A survey of the major fiction and nonfiction works of the twentieth century’s greatest Christian apologist.

411. AMERICAN NOVEL. (3) Spring of odd years. Development of the American novel from its early instances to the present. Varies from year to year and may be repeated with the consent of the department chair.




415. MYTHOLOGY AND FOLK TALES. (3) Summer with sufficient enrollment. Focuses on major myths and folktales from different cultures and seeks to equip students with critical tools to interpret the products and understand the process of myth making.



418. BRITISH NOVEL. (3) Fall of even years. Development of the British novel from its early instances to the present time. Content varies from year to year and may be repeated with the consent of the department chair.




420. LITERATURE FOR ADOLESCENTS. (3) Fall. Individual titles and characteristics of young adult literature. Includes an overview of the history of young adult literature, a survey of important works, an analysis of individual titles, and methods for developing materials for use in grades 6-12.




422. NATURE AND HISTORY OF LANGUAGE. (3) Spring. Principles of linguistic analysis, history of language study, development of English, functions and varieties of language in society, and establishment of standards.




425. LITERARY THEORY. (3) Fall of even years with sufficient enrollment. Major critics and theory from Plato to post-structuralism, with emphasis on 20th-century developments and beyond.

450. INDEPENDENT STUDY. (1-3) Offered on demand. A project for senior students majoring in English. Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor and the department chair.




451. SENIOR PROJECT. (0, 1) Fall, Spring. Oral presentation, in symposium format, of a paper prepared previously or concurrently for an upper-level English course of the student's choice. Must be taken 2 semesters, but credit is earned only in the final semester. Enrolled students will be required to research and present a paper on an approved literature topic.

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