For courses listed as “300/400,” undergraduates should list only the “300” number on their registration forms; graduate students should list only the “400” number.
ENGL 148
Introduction to Composition
TBD Staff
This course provides an Introduction to English grammar in context for academic writers. It focuses on the study of language in use, including parts of speech, sentence grammar, paragraph structure, and text cohesion. This course is specifically designed for multilingual students, but native speakers of English may take the course with the approval of the instructor
ENGL 150
Expository Writing
TBD Staff
English 150 is a three-credit course designed to help students build on basic academic writing skills by further developing the sophistication of their claims, the strategies of argumentation, and the practices of research and source integration. Students will develop strategies for developing compelling and sophisticated claims, reading texts critically, and effectively communicating their views in writing. Students will learn techniques for research, source evaluation, and the development of sophisticated claims through the process of drafting and revising a substantial researched essay. Topics, readings, and writing assignments vary across individual course sections.
ENGL 150
Expository Writing
TBD Staff
English 150 is a three-credit course designed to help students build on basic academic writing skills by further developing the sophistication of their claims, the strategies of argumentation, and the practices of research and source integration. Students will develop strategies for developing compelling and sophisticated claims, reading texts critically, and effectively communicating their views in writing. Students will learn techniques for research, source evaluation, and the development of sophisticated claims through the process of drafting and revising a substantial researched essay. Topics, readings, and writing assignments vary across individual course sections.
ENGL 180
Writing Tutorial (1 credit)
TBD Schaffer
English 180 is a one-credit writing tutorial class designed to develop students’ expository writing skills through weekly scheduled conferences with a Writing Resource Center Instructor. Goals are to produce clear, well-organized, and mechanically acceptable prose, and to demonstrate learned writing skills throughout the term. Course content is highly individualized based on both the instructor’s initial assessment of the student’s writing and the student’s particular concerns. All students must produce a minimum of 12 pages of finished writing for each credit for which they are enrolled, and complete other assignments as designed by the instructor to assist in meeting course goals.
ENGL 203
Introduction to Creative Writing
MWF 9:30 to 10:20 Dawkins
This class is an intensive introduction to the fundamental skills necessary for writing poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and even drama / screenwriting. It is also an opportunity to develop the habits that will support a life-long, daily practice in creative writing. Over the semester, you will write and revise three poems and two brief nonfiction and/or flash fiction pieces. This work will be supported by regular craft exercises, including practice writing short prose sketches and lines of (gasp!) iambic pentameter. Good writing (of any kind) always starts with good reading, so we will also be reading poems, essays, and short fiction throughout the semester, looking for techniques to “steal” whenever possible. And, since the best of poetry and writing is that which sticks in our memory, stays in our body, and lives with us until the moment when we most need it, we will each memorize and recite one poem.
ENGL 203
Introduction to Creative Writing
TBD Staff
A course exploring basic issues and techniques of writing narrative prose and verse through exercises, analysis, and experiment. For students who wish to try their abilities across a spectrum of genres.
ENGL 204
Introduction to Journalism
TTh 12:45 to 2:00 Sheeler
Students will learn the basics of reporting and writing news stories, but also the traditions behind the craft and the evolving role of journalism in society. Instruction will include interviewing skills, fact-checking, word choice and story structure—all framed by guidance on making ethically sound decisions. Students will also periodically interact via Skype with journalists from newsrooms throughout the country including the New York Times and the Washington Post. No prerequisites.
ENGL 213
Introduction to Fiction Writing
M 2:15 to 4:45 Umrigar
This is an introductory class which teaches students the craft of writing short stories. You will learn the elements of writing that go into making a good story, such as character and plot development, voice, dialogue, sense of place etc. To this end, you will be reading and writing a great deal in this class. Apart from reading several short stories every week, you will also be required to do in-class and out-of-class writing exercises. In addition, you will write two longer stories, which will be workshopped by the entire class. Each week, you will be responsible for reading and critiquing stories written by your classmates.
ENGL 214
Introduction to Poetry Writing
TTh 1:00 to 2:15 Staff
A beginning workshop, focusing on such elements of poetry as verse-form, syntax, figures, sound, tone. May include discussion of literary examples as well as student work.
ENGL 257B
Poetry
MW 12:45 to 2:00 Jewell
This course is an introduction to – and a highly-creative “reading workshop” in – poetry. In other words, this course encourages an active exploration of how we read poetry and the strategies that poets use to intensify our experiences with it. What are the specific qualities of a poem, for example, that allow for deep personal expression as well as dynamic social engagement? In our “reading workshop” we will identify writers’ uses of specific poetic elements and pay close attention to our own reading processes. We will focus closely on the works of more recent poets who use innovative forms that prompt us to think about relationships between language and the world in which we live. We will aim to have classroom visits from two or three local poets who will read and discuss their works with us. Students will compose weekly or bi-weekly critical responses, write a midterm paper, and complete a final critical/creative project.
ENGL 300
English Literature to 1800
MWF 9:30 to 10:20 Olbricht
This course introduces students to a broad spectrum of British literature from the Middle Ages into the eighteenth-century. We will read selections from canonical writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton, as well as non-canonical writers such as Margaret Cavendish, Aphra Behn, and Olaudah Equiano. We’ll consider the texts we read for their positions on race and ethnicity, gender, and class. We will consider historical difference in terms of literacy, authorship, and print culture while we take into account our own contemporary position as readers of this literature. Requirements for the course include regular attendance, participation in discussion, short close-reading papers that serve as the basis for two five-page papers, and a final exam.
ENGL 308
Introduction to American Literature
TTh 10:00 to 11:15 Marling
This is a historic survey of the best American writing. We begin with Mary Robinson’s award-winning Housekeeping (1980, to frame enduring features of the nation’s culture. From there we return to sources, identifying the main lines of American artistic and intellectual development.
Most selections will come from an older, paperback edition of the Norton Anthology of American Literature (reducing the cost of books). Authors to be read from it include the prose writers Bradford, Rowlandson, Bradstreet, Wheatley, Franklin, Hawthorne, Melville, Thoreau, Douglas, Twain, James, and Baldwin, as well as the poets Dickinson, Crane, Williams, Loy, Eliot, Frost, Hughes, Stevens, and Rich. We will also read two or three novels: Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, Ellison’s Invisible Man, and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5. Evaluation based on several short papers, class participation on Canvas, and attendance (taken randomly). This is a “no screens” class, and all books must be purchased in paper.
ENGL 324/324C/424
Shakespeare
Histories and Tragedies
MW 12:45 to 2:00 Vinter
In this course we’ll read a selection of Shakespeare’s histories and tragedies from Richard III to Othello. These texts span the entirety of Shakespeare’s career, and in part we’ll be tracking the development of his drama and his shifting place within the Renaissance theater and the wider social sphere. What made Shakespeare so successful in his own time? How do the plays respond to changing artistic fashions and performance conventions, as well as to different social, political and economic conditions? In particular, how is Shakespeare reflecting, commenting on, or contesting common Renaissance understandings of drama and language, gender roles and gender identities, and politics and nationhood?
But we’ll also be thinking about what it means to be reading and watching Shakespeare today, in part by looking at more recent receptions and adaptations of some of his plays. What explains the continued attraction of Shakespeare? Can we treat him as our contemporary? What is gained and what is lost when we think of him as modern?
Requirements include regular participation in the classroom and on blackboard, two 5-7 page papers, and a final project. Fulfills pre-1800 distribution requirement for the English major.
Students registering for ENGL 324C—the Capstone version of this class—will be required to develop and complete a Capstone research project in the wider field of study covered by the course. This Capstone project will have an approximate length of 25pp. and will also include a public presentation of the project. This Capstone research project will fulfill the formal writing requirements for 324. All other reading, class participation, and final exam requirements will be identical for 324 and 324C. Completion of the major’s pre-1800 requirement is a prerequisite for 324c.
ENGL 345/445
Topics in LGBTQ Studies
MWF 10:35 to 11: 25 Staff
This course will focus on selected topics in the study of LGBT literature, film, theory, and culture. Individual courses may focus on such topics as queer theory, LGBT literature, queer cinema, gay and lesbian poetry, LGBT graphic novels, the AIDS memoir, AIDS/Gay Drama, and queer rhetoric and protest. Maximum 6 credits. Offered as ENGL 345, ENGL 445 and WGST 345. Counts for CAS Global & Cultural Diversity Requirement. Prereq: ENGL 150 or passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in FSCC, FSNA, FSSO, FSSY, FSTS, or FSCS.
ENGL 358/358C/458
American Literature 1914-1960
The Lost Generation
TTh 1:00 to 2:15 Marling
Have you ever wanted to read Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein?
These key members of “The Lost Generation,” along with Djuna Barnes, Robert McAlmon, H.D., Ezra Pound, Jean Rhys and others, lived and worked in the nurturing environment of Paris between 1900 – 1940. Mingling with painters like Matisse and Picasso, experiencing avant gard theater and music, they brought Modernism to English language readers. We will read them in the context of the art, music, economic ideas and wars of their time. Several paper books. Two short papers and one longer one, faithful attendance, and a presence on our CANVAS discussion groups.
ENGL 365Q/365QC/465Q
Postcolonial Literature
Writing Black Britain
MWF 9:30-10:20 Koenigsberger
This course explores writing by and about “Black Britain,” a contested phrase that defines British subjects of African, Caribbean and – in its broadest compass – South Asian descent. In the post-War period, the diverse cultures of Black Britain have redefined what it means to be British, and what can be understood to characterize British literature. Over the course of the semester, we will read a series of narratives by writers such as David Dabydeen, Sam Selvon, Jackie Kay, Monica Ali, Meera Syal, Andrea Levy, and Caryl Phillips, along with selections of poetry and nonfiction from other key writers from the past 60 years.
Students enrolled in 465Q will find additional requirements, including a deeper historical dimension, in the supplementary materials at the back of the schedule. Students taking the course for the SAGES Capstone (365Q-C) will be required to write an approximately 25-pp. research paper in place of the shorter papers, and to attend separate meetings to discuss progress on the project. Capstone prerequisites include English 380 and a major in English. Students may receive credit both for ENGL 365Q and for ENGL 365Q-C when course topics differ between the offerings.
ENGL 367/467
Introduction to Film
TTh 1:00—2:15 Spadoni
An introduction to the art of film. Each week we’ll take an element of film form (editing, cinematography, sound, and so on) and examine how filmmakers work with this element to produce effects. Also most weeks, students will, on their own, view a film that the class will discuss in light of the week’s focus. Films will include masterworks of the silent era, foreign films, Hollywood studio-era classics, and more recent cinema.
Undergrads (ENGL 367) take a scheduled quiz, midterm, and final exam, and write two essays (5-6 and 8-10 pages). Grad students (ENGL 467) satisfy the same requirements as the undergrads, except their final essay will be an extended research project, in connection with which they will submit a proposal, outline, partial draft, and other related assignments.
This course has no prerequisites. First year students are welcome in this class.
ENGL 368/WLIT 368/ENGL 468/WLIT468
Topics in Film
American Cinema and Culture
TTh 10:00—11:15 Spadoni
How do films reflect, absorb, and influence the culture that produces them? We’ll ask this question as we focus on films produced in the United States, exploring ways they have mediated moviegoers and their world at different times in history. Most weeks, students will screen a feature film that the class will discuss in light of the week’s reading. Topics discussed will include race, class, disability, gender, and sexuality.
Undergrads (ENGL 368) write two essays (5-6 and 8-10 pages), take part in a group presentation, occasionally hand in study guides for their reading, and do occasional in-class writing exercises (lowest study guide/writing exercise is dropped). Grad students (ENGL 468) satisfy the same requirements as the undergrads, except their final essay will be an extended research project, in connection with which they will submit a proposal, outline, partial draft, and other related assignments.
The undergraduate section of this course has no prerequisites and welcomes first year students. Grad students are advised to contact the instructor before registering.
ENGL 373/473
Poetry Studies
American Women Poets, 1650-2021
W 7:00 to 9:30 Jewell
This course surveys American women’s poetry from the seventeenth century to the present. We will read a range of poetry illustrating the roles of women poets in the development of the nation’s literary, cultural, and social history. We will pay close attention to how women poets use traditional and innovative poetic forms to represent lived experiences and to engage the political realities of their varying historical moments. The course will begin with two of the country’s earliest-claimed poets, Anne Bradstreet, and Phillis Wheatley (Peters). We will next read works by nineteenth-century Sentimental women poets such as Julia Ward Howe and Emma Lazarus. We will read poems by Emily Dickinson before moving on to the work of Modern and Postmodern poets such as: Gertrude Stein; Marianne Moore; H.D.; Amy Lowell; Genevieve Taggard; Gwendolyn Brooks; Adrienne Rich; Elizabeth Bishop; Anne Sexton; Sylvia Plath; Kathleen Fraser; Sharon Olds; Audre Lorde; Gloria Anzaldua; Leslie Marmon Silko; Sonia Sanchez, Alicia Ostriker; Paula Gunn Allen; Susan Howe; Cathy Song; Erika Hunt; Lyn Hejinian; Claudia Rankine; Jennifer Moxley; Arielle Greenberg; and others. Students will compose weekly or bi-weekly critical responses, write a midterm paper, and complete a final critical/creative project.
ENGL 376/476
Studies in Genre
Science Fiction/Fantasy
TTh 2:30 to 3:45 Clune
Science fiction and fantasy are art forms dedicated to creating imaginary worlds, and to exploring the possibilities of human transformation and deformation. Critical questions will include the relation between real and imagined worlds, the transformations of faith and belief, the image of the alien, the relation of fantasy fiction to gaming culture, and the status of science fiction as the contemporary literature of prophecy. Authors include H.G. Wells, H.P Lovecraft, Mervyn Peake, Phillip K. Dick, Octavia Butler, and Cixin Liu. Written work includes two short papers and informal response papers.
ENGL 380
Department Seminar
Climate Change Fiction
TTh 2:30 to 3:45 Grimm
There is disagreement about the causes or the possible effects, but the statistics show that our world is warming up: the polar ice is melting, the oceans are warmer, the average temperatures have risen. As Al Gore points out, humans “are vulnerable to confusing the unprecedented with the improbable. In our everyday experience, if something has never happened before, we are generally safe in assuming it is not going to happen in the future, but the exceptions can kill you and climate change is one of those exceptions.”
How does literature help us imagine the improbable? How does it help us understand risk and the consequences of our inaction? In what ways could a literary work be said to be a successful or effective representation of climate change?
This class won’t attempt to come up with definitive answers to the most pressing questions about climate change (Who’s responsible? How can this be stopped? etc.), but will take a closer look at the ways that climate change has been discussed, represented (or misrepresented), and refuted in nonfiction works, novels, and movies, including works by writers such as Ken Chen, Amitav Ghosh, Manuel Gonzalez, N.K. Jemisin, Elizabeth Kolbert, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Sherri Smith.
Requirements for the class include informal in-class writings, Canvas postings, one short paper, an oral presentation, and a final research paper.
This course fulfills the SAGES requirement for a Departmental Seminar as well as a requirement for the English Major. Prereq: ENGL 300.
ENGL 398
Professional Communication for Engineers
TBD Staff
English 398 introduces principles and strategies for effective communication in both academic and workplace engineering settings. Through analysis of case studies and of academic and professional genres, this course develops the oral and written communication skills that characterize successful engineers. Students will prepare professional documents that focus specifically on communicating academic and technical knowledge to diverse audiences. Because such documents are always situated within professional, social, and rhetorical contexts, this course also requires students to explain and justify their communicative choices in order to become adept in navigating the rhetorical environments they will encounter as professional engineers. As a SAGES Departmental Seminar, English 398 also prepares students for the writing they will do in Capstone projects.
Note: ENGL 398 complements ENGR 398, a 1-credit co-requisite lecture course, which introduces major practical, theoretical, and ethical issues that shape the environment for communication among professional engineers. For details of the ENGR 398 objectives, work commitments, grade breakdown, and assignments, please see the separate syllabus for that course.
ENGL 400
Rhetoric and Teaching of Writing
Th 4:00 to 6:30 Schaffer
This course provides training in theories and pedagogies of rhetoric and writing at the college level. Designed for CWRU graduate students interested in teaching writing, this course will focus on major themes and approaches drawn from rhetorical theory and writing studies scholarship, and second language writing research. Students in the course will be introduced to theoretical and practical approaches, so that they might develop a set of coherent, historicized pedagogical practices.
Together we will examine the following questions:
- What role does writing play in college students’ overall academic achievement?
- What can historical theories and contemporary research tell us about the teaching of writing?
- What classroom practices best engage students with the writing process while also encouraging them to attend to the product-driven aspects of composing?
- What kinds of feedback and evaluation produce the best results for both native and non-native speakers of English?
- What types of writing and reading assignments best prepare students to become sophisticated academic writers?
- How do the politics of inclusion, identity, diversity, and access shape writing instruction?
- What are the major professional concerns of composition faculty?
Throughout the semester, we will devote significant class time to putting theory and research into practice by developing and articulating our own individual teaching philosophies and position papers on composition instruction.
ENGL 517
Black Women Writers and Race
W 2:15 to 4:45 Umrigar
In this seminar, we will examine issues of race and racism through the fiction and nonfiction of 20th and 21st century black women writers. We will study their depictions of the intersectionality of race and gender, the lasting impact of slavery, Jim Crow and the modern criminal justice system on the black family, and other pertinent issues. Writers we read may include Gloria Naylor, Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, and Tayari Jones.
ENGL 524
Language and Gender
W 7:00 to 9:30 Emmons
This course will treat language as the primary human system of representing and organizing the world. We will examine the intersections of language and gender through a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, including sociolinguistics, feminist rheoric, and gender and sexuality studies. No background in linguistics is required, but a genuine interest in the workings of power and language-in-use is necessary. Students will complete a series of shorter response/application activities and a longer project related to their research interests.