English Course Descriptions
EN 090 Introduction to College Reading
This is a developmental course in reading and study skills improvement with emphasis on vocabulary building, improved comprehension, effective note taking and study skills, and critical reading. A minimum grade of C- is necessary for successful completion of this course. Credits may not be applied toward any degree. (2)
EN 100 Introduction to College Writing
A college-level course designed to develop writing skills through analysis of the writing process and the practice of a variety of techniques and strategies. Emphasis is on essay development based on personal experience and observation, and analysis of paragraph structure and organization as well as audience and purpose. A minimum grade of C- is necessary for successful completion of this course. It does not fulfill major or Liberal Arts Core requirements but counts as an elective. (2)
EN 101 Composition I
This course focuses on the reading, writing, critical thinking, and research skills that students need to participate effectively in civic discussions and debates. The course explores topics of public significance, particularly those important to the DC metro area, through firsthand research and an examination of new and traditional media. The course culminates in a project that contributes to the public discussion of a topic. A minimum grade of C- is required for enrollment in EN 102 and for graduation. Enrollment: self-placement or successful completion of EN 100. Liberal Arts Core /University Requirements Designation: WR. (3)
EN 102 Composition II
This course focuses on the reading, writing, critical thinking, and research skills students need to participate effectively in academic discussions and debates. The course explores topics in writing studies through an examination of primary and secondary sources. The course culminates in a position essay that contributes to an academic discussion of a topic. A minimum grade of C- is required for graduation. Prerequisite: EN 101 or equivalent. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: WR. (3)
EN 105 General Writing Workshop
This workshop course exposes students to writing techniques and processes with a focus on the production and revision of student writing. Topics may vary. Repeatable course. (1-2)
EN 150 Introduction to American Sign Language
This course provides students with an introduction to American Sign Language, Deaf culture, and the Deaf community. Students will develop an understanding of visual gestural communication, American Sign Language — including basic signs and finger-spelling — and a social history of America’s Deaf people. (3)
EN 200 Approaches to Literary Study
This course is an introduction to the essential elements of literary analysis and a variety of critical approaches to literature in poetry and prose. It cultivates an awareness of literary study as a discipline and the conventions of literary research and writing. It also develops and refines skills of close critical reading and logical argumentation. Open to English majors and minors only. English majors must earn a grade of C or better. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of department chair. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, WI. (3)
EN 202 Global Literary Voices I
This course is a survey of global voices, genres, cultural movements and traditions in world literature, ancient to early modern. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1. (3)
EN 204 Global Literary Voices II
This course is a survey of global voices, genres, cultural movements and traditions in world literature, early modern to contemporary. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: GP, LT-1. (3)
EN 207 Theater History
This course is a study of selected periods in the development of theater from the ancient world to the 20th century. It introduces students to key theatrical traditions across cultures by focusing on the material contexts of performance in addition to plays as written texts. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1. (3)
EN 208 Digital Approaches to Literature
This course is an introduction to the study of literature enhanced by digital approaches. Students must be comfortable using computers and engaging with new technology in a self-directed way. Prerequisite: EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1, INQ. (3)
EN 210 Gender and Sexuality in Literature and Culture
This course is an introductory study of how literary and other texts depict gender and sexuality. Period, genre, and place varies by instructor. Prerequisite: EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1. (3)
EN 211 Principles of Language
This course is an investigation of basic constructs and subsystems of English structure as described by grammarians of various theoretical persuasions. (3)
EN 212 Topics in Acting
This course is an introduction to the stylistic and technical elements of performance. Each semester will focus on the craft of acting for a specific performance medium (stage, screen, live digital webcast). Emphasis is on analysis of performance styles, history, and methodologies. This workshop course requires the production and critique of student performance. Repeatable course, provided the student selects different topics. (3)
EN 220 The Movie or the Book? Narrative Adaptation in the Cinema
This course is a study of narrative strategies in film, looking both at adaptations of the narrative from print to film and at film genres. Films will be examined from a literary perspective, including an introduction to the vocabulary of film studies from various theoretical backgrounds, such as feminism, genre studies, and multiculturalism. Special attention is given to how the choice of media affects storytelling and how visual narratives differ from, or derive from, textual narratives. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. (Also listed as IS 220.) Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1. (3)
EN 225 Heroes, Antiheroes, and Superheroes
This course is a study of the ‘hero’ and ‘superhero’ models in European and American literature. Emphasis is placed on the various heroic codes both as literature and as embodiments of popular visions, ideals, and desires of different eras. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1. (3)
EN 227 Short Fiction
This course is an introduction to the formal study of fiction with emphasis on the short story and short novel. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1. (3)
EN 228 The Experience of Poetry
This course is an introduction to the formal, stylistic, and thematic elements of poetry in relation to a particular topic. It will explore poetry by diverse writers from various time periods with a focus on developing skills of critical reading, textual analysis, and written communication. Students may enroll in this course more than once under different topics. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1. (3)
EN 230 American Voices
This course is a survey of literature that challenges assumptions about American identity and its relations to race, culture, class, ethnicity, and/or gender. Emphasis is on themes of identity, otherness, marginalization and empowerment, and/or assimilation and resistance. The course is repeatable for credit under different themes. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1. (3)
EN 231 Literature of the British Isles
This course introduces students to a variety of voices, genres, cultural movements and traditions in British literature, medieval to contemporary. The course is repeatable for credit under different themes. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1. (3)
EN 235 Digital and Nonlinear Storytelling
This course examines the act of storytelling through digital, multimodal, and/or non-linear means. Students both analyze literature using tools of digital storytelling and create their own digital stories to understand course content. Digital writing and narrative design students must earn a minimum grade of C. Prerequisite: EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1, DSINQ. (3)
EN 240 Introduction to Film and Visual Studies
This course is an introduction to the core concepts, methods, and vocabularies of film study and visual analysis. It is required for all students enrolled in the interdisciplinary media and performance studies minor or the media and performance studies concentration of the English major. These students must earn a grade of C or better. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. (Also listed as IS 240.) Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1, DSINQ, WI. (3)
EN 245 Worldmaking: Science Fiction and Fantasy
This course is a study of the genres of science fiction and fantasy as acts of world building. This course introduces students to key concepts, themes, and aesthetic elements of speculative fiction while examining the ways in which these stories imagine and reimagine the world. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-1. (3)
EN 270 Approaches to Creative Writing
This course is an introduction to the stylistic and technical elements of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and writing for performance through close readings of professional examples and writing exercises. This workshop course focuses on the production, critique, and revision of student writing. Prerequisite: EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: WI. (3)
EN 301 The Writing Process: Theory and Practice
A study of traditional and contemporary composition theory stressing the connection between writing and learning. This workshop/portfolio writing course provides opportunities for revision and peer review and culminates in a self-study informed by current research in writing. English majors must earn a grade of C or better. Prerequisite: EN-102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, WI. (3)
EN 303 Literary Nonfiction
An in-depth study of literary nonfiction with attention to stylistic and technical elements and/or topical concerns of the genre. This course is provided in a workshop format, focusing on production, critique, and revision of student work, supplemented by assigned readings. Prerequisite: junior/senior status or permission of instructor and EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: WI. (3)
EN 305 Topics in Creative Writing
An in-depth study of the stylistic and technical elements of one or more of the genres of creative writing (poetry, fiction, or writing for performance) through close analysis of professional examples and practice of the craft in a workshop format. Prerequisite: EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: WI. (3)
EN 308 Style and Revision
An advanced writing workshop exploring the effects of style on revision and enabling students to analyze and perfect their own writing styles. Style includes the principles of clear and fluid sentence-level prose as well as the connection between sentence-level choices and an author’s voice. Students will apply the guidelines of well-known style manuals and analyze and imitate the distinctive styles of prominent writers. English majors must earn a minimum grade of C. Prerequisite: EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: WI. (3)
EN 321 Modern Drama
A critical study of the development of modern drama from the 19th century to the present. The course includes a study of major modern dramatic movements such as realism, expressionism, black arts, and postmodern performance art. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, LT-2, WI. (3)
EN 322 19th Century British Literature: Self, Community, and the World
An in-depth study of selected texts from the Romantic and Victorian periods that will examine literary movements and techniques in the context of the history and culture of the time. Topics addressed may include gender, sexuality, race, class, social justice movements, spirituality, and imperialism. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2. (3)
EN 326 Literature and Environments
A detailed study of literary depictions of various environments. Texts may touch on climate change, sustainable practices, nonhuman animals, built environments, agriculture, environmental justice, apocalyptic futures, etc. Period, genre, and place varies by instructor. Prerequisite: EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2, WI. (3)
EN 330 Chaucer and the Courtly Love Tradition
A study of England’s master medieval poet in the context of a major literary current of the late medieval world. Exploration of the origins and major themes of courtly love poetry and a close study of selected Canterbury Tales and of Troilus and Criseyde. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2. (3)
EN 340 Major Women Writers
A study of the emergence and creative achievements of key women writers. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2, WI. (3)
EN 345 Ethnic Literary Traditions
An in-depth study of ethnic literature(s) that focuses on one or two ethnic groups and interrogates identity through literary production. Assumptions about race, culture, gender, and sexuality may be addressed. Topics will vary by instructor but may include Latina/o literature, African American literature, transatlantic slavery and pirates, or others. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2, WI. (3)
EN 350 The American Dream
An exploration of the American dream of success and its manifestation in various genres of American literature. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2, WI. (3)
EN 351 Literature of Childhood and Adolescence
An examination of the images of childhood, adolescence, and maturity projected by 19th- and 20th-century writers and the definitions of innocence and experience these images imply. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2. (3)
EN 355 Shakespeare
An introduction to Shakespeare with a focus on reading and analyzing Shakespeare’s language as well as considering Shakespeare in a cultural context. May include the study of Shakespeare adaptations and/or Shakespeare in performance. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2. (3)
EN 357 Topics in Literature Before 1800
An in-depth study of selected texts and topics in literature from 1300 to 1800 with a focus on aesthetic analysis and cultural context. Open to juniors and seniors, and to others with the consent of the instructor. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2. (3)
EN 360 Book Histories, Book Futures
Explores major developments in the history of the book from the scroll to the web and examines how literature expresses meaning according to this material history. Students will produce books of their own to help understand course content. Prerequisite: EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2, DSINQ. (3)
EN 385 Approaches to Teaching Secondary English
Prepares the student to teach English at the secondary level by integrating content mastery with effective pedagogical strategies. Field experience: 20 hours. Prerequisites: ED 200SL and ED 327. (3)
EN 390 Digital Projects in the Humanities
A topics course featuring hands-on work with selected projects in digital humanities. Class can be repeated for credit under different topics. Prerequisite: EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ. (1-3)
EN 400 Internship
Students with 75 credits or more may register for an internship in cooperating government, business, education, research, or media communications agencies in the Washington metropolitan area under the supervision of an instructor. This course is repeatable for elective credit. Prerequisite: permission of the dean of the School of Design, Arts, and Humanities. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: EXP. (3-6)
EN 421 Project
An investigation of a selected topic in literature or linguistics. The project is intended to demonstrate an ability to conduct independent research and present the results in writing of commendable quality. Prerequisite: permission of the dean of Arts and Sciences. (3)
EN 424 Senior Seminar
An intensive study of a selected literary genre, movement, or period from either British or American literature. Students produce a research seminar paper related to the topic studied. Required of senior English majors; other students may enroll with permission of the instructor. English majors must earn a grade of C or better. Prerequisite: EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, WI. (3)
EN 426 Studies in the Novel
A topics course on the novel focusing on various issues and themes in the genre. Content varies, depending on instructor. Repeatable course, provided there is no significant overlap in content. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2, WI. (3)
EN 428 Studies in Contemporary Literature
A topics course in contemporary literature focusing on major trends in literature and theory since World War II and exploring the relationship of literary, history, and contemporary culture. Content varies, depending on instructor. Repeatable course, provided the student selects different topics. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: LT-2. (3)
EN 429 Studies in Performance
A topics course in performance studies focusing on a major issue, theme, or development in theater and/or film. The course explores the relationships among text, medium, performance, and audience. Students will examine both the theoretical and cultural contexts that affect performance. Content varies, depending on instructor. Repeatable course, provided the student selects different topics. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, LT-2, WI. (3)
EN 433 Research
A student in this course will conduct collaborative research (scholarly work leading to new knowledge) under the direction of a faculty member. Prerequisite: application and approval of department chair. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: EXP. (1-6)
EN 490 Major Author(s)
An in-depth study of one or two major writers. The author(s) will be announced in the course schedule. Repeatable course, provided the student selects different authors. Prerequisites: EN 102 and EN 200, or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, LT-2, WI. (3)
