English Courses
| 100 Level Courses | 200 Level Courses | 300 Level Courses | 400 Level Courses |
| Courses by Subject |
ENG 110: Writing I
Introduces students to the composing strategies of college writing through a gradual progression from expressive discourse toward explanatory discourse. When necessary, work is done in punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Each semester.
ENG 111: Writing II
Emphasizes development of critical thinking through analytical and argumentative writing and introduces students to research writing. Each semester. All entering students (part-time and full-time) must take the English placement examination. (Credit for advanced placement English or satisfactory SAT verbal scores does not exempt the student from taking the placement test or from fulfilling the university writing requirement.) Transfer students are urged to take the English placement test. If they have received credit for courses equivalent to either or both our ENG 110 and ENG 111, such transfer credit must be documented on a checksheet from the Office of the Registrar. Only students required to do so by the English Department as a result of their placement test score must enroll in ENG 110. Unless exempt, all students must take ENG 111. If a student is exempted from ENG 111, the student must still complete three hours of English Composition under 1.a. on the checksheet. This requirement can be satisfied by taking ENG 200, 202, 207, 301, 303, 304, 306, or 307. The English placement examination is given at each of the summer freshman orientation sessions and several times during the academic year. Check with the English Department for specific dates. (After taking ENG 111, students may not enroll in ENG 110.)
ENG 115: Composition for International Students
Helps ESL writers to develop an understanding of the English grammar system, to discern the systematic patterns that exist in the language, to develop a vocabulary in order to express their ideas in English, and to recognize the rhetorical structure of the language. Satisfies the requirement for ENG 111.
ENG 130: The Literary Experience
Provides a wide selection of literature to introduce the student to various literary genres. No prerequisite. Recommended for all students. Not for declared B.A. English majors. Each semester.
ENG 140: Introduction to Drama as Literature
Introduces students to the structures and strategies playwrights use to create different experiences for their readers. Draws on a variety of plays to focus on how to read a dramatic text so as to perceive the special cues it uses to stimulate imaginative engagement and how the text can be translated into theatrical performance. No prerequisites.
ENG 150: Movie Studies
Explores how movies "mean" through readings of various classic and popular texts, how movies construct viewers, and how they simultaneously mirror and create the cultures of which they are a part. No prerequisite. Each semester.
ENG 199: Introduction to English Studies
Designed for and required of English majors. Provides intensive introduction to reading, discussing, and writing about literature. A small number of texts will be read, allowing for an introduction to different theoretical and critical approaches to English studies. Students will apply various theories as they analyze texts. Students will use research techniques appropriate for English majors. Prerequisite: Exemption from or successful completion of the general education writing requirement. Spring, annually.
ENG 200: Composition and Literature
Stresses the writing of papers as a direct result of reading, analysis, discussion, and interpretation of a variety of literary types. Examines fiction, plays, essays, and poems from various cultural perspectives. Addresses research techniques and related skills. Includes studies of women and minority writers. Prerequisite: Exemption from or successful completion of the general education writing requirement. Each semester.
ENG 202: Beginning Creative Writing
Introduces the techniques of creative writing in prose and poetry. Emphasizes writing practice for students and opportunities for guidance and critical examination of their work. Prerequisite: Exemption from or successful completion of the general education writing requirement.
ENG 207: Research Methodology and Writing
Teaches how to conduct research and how to write a research paper. Prerequisite: Exemption from or successful completion of the general education writing requirement. Each semester.
ENG 221: English Literature: Beginnings to 1800
Surveys English literature and its historic, intellectual, and cultural contexts beginning with Beowulf and extending through the works of such writers as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, Swift, Dryden, and Johnson, and provides highlights of the development of modern English. Fall, annually.
ENG 222: English Literature: 1800 to Present
Surveys English literature from circa 1800 and includes selected works of such major writers as the Wordsworths, Coleridge, the Shelleys, Keats, Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, Woolf, Joyce, Eliot, and Lessing. Spring, annually.
ENG 225: American Literature: Beginnings to 1860
Surveys major periods and writers of American literature from its beginnings to 1860. Enables students to understand the continuities and discontinuities of American literature. Includes writings by traditional male and female authors, as well as minority authors. Instructors may use historical and/or thematic approaches. Fall, annually.
ENG 226: American Literature: 1860 to the Present
Surveys major periods and writers of American literature from 1860 to the present. Enables students to understand the continuities and discontinuities of American literature. Includes writings by traditional male and female authors, as well as minority authors. Instructors may use historical and/or thematic approaches. Spring, annually.
ENG 227: World Literature: Backgrounds and Traditions
Examines some of the world_s most influential literature, providing an overview of literary history from antiquity into the 19th century. Considers Asian, Middle Eastern, and pre-colonial American literatures as well as works from the European tradition. Fall, annually.
ENG 228: Modern and Contemporary World Literature
Surveys international literature from the past 150 years, with a focus on the fiction, drama, and poetry of significant authors. Studies national literatures within their respective social, historical, and geographical contexts, with an effort to identify cross-cultural developments. Spring, annually.
ENG 230: Introduction to African-American Literature
Provides insight into the African-American experience through the reading and discussion of the works of African-American writers who have made significant contributions to literature. Includes various genres: poetry, short fiction, drama, film, the novel, autobiography. No prerequisite.
ENG 231: Introduction to Asian-American Literature
Provides an overview of Asian-American literature, introducing students to representative authors from its various periods of development, emphasizing contemporary works in different genres. No prerequisite.
ENG/ANTH 242: Introduction to American Folklore
Introduces American folklore and its relationships to American literature. Introduces the major genres of American folklore: legend, tale, folk belief, song and ballad, and material folk culture; and various folk groups in America: occupational, gender, ethnic, age, regional, and their traditions. Analyzes examples of American literature and American popular culture through an examination of their American folk elements. Provides students with fieldwork experiences and methods of analysis of oral, customary, and literary traditions. No prerequisite. Fall, annually.
ENG 244: Special Topics I
Focuses on themes and topics of universal and/or current interest as embodied in literature. The special subject of each semester_s offerings will be announced in pre-registration. Suitable for both English and non-English majors and may be taken up to three times for credit, provided different topics are offered. On demand.
ENG 249: Satire
Provides an understanding of what satire is, what it accomplishes, and how it is related to other literary modes. Students will analyze subjects often targeted by satirists, such as racism, sexism, etc., and satiric techniques in such forms as fiction (which will include short stories by women and minority writers), poetry, art, music, films, and television satire. No prerequisite. Fall, annually.
ENG 250: Studies in Western Mythology
Concentrates on Greco-Roman myth and legends to demonstrate the systematic nature and recurrent patterns of mythology. Designed to give students a thorough knowledge of content and to clarify questions of form. No prerequisite. Spring, annually.
ENG/ANTH 262: Introduction to the English Language
Addresses the nature of language, specifically with the grammatical structures of modern English, its regional and social varieties, and certain highlights of its historical development. Each semester.
ENG 263: English Grammars and English Usage
Provides an intensive study of English grammar and problems in usage. Emphasizes differences between prescriptive and descriptive approaches to usage, and between traditional and generative approaches to grammar. Each semester.
ENG 265: Survey of Women's Literature
Surveys women writers from the Medieval period to the present. The contributions of these women to a distinctly female literary tradition provides the focus of study, but critical issues regarding women_s literature will also be discussed and explored. Pedagogical techniques will include lecture, discussion, film, and collaborative learning, among others. Fall, annually.
ENG 270: Training for Writing Center Tutors (1 s.h.)
In conjunction with weekly staff meetings throughout the semester, tutors learn methods of responding to student writing, implementing corrective measures, and teaching as well as using word processing. Tutors are accepted by invitation only on the basis of performance in writing courses; minimum 3.0 QPA. Venango Campus only. Each semester.
ENG 301: Writing Non-Fiction Prose
Provides experience in writing non-fiction. Focuses on any of several types of non-fiction, including formal essay, autobiography, and creative non-fiction. Students will also study published examples of the genre under consideration and will critique examples presented by peers. Prerequisite: Exemption from or successful completion of the general education writing requirement. Each semester.
ENG 303: The Craft of Fiction
Provides extensive practice in writing fiction. Student work receives intensive group critique. Course standards roughly approximate those of commercial fiction editors. Prerequisite: ENG 202 or permission of instructor, based on examination of writing samples. Spring, even-numbered years.
ENG 304: The Craft of Poetry
Provides the advanced writer intensive practice in the writing of poetry. Students must produce a portfolio of high-quality poetry by the end of the course. Prerequisite: ENG 202 or permission of instructor based on examination of writing samples. Spring, annually.
ENG 306: Scientific and Technical Writing
Provides experience in writing practical prose in a variety of scientific and/or technical settings for a broad spectrum of readers. Involves techniques of writing documents of definition, mechanism, and process description; sets of instructions; proposals and reports; and the use of appropriate document and graphic designs. Especially useful to majors in biology, chemistry, computer science, laboratory technology, nursing, physics, and others. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Spring, odd-numbered years.
ENG 307: Business Writing
Uses specialized formats and the composing process to introduce the unique type of writing used in the business and organizational world. Emphasizes identifying and addressing diverse audiences with the specific messages needed. Students critique all types of communications, use collaborative learning techniques, and develop skills needed to communicate in a pluralistic society. Requires students to compose letters, memos, persuasive messages, and reports. All documents must be typewritten. Prerequisite: Exemption from or successful completion of the general education writing requirement. Each semester.
ENG 310: Studies in Medieval British Literature
Examines the works and genres of Britain from 800 to 1500 in their historical and cultural contexts. Theme and texts will vary. May include the study of epic, romance, drama, poetry, saints_ lives, and Arthurian literature, and such texts as Beowulf, The Death of Arthur, The Book of Margery Kempe, and Everyman. Fall, even-numbered years.
ENG 311: Studies in 16th Century Literature
Examines the non-dramatic literature of the 16th century and focuses on such figures as Sidney, Spenser, and Shakespeare. Spring, odd-numbered years.
ENG 313: Studies in 17th Century Literature
Provides critical examination of the works, genres, and contexts of such figures as Bacon, Browne, Jonson, Donne, Herbert, Marvell, and Milton. Fall, odd-numbered years.
ENG 315: Studies in 18th Century Literature
Provides a critical examination of the words, contexts, and genres of such representative writers as Dryden, Pope, Swift, Defoe, Johnson, Boswell, and Gray, and traces the rise of the modern novel from Defoe through Austen and the role of women as authors and audience. Spring, even-numbered years.
ENG 317: Studies in English Romantic Literature
Considers the major works of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, and their contemporaries such as Mary Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and others, and relates them to the intellectual, political, and social currents of the time. Spring, even-numbered years.
ENG 319: Studies in Victorian Literature
Focuses on such poets and essayists as Carlyle, Newman, Tennyson, the Brownings, Arnold, the Rossettis, and Meredith. Examines the current renewal of interest in poetry by women and noncanonical writers. Spring, odd-numbered years.
ENG 325: Studies in Early American Literature
Explores various topics in 17th- and 18th-century American literature against the backdrop of Puritanism. Bradstreet, Taylor, Edwards, Franklin, and Wheatley are among the major figures encountered. Gives attention to the dynamics of molding a distinctively national literature. Spring, even-numbered years.
ENG 326: Studies in American Romanticism
Studies a selected group of writers to illustrate their contributions to American art and thought and their relationships with the development of Romanticism in the first half of the 19th century. Emphasizes Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman. Fall, odd-numbered years.
ENG 327: Studies in American Realism and Naturalism
Studies a selected group of writers to illustrate the development of realism and naturalism in American literature in the latter half of the 19th century. Emphasizes Twain, James, Howells, Crane, Norris, and Dickinson. Spring, even-numbered years.
ENG 328: Studies in American Literature from 1900 to 1945
Examines the period less as a unified site to be "surveyed" in terms of fiction, poetry, and drama than as a problematic field to be studied in terms of race, gender, and class. Authors include Wharton, Cather, Dos Passos, Hemingway, Hurston, and Faulkner. Fall, annually.
ENG 329: Studies in Contemporary American Literature
Investigates the very idea of a canon for American literature since World War II and discusses strategies for reading such representative authors as Roth, Coover, Oates, and Morrison. Spring, odd-numbered years.
ENG 331: Studies in the African-American Novel
Studies in depth the development of the African-American novel from its origins in the slave narratives to the present. How do African- American novels fit into the larger tradition of African-American literature? What modes of thematic and narrative discourse mark the particular characteristics of the African-American novel? Includes Douglass, Chesnutt, McKay, Hurston, Wright, Ellison, Reed, Walker, and Morrison.
ENG 332: 19th Century British Novel
Explores the English novel from Austen to Hardy. Nine or ten novels are studied with selections from Austen, Scott, Eliot, Dickens, Thackeray, Disraeli, Meredith, Trollope, the Brontes, Gaskell. No prerequisite; however, one semester of English literature survey (ENG 221 or 222) is recommended. Fall, even-numbered years.
ENG 334: Modern British Literature
Examines the relationship between social and cultural change and the creation of literature and theory in British literature from 1900 to the close of World War II. Provides an opportunity to compare genres and to study key literary movements. No prerequisite. One semester of ENG 221 or 222 is recommended. Spring, even-numbered years.
ENG 335: Contemporary British Literature
Examines British literature produced from the end of World War II to the present. Provides an opportunity to compare genres and to study significant literary and cultural movements. No prerequisite. One semester of ENG 221 or 222 is recommended. Spring, odd-numbered years.
ENG 339: Short Stories
Traces the evolution of the short story from the 19th century to the present. Elements such as plot, character, theme, style, and point of view are studied. Readings are drawn from a variety of writers representing a diversity of cultures: Poe, deMaupassant, Chopin, Gilman, Faulkner, Ellison, Kafka, Hurston, Fuentes, Lessing, Silko, Walker, and LeGuin. Spring, annually.
ENG 341: 20th Century Poetry
Provides explication and discussion of works by such writers as Yeats, Frost, Eliot, Plath, L. Hughes, Auden, Brooks, and Rich. Fall, odd-numbered years.
ENG 342: English Drama to 1642
Presents an overview of English drama in its first two phases, Medieval and Renaissance (non-Shakespearean). Includes literary, theatrical, and cultural studies. No prerequisite. Fall, odd-numbered years.
ENG 343: English Drama from 1660 to 1850
Presents some of the major forms of drama in this extremely varied 200-year period, with possible focuses on heroic tragedy, Restoration comedy, sentimental comedy, Victorian melodrama, and the precursors of modern English drama. No prerequisite. Fall, even-numbered years.
ENG 344: Modern Drama to 1950
Surveys influential dramatic literature of the Continental, British, and American theater from 1850 to 1950 through lectures, discussion, and experiences related to the modern stage. No prerequisite. Spring, even-numbered years.
ENG 345: Contemporary Drama
Explores the diversity and vitality of British, American, and World theater since 1950 through selected texts and theatrical experiences. No prerequisite. Spring, odd-numbered years.
ENG 350: Movie Genres
Explores genre as sets of narrative conventions that have vitalized American movies. Demonstrates genre to be a socializing force as well as a mirror of social change. Considers representations of race, gender, and class in various genres. Spring, odd-numbered years.
ENG/ANTH 352: Topics in Folklore
Provides intensive study of one or more aspects of folklore. Focuses on one or more folk groups, a particular folk genre, folklore and popular culture, or folklore and literature. Provides students with fieldwork experience-collection, transcription, classification-and methods of analysis of oral traditions. No prerequisite. Spring, annually.
ENG 353/ANTH 364: American Voices
Provides an introduction to American dialectology and sociolinguistics. Emphasizes the great diversity and vitality of American English. Covers the causes and mechanisms of linguistic change, the role of language differences in society, and the relevance of dialectology to language teaching. Pays special attention to the regional speech patterns of Pennsylvania. No prerequisite. Spring, odd-numbered years.
ENG 354: Studies in Topics in World Literature
Provides an in-depth study of world literature through the examination of the development of a particular literary genre, movement, or theme that crosses national or cultural boundaries; or a significant national or cross-cultural English language tradition that falls outside the conventional canons of British and American literature. Fall, odd-numbered years.
ENG 355: Studies in Topics in Literary Theory
Provides a historical study of literary criticism and aesthetic theory with emphasis upon modern trends. Spring, even-numbered years.
ENG 356: Rhetorical Theory for Writers
Explores such questions as: why do we communicate in writing, how does writing help us learn, how does writing facilitate, change or affect the nature of communication? Students examine in detail the works of figures such as Plato, Cicero, Nietzsche, Bakhtin, Derrida, and Kristeva, and study how rhetorical theory is used in everyday communication. Prerequisite: Exemption from or successful completion of the general education writing requirement.
ENG 361: English Study Off-Campus
Provides students with an opportunity to travel to significant literary and historical sites while reading and discussing related texts. Students would travel during university breaks and would meet with the instructor for orientation prior to travel. After travel is completed, students will turn in assignments according to a schedule developed by instructor. No prerequisite. Spring, even-numbered years on demand.
ENG 365: Images of Women in Literature
Examines images of women in myth, literature, and the culture at large and applies contemporary feminist critical approaches to the study of these images. Spring, annually.
ENG/ANTH 380: Language and Culture
An introduction to linguistic anthropology. Focuses on the main areas of intersection between language and culture. Topics may include: animal communication systems; primate language studies; the evolution of language; linguistic diversity; linguistic relativity (a.k.a. the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis); language endangerment and revival; nonverbal communication; linguistic field methods; ethnopoetics; sociolinguistics; language and identity; language and gender; and the ethnography of speaking. From an examination of such topics, students will learn to see how people use language to create and maintain their cultures, and to recognize the ways in which language itself influences human thought and behavior.
ENG 401: Chaucer
Studies in Middle English of Chaucer_s early poems, Troilus and Criseyde, and the Canterbury Tales. Spring, even-numbered years.
ENG 412: Shakespeare: Comedies and Histories
Provides study and discussion of problems of style, characterization, and motivation in Shakespeare_s maturing and experimental comedies and his history plays. Also examines how the plays reflect and challenge the cultural attitudes of Shakespeare_s time. Fall, annually.
ENG 413: Shakespeare: Tragedies and Romances
Provides study and discussion of problems of style, characterization, and motivation in Shakespeare_s tragedies and romances. Also examines the production practices of Shakespeare_s time and contemporary production approaches. Spring, annually.
ENG 454: The Novel Across Cultures
Examines the genre of the novel from an international perspective, with readings from several national or cultural traditions. Includes an overview of theoretical approaches to the novel that focus on its adaptability across national and cultural borders. Spring, even-numbered years.
ENG 455: Studies in Drama and Dramatic Theory
Provides an intensive exploration of drama, concentrating especially on contemporary developments in both drama itself and in the theoretical study of drama, including recent critical developments in ethnic, feminist, and performance approaches to dramatic texts. Focus of course varies. No prerequisite.
ENG/ANTH 457: Introduction to Linguistics
Presents key concepts and basic analytical procedures common to many contemporary linguistic theories. Covers phonetics and phonology, morphology, and syntax. Analyzes the integration of these sub-systems in the overall design of a generative grammar. Prerequisite: ENG/ANTH 262. Fall, annually.
ENG 458: History of the English Language
Studies the history of the language, including its origins and changes in structure, usage, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, and meaning. Intensive readings in Old and Middle English. Spring, even-numbered years.
ENG 459: Language Acquisition Across Cultures
Introduces current research in first and second language acquisition with emphasis on the preparation of classroom teachers and other professionals to work with children/adults coming from a background where languages other than English are spoken. Prerequisite: ENG 262 recommended but not required. Spring, odd-numbered years.
ENG 460: Independent Study (1-6 s.h.)
Permits students to explore an area of special interest in the English language or its literature. Students must develop a plan of study, secure the approval of a member of the English faculty willing to supervise the project, and submit the plan to the department chair. Maximum credits-six. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing.
ENG 462: Methodology in Teaching English to Non-Native Speakers (1-6 s.h.)
This course provides an overview of the current trends in Teaching English as a Second Language Methodology. It will explore techniques that may be used to teach students who are part of the regular classroom but who need to develop skills in language to be able to succeed. Techniques involving speaking, reading, writing and listening activities will be discussed along with interactive exercises utilizing the culturally diverse language styles found in a regular classroom. Students will be trained to utilize the comprehensible input of native-speaking members of the class as well as to improve upon their own interaction style. Major approaches and methods in language teaching such as grammar translation, audiolingualism, communicative language teaching, and the natural approach will be discussed, along with syllabus design, teaching activities, teacher and learner roles, and materials.
ENG 463: Second Language Acquisition (1-6 s.h.)
This course provides an overview of the current state of the art in Second Language Acquisition studies and explores the linguistic, psycholinguistic, and sociolinguistic factors in learning a second language.
ENG 470: Literature for Young Adults
Introduces future teachers to classical and contemporary literature for young adults. Includes works from various genres written by American, British, and American minority authors. Also includes some world literature and film. In addition to developing first-hand knowledge of important works in the field, students will also become familiar with its history and with the controversies that have shaped it. Fall, annually.
ENG 480: Writing for the Professions
A student-centered workshop in applied writing-specifically, writing for the professions: business, education, medicine, law, and real estate, among others, including academic research itself. Prerequisites: ENG 301 or ENG 307 and consent of instructor. Students should not enroll for the course until they have some particular professional project or target in mind.
ENG 482: Composition: Theory and Practice
Provides a systematic study of theory and practice in the teaching of composition, conducted through workshop methods. Requires extensive writing and a major written project. Prerequisites: secondary education majors in English must have completed ENG 111, 200, or 301 and have taken or be taking their methods course; others by permission of the instructor. Fall, annually.
ENG 499: Senior Seminar
Explores in a seminar setting a theme, an idea, or an issue beyond the scope of individual courses. Studies primary literature and relevant criticism. A major paper is required of all participants; other course requirements will be established by the instructor prior to the semester of offering. Required of senior liberal arts English majors. Fall, annually.
