Academic Courses
The official course descriptions can be found in the University catalog found here. (Note: Courses offered in alternate years are marked "alt.")
En 90 Reading Improvement
En 91 Fundamentals of Writing
En 102 College Writing
En 103 Skills for College Writing
En 200 Applied Journalism
En 203, 204 Masterpieces of European Literature
En 205, 206 Survey of British Literature
En 207 Studies in Drama
En 208 Studies in Poetry
En 210 The Literature of Women
En 220 Studies in the Novel and the Short Story
En 225 Post-Colonial Women's Novels
En 240 College Newspaper Practicum
En 250 Writing Assistant Training Seminar
En 301, 302 American Literature
En 310 alt. Critical Theory
En 312 Shakespeare
En 314 - alt. Chaucer and Medieval Literature
En 326 - alt. Renaissance Studies
En 327 - alt. Milton and the Seventeenth Century
En 328 - alt. English Literature of the Restoration and Eighteenth Century
En 330 Scottish and Irish Literature (alternate years)
En 340 Advanced Writing: Essay
En 341 Advanced Writing: Poetry
En 342 Advanced Writing: Drama
En 343 Advanced Writing: Autobiography and Biography
En 344 Advanced Writing: Short Fiction
En 345 Advanced Writing: Journalism
En 403 - alt. The English Romantic Poets
En 405 - alt. The Victorian Age
En 410 The Teaching of English-Communications
En 412 James Joyce Seminar
En 415 alt. Twentieth Century British Literature
En 422 Senior Seminar: Literature
En 423 Senior Seminar: Writing
En 498 Internship
Descriptions:
En 90: This course does not count toward a major, but provides practice in critical reading skills (as well as some writing skills) for those students who need or want additional preparation for college reading assignments. The readings come from a wide range of sources, including popular news magazines.
En 091 Fundamentals of Writing: This course does not count toward a major, but provides practice in basic writing skills for those students who need or want additional preparation in order to succeed in En 102.
En 102 College Writing: This course is required of all Eastern University students and is normally taken in the first year. It is intended to provide instruction and practice in basic types of writing expected in college: expository, analytical, expressive, persuasive, etc. The centerpiece of the course is a research essay which stresses such tools as retrieving and evaluating information, integrating research material with original work, and documenting correctly in order to avoid plagiarism. The assignments in this course are not long (they generally range in length from 750-1500 words); however, you must put each paper through multiple drafts, and submit it to several readers.
En 103 Skills for College Writing: A second course in the writing sequence for first year students who gained proficiency in grammar and style in ENG 091. Work will include discussion of the writing process, practice in writing expository prose, and the execution of a research paper.
En 200 Applied Journalism: An introductory course teaching the basics of news and feature writing as well as current trends in convergent journalism. Training in news gathering and ethics. Story assignments geared toward opportunities to publish in the campus newspaper. Requisite for Advanced Writing: Journalism. Enrollment is limited.
En 203, 204 Masterpieces of European Literature: Secondary Education majors must take one semester of this course. It is not required for Literature or Writing majors, but it is a popular elective nonetheless. It provides a chance to survey the best that has been thought and said in our European heritage, from Homer and Sophocles to Cervantes in the first semester, and Voltaire to Camus in the second. Ulysses. Oedipus. Don Quixote. Gargantua. The Underground Man. All of these will become your friends in this course.
En 205, 206 Survey of British Literature: This course is required for Literature and Secondary Education majors, and should be taken in the second year, if possible. The text is the comprehensive Norton Anthology of English Literature. The course provides an overview of the grand sweep of English literature (with some attention to Irish literature in the second semester), and is intended as a framework to help you see relationships among the works you study in your genre and specialized period courses. It also assures that you have some knowledge of periods in which you do not take specialized courses. It is not a "major authors course"; it pays little attention to Shakespeare, for instance, because all English majors must take a course devoted entirely to Shakespeare. Rather, it attempts to provide a general understanding of each major period of English literature by examining a small number of authors within their cultural context.
En 207, 208, 210, 220 and 225: are all genre courses (Drama, Poetry, the Literature of Women, the Novel and Short Story, and Post-Colonial Women's Novels). English Literature and Writing majors must select two of the four courses, which are offered at the introductory level and are intended to be taken by first or second year students. (Non-English majors are also welcome). They stress the variety of forms taken by each type of literature, and the variety of voices which have expressed themselves in these forms. These courses are multicultural in content, and include non-English works in translation. Among them, only the Literature of Women (En 210) covers multiple genres
En 240: This course provides an on-campus learning experience on staff at the student newspaper, The Waltonian. One credit is awarded for 40 hours on the job up to a maximum of three credits in one semester. Calculation of hours shows that a staff writer can earn one credit in a semester; a section editor, two credits in a semester; a managing editor or editor-in-chief, three credits in a semester. The course may be repeated, up to a maximum of 9 credits. Prerequisite: ENG 200 or permission of the instructor.
En 301, 302 American Literature: A survey of the development of literature in the United States. First semester: from colonial writers to Walt Whitman. Second semester: from Emily Dickinson to contemporary writers. Recommended for upper-division students.
En 312 Shakespeare: A study of the development of Shakespeare’s art and thought within the context of the Early Modern Period. Recommended for juniors and seniors.
En 314 Chaucer and Medieval Literature: A study of Chaucer in the context of other medieval writers (Malory, Langland, the Pearl Poet, etc.) with attention to continuities from the Old English period. Recommended for juniors and seniors. Offered in alternate years.
En 326 Renaissance Studies: A study of important authors and themes of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, with an emphasis on the development of poetry from Wyatt to Marvell. Recommended for juniors and seniors. Offered in alternate years.
En 327 Milton and the Seventeenth Century: A study of the major poet and selected additional writers in an age of transition in society and religion. Recommended for juniors and seniors. Offered in alternate years.
En 328 English Literature of the Restoration and Eighteenth Century: A study of the major themes and writers of the period 1660-1800, with an emphasis on poetry but with attention also to drama, fiction and nonfictional prose. Writers such as Dryden, Pope, Swift and Johnson will be emphasized. Recommended for juniors and seniors. Offered in alternate years.
En 330 Special topics: Upper division seminar. Choices vary from year to year. This course is not always offered.
En 340, 341, 342, 343, 344: Note that these are advanced writing courses; enrollment is restricted to third and fourth year students. The classes are small (usually 15 or fewer students) and will be offered first to Writing and Secondary Education majors; if space is available, others are allowed to apply. Each course is taught by an instructor who has published in the relevant field.
En 345 Advanced Writing: Journalism: A writing workshop that offers advanced practice in journalistic research and writing of news, features, and investigative stories or series. Study of classic and contemporary examples of journalistic excellence. Pre-requisite: ENG 200 Applied Journalism. Enrollment is limited and preference is given to journalism concentration students.
En 403 The Romantic Movement: A study of the major themes and poets of the English
Romantic movement with emphasis on Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Mary Shelley, and Keats. Recommended for juniors and seniors. Offered in alternate years.
En 405 The Victorian Age: An examination of the literature of the Victorian period to see its relation to the tradition of English literature and to gain an understanding of the age and its relevance to the twentieth century, emphasizing the novel and poetry. Recommended for
juniors and seniors. Offered in alternate years.
En 410 The Teaching of English: Designed for junior and senior English majors who are interested in developing teaching of English skills as well as improving their own writing. Each participant will team-teach with a faculty member in one of the basic writing courses. Admission is by permission of the instructor. 3.0 GPA required.
En 412 James Joyce Seminar: This course provides an analysis of the major works of James Joyce, one of the leading figures of modernist literature. The student will become familiar with Joyce’s life and the influences on his work, as well as the important contributions he made to 20th century English literature. Offered in alternate years.
En 415 Twentieth Century British Literature: A study of selected writers from the British Isles from about 1900 to the present. Recommended for juniors and seniors. Offered in alternate years.
En 422 Senior Research Seminar: This course provides a culmination of your work as an English Literature or Secondary Education major, and should be taken in the fourth year (though Secondary Education majors may take it in the third year to avoid conflict with their student teaching experience). You should begin planning and reading for this course a semester or more in advance; you will select a topic in consultation with the instructor, do independent research in both primary and secondary sources, and write a paper of 20 pages or more, which you will then present in an open forum of the English department (faculty, students, and invited guests). Sample papers are posted on the Archives page of the English Department web site.
En 423 Senior Seminar: Writing: This is the culminating course for Writing majors. In conjunction with the instructor, you will select a genre and a unifying theme and produce a substantial body of work: a sequence of poems, several short stories, several chapters of a novel, a play, or something equally substantial. The work must be submitted in publishable form. At the end of the semester, you'll read or perform your work in an open forum of English faculty, students, and invited guests.
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