English

Faculty/Staff

Lindsey Gendke, Ph.D., Chair; Jayne Doneskey; Renard Doneskey; Heidi Saenz

Aims of the Department

The English Department provides classes and support for English majors, English minors, and general studies students. In Freshman Composition and Research Writing all students at the university learn how to write coherent, well-organized essays. Students also take a literature class which requires writing on literary topics. The department helps English majors and minors understand and appreciate American, English, and world literature as well as linguistics and composition theory.

Students may elect courses which prepare them for careers as secondary English teachers, for graduate study in English, professional schools, or careers where the ability to read closely, write effectively, and think critically is essential. A major in English is also an important asset to any student who wishes to specialize in several professional areas: law, medicine, business, public relations, publishing, library science, or government service.

Programs and General Information

ENGL 121 and 220 must be completed in sequence before any other course in English can be taken.

ENGL 041 : Integrated Reading and Writing

This course combines classroom work (3 hours per week) with writing lab visits (15 visits for the course) in order to develop students' critical thinking, reading skills, and writing ability. The course requires reading from a variety of genres, with a focus on vocabulary development and improved comprehension through a variety of reading strategies. The student will also learn to write effective essays in at least two modes (personal and argumentative). The skills should combine, as reading, analyzing, and summarizing lead to skills used in writing well-developed, well-organized papers. Students passing this course with at least a C- qualify to take ENGL121

credits

3

ENGL 121 : Freshman Composition

This course focuses on individual writing processes, the production of quality expository and argumentative prose for a variety of purposes and audiences, and the introduction of information literacy skills. The course also emphasizes the development and use of critical thinking and reading skills essential for writing college-level papers. All students enrolled in ENGL 121 will complete a Writing Lab co-requisite, in which students will review and practice academic writing conventions. On-campus students must enroll in a corresponding Writing Lab (ENGL 121L), with the same instructor, while online students will complete the lab work within their online course. 

credits

3

Prerequisites

Minimum SAT Critical Reading score of 480, a minimum ACT English score of 17, a minimum grade of C- in ENGL 041, or a score of 80 on the Michigan Test of Language Proficiency.

ENGL 211 : Approaches to Literary Research and Criticism

The course introduces the concepts, applications, and research involved in literary criticism. The student will be introduced to literary genres and terms. Writing of literary criticism will be the main emphasis of the class, including the use of primary sources, the construction of an essay, and the correct documentation format as specified in the Modern Language Association Handbook. English majors will also begin the process of senior portfolio development.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 220 : Research Writing

This course focuses on elements of research and information literacy skills and writing using sources. Structured for students from a variety of academic disciplines, the course emphasizes the rhetorical principles of audience, purpose, genre, and practice with APA/MLA documentation. A major focus includes critically evaluating scholarly and popular resources, both hard copy and electronic.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 231 : American Literature I

A study of varied writers and works from 1609-1860, with special focus on non-fiction genres including sermons, spiritual autobiographies, slave narratives, and arguments. The class also introduces key literary movements and authors in the nineteenth century, and places these authors and movements in conversation with the Advent movement of 1844.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 232 : American Literature II

This course focuses on the genres of poetry, drama, the short story, and the novel with an emphasis on the way Americans prefer individual freedom to society's accepted norms.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 278 : Dramatic Production

Students will help produce a play for the university, cultivating voice control, stage presence, character creation, and stage management. The course also covers the history of early drama. It delves deeply into one particular work, the play being performed that semester. Course may be repeated. This course fulfills the general education fine arts credit.

 

credits

3

Prerequisites

Permission of the instructor

ENGL 298 : Individual Study Topics

This course offers students the opportunity to pursue investigations in fields of special interest under the direction of departmental staff. Content and method of study must be arranged prior to registration, and it may be repeated for a total of 3 credits.

credits

1 - 3

Prerequisites

Approval by department chair

ENGL 321 : Literary Theory

This course introduces students to literary theories and genres and their application to selected works of literature. Students will learn to analyze fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry using various theoretical lenses and critical approaches.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 322 : Literary Perspectives (Rotating Content)

This class explores the nature of literature, often through its various genres, its differing historical and cultural contexts, and its various critical approaches. Content may concentrate on a specific author (Dante, Shakespeare), literary period (World War I), theme (the hero in literature), or emphasis (women's literature). Subject matter may vary, depending on the instructor and the sequence of the class. Students may repeat the course for credit if topic, emphasis, or genre differs from the previous class. Applies toward the general education literature requirement. When taught as Life Writing, this course can also count as an ENGL Writing Elective.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 333 : Narrative Writing

The course focuses on the writing of narrative, examining traditional and non-traditional plots, character development, dialogue, setting, and other literary techniques. 

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 336 : Creative Writing

This course focuses on writing a variety of prose and poetry for various audiences and purposes.  Genres may include short stories, poetry, personal essays, stage plays, or screenplays.  Throughout the semester, students will write at least three polished pieces, to include a final project of their choosing.  An ongoing component of the course is workshopping with other students.  This course fulfills the general education fine arts credit.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 342 : Composition Theory and Practice

This course, open to all majors, emphasizes both the theoretical and practical aspects fundamental to successful writing and the teaching of writing. Students examine major contemporary writing theorists and their research or contributions to the field of composition, analyze theory in relation to their own writing, define principles of effective writing and the teaching of writing, and apply these principles in a tutoring experience. Thirty hours of mentored tutoring in The Write Spot serve as a lab experience for the course.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 416 : The Origins of English: Language and Literature

This course introduces students to the history of the English language, particularly as it is preserved in the literature of Old, Middle, and Early Modern English. Primary texts will include Beowulf, Chaucer, and excerpts from the King James Bible, among others. The course will demonstrate the flexibility, adaptability, and literary capability of the English language by studying primary sources.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 442 : Christians and Literature

In this capstone class, students will investigate topics of special consideration to English majors in a Christian context.  As they read and grapple with various perspectives on literature from Christian authors and Christian literary scholars, students will develop their own philosophy of reading, writing, and teaching literature.  A final component of the course will be preparing the senior portfolio for presentation.

credits

3

Prerequisites

For English majors, must have senior status.

For non-English majors, permission of instructor is required.

ENGL 450 : Early Modern Literature

This course studies the prose, poetry, and drama of English literature in the 16th and 17th centuries, situating them within the historical and cultural milieu of the time. The course will study authors including Thomas More, Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, John Donne, George Herbert, and John Milton. The course may be taken for general education credit with permission of the instructor only.

credits

3

ENGL 453 : Studies in 18th Century Literature

This course focuses on English poetry and prose from 1660-1800 with special attention to the major works of Dryden, Swift, and Pope. The course may be taken for general education credit with permission of the instructor only.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 455 : Studies in Romantic Literature

This course covers representative English Romantic poetry and prose with special emphasis on Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, and Byron. It may be taken for general education credit with permission of the instructor only.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 456 : Studies in Victorian Literature

This course is a study of British poetry, novels, essays, and plays from 1830-1900 with emphasis on Dickens, R. Browning, Hardy, and E. Bronte. The course may be taken for general education credit with permission of the instructor only.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 459 : The American Classics

This course is a study of major texts or authors in American literature in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with an emphasis on distinctive elements in American subject matter and style. This course may be taken for general education credit with permission of instructor only.

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 464 : Rhetorical Grammar

This class emphasizes grammar in its application to writing, tutoring, and teaching. In this hands-on course, students will improve their own grammar through completing numerous writing exercises as well as teaching at least one grammar-related lesson to fellow students.

 

credits

3

Prerequisites

ENGL 498 : Individual Study Topics

This course offers advanced students the opportunity to pursue investigations in fields of special interest under the direction of departmental staff. Content and method of study must be arranged prior to registration, and it may be repeated for a total of 3 credits.

credits

1 - 3

Prerequisites

Approval by department chair