ENGL 2321 : BRITISH LITERATURE

(Prerequisites: ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302)

Does everything British interest you . . . the accent, kings and queens, traditions, rich history? Do you enjoy epic tales of battles and romances, monsters and heroes, knights and maidens? Immerse yourself in the rich literary heritage of England by reading authors and texts such as these: Frankenstein, Shakespeare, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and a host of other British authors.* Learn how literature and pop culture, fiction and film collide, and sign up for British Literature.

ENGL 2326: AMERICAN LITERATURE

(Prerequisites: ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302)

Does everything American interest you? Do you admire the independent, patriotic American spirit? Experience the history, art, and rise of a nation by studying America’s literary legacy! This overview course studies movements in American literature, including Gothic, Romanticism, Realism, Modernism, Hard-Boiled Detective, Post Modernism, and more. Readings include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Kate Chopin; James Thurber (“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”); Washington Irving ("The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and “Rip Van Winkle”); Edgar Allan Poe; Ernest Hemingway; Ursula LeGuin; Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon); Eudora Welty; and more.*

ENGL 2328: AMERICAN LITERATURE SINCE 1865: FILM

(Prerequisites: ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302)

For well over 100 years, we have been fascinated by motion pictures.  Throughout that time, though, a common view has been that the experience of watching a film differs dramatically from the experience of reading.  An often-heard phrase is that “the book was better.” This course will not only question that claim, but will explore the inherent assumptions within the definition of literature.  What exactly is a text?  What makes a text worthy for study and who makes that determination?  Through the use of basic literary theory and analysis, this course will examine the development and evolution of American Film from the silent films of the 1920s to our present time.  We will consider the stylistic and formal qualities of movies, such as narrative structure, visual rhetoric, use of symbolism, and genre development.  By investigating both production and historical reception, we will explore ways in which the commercialization of movies either enhanced or compromised the idea of a unified authorial message. And ultimately, we will try to determine if film has merely responded to and reflected changes in American culture or if this medium actually influenced society.  Films to be Screened and Analyzed: The Gold Rush (1925), Citizen Kane (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), Them! (1954), Psycho (1960), Once Upon a Time in The West (1968), Easy Rider (1968), The Godfather (1972), Taxi Driver (1976), Dawn of the Dead (1978), Do The Right Thing (1989), Thelma & Louise (1991), Memento (2000), and Mother! (2017).  Textbook: Friedman, Lester D. An Introduction to Film Genres. W. W. Norton & Company, 2014. ISBN: 978-0393930191

ENGL 2332: WORLD LITERATURE I

(Prerequisites: ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302)

English 2332 introduces students to some of the great works of literature, from the Ancient World through the Renaissance, which helped to shape modern literature, language, and culture. The course readings provide an opportunity to help students explore and examine various perspectives of tradition, culture, and heritage. Readings may include The Book of Genesis, The Book of Job, Homer’s The Odyssey, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Beowulf, Dante’s The Inferno, Chaucer, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Milton’s Paradise Lost, and Shakespeare's Macbeth.*

ENGL 2333: WORLD LITERATURE II

(Prerequisites: ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302)

Experience history, art, and the evolution of modern literature through post-Renaissance masterpieces in World Lit. II. View social revolution in Neoclassicism; connect with metaphysical and supernatural worlds, romance, medieval settings, secret passages, monsters, and twisted people in Gothic; embrace feelings, the supernatural, and nature through Romanticism; view a slice of life in Realism; examine dysfunction, perseverance, and triumph of the human spirit in Modernism; and venture into today's fragmented and psychologically dysfunctional world in Postmodernism. Readings may include Voltaire's Candide; Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Stoker's Dracula; the poetry of Eliot, Keats, and Wordsworth; Kate Chopin; Guy de Maupassant, Ernest Hemingway, Wilbur Daniel Steele; Ursula LeGuin; Alain Robbe-Grillet; and Edgar Allan Poe.

ENGL 2341: FORMS OF LITERATURE

(Prerequisites: ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302)

This course presents the study of one or more literary genres including, but not limited to, poetry, fiction, drama, and/or film. This course is usually offered in themed sections that vary by semester. Some of our popular themed sections are: 

Virtue and Vice in Fiction and Film: This section studies themes of the good and evil of human nature in short stories and films. Readings and discussions will tackle moral and social issues and include a variety of authors from around the world, beginning with Russia in the 1800s and ending with a post-9/11 American literature unit with much more in between!