Department of English

College of Arts and Humanities

532 Main Hall
610-436-2822
Department of English
Michael Burns, Chairperson 
Tim Dougherty, Assistant Chairperson
Rachel Banner, Assistant Chairperson

The Department of English offers a Bachelor of Arts in English that includes nine interdisciplinary and applied areas of focus including Archives, Power & Making the Present; Creativity, Aesthetics, & Design; Identity & Representation; National & Transnational Cultures; Popular Culture & Cultural Studies; Public & Professional Writing; Social Justice and Activism; Sustainability & Environmental Humanities; and Visual and Digital Rhetoric.

  • The B.A. in English provides a broad background in English Studies; valuable training in the critical skills of reading, research, interpretation, and analysis; intensive practice in writing; and an understanding of the workings of language. This extremely versatile degree focusing on developing student intellect and some of the most desired professional skills for 21st Century professions including preparation for graduate studies and law school, careers in journalism, digital writing, organizational and professional writing, radio and television, publishing, public relations, and other professions in which skills in reading, research, writing, and processing information at a sophisticated level are required.

Besides the skills and knowledge that students gain through coursework, the English Department also offers multiple opportunities to apply what they have learned in the academic setting to pre-professional and professional environments. English majors acquire competencies in critical thinking, information literacy, and written and oral communication. Through our capstone course emphasizing public presentation of work and our many opportunities for undergraduate research and internships, students learn how to transfer these valued, highly desirable skills into success and change in their communities and in the workforce.

All undergraduate students are held to the academic policies and procedures outlined in the undergraduate catalog.  Students are encouraged to review departmental handbooks for program tips, suggested course sequences, and explanations of procedures. When applicable, additional policies for specific department programs may be listed below.

Internships

A student will be permitted to take an internship under department supervision only if they are enrolled in a departmental major or minor program and have met the following requirements:

  1. An accumulation of at least 80 credits

  2. Completion of 12 credits in major or minor program courses

  3. A meeting with their advisor to obtain information about internship eligibility

  4. A meeting with the Department of English internship coordinator (accompanied by a resume)

  5. Completion of internship agreement with all required signatures

A student will be limited to 15 hours of internship credit. Students who wish to take more than nine hours of internship credit in one semester must obtain approval from the internship coordinator after submitting an application and an academic transcript in the preceding semester. The internship coordinator will determine the number of credits to be earned during an internship by applying a ratio of 45 hours of work for each hour of academic credit. The internship credits for English majors may be applied to the student/advisor-designed program. Only under exceptional circumstances, and entirely at their discretion, will the internship coordinator consider applications from students not meeting the departmental requirements. It is the student’s responsibility to demonstrate that they have met the academic requirements for an internship.

Professors

Hannah Ashley (2001)

Director, Urban Community Change Program

B.S., Cornell University; M.Ed., Ph.D., Temple University

Christian K. Awuyah (1989)

B.A., University of Ghana; M.A., University of Guelph; Ph.D., University of Alberta

Margaret Ervin (2003)

Director, Writing Center

B.A., Harvard University; Ph.D., University at Albany, State University of New York

Paul D. Green (1971)

A.B., Temple University; A.M., Ph.D., Harvard University

Gabrielle Halko (2006)

B.A., College of William and Mary; M.F.A., Bowling Green State University; Ph.D., Western Michigan University

Erin Hurt (2010)

B.A., University of North Texas; M.A., Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin

Seth Kahn (2002)

B.A., Wake Forest University; M.A., Florida State University; Ph.D., Syracuse University

William Lalicker (1995)

B.A., Loyola Marymount University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Washington

Graham Macphee (2005)

B.A., University of London; M.A., Ph.D., University of Sussex (England)

Rodney Mader (1999)

B.A., Ph.D., Temple University

Shannon Mrkich (2016)

B.A., University of Pittsburgh; M.A., Arizona State University; Ph.D., Temple University

Joseph Navitsky (2011)

B.A., Saint Joseph's University; M.A., Ph.D., Boston University

Cherise Pollard (1999)

B.A., Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh

Andrew Sargent (2007)

B.A., Princeton University; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

Jordan T. Schugar (2014)

Interim Associate Dean, College of Arts and Humanities

B.A., University of Colorado; M.A., Humboldt State University; Ph.D., University of Maryland

Eleanor F. Shevlin (2001)

A.B., Georgetown University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Maryland

Carolyn Sorisio (1999)

B.A., Pennsylvania State University; M.A., Ph.D., Temple University

Victoria Tischio (1998)

B.S., M.A., Southern Connecticut State University; Ph.D., State University of New York at Albany

Carla Lee Verderame (1998)

Assistant Director, Ethnic Studies Program

A.B., Smith College; M.A.T., Brown University; Ph.D., University of Michigan

Cheryl L. Wanko (1993)

B.A., New York University; M.A., Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University

Associate Professors

Amy K. Anderson (2014)

B.A., Miami University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Kentucky

Rachel Banner (2013)

Assistant Chairperson, English

B.A., Oakland University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Michael Sterling Burns (2013)

Chairperson, English

B.A., Temple University; M.A., The City College of New York; Ph.D., University of Illinois

Laquana Cooke (2016)

B.S., New Jersey Institute of Technology; B.A., Rutgers University; M.A., New York University; Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Randall Cream (2011)

M.A., Radford University; Ph.D., University of Connecticut

Eric Dodson-Robinson (2011)

B.A., University of Texas; M.A., University of Michigan; M.A., Texas State University; Ph.D., University of Illinois

Timothy R. Dougherty (2014)

Assistant Chairperson, English

B.A., Pennsylvania State University; M.A., University of Minnesota; Ph.D., Syracuse University

Peter Duval (2016)

M.F.A., Boston University; M.A., University of Illinois; M.A., New York University

Kristine S. Ervin (2012)

B.A., Oklahoma State University; M.F.A., New York University; Ph.D., University of Houston

Andrew Famiglietti (2016)

B.A., M.A., SUNY Binghamton; Ph.D., Bowling Green State University

Kristen E. Kondrlik (2016)

B.A., Canisius College; M.A., Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University

Benjamin Kuebrich (2016)

B.A., Illinois State University; M.A., Miami University (OH); Ph.D., Syracuse University

William M. Nessly (2011)

B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Maria-Eirini Panagiotidou (2013)

B.A., National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; M.A., Ph.D., The University of Nottingham

Ashley Starling Patriarca (2013)

B.A., University of Alabama at Birmingham; M.A., University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Ph.D., Virginia Tech

Merry G. Perry (2002)

B.S., M.A., Ph.D., University of South Florida

Joshua Raclaw (2016)

Director, Linguistics Program

B.A., Stockton University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder

Justin K. Rademaekers (2014)

Graduate Coordinator, English

B.A., B.S., East Stroudsberg University of Pennsylvania; M.A., St. Joseph's University; Ph.D., Purdue University

Timothy Ray (2003)

B.A., M.A., University of Central Oklahoma; Ph.D., Bowling Green State University

Kyle Vealey (2016)

B.A., Providence College; M.A., Georgetown University; Ph.D., Purdue University

Kuhio Walters (2008)

B.A., M.A., California State University, Fresno; Ph.D., University of New Hampshire

Assistant Professors

Emily Aguiló-Pérez (2019)

B.A., M.A., University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez; Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University

Jacqueline D. Alnes (2019)

B.A., Elon University; M.F.A., Portland State University; Ph.D., Oklahoma State University

Michelle F. Blake (2017)

B.A., University of Pennsylvania; M.A., Columbia University

Stacy B. Esch (2014)

B.A., West Chester University of Pennsylvania; M.A., West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Lisa Konigsberg (2016)

B.A., Temple University; M.A., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Maureen McVeigh Trainor (2016)

B.A., George Washington University; M.A., West Chester University; M.F.A., Rosemont College

Dyan M. Neary (2021)

B.A., New York University; M.F.A., Ph.D., The Florida State University

Yanira Rodriguez (2019)

B.A., Lehman College; M.A., M.F.A., Syracuse University

Ilknur Sancak-Marusa (2014)

B.A., Franklin and Marshall College; M.A., Millersville University

Jason Vanfosson (2018)

B.A., Fairmont State University; M.A., Duquesne University; Ph.D., Western Michigan University

Virgina Lee Wood (2021)

B.A., University of Richmond; M.F.A., Hollins University; Ph.D., University of North Texas

K. Jamie Woodlief (2007)

B.A. West Chester University; M.A. West Chester University

Instructor

Richard Scholl (2003)

B.A., M.A., Pennsylvania State University

CLS

CLS 165. Introduction to World Literature. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to introduce students to literature representative of both Western and non-Western cultures and can be taken as an alternative to LIT 165. Not open to English majors.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Humanities Distributive Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

CLS 199. Transfer Credits. 1-10 Credits.

Transfer Credits.
Repeatable for Credit.

CLS 201. Classical Greco Roman Myth in 20th Century Arts. 3 Credits.

The study of Greeks and Roman mythology and its' influence on 20th and 21st century Western culture.
Gen Ed Attribute: Classical Civilizations Culture Cluster, Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Interdisciplinary Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

CLS 203. African Studies. 3 Credits.

This course studies African culture through literature, anthropology, and history. It focuses on the socio-cultural and historical contexts of African writing through the colonial and postcolonial periods.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement.

CLS 255. 20TH Century Native American Literature. 3 Credits.

An examination of 20th century Native American Literature.

CLS 258. Women's Literature I. 3 Credits.

A survey of world women's literature from 800 B.C. to 1800. Readings are chosen from the works of Sappho, Aspasia, Diotima, Mutta, Auvaiyar, Sei Shonagan, Sule Sankavya, Murasaki, Hildegard, von Bingen, Mirabai, Marguerite de Navarre, Phillis Wheatley, Aphra Behn, Madame de Stael, Jane Austen, and Fanny Burney among others.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement.

CLS 259. Women's Literature II. 3 Credits.

A survey of women's literature from 1800 to the present. Readings are chosen from the works of Harriet Jacobs, Ida B. Wells, Louisa Alcott, Charlotte Bronte, Jean Rhys, Virginia Woolf, Marguerite Duras, Christa Wolf, Merce Rodoreda, Jamaica Kincaid, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Alifa Rifaat, Louise Erdrich, Cherrie Moraga, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Arundati Roy among others.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement.

CLS 260. World Literature I. 3 Credits.

A survey of world literary texts from pre-classical times to 1600.
Gen Ed Attribute for Students Admitted Prior to Fall 2020: Diversity Requirement, Humanities Distributive Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Gen Ed Attribute for Students Admitted Fall 2020 and After: Diversity Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

CLS 261. World Literature II. 3 Credits.

A survey of world literary texts from 1600 to the present.
Gen Ed Attribute for Students Admitted Prior to Fall 2020: Humanities Distributive Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Gen Ed Attribute for Students Admitted Fall 2020 and After: Writing Emphasis.

CLS 270. Life, Death, and Disease. 3 Credits.

A course treating the study of literary works, film, and selected readings from other areas (history, science, fiction, and nonfiction) to generate an understanding of the relationship of human values to medicine, illness, and issues of related importance to physicians.
Gen Ed Attribute: Interdisciplinary Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CLS 280. Languages of Modernism. 3 Credits.

A study of modernist ideas and aesthetics across cultures in film, art and theatre.
Gen Ed Attribute: Interdisciplinary Requirement.

CLS 304. Women and Film. 3 Credits.

An examination of the role of women in contemporary world cinema and the feminist film.

CLS 333. Latina Writing. 3 Credits.

An examination of the literary works produced by Latinas in the 20th century. The study of this literature will include a cross-cultural approach that will elucidate sociopolitical themes emerging from the texts.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Spanish Culture Cluster.
Typically offered in Fall.

CLS 334. Politics and Economics Lit of Modern Amer. 3 Credits.

A comparative historical and literary examination of political and economic issues reflected in 20th century U.S. and Latin American literature. The study of representative texts of various genres will also elucidate issues of race, class and gender.
Gen Ed Attribute: Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Spanish Culture Cluster.

CLS 335. Latino Literature in the U.S.. 3 Credits.

This course examines the history of Latino groups (e.g. Mexicans, Cubans and South Americans) in the U.S. through literary texts written by Latinos and studies the cultural, economic and political experiences leading to their acculturation or alienation in mainstream America.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Spanish Culture Cluster.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
Cross listed courses CLS 335, ESP 335.

CLS 350. Computer Applications in the Humanities. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the computer and its applications in a number of humanistic disciplines (literature, history, and writing, but some attention also will be given to foreign languages, linguistics, music, and art).

CLS 351. African Literature. 3 Credits.

A study of the representation of Africa through the perspectives of African and non-African writers.

CLS 362. World Lit - Modern Fiction. 3 Credits.

This course seeks to develop and to extend an understanding of the basic elements of fiction. The student will be exposed to a range of fictional practices and diverse traditions of world fiction.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

CLS 364. Eastern European Literature and Film. 3 Credits.

A critical-analytical approach to Soviet and Eastern European film covering major movements and theory since WWII.

CLS 365. African American Film. 3 Credits.

This course will study the history, form, and content of African-American film. The films chosen are from various genres and cover older and contemporary films.

CLS 367. Classical Greco Roman Mythology. 3 Credits.

A survey of Greek and Roman mythology from Homer to Ovid.
Gen Ed Attribute: Classical Civilizations Culture Cluster, Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Writing Emphasis.

CLS 368. Greco Roman, Culture, Myth & Society. 3 Credits.

The study of the Trojan War myth cycle in Greek and Roman mythology through literature, history, and art from Homer through the Latin Middle Ages and the way this myth reflects the culture and society of the texts in question.
Gen Ed Attribute: Classical Civilizations Culture Cluster, Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Interdisciplinary Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

CLS 369. Literature and Film. 3 Credits.

The interrelationship between selected works of world fiction and their film adaptations.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

CLS 371. Law and Disorder in Literature. 3 Credits.

A look at the presentational aspects of law, legal writing and oral argument, its constructions in narrative-law as literature and literature as law, and the relationship of law to anthropology, psychology, history, and sociology.
Gen Ed Attribute: Interdisciplinary Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

CRW

CRW 199. Transfer Credits. 1-10 Credits.

Transfer Credits.
Repeatable for Credit.

CRW 201. Introduction to Creative Writing. 3 Credits.

Introduction to the craft of writing poetry and fiction. Basic discussion of terms, strategies, and professional models in each genre. Practice in writing and critiquing each genre.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRW 202. Creative Writing I. 3 Credits.

Writing experience in the crafts of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and drama.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRW 203. Narrative and Lyric Forms. 3 Credits.

The course provides instruction in narrative and/or lyrical forms in prose and poetry, depending on instructor, and includes analysis of structure. Students will gain writing experience in narrative and/or lyrical modes.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Spring.

CRW 301. Poetry Workshop I. 3 Credits.

The theory and practice of poetry and the exploration of verse forms. Practice in critical and interpretative analysis of poems written by fellow students and professional poets.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall.

CRW 302. Poetry Workshop II. 3 Credits.

The theory and practice of poetry and the exploration of verse forms. Practice in critical and interpretative analysis of poems written by fellow students and professional poets.
Pre / Co requisites: CRW 302 requires a prerequisite of CRW 201, CRW 202, CRW 203, CRW 301, CRW 303, or CRW 305.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall.

CRW 303. Short Story Workshop I. 3 Credits.

Crafting the modern short story with reference to American and British models. The significance of setting, atmosphere, characterization, and theme. Discussion and some exploration of experimental ideas in the genre.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring, Summer, Winter.

CRW 304. Short Story Workshop II. 3 Credits.

Crafting the modern short story with reference to American and British models. The significance of setting, atmosphere, characterization, and theme. Discussion and some exploration of experimental ideas in the genre.
Pre / Co requisites: CRW 304 requires a prerequisite of CRW 201, CRW 202, CRW 203, CRW 301, CRW 303, or CRW 305.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall.
Repeatable for Credit.

CRW 305. Creative Nonfiction Workshop I. 3 Credits.

An exploration of the creative nonfiction genre, with a focus not only on writing and craft but also on analyzing the larger questions and contexts surrounding the genre (i.e. truth, authenticity, history and definitions of the genre, ethics of representation).
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Repeatable for Credit.

CRW 306. Creative Nonfiction Workshop II. 3 Credits.

A continued exploration of the history, theory and craft of the creative nonfiction genre, but with a focus on analyzing and writing various essay styles. Students will be encouraged to concentrate on one specific form (i.e. radio essay, flash nonfiction, hybrid or graphic forms, the lyric or braided essay, environmental writing, travel writing, memoir)
Pre / Co requisites: CRW 306 requires a prerequisite of CRW 201, CRW 202, CRW 203, CRW 301, CRW 303 or CRW 305.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Spring.

CRW 313. Playwriting Workshop I. 3 Credits.

Writing the play: possibilities and limitations of the stage. Attention to sets and costuming where relevant. Characterization by action and dialogue. Problems of establishing motivation. The play's totality in theme, character, and action. Informal readings of student work.

CRW 400. Writing Seminar. 3 Credits.

Special topics, such as fantasy, science fiction, longer prose works, or the anti-story. To be announced.
Repeatable for Credit.

CRW 490. Writing Seminar in the Novel I. 3 Credits.

A course in the writing and preparing of book-length manuscripts (novel, novella, and the 'nonfictional' novel) with the intention of submission for publication. Also includes coverage of fictional aspects and techniques used in writing memoirs, biography, and current history.

CRW 491. Creative Writing Workshop in the Long Form. 3 Credits.

An upper-division creative writing course that asks students to write in and analyze the longer forms of creative texts. The class will be a variable genre course, some semesters focusing on prose forms of fiction, some semesters prose forms in non-fiction, and some semesters in longer forms of poetry. Students should consult with faculty member at the beginning of the semester to ensure the genre of focus for that given semester.

ENG

ENG 134. Idioms in the Context of American Culture. 3 Credits.

Through the use of modern American movies, this course helps students learn the meanings of idioms in context. Students practice using these idioms in drills and exercises.

ENG 150. Writing Studies Workshop. 3 Credits.

A workshop that provides intensive instruction for students who experience difficulty in writing. Open to first-year students.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
Repeatable for Credit.

ENG 199. Transfer Credits. 1-10 Credits.

Transfer Credits.
Repeatable for Credit.

ENG 201. Introduction to English Studies. 3 Credits.

This course is an introduction to the English Studies discipline and its many sub-fields of inquiry. It emphasizes interpretation and production of textual genres. Students examine how their reading and writing strategies affect their interpretation and production of texts.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

ENG 202. Research Methods for English Studies. 3 Credits.

This course teaches core research skills using exciting and varied real research topics by practicing scholars in the department. Students will consider the ethics of responsible research and analysis, and they will learn the fundamentals of library and internet research, document analysis, and rigorous evidence-based writing, including their grasp of academic writing in English. English scholars draw upon a wide range of fields and disciplines and embrace various research methodologies, and research in English is more than just locating and synthesizing peer-reviewed scholarship. Students will therefore also be introduced to at least one other method of research, for example archival, ethnographic, or digital humanities methods. They will also be taught the moves that writers of academic research writing often make. As students synthesize research into their writing, they will negotiate those moves to develop further their academic voices.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

ENG 206. Black Critical Theory. 3 Credits.

This course explores the political, social, cultural, and historical factors that influenced the development of twentieth century Black Critical Theory. Students will develop an awareness of critical, theoretical, and rhetorical approaches to textual analysis that are central to the field of English Studies as they learn about crucial moments in African American and Diasporic history and culture such as The Harlem Renaissance, The Realist/Protest Movement, The Civil Rights Era/Black Arts Movement, and The Feminist/Womanist Movement.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

ENG 215. Views on Literacy. 3 Credits.

The historical and social contexts of English literacy. Emphasis on writing.
Gen Ed Attribute: Interdisciplinary Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

ENG 230. Introduction to Linguistics. 3 Credits.

Basic concepts of language description, classification, change, reconstruction, dialectology, and sociolinguistics.
Cross listed courses ENG 230, LIN 230.

ENG 240. Language, Gender, and Sexuality. 3 Credits.

This course introduces students to the study of language as a resource for the production of gender and sexuality. Discussion of popular beliefs and scholarly theories about language and communication.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Spring.

ENG 250. Stylistics: The Language of Literature. 3 Credits.

This course introduces students to linguistic methodologies of investigating the language of literary texts, as well as media and political discourse, and addresses two key questions: "What is style?" and "How do texts mean?".
Typically offered in Fall.

ENG 270. Book History: Introduction. 3 Credits.

This course studies the history of the creation, production, distribution, circulation, and reception of the written word. As it traces how authorship, reading, publishing, and the physical properties of texts have altered over time, the course examines, both historically and analytically, the intellectual, social and cultural impact of changing communications technologies against the backdrop of our current digital age.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall.

ENG 280. Introduction to Digital Humanities. 3 Credits.

An introduction to new media, digital humanities, and computational approaches to literature and writing, with a survey of theories, methodologies, and current critical practices.
Pre / Co requisites: ENG 280 requires a prerequisite of WRT 120 or WRT 123.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

ENG 295. Histories and Texts. 3 Credits.

This course focuses on history and its influences on the reception and production of texts. Students will be asked to engage critical historical and literary materials in order to develop insight into how cultural historical circumstances enable the production of texts and influence how readers respond to them. Second of three majors' core courses.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

ENG 296. Theory & Criticism in English Studies. 3 Credits.

Students will examine major theoretical approaches to working with texts with an emphasis on how the relationship between meaning and text is conceived by different critical theories. This course also provides students with an overview of the intellectual lineage that subtends modern and postmodern theory in the humanities, highlighting the ways in which postmodern theory came to challenge earlier aesthetic and philosophical movements, such as pre-sophist, Greco-Roman, Medieval, Modern, Romantic, and Enlightenment traditions in Western European cultures. The course helps students to both understand and challenge the dominance of Western Culture in English Studies altogether by exploring comparative non-western aesthetic and philosophical movements.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

ENG 304. Essay Workshop. 3 Credits.

Experience in reading and writing essays, with focus on revision, on the use of the public 'I', and on appropriate voice. Attention to invention.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

ENG 305. Environmental/Experiential Writing: Taking Action. 3 Credits.

This service-learning writing course will ask students to do environmental service in our area, evaluate others' environmental actions, and reflect upon these experiences in writing. We will consider writing itself as an important action for self-awareness and social change.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

ENG 320. Usability & User Experience. 3 Credits.

Introduction to usability and user experience in the development and revision of websites, including issues of accessibility.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

ENG 331. Structure of Modern English. 3 Credits.

A detailed analysis of the modern descriptive approach to the study of English grammar and how it compares with the traditional approach.
Pre / Co requisites: ENG 331 requires prerequisites of ENG 230 or LIN 230.

ENG 335. History of the English Language. 3 Credits.

Review of the influences on the development of the English language.
Pre / Co requisites: ENG 335 requires prerequisites of ENG 230 or LIN 230.

ENG 339. Dialects of American English. 3 Credits.

Development of the English language in America since colonial settlement. Pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar of the regional and social dialects of American English.
Pre / Co requisites: ENG 339 requires a prerequisite of LIN 230 or ENG 230.
Gen Ed Attribute: Speaking Emphasis.
Typically offered in Spring.

ENG 340. Sociolinguistic Aspects of English. 3 Credits.

The study of language in its social context; the ethnography of communication; language and society, social classes, ethnic groups, politics, sex, and education.
Pre / Co requisites: ENG 340 requires prerequisite of ENG 230.

ENG 345. Women Writing: Autobiography. 3 Credits.

A writing seminar directed toward the reading of women's autobiographies and the writing of personal autobiographical narratives.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

ENG 368. Business and Organizational Writing. 3 Credits.

The nature of communication within business and organizations. Theoretical basis and practical application.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

ENG 371. Technical Writing. 3 Credits.

Instruction in the forms and techniques of written, oral, and visual communication currently practiced in the scientific and technical professions. A series of coordinated assignments leads to a final project in the student's field of professional study.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

ENG 375. Strategies for Writing in the Workplace. 3 Credits.

Strategy and politics of client-centered and competitive writing that achieves objectives for the professions and organizations.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

ENG 382. Teaching English Language Learners PK-12. 3 Credits.

A study of issues and the application of techniques, strategies, and materials for meeting the needs of English Language Learners/English Learners in inclusive classrooms. Emphases include sociocultural issues in educational contexts, TESOL through the content areas, linguistics, second language acquisition, the integration and applications of the PA English Language Proficiency Standards PK-12 (ELPS) and current trends in second language teaching, learning and assessment.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.
Cross listed courses LAN 382, ENG 382.

ENG 395. Internship. 3-12 Credits.

Intensive practical experience with selected businesses, media, and public agencies. Limited to qualified students who have earned a minimum of 80 credit hours. See Handbook for English Majors for specific requirements.
Consent: Permission of the Department required to add.
Repeatable for Credit.

ENG 397. Writing Tutoring. 3 Credits.

Theory and practice of writing tutoring, especially for those who plan a career in teaching or who are focusing on the remediation or development of language and writing skills.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall.

ENG 400. Research Seminar. 3 Credits.

This course is a variable-topic research seminar. Students will do advanced work in many topics in English studies, including literature, rhetoric, film, cultural studies, composition, aesthetics, theory, individual authors. This course may be repeated for credit.
Pre / Co requisites: ENG 400 requires prerequisites of ENG 201, ENG 202 or ENG 295, and ENG 206 or ENG 296.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.
Repeatable for Credit.

ENG 410. Independent Study. 3 Credits.

Independent study.
Repeatable for Credit.

ENG 414. Tutoring Practicum. 1 Credit.

Contact department for more information about this course.

ENG 499. English Capstone. 3 Credits.

Students will complete two projects (portfolio and capstone project) to demonstrate proficiency in the skills and methods they have acquired in the major. Taken in the student's final year.
Pre / Co requisites: ENG 499 requires prerequisites of ENG 194 or ENG 201, ENG 202 or ENG 295, ENG 296 or ENG 206, and ninety completed credits. English majors only.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

FLM

FLM 199. Transfer Credits. 1-10 Credits.

Transfer Credits.
Repeatable for Credit.

FLM 200. Introduction to Film. 3 Credits.

A survey of the principal elements of film including photography, editing, sound, acting, and narrative.
Gen Ed Attribute: Arts Distributive Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

FLM 201. American Film. 3 Credits.

The function of cinema in contemporary society as a socio-cultural, economic and political object, as seen through critical analysis of American films.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

FLM 202. American Themes. 3 Credits.

An introduction to contemporary critical and theoretical principles for interpreting American films which concentrates on a single theme.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

FLM 400. Film Seminar. 3 Credits.

A seminar which offers students practice in applying contemporary critical and theoretical principles to films in an advanced context.
Pre / Co requisites: FLM 400 requires prerequisite of FLM 200.
Repeatable for Credit.

JRN

JRN 199. Transfer Credits. 1-10 Credits.

Transfer Credits.
Repeatable for Credit.

JRN 200. Introduction to Journalism. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to introduce students to journalism through developing a critical news media literacy, practicing newswriting, and learning the values of journalism. Through the course, students are introduced to the various genres of contemporary journalism. This is a studio course designed for students to collectively grow as writers. Effective writers are fluent in the conventions that characterize different writing situations, are fluent in the histories and power relations that inform these conventions, and read critically on issues that affect various communities. As such, in this course students analyze the intersection of journalistic principles with systems of power, race, class, gender, and ability.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

JRN 212. Digital Journalism. 3 Credits.

Technological changes in the 21st century newsroom demand that future journalists understand and use a variety of digital tools to gather and present news and information. Today's journalists no longer train and develop expertise for a single medium; they must be able to work in a multimedia setting. To meet this new reality, this multimedia course introduces students to various media platforms and offers them an opportunity to publish news stories, podcasts, and videos on the web.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

JRN 225. Newswriting. 3 Credits.

A course designed to develop proficiency in the writing of news stories for daily and weekly newspapers. News values, the structure and style of news, and the preparation of copy in accordance with professional standards will be stressed.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

JRN 226. Public Affairs Reporting. 3 Credits.

Instruction and practice in basic news reporting techniques coupled with an introduction to newspaper feature writing. Outside assignments will include coverage of speeches, local government meetings, and the courts.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

JRN 250. News Editing. 3 Credits.

A course designed to acquaint students with the skills involved in the preparation of copy for publication in newspapers and magazines. Instruction and practice in the mechanics of copy editing, headline writing, layout, and photo editing.
Pre / Co requisites: JRN 250 requires a prerequisite of JRN 225.

JRN 272. Feature Writing. 3 Credits.

Practical instruction in the skills for successful feature writing for print and electronic media, with an emphasis on techniques used in personality profiles, critical reviews, column writing, and op-ed pieces.

JRN 305. Introduction to Documentary Filmmaking. 3 Credits.

This course focuses on developing students' oral communication skills. In this course, students will conduct a group presentation on a movement in documentary film, deliver a persuasive oral "pitch" for their documentary film idea, and present a short audiovisual tutorial on a specific Adobe film editing technique for their peers. They will also demonstrate the importance of voice technique by employing voice-over narrative and storytelling in their final documentary film projects. In class, students will practice conducting interviews on and off camera and discuss how documentary films are developed from the idea stages to their final production.
Gen Ed Attribute: Speaking Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

JRN 312. Sports Reporting and Writing. 3 Credits.

Instruction and practice in basic sports reporting techniques, including live-event coverage and feature writing, as well as an introduction to routine duties associated with working on the sports desk.
Pre / Co requisites: JRN 312 requires prerequisite of JRN 225.

JRN 315. Magazine Article Writing. 3 Credits.

Practical instruction in the skills required for successful freelance magazine writing with emphasis on research, interviewing, writing techniques, and marketing. Students will write and submit for publication short features and a full-length magazine article.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

JRN 325. History of Journalism. 3 Credits.

A historical survey of the American press from Colonial times to the present, with special emphasis on the continuing struggle for press freedom and the new journalistic environment created by the emergence of mass media.

JRN 335. Ethical Issues in News Media. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to investigate ethical issues in the news media. This course is designed both for journalists and for all of us who read/watch/listen to the news. As a result, students will leave the course with concepts and guidance on ethical practices in journalism as well as tools with which to evaluate the ethics of various news coverage. Students will come to understand ethical frameworks and apply them to major problems and questions in the news media, with case studies coming from the course text and contemporary news coverage of current events.
Gen Ed Attribute: Ethics Requirement.
Typically offered in Spring.

JRN 355. Photojournalism: Ethics and Practices. 3 Credits.

This course begins with classical ethics and the fundamentals of photography, then dives into the uses of photography for journalism, the NPPA's Code of Ethics, and sophisticated analyses of news photography, with the larger goal of exploring the various ethical challenges and promises involved with the consumption and production of contemporary photojournalism.
Gen Ed Attribute: Ethics Requirement.
Typically offered in Spring.

JRN 399. Special Topics in Journalism. 3 Credits.

Each time this course is taught, the instructor will choose a relevant, timely topic in journalism. Students will engage in journalistic writing, media production, and news analysis related to the special topic. Special topics may include hip-hop journalism, grassroots journalism, women in journalism, investigative reporting, etc.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
Repeatable for Credit.

JRN 411. Journalism Practicum. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to give students in the journalism minor practical experience in writing news stories, columns and features for newspapers and other edited news sources. Students are strongly encouraged to submit their stories to the Quad, the student weekly newspaper of West Chester University, or some other weekly or daily newspaper. See journalism coordinator for specific requirements.
Pre / Co requisites: JRN 411 requires prerequisites of JRN 200 and JRN 212.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT

LIT 100. Popular Culture: Reading Culture as Text. 3 Credits.

An introduction to analyzing and interpreting everyday cultural expressions within diverse social, historical, economic, and political contexts.
Gen Ed Attribute: Humanities Distributive Requirement.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT 101. Contemporary Issues Through Literature. 3 Credits.

This lecture-style course links the study of various genres of literature from a range of time periods (texts included on the syllabus can range from medieval to contemporary) to contemporary events and issues.
Gen Ed Attribute: Humanities Distributive Requirement.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT 165. Topics in Literature. 3 Credits.

A course designed to develop awareness of literature as being central to all the arts, to increase levels of literacy and critical faculties, and to broaden understanding of the human condition.
Gen Ed Attribute: Humanities Distributive Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT 199. Transfer Credits. 1-10 Credits.

Transfer Credits.
Repeatable for Credit.

LIT 200. American Literature I. 3 Credits.

Survey of representative American writers from Colonial times to 1860, including Bradstreet, Taylor, Franklin, Poe, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Melville.

LIT 201. American Literature II. 3 Credits.

A survey of representative American writers from 1860 to the present, including Whitman, Twain, James, Crane, Eliot, Frost, Hemingway, and Faulkner.

LIT 202. African American Literature I. 3 Credits.

A survey of African American writing from the Middle Passage through the first decade of the 20th century. Authors include Wheatley, Equiano, Douglass, Jacobs, Wells-Barnett, Du Bois, Washington, Chesnutt, Weldon Johnson, and others, with an emphasis on the historical contexts of slavery and Jim Crow and on the oral/vernacular roots of the black literary tradition.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall.

LIT 203. African American Literature II. 3 Credits.

Continuation of LIT 202. A survey of African American writing from the Harlem Renaissance to the present. Authors include Hughes, Hurston, Wright, Ellison, Baraka, Brooks, Sanchez, Morrison, Butler, and others, with an emphasis on the historical forces and social and cultural movements that have shaped black writing in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Spring.

LIT 204. New Black Women Writers in America. 3 Credits.

Survey of black women writers of America. Examines themes and influences on American and African-American literary contexts.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

LIT 205. Harlem Renaissance. 3 Credits.

This course examines the historical and cultural movement of the 1920's known as the Harlem Renaissance.

LIT 207. Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. 3 Credits.

This course examines the courageous life and times of an American reformer and his influence on slavery, abolitionism, suffrage, and temperance movements in the development of America.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT 213. Asian American Literature. 3 Credits.

Survey of representative Asian American authors from their earliest works at the turn of the twentieth century to contemporary works, examined in the context of the changing cultural, economic, and political experiences of Americans of Asian descent.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

LIT 219. Literature for Young Children. 3 Credits.

A critical study of the literature for young children for prospective specialists in early grades.
Gen Ed Attribute: Humanities Distributive Requirement.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT 220. Children's Literature. 3 Credits.

A critical study of literature for children, setting standards for evaluation and appreciation.
Gen Ed Attribute: Humanities Distributive Requirement.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT 230. English Literature I. 3 Credits.

A survey of English literature from Anglo-Saxon writing through the 18th century.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

LIT 231. English Literature II. 3 Credits.

A survey of English literature of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

LIT 250. Victorian Attitudes. 3 Credits.

A study of 19th-century attitudes toward social changes as expressed in art, architecture, literature, and nonfiction prose.
Gen Ed Attribute: Interdisciplinary Requirement.

LIT 269. The Literature of Roguery. 3 Credits.

A historical study of the rogue in fiction with emphasis on the satiric view of society. Among writers studied are Defoe, Thackeray, Donleavey, and Kerouac.

LIT 272. New Fiction. 3 Credits.

Fiction published in the last 10 years.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

LIT 274. Feminist Poetry. 3 Credits.

A study of poetry espousing the feminist cause and exploring the feminist response. Techniques and attitudes of such poets as Plath, Sexton, Rich, Morgan, Wakoski, and Kumin.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall.

LIT 294. Topics in Digital Literature and Culture. 3 Credits.

This is a variable topic course that will examine the ways in which digital culture is shaping our understanding of the literary. Depending on the topic offered, it may include some attention to 1) born-digital forms of literature, such as new-media poetry, interactive fictions, or games; 2) digital methods in the study of literature (e.g. digital editions of print literature, database research methods, networked study of literature), or 3) the perspective that literature (e.g. speculative fiction) can provide on digital culture.
Pre / Co requisites: LIT 294 requires a prerequisite of WRT 120 or WRT 123.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
Repeatable for Credit.

LIT 300. Colonial and Revolutionary Literature. 3 Credits.

Writers of Colonial and Revolutionary America.

LIT 302. Development of the American Novel. 3 Credits.

Beginnings of the American novel to Frank Norris.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

LIT 303. Intro to Multi-Ethnic American Literature. 3 Credits.

American ethnic, racial, and national groups in American literature and the contributions of creative literary artists representing these cultures.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

LIT 304. American Jewish Novel. 3 Credits.

A study of major American Jewish novelists: Cahan, Singer, Roth, Potok, Bellow, Malamud, Wallant, and Wiesel. No knowledge of Yiddish or Hebrew necessary.

LIT 305. Modern American Drama. 3 Credits.

American drama from the early 1900's to the present, with emphasis on the development of the American theater as seen in such major dramatists as O'Neill, Odets, Wilder, Miller, Williams, and Albee.

LIT 306. Modern American Novel. 3 Credits.

The novel in America from Dreiser to the present.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

LIT 307. Modern American Poetry. 3 Credits.

Major 20th-century American poets.

LIT 309. Thoughts/Writings of Martin Luther King. 3 Credits.

Examines and analyzes the writings of Dr. King and their relationship to the themes he pursued and the leadership role he achieved.
Gen Ed Attribute: Interdisciplinary Requirement.

LIT 310. African American Novel I. 3 Credits.

A study of the African American novel from the genre's beginnings in the 1850s through to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s. Authors include William Wells Brown, Harriet Wilson, Frances Harper, Charles Chesnutt, and Nella Larsen, examined in the context of slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and other historical experiences of African Americans.

LIT 311. African American Novel II. 3 Credits.

A study of the African American novel from Richard Wright's Native Son (1940) to the present. Works including Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man (1952) and Toni Morrison's Beloved (1987) are examined in the context of changing cultural and political experiences of African Americans in the twentieth and twenty-first century.

LIT 328. Old English Language and Literature. 3 Credits.

An introductory study of the language (450-1150 A.D.) through a reading of religious and secular poetry and prose.

LIT 329. Medieval Women's Culture. 3 Credits.

This is a study of writings by medieval women and their contribution to the development of medieval culture.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

LIT 331. Chaucer. 3 Credits.

An interpretation of Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde.

LIT 335. Shakespeare I. 3 Credits.

Reading, analysis, and discussion of selected histories and tragedies. Discussion of critical approaches to the plays and of the historical and intellectual climate of the times.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT 336. Shakespeare II. 3 Credits.

Reading, analysis, and discussion of selected comedies and nondramatic poems. Discussion of critical approaches to the works and of the historical and intellectual climate of the times. This course can be taken before LIT 335.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT 337. Literature of the Enlightenment. 3 Credits.

A critical consideration of 18th-century writers, exclusive of the dramatists.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT 338. Restoration and 18th Century Drama. 3 Credits.

British drama from the reopening of the theaters in 1660 to 1800.
Gen Ed Attribute: Speaking Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT 339. 18th Century British Novel. 3 Credits.

The British novel from Defoe to Austen.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

LIT 340. The Romantic Movement. 3 Credits.

Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, and their contemporaries in the light of social background and critical doctrine.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

LIT 341. 19th Century British Novel. 3 Credits.

The British novel from Austen to Hardy.

LIT 342. Victorian Literature. 3 Credits.

Victorian thought and culture in poetry and nonfiction prose.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

LIT 344. Modern British Novel. 3 Credits.

The novel in England from Conrad to the present.

LIT 360. Special Topics Children's/Young Adult Literature. 3 Credits.

In depth study of key genre, theme, or topic in children's or young adult literature.

LIT 364. Modern Irish Literature. 3 Credits.

Major literary writers of Ireland from 1840 to the present: George Moore, Synge, Yeats, Joyce, Shaw, O'Casey, Beckett, Behan, and Seamus Heaney.

LIT 365. Short Fiction. 3 Credits.

Analysis and interpretation of short fiction.

LIT 367. Comedy and Humor. 3 Credits.

Through analysis of videos, literary texts, essays, memes, and other cultural artifacts, this course explores the role of humor in society, combining multiple disciplinary approaches.
Gen Ed Attribute: Interdisciplinary Requirement.
Typically offered in Spring.

LIT 370. Urbanism and the Modern Imagination. 3 Credits.

Covers a variety of responses of contemporary writers, artists, and planners to the rise of the modern city.
Gen Ed Attribute: Interdisciplinary Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

LIT 372. African American Urban Literature. 3 Credits.

Focuses on representations of twentieth century urban life in a variety of African American texts including poetry, film, graphic novels, and short stories.

LIT 398. Young Adult Literature. 3 Credits.

A critical study of literature, including nonprint media, for young adults, focusing on helping prospective teachers develop familiarity with young adult literature and how it may be used in the middle school and high school classroom, stressing gender roles and multicultural issues.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRH

WRH 197. Becoming a Peer Writing Mentor. 1 Credit.

A training course for "peer writing mentors" who are working with students in WRT 123. Concurrent with taking this training course, peer writing mentors will be paired with a faculty member who is teaching WRT 123 and will mentor writers in that professor's course. This course is open only to students who have taken WRT 120 or 123 within two semesters prior and who also have a professor's recommendation to become a peer writing mentor.
Pre / Co requisites: WRH 197 requires prerequisites of WRT 120 or WRT 123 (taken within two semesters prior) and a professor's recommendation to become a peer writing mentor.
Consent: Permission of the Department required to add.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRH 199. Transfer Credits. 1-10 Credits.

Transfer Credits.
Repeatable for Credit.

WRH 201. Introduction to Rhetoric. 3 Credits.

This course introduces students to a range of rhetorical traditions, concepts, and theories, both ancient and modern. Students will apply rhetorical principles to analyze arguments in a range of modes, as well as in digital and non-digital contexts.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRH 205. Composing Cyberspace. 3 Credits.

Students compose websites and blogs and examine the unique intersection of visual and verbal rhetoric that informs composition in cyberspace.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

WRH 210. Multicultural Writing. 3 Credits.

This course focuses on understanding the role that writing plays in shaping a multicultural society. Assignments will ask students to write for diverse social contexts and will help students expand their repertoire of genres and writing strategies.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

WRH 225. Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing. 3 Credits.

This course will introduce students to professional and technical writing as an area of scholarly inquiry and as a professional practice. To these ends, they will be required to read scholarship in and about professional writing and do the kinds of activities that professional writers do: engage a range of technologies, work collaboratively with others, develop a range of written materials, and practice problem solving.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Summer.

WRH 301. The Rhetorics of Black Americans. 3 Credits.

This course views the language of Black America as a form of cultural expression and means of resistance to oppression in the U.S. Using historical and thematic frames, students will relate their understandings of Black linguistic and rhetorical practices to Black folks' experiences and struggles for improved social, political, and material realities.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRH 305. Images of School in Film. 3 Credits.

This course focuses on schooling as a shared experience and emphasizes how the functions of schools in society are shaped and reflected in films.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRH 310. Written Rhetoric: Power, Politics, and Environmental Writing. 3 Credits.

This course for the English major's writings track applies the program's core themes of the relationships among language, thought, and culture to writing about nature and the environment. This workshop serves the writing track course category called power and politics.

WRH 315. Propaganda, Power, and Politics. 3 Credits.

This course examines the rhetorical, cultural, and Political dimensions of propagandistic texts.

WRH 320. Writing for the Web. 3 Credits.

This course will help students gain experience with digital composition and understand the rhetorical and cultural factors shaping online writing.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRH 325. Technology and the English Classroom. 3 Credits.

This course provides hands-on technology instruction, including film production, interactive white boards, and Podcasting, of use to future teachers in English or anyone interested in using technology in an educational setting.

WRH 330. Autobiographical Acts. 3 Credits.

Students will research and write autobiography to question its forms and theory.
Pre / Co requisites: WRH 330 requires a prerequisite of WRT 200 or WRT 204 or WRT 205 or WRT 206 or WRT 208 or WRT 220.

WRH 333. African American Autobiography. 3 Credits.

This course is an introduction to textual analysis through the study of African American autobiography, from slave narratives such as Frederick Douglass's 1845 Narrative, to late twentieth century memoirs such as Audre Lorde's Zami and Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father. Students will investigate "African American" as a category for literary criticism and engage how the genre has both contested racist oppression from slavery to the present day and responded to the pressures of representing race. Students will further examine the styles and structures of self-expression within black-authored memoirs and what effect such texts have on understandings of race in historical and literary contexts. Students are urged to develop critical, academic language that both speaks and acts to address racism. This course will also support students' development of skills as literary scholars to embolden them to read actively, write probingly, and act courageously.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRH 335. Activism and Advocacy Writing. 3 Credits.

Students investigate, theorize, and produce a variety of documents representing the genres activists and advocates used in a variety of campaigns.

WRH 340. Introduction to Visual Rhetoric. 3 Credits.

This course provides an introduction to some of the major questions motivating the field of visual rhetoric, with the goal of helping students understand the powerful and political rhetorical potential that images possess.
Typically offered in Fall.

WRH 341. Visual Cultures. 3 Credits.

This course considers how visuals are employed and deployed in response to particular rhetorical situations and the cultural, social, historical, and economic factors that create these situations.
Typically offered in Spring.

WRH 342. Document Design. 3 Credits.

This course provides an introduction to document design, a key characteristic of rhetorically effective documents. We may not always notice when a document is designed well, but we certainly notice when a design is ineffective. In this course, we'll explore how visual and verbal elements combine to create meaning and practice basic design principles as we create projects for the class and for clients.
Typically offered in Spring.

WRH 343. Visual Rhetoric in Comics and Graphic Novels. 3 Credits.

This course will closely examine how comics and graphic novels draw on language and images to create visual narratives. Students will learn a basic vocabulary for talking about visual narrative from theorists like Scott McCloud, Will Eisner, and Molly Bang, and then they'll turn their discussion to a series of graphic novels. How do the images in the novels construct a narrative? What happens in the gutter? How do comics and graphic novels use language and images to do real cultural work?.
Gen Ed Attribute: Humanities Distributive Requirement.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRH 345. Professional and Technical Editing. 3 Credits.

In this course, students will learn the rhetorical principles and practices of technical and scientific editing today. They will approach technical and scientific editing as encompassing the production, management, and revision of documents and artifacts that function well for their intended users.
Pre / Co requisites: WRH 345 requires prerequisites of WRT 120; and WRT 200 or WRT 204 or WRT 205 or WRT 206 or WRT 208 or WRT 220.
Typically offered in Spring.

WRH 350. Grant and Proposal Writing. 3 Credits.

This course explores proposals and grant proposals--a genre written by academics as well as nonprofit and for-profit organizations--as a complex rhetorical endeavor. Students will examine how grant proposals can support organizational and individual goals of community and civic engagement and trace the functions of grant proposals within organizations, analyzing how these documents fit within the larger scope of professional and academic writing.
Pre / Co requisites: WRH 350 requires completion of general education English Composition requirements.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

WRH 360. Social Media Writing. 3 Credits.

This course introduces students to the theory and practice of professional writing for social media. Although students likely have prior experience with social media platforms as an individual, writing with the voice of a business, nonprofit, or even student organization on social media is an entirely different and sometimes difficult matter. This course will instruct students in drafting and updating social media strategies and internal social media policies. The course will also offer practical experience in running organizational social media accounts. In addition to formal writing assignments, students will also have informal writing opportunities to help develop their understanding of how people write professionally about and with social media.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRH 365. Writing for the Health Professions. 3 Credits.

Practice and training in writing for the health professions (e.g., medicine, nursing, dentistry, public health, healthcare advocacy). Students complete assignments that offer practice in writing, revising, and critiquing common genres in the healthcare professions, including graduate school application materials, literature reviews, and public health campaigns.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Spring.

WRH 370. Science Writing. 3 Credits.

In this course, students will investigate the principles and practices of effective science writing for a diverse public. Specifically, students will learn about science writing genres, theories of scientific rhetoric, and the role new media technologies play in making science accessible to an audience of non-experts. Course texts, online discussions, and in-class activities will help students understand how rhetoric not only helps to communicate scientific findings but also shapes its production, distribution, and circulation across public and professional contexts. Students will put this knowledge into practice through hands-on projects that ask them to produce a range of science writing genres.
Pre / Co requisites: WRH 370 requires prerequisites of WRT 120; and WRT 200 or WRT 204 or WRT 205 or WRT 206 or WRT 208 or WRT 220.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall.

WRH 405. Topics in Professional and Technical Writing. 3-6 Credits.

A topic of current interest in professional and technical writing. The topic will be announced before registration.
Pre / Co requisites: WRH 405 requires a prerequisite of WRT 200 or WRT 204 or WRT 205 or WRT 206 or WRT 208 or WRT 220.
Typically offered in Spring.
Repeatable for Credit.

WRT

WRT 120. Effective Writing I. 3 Credits.

An intensive course in writing that emphasizes skill in organization and awareness of styles of writing and levels of usage as ways of expressing and communicating experiences.
Pre / Co requisites: WRT 120 requires placement via the WRITE survey.
Gen Ed Attribute: English Composition Requirement.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.
Cross listed courses WRT 120, WRT 123.

WRT 123. Effective Writing with Supplemental Writing Workshop. 4 Credits.

In addition to the intensive writing work of WRT 120, this course requires added instructor workshop sessions and mandatory tutoring assistance to support enrolled student writers' growth and development. Open to First-Year Students.
Pre / Co requisites: WRT 123 requires placement via the WRITE survey.
Gen Ed Attribute: English Composition Requirement.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.
Cross listed courses WRT 120, WRT 123.

WRT 200. Critical Writing and Research. 3 Credits.

Continues the expository writing experience offered in Effective Writing I, and explores techniques of gathering, evaluating, and selecting materials to be used in writing research papers.
Pre / Co requisites: WRT 200 requires a prerequisite of WRT 120 or WRT 123 or placement via the WRITE survey.
Gen Ed Attribute: English Composition Requirement.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

WRT 204. Critical Writing: Approaches to Popular Culture. 3 Credits.

The strategies of critical theory and critical writing will be used to examine and explain popular culture. The course will explore multiple media - such as print, television, film, music, and various visual and electronic formats - as representations of humanities, arts, and sciences, about which students will write researched, critical cultural analyses.
Pre / Co requisites: WRT 204 requires a prerequisite of WRT 120 or WRT 123 or placement via the WRITE survey.
Gen Ed Attribute: English Composition Requirement.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

WRT 205. Critical Writing: Investigating Experience. 3 Credits.

Exploration of the student's personal history and attitudes through carefully structured compositions, including autobiographical narrative, memoir, and introspective analysis.
Pre / Co requisites: WRT 205 requires a prerequisite of WRT 120 or WRT 123 or placement via the WRITE survey.
Gen Ed Attribute: English Composition Requirement.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRT 206. Critical Writing: Multidisciplinary Imagination. 3 Credits.

Imagination becomes a vehicle for students to explore a variety of disciplinary and social perspectives on issues of relevance to society. Assignments cover writerly issues, such as genre, style, and language, and related issues, such as the role of imagination, innovations, and discovery in the sciences, arts, social sciences, and humanities, through documented research.
Pre / Co requisites: WRT 206 requires a prerequisite of WRT 120 or WRT 123 or placement via the WRITE survey.
Gen Ed Attribute: English Composition Requirement.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRT 208. Critical Writing: Entering Public Sphere. 3 Credits.

Publication is a goal for many writers. Reporters, scientists, poets, academics, and others write for publication. This class will require students to write for professional and/or class-produced print forums appropriate for humanities, arts, social sciences, and scientific fields, examining those forums in order to analyze and critique their discourse conventions. The course will provide opportunities for students to submit their work to such forums for publication. The class may also produce its own publication about writing-related news and events that students will learn about by conducting documented research projects.
Pre / Co requisites: WRT 208 requires a prerequisite of WRT 120 or WRT 123 or placement via the WRITE survey.
Gen Ed Attribute: English Composition Requirement.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

WRT 220. Critical Writing: Special Topics. 3 Credits.

Each section will have a special topic that focuses on current (inter)disciplinary issues of importance in the humanities, arts, social sciences, and/or sciences. In these courses students will investigate, research, critique, and practice rhetorical strategies focusing on each section's topic.
Pre / Co requisites: WRT 220 requires a prerequisite of WRT 120 or WRT 123 or placement via the WRITE survey.
Gen Ed Attribute: English Composition Requirement.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.