English
The English Department offers a wide range of courses in literature, creative and expository writing, and media/digital studies. The course offerings are divided into introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses that meet the general and specialized needs of English majors and minors, as well as students throughout the college. The courses aim to develop careful readers and accomplished writers who possess skills of comprehension, analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and evaluation.
The study of literature fosters a widening of the mind’s horizons and a deepening of the heart. It enables us to make connections between our present historical moment and the past, thereby giving our vision depth and perspective. It gives us a sense of our common human journey as well as of our extraordinary possibilities. The poem, the play, the story, the essay: they are the best means we have for self-understanding, as individuals and as a species.
All students are invited to consider ENG-105 Intro to Poetry and ENG-260 Multicultural Literatures which apply toward distribution requirements in Language Studies and Literature and Fine Arts, respectively. These courses are introductory in nature, with the exception of 200 level creative writing courses, which have ENG-110 Intro to Creative Writing or consent of the instructor as prerequisites. Courses numbered above ENG-260 Multicultural Literatures usually have a prerequisite of any one English literature course at Wabash. Intermediate courses (titled “Studies in...” and numbered from 300) will be structured according to various approaches to literary studies, the second digit indicating one of several approaches: historical contexts (300); literary genres (310); literary modes (320); themes and topics (330); authors (340); media (350); multicultural and national literatures (360); special topics (370); language studies (390). Not all will be offered each year. Occasionally the content of the course will be altered (partly in response to student requests), but the critical approach will remain the same.
Introductory Courses
These courses, numbered 105–160, introduce students to English, American, and World literature in translation. Two half-semester courses, ENG-105 Intro to Poetry and ENG-106 Intro to Short Fiction, introduce students to the ways of reading poetry and short fiction, while ENG-180 Special Topics explores science and speculative fiction. ENG-107 History in Drama and ENG-108 History and Literature emphasize history as a subject matter in literature. ENG-109 World Lit in Translation and ENG-160 Multicultural Literature in America, as well as ENG-107 History in Drama and ENG-108 History and Literature, focus on world and multicultural literature.
ENG-238 and ENG-240, offered yearly, are designated “core” courses because they are central to our conception of an English major. They introduce the student to basic literary and cultural history, to significant writers, works, and themes, and to useful critical modes. Students will be expected to participate in classroom discussion and write several short papers. These courses also serve as the foundation for more advanced literary study.
ENG-297 Intro to the Study of Literature is required of all literature majors, and it must be taken during the freshman or sophomore years.
Intermediate Courses
Courses numbered 300-370 have the prerequisite of any one English literature course at Wabash. They are designed to complement and develop historical and cultural awareness, and the knowledge of authors, themes, topics, genres, modes, and critical approaches encountered in Introductory and Core courses. Students in Intermediate courses take initiative in class discussion, write several analytical papers, and become familiar with the use of secondary critical sources. Topics for Intermediate courses are generally repeated every two or three years.
Advanced (Seminar) Courses
Two sections of ENG-497 Seminar in English Lit are the two Advanced Courses offered every fall. These are seminars designed primarily for English majors (although occasionally English minors enroll in them). The topics vary depending upon the research and teaching interests of the faculty. They demand a high level of student involvement in research and discussion. Several short papers and a long critical essay are required. Note: the two seminars are only offered in the fall semester.
Student Learning Goals
To become careful readers who can comprehend, analyze, interpret, and evaluate literature, film, and non-traditional texts;
To practice reading and interpretive skills individually and as a community;
To deploy cultural theories when crafting and interpreting written text, music, and visual arts;
To approach writing as a recursive and collaborative process that includes drafting, revision, and feedback from peers and professor;
To articulate and support a central idea using appropriate evidence and clear structure;
To be responsive to the context and purpose of their writing;
To integrate sources;
To demonstrate facility with syntax, punctuation, and grammar;
To develop critical awareness of the necessity for careful, considered language across media in communicating with global and local communities and to develop the confidence and competence to contribute meaningfully to such dialogue;
To gain facility and familiarity with new technologies and tools for disseminating and analyzing multimodal discourse, to understand how emerging technologies are shaping the world and our interpretation of it, and to explore how these technologies can contribute to civic discourse by making the work of the humanist publicly visible;
To produce original literature that is of interest to readers beyond the classroom and to translate lived experience into written artifacts, including (but not limited to) poems, stories, and essays;
To reflect on identity and to know oneself better;
To identify and appreciate the varieties and differences in human experience;
To travel, whether physically and geographically, or via literary texts.
Requirements for the Major
There are two tracks for those majoring in English. Students may choose either Literature1 or Creative Writing.
Literature Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | 3 | |
| One credit from the following: | ||
| Medieval & Renaissance Literature | ||
| Introduction to Shakespeare | ||
| English Literature 1660-1800 | ||
| One credit from the following: | ||
| English Literature 1800-1900 | ||
| Intro to English Literature After 1900 | ||
| One credit from the following: | ||
| American Literature Before 1900 | ||
| American Literature After 1900 | ||
| African American Literature | ||
| Literature Studies | 1 | |
| Intro to the Study of Literature | ||
| Topical Studies | 2 | |
| Two credits from the following: | ||
| Studies in Historical Contexts | ||
| Studies in Literary Genres | ||
| Studies in Literary Modes | ||
| Studies in Special Topics | ||
| Studies in Individual Authors | ||
| Studies in Media: Literature & Film | ||
| Studies in Multicult/Nat'l Lit | ||
| Special Topics: Lit/Fine Arts | ||
| English Electives 2 | 2 | |
| Senior Seminar | ||
| ENG-497 | Seminar in English Lit | 1 |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
- 1
At least one of the nine required credits for the Literature track of the English major must be cross-listed with Black Studies or Hispanic Studies.
- 2
ENG-101 does not count toward the English major.
The core courses should give the major a broad understanding of English and American literary periods; the additional six courses should help him determine those critical approaches most appropriate to his literary interests.
At least one of the nine required credits for the Literature track of the English major must be cross-listed with Black Studies or Hispanic Studies.
Creative Writing Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENG-110 | Intro to Creative Writing (or an additional Creative Writing workshop credit) | 1 |
| Three Creative Writing workshop credits, including one credit at the 300-level and two credits at the 200-level or higher | 3 | |
| ENG-497 | Seminar in English Lit | 1 |
| ENG-498 | Capstone Portfolio | 0.5 |
| ENG-499 | Capstone Portfolio | 0.5 |
| Three credits in literature 1 | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
- 1
The three literature courses must be at the 200 level or above; at least one must be a 200 level course and at least one must be at the 300 level.
Students in this track are encouraged, but not required, to take ENG-297 Intro to the Study of Literature.
The typical sequence for a student in the creative writing track would start with ENG-110 Intro to Creative Writing, the multi-genre course (in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction). That would be followed by a 200 level intermediate course in a single genre, then a 300 level advanced course in that same genre. As a senior, the student would take ENG-497 Seminar in English Lit and ENG-498 Capstone Portfolio/ENG-499 Capstone Portfolio (two half-credit courses, in which the student develops a portfolio of work in his chosen genre).
For Senior Comprehensive Exams, literature majors must pass two department examinations:
- an analysis of an unfamiliar text; and
- a two-part essay on their development as a literary critic, including an analysis of two formative texts.
Creative Writing majors must pass two departmental examinations:
- an analysis of an unfamiliar text; and
- a two-part essay on their development as a literary artist followed by the exploration of a question of literary craft or technique.
Majors with specific graduate school plans should discuss these with department members. Those who wish to continue work in English should be aware of foreign language requirements for graduate degrees, as well as the significant advantage of knowing the literature of another language. Courses in Classics, Religion, and the Arts would also be good preparation for advanced study in Literature, Language, or Creative Writing.
Requirements for the Minor
Five full-credit courses, not including ENG-101 Composition. Ordinarily students will choose to concentrate along one of the following lines, but a student may, by presenting a written proposal that receives departmental approval, construct an alternate minor that better suits his needs. These proposals need to be submitted by the end of the first semester of the student’s junior year.
Literature Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Two core survey courses | 2 | |
| Three additional credits in literature, one of which should be 300 level or above | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 5 | |
Creative Writing Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Three credits in creative writing 1 | 3 | |
| Two credits in writing or literature | 2 | |
| Total Credits | 5 | |
- 1
At least one of the creative writing courses should be at the advanced level.
English (ENG)
ENG-101 Composition
Multiple sections will be offered in the fall
semester, each limited to 15 students. While
instructors may use different approaches, all are
concerned with developing every student's use of
clear and appropriate English prose in course
papers and on examinations. All instructors have
the common goal of encouraging the student to
write with accuracy of expression, as well as
with logical and coherent organization. Students
will be responsible for writing at least one
in-class essay and a series of longer,
out-of-class essays. Students are expected to
develop an awareness of the strengths and
weaknesses in their writing and to acquire the
necessary skill to revise and rewrite what they
thought were final drafts of essays. Past
experience has shown the Department and the
College that writing well in high school does not
necessarily assure the same in college.
Enrollment in this course is limited to those
students required to take it. This course is
offered in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-105 Intro to Poetry
This class will introduce you to the study of
poetry through intensive reading and intensive
written analysis. We will focus on close reading
of a wide range of poems from a variety of
historical periods, genres, and cultures. Through
a study of image, symbol, diction, syntax, meter,
rhythm, and sound, we will analyze the ways in
which a poem creates meaning. Written analyses
will emphasize the marriage of formal and
thematic elements in particular poems.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5
Distribution: Literature/Fine Arts
ENG-106 Intro to Short Fiction
This class has two goals: to introduce the study
of short fiction through intensive reading, and
to familiarize students with strategies and
methodologies for writing about literature. In
our readings, we will explore formal issues such
as tone, structure, and symbolism as well as
social issues such as sexuality, race and gender.
This class focuses on ways of grappling with
these big questions in writing, as literary
scholars do.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5
Distribution: Literature/Fine Arts
ENG-107 History in Drama
First, a brief review of how the general reader
can become a critical reader of dramatic
literature-and still find the experience
delightful and enriching. Then, using
Pirandello's Henry IV as a reminder of the
challenges of plays about contemporary issues and
personalities, we will discuss some works from
the last sixty years that have addressed concerns
of science and scientists. It may be just as
interesting to discover that some dramatists have
intriguing insights into this kind of subject as
it is to realize that sometimes both humanists
and scientists can speak the same language. Texts
will include Brecht's Galileo, Kipphardt's In the
Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, as well as more
recent efforts to present Heisenberg, Bohr, and
Feynman.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-108 History and Literature
This introductory literature course focuses on
the connections between history and literature.
The instructor develops a specific topic that
invites the exploration of these connections.
Refer to the Course Descriptions document on the
Registrar's webpage for topics and descriptions of
current offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-109 World Lit in Translation
This course focuses on world literature
translated into English. Topics vary by
semester, but themes in the course include
national identity, exile, colonialism, gender
inequality, political and religious conflict, and
globalization. Refer to the Course Descriptions
document on the Registrar's webpage for topics and
descriptions of current offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-110 Intro to Creative Writing
This is an introductory course in Creative
Writing. ENG 110 will offer students an
opportunity to read and write in several genres:
fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. The
course will focus on writing through the practice
of various methods of generation used by
established writers, designed to introduce
students to issues of language, form, image,
character, and structure. Students will also
learn critical tools for assessing good writing
and be introduced to the workshop model for
discussing creative work. Students will acquire
these tools through peer review, through close
reading of contemporary texts, and through
revision. The course is especially suited to
students who would like to learn a variety of
creative genres before committing themselves to
genre-specific creative writing courses.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Language Studies
ENG-121 Language Variation & Change
This continuation of ENG-122 (HUM-122, MLL-122)
will deal with the social phenomena of language,
including language acquisition, social and
regional variation, and language change over time.
Prerequisites: ENG-122 or HUM-122 or MLL-122
Credits: 0.5
Distribution: Language Studies
Equated Courses: HUM-121
ENG-122 Modern Linguistics
This course is an introduction to the basic
principles of linguistics, the theory and
analysis of human language. The first half of the
course will focus on structural aspects of
language: speech sounds and sound systems, and
the formation of words and sentences.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5
Distribution: Language Studies
Equated Courses: HUM-122
ENG-160 Multicultural Literature in America
The richness of American culture is a result of
the contributions made by individuals from a
variety of groups, each expanding our definition
of what it means to be American. In this course
we will study the writing and cultures of a
number of groups, among them Native American,
Hispanic, Gay, African American, European
American, and Asian American. We will try to hear
individual voices through a variety of literary
forms (including film), while exploring
commonalities.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-180 Special Topics
Since the content of this course varies from
semester to semester, it may be repeated for
credit upon the instructor's approval. Refer to
the Course Descriptions document on the
Registrar's webpage for topics and descriptions of
current offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-187 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-188 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-190 Topics in Writing Studies
This is an introductory course in Creative
Writing. English 190 will offer students an
opportunity to read and write in several genres:
fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. The
course will focus on writing through the practice
of various methods of generation used by
established writers, designed to introduce
students to issues of language, form, image,
character, and structure. Students will also
learn critical tools for assessing good writing
and be introduced to the workshop model for
discussing creative work. Students will acquire
these tools through peer review, through close
reading of contemporary texts, and through
revision. The course is especially suited to
students who would like to learn a variety of
creative genres before committing themselves to
genre-specific creative writing courses. Refer to
the Course Descriptions document on the
Registrar's webpage for topics and descriptions of
current offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-196 Religion and Literature
A study of religious themes and theological issues
in literary works.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-202 Writing With Power and Grace
This class addresses one of the most important
questions of higher education, and, indeed, of
life: how to express yourself clearly and
gracefully. The premise of this class is that
writing well is a potent form of power and
beauty. To achieve that goal, we'll study the
major principles of grammar, style, and clarity.
Although all are welcome, this class will be of
particular interest to freshmen and sophomores
who either did not take the Composition or would
like further practice in writing. This course
does not count toward the creative writing track
of the English major. This course is offered in
the fall and spring semesters.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Language Studies
ENG-210 Spec Topics: Creative Writing
This course will build upon the creative
principles in ENG 110. Because the course may be
different every time it is taught, students may
re-take the course for credit. Special Topics may
cover a variety of genres such as screenwriting,
novel writing, travel writing, writing the
memoir, audio rhetoric, the long poem, etc. The
course will have
a strong work-shopping component. Course readings
will help students gain an understanding of the
contemporary aesthetic of the genre as well as
provide direction about craft. Besides generating
assignments, producing original work, and reading
a variety of genre-specific texts, students will
also be responsible for peer evaluation and
critique. Refer to the Course Descriptions
document on the Registrar's webpage for topics and
descriptions of current offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Language Studies
ENG-211 Creative Non-Fiction
This course in creative nonfiction will build
upon the principles in ENG 110. The course will
have a strong workshopping component and focus
heavily on generating creative nonfiction and
learning to read as writers. Usually a
combination of an anthology and a book on the
craft of creative nonfiction will comprise the
required texts. Besides generating assignments,
producing original essays, and reading a variety
of texts, students will also be responsible for
peer evaluation and critique.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-212 Creative Writing: Poetry
The intermediate course in poetry writing will
build upon the principles in English 110. The
course will have a strong workshopping component,
starting early in the second week of instruction.
The course will focus heavily on generating
poetry and learning to read as writers. Usually
a combination of an anthology and a book on the
craft of writing poetry will comprise the
required texts. Besides generating assignments,
producing original workshopped poems, and reading
a variety of texts, students will also be
responsible for peer evaluation and critique.
This will help hone their own aesthetic sense and
provide the critical foundation necessary for the
third tier of workshops.
Prerequisites: ENG-110 or permission of the instructor
Credit: 1
Distribution: Language Studies
ENG-213 Creative Writ: Short Fiction
The intermediate course in fiction writing will
build upon the principles in English 110. The
course will have a strong workshopping component,
starting early in the second week of instruction.
The course will focus heavily on generating
fiction and learning to read as writers. Usually
a combination of an anthology and a book on the
craft of writing fiction will comprise the
required texts. Besides generating assignments,
producing original workshopped stories or
chapters, and reading a variety of texts,
students will also be responsible for peer
evaluation and critique. This will help hone
their own aesthetic sense and provide the
critical foundation necessary for the third tier
of workshops.
Prerequisites: ENG-110 or permission of the instructor
Credit: 1
ENG-234 Medieval & Renaissance Literature
The study of English literature from its
beginnings to the end of the Renaissance.
Readings will include Beowulf; selections from
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales; Elizabethan Poetry
(including Book I of Spenser's The Faerie Queen);
drama and prose; and Milton's Paradise Lost.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Equated Courses: ENG-215
ENG-235 Introduction to Shakespeare
A study of the plays and sonnets of Shakespeare.
Analyzing Shakespeare's dramatic and poetic
techniques, we will examine some of the comedies,
histories, and tragedies of the greatest
dramatist in English. We will also look at the
plays' major themes, styles, and sources. This
course also includes as a final assignment, work
as a member of a team on the presentation of a
scene from one of Shakespeare's plays.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Literature/Fine Arts
Equated Courses: ENG-216
ENG-236 English Literature 1660-1800
This course examines works by some of the
best-known poets, essayists, and novelists from
the Restoration and 18th Century in Great
Britain, including Dryden, Swift, Pope, Fielding,
and Johnson. The responses of different authors
to ongoing cultural conflicts will help structure
our survey. Rhetorical techniques and the
development of genres will be ongoing concerns.
There will be special emphasis on the comedies of
the time by Wycherly, Etherege, Behn, Congreve,
Gay, Steele, and Sheridan, not only as texts for
performance and reading, but also as objects the
authors' contemporaries reviewed with vigor and
used to construct theories about comedy and
satire.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Equated Courses: ENG-217
ENG-237 English Literature 1800-1900
A study of the life and literature of the early
and middle 19th century as reflected in the
poetry, fiction, and essays of this period. Texts
will vary from year to year but will be drawn
from the works of major poets (Wordsworth, Keats,
Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, and Hardy), novelists
(Austen, Scott, Dickens, Thackeray, Eliot, and
Hardy) and essayists (Wordsworth, Carlyle,
Macaulay, Ruskin, Arnold, Huxley, and Pater).
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Literature/Fine Arts
Equated Courses: ENG-218
ENG-238 Intro to English Literature After 1900
This course will introduce students to the major
writers and literary trends of the British Isles
after 1900. We will begin with the dawn of
Modernism, after which we will trace important
political, cultural, and aesthetic changes
reflected in 20th and 21st century texts. How did
the disintegration of the British Empire and two
world wars affect British cultural identity? How
was the clash between the rural and the urban
reflected in the past century? We will focus on a
variety of genres-fiction, non-fiction, poetry,
and drama-and examine the experimentations with
language and form in Modernism and Postmodernism,
as well as representations of gender roles and
race in selected texts by Joseph Conrad, Wilfred
Owen, T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce,
Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield, George
Orwell, Samuel Beckett, Doris Lessing, Eavan
Boland, Muriel Spark, Angela Carter, and others.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Literature/Fine Arts
Equated Courses: ENG-214
ENG-239 American Literature Before 1900
A survey of major writers and literary trends
from the period of exploration to the
Naturalists. We will study the forging of the
American literary and social consciousness in the
writings of the early explorers, through the
Native American oral tradition, and in works by
Bradstreet, Edwards, Franklin, Emerson, Thoreau,
Hawthorne, Jacobs, Melville, Douglass, Whitman,
Dickinson, Twain, James, Crane, and Chopin.
Guiding our study will be questions like "What is
'American' about American literature?" and "In
what ways do myths generated by our formative
literature continue to shape our personal and
national identities?
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Equated Courses: ENG-219
ENG-240 American Literature After 1900
This survey introduces the writers and trends of
our century, from realism and naturalism through
modernism to the rich, fragmented energy of
postmodernism and multiculturalism. Writers
covered vary from year to year but may include
Henry James, James Weldon Johnson, Edith Wharton,
Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay, William
Carlos Williams, E. E. Cummings, Ernest
Hemingway, Margery Latimer, William Faulkner,
Langston Hughes, Willa Cather, F. Scott
Fitzgerald, J. D. Salinger, Allen Ginsberg, Gary
Snyder, Amiri Baraka, John Barth, Raymond Carver,
Galway Kinnell, Sharon Olds, Louise Erdrich,
Sandra Cisneros, Toni Morrison, and Don DeLillo.
This course is offered in the spring semester.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Equated Courses: ENG-220
ENG-241 African American Literature
This course will introduce students to the
critical study of African American literature as a
means of racial identity formation and political
and philosophical articulation. Among other
things, African American art, literature, music,
and cinema reflect an attempt to grapple with
issues of human psychology, justice, love, race,
and democracy. The readings, videos, and
recordings are meant to provide a source of
material for examining what, if anything, African
American literary producers have to say about what
it means to be human, why and how race matters,
the nature of justice, the efficacy of love,
gender and class identities, and the possibility
of creating a society of equals. Lastly, in-class
discussions and out-of-class projects are meant to
assists in skill development for (in the words of
bell hooks) transgressive engagement with all
texts and media.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Literature/Fine Arts
ENG-260 Multicultural Literatures
The course will introduce students to the
history, methodology and major problems in black
studies. This survey will explore the
interdisciplinary nature of black studies
scholarship and the challenges it presents to
traditional academic models. The issue of the
politicization of the academy and the
relationship between black scholarship production
and service to the black community will also be
covered. The course will draw from a number of
literary sources (Toni Morrison, Houston Barker,
Henry Louis Gates), cultural theorists (bell
hooks, Mark Anthony Neal, Cornel West) and
historical works (Nell Painter, John H. Franklin,
Alberto Raboteau.) This course will serve
students interested in the study of the black
experience. All majors are welcomed. Meets the
Diversity Requirement for the PPE major.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-270 Special Topics: Lit/Fine Arts
Since the content of this course varies from
semester to semester, it may be repeated for
credit upon the instructor's approval. Refer to
the Course Descriptions document on the
Registrar's webpage for topics and descriptions of
current offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-287 Independent Study/Lang.
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-288 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-290 Topics in Writing Studies
This is an introduction to the study of language
and psychological behavior. We will consider
current issues in language and the mind,
including the structure and processing of
language, language acquisition in children, and
how humans store and retrieve linguistic
information. No previous experience in
linguistics is necessary, although it would be
helpful if the student has taken Introduction to
Psychology. There will be weekly quizzes, a short
paper, and a comprehensive final examination.
Refer to the Course Descriptions document on the
Registrar's webpage for topics and descriptions of
current offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-296 Religion and Literature
A study of religious themes and theological
issues in literary works.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-297 Intro to the Study of Literature
This course offers an introduction to English
literature as a field of study, an overview of
genres (poetry, fiction, drama), and literary
terms, the practice of close reading, and the
basic premises of literary criticism. The course
also focuses on developing research skills within
the field. It is designed to help majors or
potential majors utilize vocabulary essential to
a successful literary and/or cultural analysis,
study examples of published essays in the
discipline, and consider the aims of literary
criticism. This is a writing-intensive class. We
welcome all students who are thinking about
majoring in English to take this course. All
English majors taking the literature track are
required to take this course, preferably during
their freshman or sophomore years. Students
taking the creative writing track are encouraged
but not required to take this course. This course
is offered in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Literature/Fine Arts
ENG-300 Studies in Historical Contexts
Refer to the Course Descriptions document on the
Registrar's webpage for topics and descriptions of
current offerings.
Prerequisites: One previous course in English at Wabash
Credit: 1
ENG-302 Writing in the Community:Grants/NonProf
In this course, students will partner with local
nonprofit organizations to write grants and
promotional materials (such as newspaper
articles, website text, short video, pamphlets,
etc.). Students will learn the fundamentals of
grant writing, including how to tailor tone and
content to specific audiences, the arts of
brevity, concision, narrative persuasion, and
grammatical/syntactical precision. This course
includes a significant community
engagement/service learning component, as
students will work directly with Crawfordsville
and Montgomery County nonprofit organizations.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-310 Studies in Literary Genres
Topics vary from semester to semester. Refer to
the Course Descriptions document on the
Registrar's webpage for Topics and Descriptions
of current offerings.
Students taking this course for credit toward the
English major or minor must have taken at least
one previous course in English or American
literature. No more than one course taken outside
the English Department will be counted toward the
major or minor in English.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-311 Advanced Workshop in Creative Nonfiction
This course will build on the principles of ENG
211. It is primarily a work-shopping course,
which will focus on generation and revision of
original creative nonfiction, with an emphasis on
producing polished, publishable work. Texts will
include craft/theory books, anthologies and
literary journals. The course will have a
critical essay component, a close study of the
craft of a particular writer or some formal
question. Students will also be responsible for
detailed peer critique at the advanced level.
Prerequisites: ENG-211
Credit: 1
ENG-312 Advanced Workshop in Poetry
This course will build on the principles of ENG
212. It is primarily a work-shopping course, with
a critical essay component-close study of the
craft of a particular writer or some formal
question. Students will continue to read and
study published work, such as the annual The Best
American Poetry anthologies. Each version of the
course will vary some in focus. For instance, one
course might focus on postmodern poetics, while
another might focus on narrative poetry and prose
poetry. But students will not be bound by these
emphases: they will be free to follow their own
creative impulses as they write new poems and
revise old ones.
Prerequisites: ENG-212
Credit: 1
Distribution: Language Studies
ENG-313 Advanced Workshop in Fiction
This course will build on the principles of ENG
213. It is primarily a work-shopping course,
which will focus on generation and revision of
original fiction, with an emphasis on producing
polished, publishable work. Texts will include
craft/theory books, anthologies and literary
journals. The course will have a critical essay
component, a close study of the craft of a
particular writer or some formal question.
Students will also be responsible for detailed
peer critique at the advanced level. The
professor may choose to focus the course further
on one of the subgenres of fiction writing.
Prerequisites: ENG-213
Credit: 1
Distribution: Language Studies
ENG-314 Theory and Practice of Peer Tutoring
This course introduces students to composition
and rhetoric theories, to theories behind
peer tutoring, to the confluences and conflicts
between the different theories, and to the,
at times, obscured foundations of the different
theories. After critically reviewing
multiple theoretic approaches, the course shifts
to the practice of peer tutoring and
reconciling reality with theory when they start
observing or conducting sessions in the
Writing Center. As the course progresses, the
focus shifts to mentoring writing,
describing and teaching composition methods, and
using grammar options as rhetorical
tools. The course is required for all Writing
Center Consultants, but it is open to English
Majors and Minors and students in Education
Studies. Students taking the course to work
in the Writing Center will start conducting
sessions towards the middle of the semester.
Prerequisites: FRT-101 and FRC-101
Credit: 1
Distribution: Language Studies
Equated Courses: EDU-314
ENG-320 Studies in Literary Modes
This course explores the literature and culture of the United States in the early part of the
twentieth century, with its overlapping milieu of
high modernists, Harlem Renaissance writers,
young bohemians, and political radicals. We will
examine the profound redefinitions of the self
catalyzed by the rise of psychology, rapid
urbanization and mechanization, and the Great
War, and we'll discuss the public's response to
the varied artistic movements of the period, from
Primitivism's allure to the impersonal promise of
Futurism. From painting to film, from Gertrude
Stein's Three Lives to Langston Hughes's poetry
and Meridel Le Sueur's reportage, this course
will examine a variety of texts that contributed
to the literary experimentation and extraordinary
achievement of the period. Other readings may
include but are not limited to Sherwood
Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, Zona Gale's Miss Lulu
Bett, T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land and Other
Poems, Willa Cather's The Professor's House,
Ernest Hemingway's In Our Time, William
Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, Nella Larsen's
Passing, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby,
and poetry by Williams, Taggard, Stevens, Frost,
Cummings, Moore, and Millay.
Prerequisites: One previous Wabash literature course
Credit: 1
ENG-330 Studies in Special Topics
In this course, we will focus on major Anglophone
and Francophone authors writing in and about
formerly colonized territories such as parts of
the Caribbean, Senegal, Zimbabwe, South Africa,
India, and Ireland. We will focus on gender roles
and race in connection to the literary canon, and
we will discuss a dialogue between the center of
the empire (London) and the "margins" (British
colonies). How did the authors describe conflicts
between assimilation and resistance in the
colonial and postcolonial milieu? How were the
national, cultural, and individual identities
affected by decades of foreign imperial presence?
Can we trace any intersections between postmodern
and postcolonial themes? To understand and enjoy
the texts, we will also study the political
context of European imperialism and the
anti-imperial resistance, as well as the major
premises of Neocolonialism, Postcolonialism, and
Postmodernism.Refer to the Course Descriptions
document on the Registrar's webpage for topics and
descriptions of current offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-340 Studies in Individual Authors
Topics vary from semester to semester.Refer to the
Course Descriptions document on the Registrar's
webpage for topics and descriptions of current
offerings.
Prerequisites: One previous course in English at Wabash
Credit: 1
ENG-350 Studies in Media: Literature & Film
Is the novel always better than its film
adaptation? After an introduction to the art of
film and a theoretical consideration of the
similarities and differences between fiction and
film, we will compare four or five novels with
their film adaptations. In recent years this
course has focused on literature and film
representing New York City, including an
immersion trip to the City.
Prerequisites: One previous course in English at Wabash
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-360 Studies in Multicult/Nat'l Lit
Topics vary from semester to semester. Refer to
the Course Descriptions document on the
Registrar's webpage for topics and descriptions of
current offerings.
Prerequisites: One credit from English at Wabash.
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-370 Special Topics: Lit/Fine Arts
Topics vary from semester to semester. Refer to
the Course Descriptions document on the
Registrar's webpage for topics and descriptions of
current offerings.
Prerequisites: One course credit in English Literature at
Wabash
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-387 Independent Study/Lang Studies
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-388 Independent Study/Lit Fine Arts
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-390 Topics in Writing Studies
Refer to the Course Descriptions document on the
Registrar's webpage for topics and descriptions of
current offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-410 Academic & Professional Writing
The goal of this course is for the student to
gain greater awareness and control over his
writing for a variety of academic and
professional purposes. Students who wish to
improve their college writing and those who plan
to attend law or graduate school, teach, or write
professionally would be well served by the
course. We will focus in particular on clarity in
writing, argumentative techniques, the demands of
different genres, and developing a personal
voice. Limited enrollment. This course is offered
in the spring semester. Students may take either ENG-410
or ENG-411, but not both.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-411 Business & Technical Writing
The emphasis in this course will be on technical,
business, and other forms of career-oriented
writing. Topics include audience analysis, style
analysis, grammar, punctuation, and research.
Assignments adapted to fit the background and
interests of each student include business
correspondence, mechanism description, process
description, formal proposal, magazine article,
and formal report. Limited enrollment. Offered
spring semesters. Students may take either ENG-410
or ENG-411, but not both.
Prerequisites: FRC-101, and junior or
senior standing
Credit: 1
Distribution: Language Studies
ENG-487 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-488 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
ENG-497 Seminar in English Lit
These are seminars designed primarily for English
majors (although occasionally English minors
enroll in them). The topics vary depending upon
the research and teaching interests of the
faculty. They demand a high level of student
involvement in research and discussion. Several
short papers and a long critical essay are
required. Note: the two seminars are offered only
in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
ENG-498 Capstone Portfolio
In these two half-credit courses, the student
writes and revises a portfolio of his work in a
single genre. The portfolio should include the
writer's best work, accompanied by an
introductory aesthetic statement. During the
first semester in 498, the student will meet in
workshop with other senior writers in their
chosen genre. In the second semester in 499, the
writing concentrator will further develop and
revise his portfolio, and give a reading of his
work. The portfolio courses will provide
workshops to help students in publication and in
application to graduate programs. Readings in the
courses will be varied; some will be guides for
practical instruction, others will be theoretical
or craft texts to help the student find formal
coherence in his portfolio.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5
Distribution: Language Studies
ENG-499 Capstone Portfolio
In these two half-credit courses, the student
writes and revises a portfolio of his work in a
single genre. The portfolio should include the
writer's best work, accompanied by an
introductory aesthetic statement. During the
first semester in 498, the student will meet in
workshop with other senior writers in their
chosen genre. In the second semester in 499, the
writing concentrator will further develop and
revise his portfolio, and give a reading of his
work. The portfolio courses will provide
workshops to help students in publication and in
application to graduate programs. Readings in the
courses will be varied; some will be guides for
practical instruction, others will be theoretical
or craft texts to help the student find formal
coherence in his portfolio.
Prerequisites: ENG-311, 312, or 313
Credits: 0.5
Distribution: Language Studies