English and Literature
English 099 - Principles of Writing
This writing intensive course provides students with the skills they need to achieve academic success at the college level. EN99 prepares students to transition into the required first-year writing sequence. A variety of writing activities and development of various forms through sentence-generation exercises, collaborative in-class writing and discussion, controlled-paragraph, writing and brief essays. Proofreading and editing skills are introduced in order to enable the students to identify and correct common mechanical and grammatical errors. Reading skills are addressed with particular attention paid to both form and content.
Three hours per week; three semester-hours credit.
Credit hours do not fulfill graduation requirements.
English 101 - Composition and Rhetoric
This first course in the year-long freshman writing sequence introduces students to academic discourse. Students refine their critical reading and thinking skills, participate in collaborative learning, and apply a full range of ideas and theories to their writing. Students will compose four formal essays responding to representative writings from diverse academic disciplines. Each assignment is developed through a series of related steps emphasizing the dynamics of the writing process, including: prewriting, peer editing, and revision. Students benefit from a review of grammar essentials and an introduction to basic citation skills. In addition, students have multiple opportunities to strengthen their oral communication skills and leadership abilities through inclass presentations and peer collaboration.
Three hours per week; three semester-hours credit.
English 102 - Analytical Writing, Argument & Academic Research
Prerequisite: English 101.
English 102 is the second half of the year-long freshman writing requirement. This course concentrates on the development of the researched argument. Students learn to develop and defend a thesis backed by scholarly sources in papers employing an appropriate documentation format. Through selected readings and writings, students are challenged to identify and compare opposing viewpoints in order to define and understand the elements of controversy surrounding the issues being investigated. Concurrently, students are introduced to methods of analyzing and synthesizing source material, the elements and structure of argument and the process of practical academic research.
Three hours per week; three semester-hours credit.
Literature 103:Introduction to Literature
Co-requisite: English 101
This survey course introduces students to close readings of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama. Students master interpretive approaches to literature and learn to use literary vocabulary. Goals of the course include familiarization with literary elements, understanding historical and social contexts, improving reading and comprehension, and encouraging appreciation and love of life-long reading. Satisfies CORE Literature requirement.
Three hours per week; three semester-hours credit
Literature 201 - Classical Literature: The Bible to the Renaissance
Prerequisite: English 101.
An introduction to classical literature and the major themes and ideas that formed the basis of Western civilization. Literature covered includes works from the Ancient World, Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The course also continues instruction and practice in using the English language effectively. Frequent papers and essay examinations are required.
Three hours per week; three semester-hours credit.
Literature 203 - French Literature in Translation
Pre-requisite: English 101
Reading and critical analysis of selected masterpieces of French literature in English translation. The course provides an overview of French literature through the study of representative works from major literary periods. Course is taught in English.
Three hours per week; three semester-hours credit.
LT 204: American Literature from the Colonial Period to the Present
Pre-requisite: English 101
This study, that includes American fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and drama, examines themes, texts, movements, and authors who are central to development of an American literature and of evolving definitions of what it means to be “American.” The course offers students opportunities for oral and written expression through a variety of assignments that incorporate literary analysis and criticism. Writers may include Anne Bradstreet, Benjamin Franklin, Phyllis Wheatley, Henry David /Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Amy Tan, and Sandra Cisneros.
Three hours per week; three semester-hours credit
Literature 205: Non-Western Literature
Pre-Requisite: English 101
This survey of non-Western literary traditions examines issues of cultural diversity from the perspective of writers from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Using the lens of cultural and historical context, students explore the uniqueness of each literary tradition as well as trace universal themes that transcend geographic boundaries. Students have a variety of opportunities for oral and written expression with emphasis on literary analysis and criticism. Authors include Salmon Rushdie, Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Jose Saramago, Mahmoud Darwish, Yehuda amichai, and Nasdine Gordimer.
Three hours per week; three semester-hours credit
Literature 206: Special Topics in Literature
Pre-requisite: EN 101
This elective course explores the study of a single writer, group, movement, theme, or period.
English 203 - Sophomore Writing Seminar
Pre-requisite: EN 102, B or higher or permission of the instructor.
This is a capstone course in research writing consisting of a mentored research project agreed upon by the student and the instructor. The course reviews, refines, and expands the skills, strategies, and techniques necessary for academic research writing. Emphasis will include thesis development, library research and data collection, note taking and documentation; organizing, drafting, revising, and editing of the final paper; critical thinking and analysis, evaluation of sources and the avoidance of plagiarism.
Three hours per week; three semester hours credit.
English 207- Creative Writing
Pre-requisite: EN 102
This course is for students interested in creative or imaginative writing. Taught in a workshop format that allows students to develop their own styles, this course involves close readings of examples drawn from the genres of poetry, the short story, creative non-fiction, and scriptwriting. A focus on character, plot, and theme lead to student-produced original writing in poetry, short stories and either a one-act play, short screenplay or a magazinelength piece of literary journalism.
Three house per week; three semester hours credit.