updated 8/15/2007

Course Descriptions

English (ENGL)

Graduate credit may be received, with the approval of the department, for certain 500-level courses offered by other departments. Courses offered in the Comparative Literature Program may also be taken for graduate credit.

To ensure that all graduate degree students in English undertake substantial work in a large research library, no more than three courses designated R (regional) may be applied to the M.A. and/or Ph.D. programs in the Department of English.

• 550 -- Language of the Professions. (3) Understanding language use in business, scientific, and legal contexts, including linguistic analysis of readability, technical terminology, and document design.
  
• 565 -- African American Theatre. {=THEA 565} (3) The major movements, figures, plays, and critical strategies that have marked the development of African American theatre in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
  
• 566 -- Topics in American Film. {=FILM 566} (3) Intensive study of a specific topic concerning American film. Course content varies and will be announced in the schedule of courses by suffix and title.
  
• 600 -- Seminar in Verse Composition. (3) First half of a year-long course in the writing of poetry taught by a contemporary poet. Limited to 15 students.
  
• 601 -- Seminar in Verse Composition. (3) Second half of a year-long course in the writing of poetry taught by a contemporary poet. Limited to 15 students.
  
• 602 -- Seminar in Prose Composition. (3) First half of a year-long course in the writing of prose taught by a contemporary novelist. Limited to 15 students.
  
• 603 -- Seminar in Prose Composition. (3) Second half of a year-long course in the writing of prose taught by a contemporary novelist. Limited to 15 students.
  
• 604 -- Seminar in Composition for the Visual Media. (3) (Prereq: ENGL 565 or equivalent experience in film as determined by the instructor) Writing for the visual arts, the student will write a treatment (prospectus) and one or more multimedia scripts; or one or more teleplays; or a feature-length screenplay. Limited to 15 students.
  
• 605 -- Seminar in Composition for the Visual Media. (3) (Prereq: ENGL 565 or equivalent experience in film as determined by the instructor) Writing for the visual arts, the student will write a treatment (prospectus) and one or more multimedia scripts; or one or more teleplays; or a feature-length screenplay. Limited to 15 students.
  
• 610 -- Writing the Novel. (3) Techniques of writing, emphasizing plot, character, point-of-view, structure, symbolism, and style. Students will write an outline and opening pages of a novel.
  
• 611 -- Publishing the Novel. (3) (Prereq: ENGL 610) Finishing and revising the novel begun in ENGL 610. Preparing the complete manuscript for publication. Studying the fiction marketplace.
  
• 612 -- Writing Poetry: Traditional and Modern Forms. (3) The writing of traditional and modern poetic forms. Exercises will give practice in composing metered and free verse. Representative masterpieces of traditional and modern poetry will also be studied.
  
• 615 -- Academic and Professional Writing. (3) A workshop course in the development and revision of writing for academic and professional audiences.
  
• 620 -- Computer Methods for Humanistic Problems. {=CSCE 508} (3) Introduction to data processing concepts suitable for research interests in non-numerical areas such as the humanities.
  
• 620P -- Laboratory for Computer Methods for Humanistic Problems. {=CSCE 508L} (1) (Coreq: ENGL 620) Broad but intensive introduction to computer systems and programming for students in the humanities. No mathematical or scientific background is presumed. Laboratory experience with data-processing equipment; introduction to elementary digital computer programming in an appropriate language.
  
• 650 -- Special Topics in Literature. (1-3) Course content varies and will be announced in the schedule of classes by suffix and title. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
  
• 680 -- Survey of Linguistics. {=LING 600} (3) Major approaches to language study and linguistics related to other disciplines.
  
• 690 -- Special Topics in Composition. (3) Course content varies and will be announced in the schedule of classes by suffix and title. Limited to 15 students.
  
• 700 -- Introduction to Graduate Study of English. (3) (Recommended for M.A. and Ph.D. students in the first year of course work) Lectures, discussions, and practical assignments in the history, principles, and methods of research into writings in English, taught by various members of the department.
  
• 701A -- Teaching of Composition in College. (3) Introduction to the methods of teaching composition, with emphasis on current pedagogical practice and theory and applications of electronic media. The course provides supervision of graduate students teaching English 101.
  
• 701B -- Teaching of Literature in College. (3) Introduction to the methods of teaching literature, with emphasis on current pedagogical practice and theory and applications of electronic media. The course provides supervision of graduate students teaching English 102.
  
• 702 -- Old English. (3) Introduction to the grammar and syntax of Old English and a study of important short poems.
  
• 703 -- Beowulf and Old English Heroic Verse. (3) A study of Beowulf in its literary and historical setting.
  
• 705 -- Chaucer. (3) A study of the works of Chaucer with emphasis on The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde.
  
• 708 -- Medieval Literature. (3) Survey of selected principal works of Old English, Middle English, and medieval continental literature; emphasizes cultural backgrounds and medieval development of literary forms.
  
• 710 -- The Renaissance. (3) Study of representative poetic, dramatic, and prose works of 16th-century England.
  
• 711 -- Shakespeare I: The Comedies and Histories. (3) Survey of leading examples of the two genres in relation to the conditions of Shakespeare's time and modern critical views of the plays.
  
• 712 -- Shakespeare II: The Tragedies. (3) Survey of the development of Shakespearean tragedy in relation to the drama of the time and modern criticism.
  
• 713 -- Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline Drama to 1642. (3) A survey of Tudor and Stuart drama to 1642. Genres include: comedy, history, tragi-comedy, and tragedy by such playwrights as Kyd, Marlowe, Jonson, Marston, Middleton, Webster, and Ford.
  
• 715 -- English Non-Dramatic Literature of the Earlier 17th Century. (3) Major poets (such as Donne, Herbert, and Jonson) and prose writers (such as Brown and Burton) from 1600 to 1660, exclusive of Milton; emphasizes the relationship of their poetry to the period and modern critical theories.
  
• 716 -- Milton. (3) Study of Milton's poetry and prose; emphasizes his major works.
  
• 717 -- English Literature of the Restoration and Earlier 18th Century. (3) A survey of English poetry, prose, and drama of the Restoration and earlier 18th century.
  
• 718 -- English Literature of the Later 18th Century. (3) A survey of English poetry, prose, and drama of the later 18th Century.
  
• 720 -- The English Novel Before 1800. (3) Early appearances of the genre and directions taken by it in the 18th century. Selected readings by such writers as Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, and Smollett, and relevant scholarship.
  
• 723 -- English Poetry of the Romantic Period. (3) Poetry of Burns, Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, and their contemporaries. Intensive study of several of these poets to illustrate the character of the period; some attention is given to important statements of poetic theory.
  
• 724 -- English Prose and Novel of the Romantic Period. (3) Works by such novelists as Austen and Scott and their contemporaries; essayists and literary critics representative of the period. Emphasis can vary.
  
• 725 -- The English Novel of the Victorian Period. (3) Survey of the development of the novel form, with study of major and lesser-known figures, in relation to social change and publishing conditions; authors include Dickens, George Eliot, and Hardy.
  
• 726 -- Victorian Poetry. (3) Survey of major and selected minor Victorian poets; emphasizes the development of Victorian poetic theory and the contemporary critical response.
  
• 727 -- Victorian Prose, Excluding the Novel. (3) Survey of the major Victorian prose writers in the areas of political, social, religious and aesthetic debate; authors include Carlyle, Newman, and Matthew Arnold.
  
• 728 -- British Drama From 1800 to the Present. (3) A survey of drama in the 19th century (poetic drama, melodrama, comedy of manners, farce, extravaganza, etc.), with plays representing each type and intensive study of a few dramatists of the present century (e.g., Shaw, Eliot, Pinter). Social and theatrical background emphasized; traces dramatic developments from one period to another.
  
• 729 -- British Poetry Since 1900. (3) Survey of British poetry in this century, with special emphasis on Hardy, Yeats, Eliot, and Auden and his group.
  
• 730 -- Modern British Fiction. (3) Survey of British fiction in this century, with special emphasis on Conrad, Lawrence, and Joyce.
  
• 732 -- Principles in Literary Criticism. (3) Principles and theory of literary criticism. Includes practice in the application of interpretive methods to particular texts.
  
• 733 -- Classics of Western Literary Theory. {=CPLT 701} (3) Problems of literary theory in texts from the ancients to the 17th century, with an emphasis on the classical tradition.
  
• 734 -- Modern Literary Theory. {=CPLT 702} (3) Problems of literary theory from the 18th century to the 1960s.
  
• 735 -- Post-Colonial Literature and Theory. (3) A close examination of post-colonial literatures of the 20th century.
  
• 737 -- Topics in British Women Writers. {=WOST 737} (3) Selected topics related to works by British women authors from various periods, regions, or genres. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
  
• 738 -- Topics in American Women Writers. {=WOST 738} (3) Selected topics related to works by American women authors from various periods, regions, or genres. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
  
• 742 -- American Colonial and Federal Literature. (3) The first two centuries of America's literature and the religious and political issues that informed it. Authors include Edward Taylor, Benjamin Franklin, and Jonathan Edwards.
  
• 744 -- American Romanticism. (3) Survey of leading romantic and/or transcendental writers of the 19th century such as Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Hawthorne, and Melville.
  
• 745 -- American Realism and Naturalism. (3) Survey of major writers in the post-Civil War period: Emily Dickinson, Henry James, Mark Twain, and Stephen Crane.
  
• 750 -- The American Novel to the Civil War. (3) Development of the American novel from its genesis. Includes such authors as Cooper, Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville.
  
• 751 -- The American Novel from the Civil War to World War I. (3) Survey of the American novel in relation to the literary theory of the time. Includes such authors as Twain, Howells, James, and Dreiser.
  
• 752 -- The Modern American Novel. (3) Developments in modern American fiction. Includes such authors as Cather, Hemingway, Faulkner, and Wright.
  
• 753 -- The American Novel Since World War II. (3) Contemporary developments in fiction. Includes such authors as Updike, Pynchon, DeLillo, Morrison, Silko, Mukherjee, and Cisneros.
  
• 755 -- American Drama. (3) Twentieth-century American playwrights, including O'Neill, Williams, Miller, and Albee.
  
• 756 -- The History of the Book in America to 1900. (3) Survey of the history of the book, bookmaking, and bookmakers (authors, editors, printers, and publishers) in America to 1900.
  
• 757 -- Twentieth Century African-American Literature. (3) Characteristics of 20th-century African-American literature.
  
• 758 -- Southern Literature Before 1900. (3) Colonial and 19th-century Southern literature through the work of authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, William Gilmore Simms, Frederick Douglass, Mark Twain, and Kate Chopin.
  
• 759 -- Southern Literature After 1900. (3) Twentieth-century Southern literature through the work of authors such as Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, Robert Penn Warren, William Styron, and Alice Walker.
  
• 760 -- American Poetry Since 1900. (3) Examination of modern and contemporary American poetry. Includes such authors as Eliot, Pound, Frost, Stevens, Dickey, Lowell, and Wilbur.
  
• 761 -- Survey of 20th-Century British and American Poetry. (3) A study of modern poetry from Whitman, Dickinson, and Hardy to Richard Wilbur and Philip Larkin.
  
• 765 -- Advanced Film Study. {=CPLT 765} (3) Methods of film analysis, resources for research, and the major critical theories.
  
• 781 -- History of English Language. {=LING 731} (3) The historical background of Modern English with attention to the major linguistic and cultural developments which distinguish English from other related languages. No prior knowledge of Old English or Middle English is required.
  
• 782 -- Varieties of American English. {=LING 745} (3) Social and regional variation in American English since the colonial period.
  
• 783 -- Applied English Syntax. {=LING 725} (3) Practical survey of the syntactic structures of English; usage, social and regional variation; emphasis on data.
  
• 788 -- Stylistics. {=LING 781} (3) Linguistic analysis of literary texts. Linguistic definition of style; stylistic choices as the author's voice.
  
• 789 -- Poetics. (3) The question of meaning in poetry with special attention to linguistic structure as the source of that meaning; also prosody and related formal effects.
  
• 790 -- Survey of Composition Studies. (3) Comprehensive survey of the history and development of composition studies, and of the present state of knowledge about theories, principles, and practices in the field.
  
• 791 -- Introduction to Research on Written Composition. (3) Introduction to the types and methods of research on written composition, both qualitative and quantitative, with intensive analysis of representative exemplars of these types and methods.
  
• 792 -- Classical Rhetoric. {=SPCH 792} (3) Survey of ancient Greek and Roman rhetorical theory.
  
• 793 -- Rhetorical Theory and Practice, Medieval to Modern. {=SPCH 793} (3) Survey of major theories of rhetoric from medieval to modern times.
  
• 794 -- Modern Rhetorical Theory. {=SPCH 794} (3) Survey of 20th-century contributions to rhetorical theory.
  
• 795 -- The Teaching of Business and Technical Writing. (3) A study of theory and practice in business, technical, and scientific writing with emphasis on the pedagogical materials and techniques available to the business and technical writing teacher.
  
• 796 -- Special Topics in the Teaching of English. (1-3) (Prereq: consent of instructor) Exploration of issues relevant to the teaching of literature, composition, rhetoric, or speech communication. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
  
• 797 -- Current Scholarship in Rhetoric and Composition. (3) (Prereq: consent of instructor) Close study of annual issues of recent journals in the field to identify current trends in research and models for scholarly writing.
  
• 800 -- Studies in Old and Middle English Language and Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 801 -- Studies in Old and Middle English Language and Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 802 -- Studies in Old and Middle English Language and Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 810 -- Studies in 16th- and Earlier 17th-Century English Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 811 -- Studies in 16th- and Earlier 17th-Century English Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 812 -- Studies in 16th- and Earlier 17th-Century English Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 813 -- Studies in 16th- and Earlier 17th-Century English Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 815 -- Studies in Restoration and 18th-Century English Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 820 -- Studies in Romantic and Victorian Literature. (3 each) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 821 -- Studies in Romantic and Victorian Literature. (3 each) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 825 -- Studies in Modern British Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study. May be repeated twice as topics vary.
  
• 830 -- Studies in Literary Criticism. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study. May be repeated as topics vary.
  
• 831 -- Theory of Prose Fiction. (3) Various types of prose fiction from folk tales and fables to short stories and novels; including historical changes in fictional forms, the function of technical devices, and modern theories of narrative.
  
• 832 -- Theory of Poetry. (3) A study of various aspects of poetry as an art form, including rhythm, meter, sound, color
  
• 840 -- Studies in American Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 841 -- Studies in American Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 842 -- Studies in American Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 843 -- Studies in American Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 845 -- Studies in Southern Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 846 -- Studies in Southern Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study.
  
• 850 -- Studies in British and American Literature. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study. May be repeated as topics vary.
  
• 890 -- Studies in Rhetoric and Composition. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study. May be repeated as topics vary.
  

Bibliography

• 776 -- Introduction to Bibliography and Textual Studies. {=CLIS 716} (3) Introduction to analytical, descriptive, and textual bibliography, and to the principles and practice of editing.
  
• 870 -- Seminar in Bibliography, Textual Criticism, and Editing. (3) (Prereq: ENGL 776 or equivalent) Seminar in analytical and descriptive bibliography.
  
• 871 -- Seminar in Bibliography, Textual Criticism, and Editing. (3) (Prereq: ENGL 776 or equivalent) Seminar in textual criticism and editing of specific forms of publication (e.g., manuscripts, plays, poetry, novels).
  
• 872 -- Seminar in Bibliography, Textual Criticism, and Editing. (3) (Prereq: ENGL 776 or equivalent) Seminar in textual criticism and editing of particular periods of English or American literature.
  

Research, Thesis, and Dissertation

• 799 -- Thesis Preparation. (1-9)
  
• 895 -- Directed Reading and Research. (1-3)
  
• 896 -- Directed Reading and Research. (1-3)
  
• 899 -- Dissertation Preparation. (1-12)
  

Speech (SPCH)

• 500 -- Selected Topics in Speech. (1) A series of courses, each lasting one-third of a semester. Topics and prerequisites are announced in the class schedule for each semester.
  
• 543 -- Legal Communication. (3) Communication questions and skills employed by lawyers, judges, litigants, and jurors in criminal and civil judicial processes; special emphasis on interviewing, negotiation, and litigation.
  
• 546 -- Alternative Voices. (3) The oral discourse of selected American speakers drawn from groups such as women, African Americans, and other populations traditionally underrepresented in the canons of public address.
  
• 548 -- Contemporary Campaign Rhetoric. (3) Analysis and evaluation of the suasory speechmaking of political figures seeking state or national offices. Offered only in fall semesters in which national elections are held.
  
• 599 -- Special Topics in Speech. (3) Reading and research on selected topics. Course content varies and will be announced in the schedule of classes by suffix and title. May be repeated once as topics vary.
  
• 700 -- Issues and Methods in Speech Communication Research. (3) Examination of concepts and analytic procedures in interpretive and critical communication research. Application of methods to specific research problems. Emphasis on rhetorical and performance studies.
  
• 701 -- Teaching Speech Communication. (3) Introduction to the issues and methods of teaching speech communication with an emphasis on public speaking instruction in the college classroom.
  
• 702 -- Directing Debate and Forensics. (3) Direction and coaching of interscholastic and intercollegiate programs in contest debates and forensic events.
  
• 712 -- Studies in the Rhetoric of Science and Technology. (3) Study of arguments drawn from science and technology emphasizing how scientific methodologies are modified and corrupted to make persuasive appeals.
  
• 741 -- Rhetorical Criticism. (3) (Prereq: permission of graduate director for nondegree students) Survey of historical and theoretical developments of rhetorical criticism within the field of speech communication.
  
• 744 -- Studies in Public Address. (3) Studies in the discourse of selected American speakers whose speeches have played a significant role in shaping and reflecting the nation's development.
  
• 746 -- Studies in the Rhetoric of Movements. (3) Advanced study of the rhetoric of traditionally underrepresented voices within the context of politicl and social movements.
  
• 749 -- Performance Studies in Communication. (3) Introduction to the history, issues, and methods relevant to the field of performance studies within the discipline of communication.
  
• 760 -- Advanced Studies in Argumentation and Debates. (3) Theories of argumentation and debates applied to various spheres of public discourse.
  
• 790 -- Topics in Speech Communication. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study. May be repeated as topics vary.
  
• 792 -- Classical Rhetoric. {=ENGL 792} (3) (Prereq: permission of graduate director for nondegree students) Survey of ancient Greek and Roman rhetorical theory.
  
• 793 -- Rhetorical Theory and Practice, Medieval to Modern. {=ENGL 793} (3) Survey of major theories and practices of rhetoric from medieval to modern times.
  
• 794 -- Modern Rhetorical Theory. {=ENGL 794} (3) Survey of 20th-century contributions to rhetorical theory.
  
• 796 -- Special Projects. (1-3)
  
• 797 -- Special Projects. (1-3)
  
• 799 -- Thesis Preparation. (1-9)
  

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