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Department of English Language and Literature

Possible Areas of Emphasis in the English Major

Students who find themselves inspired by a specific course or topic may want to explore similar classes and build their course of study around that area. This is an optionnot a requirement. Sample topics and courses can be found below, but areas can be designed to suit your own goals and interests. Please talk to your advisor. Additional courses may be relevant to the sample areas below (see current Course Descriptions). Content varies for courses marked *; here, too, see the current Course Descriptions.
Courses on African American, African, and Black diasporic literature, language, and media
ENGL 393 Postcolonialism
ENGL 428A African American Literature I: to 1903
ENGL 428B African American Literature II: 1903-present
ENGL 430 Topics in African American Literature
ENGL 438D African Literature
ENGL 438E Caribbean Literature
ENGL 439* Selected Topics (e.g., “Black Sport/Black Style/Black Protest”)
ENGL 457 African American English
ENGL 487 Black Women Writers
ENGL 566* Special Topics in US Film and Media (e.g., “Mediating Race”)
Courses on women’s writing, LBGTQ+ literature, and gender studies
ENGL 419* Topics in Pre-1800 Literature (e.g., “Medieval Masculinities”)
ENGL 429* Topics in in Post-1800 Literature (e.g., “Race, Gender & Graphic Novels”)
ENGL 437 Women Writers
ENGL 439*    Selected Topics (e.g., “Language and Gender,” “Hitchcock: Gender, Sexuality & Representation”)
ENGL 445 LGBTQ+ Literature
ENGL 487 Black Women Writers
Courses on literatures from around the world outside the U.S. and British traditions
ENGL 392 Great Books of the Eastern World
ENGL 438B Postcolonialism
ENGL 438B Scottish Literature
ENGL 438C Irish Literature
ENGL 438D African Literature
ENGL 439* Selected Topics (e.g., “World Literature and Global Climate Change”)
ENGL 438E Caribbean Literature
ENGL 441 Global Contemporary Literature
Courses on comics, film/visual media, communications studies, and language
ENGL 350 Introduction to Comics Studies
ENGL 363 Introduction to Professional Writing
ENGL 370 Language in the USA
ENGL 373 Literature and Film of the Holocaust
ENGL 387 Introduction to Rhetoric
ENGL 431B Picture Books
ENGL 439*    Selected Topics (e.g., “Birth and Death of the Book”; “Race, Gender & Graphic Novels”)
ENGL 455 Language in Society
ENGL 468 Digital Writing
ENGL 566* Special Topics in US Film and Media (e.g., “Superheroes Across Media”)
Courses on literature and culture in relation to struggles for social justice
ENGL 340 Literature and Law
ENGL 373 Literature and Film of the Holocaust
ENGL 393 Postcolonialism
ENGL 428A African American Literature I: to 1903
ENGL 428B African American Literature II: 1903-present
ENGL 430 Topics in African American Literature (e.g., “Freedom Trains”)
ENGL 431A Children’s Literature
ENGL 431B Picture Books
ENGL 432 Young Adult Literature
ENGL 434 Environmental Literature
ENGL 437 Women Writers
ENGL 439* Selected Topics (e.g., “World Literature and Global Climate Change”)
ENGL 445 LGBTQ+ Literature
ENGL 457 African American English
ENGL 487 Black Women Writers
ENGL 566* Special Topics in US Film and Media (e.g., “Mediating Race”)
Courses on dramatic literature and performance
ENGL 404 English Drama to 1660
ENGL 405 Shakespeare’s Tragedies
ENGL 406 Shakespeare’s Comedies and Histories
ENGL 566*     Special Topics in US Film and Media (e.g. “Alfred Hitchcock: Gender, Sexuality,and Representation”)
SPCH 340 Literature and Performance

 


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