Upcoming Courses

ENGL 2321-70 | British Literature: Gods and Monsters

Online | Instructor: Monica Hart

In this course, we will investigate some of the most famous villains ever depicted - Grendel and his mother; Macbeth; Satan; Frankenstein's Creature; Mr. Hyde; Dracula - focusing on the intersections between creation and destruction, inspiration and desolation, divinity and monstrosity.

ENGL 2343-01 | Literature and Ideas: Nature, Culture, Agriculture

M/W, 1:00-2:15 | Instructor: Alex Hunt

Read classic and regional literature that has shaped our ideas about place, nature, and the land. Open and relevant for all, but designed with agriculture, natural sciences, and environmental science majors.

ENGL 2343-02 | Literature and Ideas: Epic Journeys

T/TH, 9:30-10:45 | Instructor: Bonnie Roos

This course will take students on epic journeys through classic literature that travels from the depths of Dante’s Inferno to the euphoric highs of 1001 Nights, with lots of tourist traps, obstacles, and ocean views in between.  

ENGL 2341-70 | Intro to Literature: "Oh brave new world!" - Dystopian Lit

Online | Instructor: Casey Pleming

Are we living in a dystopia? This spring, beware ‘Big Brother,’ take an extra gram of soma, and gather your handmaids and droogs while we explore this question – and more – through an examination of works from Orwell, Huxley, Atwood, and Burgess.

ENGL 2350-01 | Introduction to Creative Writing

T 6:00-8:40 PM | Instructor: Bonnie Roos

An introductory course in which students will learn creative writing basics associated with poetry, prose, and screenwriting. Final project will involve the submission of a beginning-level chapbook, short story, or short screenplay designed to start your creative writing portfolio.

ENGL 3306-01 | Creative Writing: Poetry

M 6:00-8:40 PM  |  Instructor: Pat Tyrer

Workshop in the art of writing poetry. May be repeated once for credit. The goal of English 3306 is to improve a student’s writing skills and techniques in producing polished poetry. The course introduces the basic poetic elements (forms, structures, critical stance) and prepares the committed writer for further study.

ENGL 3308-70 |  Creative Writing: Screenwriting for Film, Television, and Multimedia

Online  |  Instructor: Pat Tyrer

Introduction to the elements, terminology, structure, and techniques of writing for film, television, gaming, and multimedia. Through the analysis and discussion of screenplays as well as screening of examples, students will practice the craft and experiment with the tools of screenwriting. The course project culminates in a complete one-act screenplay. This is an online writing-intensive course.

ENGL 3311-70 | Language Structure

Online |  Instructor: Martin Jacobsen

Language is what makes us, us. To understand language structure is to understand the foundation of the human condition. From sounds (phonology) to words (morphology) to sentences (syntax) to speeches (discourse), linguistics illuminates the basic components of language and the fundamental behavior of humanity itself.

ENGL 3380-01  |  Literary Analysis

T/TH 11:00-12:15  | Instructor: Matthew Harrison

Introduction to fundamentals of literary analysis, critical vocabulary and close reading of a wide range of literature across a variety of periods and genres.

ENGL 3342-70 |  Film Studies: Classic American Westerns

Online |  Instructor: Bonney MacDonald 

We’ll explore the mythic, legendary, and sometimes realistic portraits of the American West in film – from the 1940s through the present.  Historian Richard White once claimed that, when Americans tell stories about themselves, they set them in the West.  Western films mirror our culture; to examine Westerns is to track our nation’s self-image and its national reflections and concerns, forming a narrative of guidance, tribute, and critique.  John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Barbara Stanwyck, and Christian Bale do the cultural work of showing us to ourselves.  

ENGL 3352-70 | British Literature since 1700

Online | Instructor: Monica Hart

This course surveys major authors of English literature, including the Romantic poets,  Victorian novelists,  modernist modernizers, and postmodern innovators. We'll focus our efforts on understanding genre and on making connections between  literature and the social, the political, and the historical.

ENGL 3361-01  | American Literature After 1865

T/TH 9:30-10:45  | Instructor: Ryan Brooks

This course is a survey of American literature as it developed from 1865 to the present. We will begin with the realism of the Gilded Age and end with the period – now more than 40 years old – that historians have taken to calling the “New Gilded Age.” Along the way we will explore modernism and postmodernism, Cold War culture and postwar protest writing, and ethnic and multicultural literature. 

ENGL 4312-01 |  Advanced Grammar

T/TH 1:00-2:15 | Instructor: Martin Jacobsen

Advanced Grammar presents and explains the fundamentals of English grammar by fostering an understanding of phrasal and clausal structures, which should lead to an enhanced grammatical intuition that can then be applied to teaching, writing, editing, and so on. 

ENGL 4305-70 |  Advanced Topics in Technical Communication

Online |  Instructor: Rebecca Weir

This class will examine trends, specializations, and processes within the field of technical communication.  Students will develop professional portfolios while exploring career paths for technical communicators. We will discuss contemporary topics and practices, including data visualization and infographics, content development and management, proposals, and project planning.

ENGL 4352 |  Shakespeare

T/TH 2:30-3:45| Instructor: Matthew Harrison

An exploration of Renaissance drama, focused on Shakespeare and his contemporaries. We'll explore questions of power, gender and sexuality, and the function of art, while reading some of the best plays ever written. 

ENGL 4368-01 |  Race and Literatures

M/W 11:00-12:15 | Instructor: Alex Hunt 

This course will focus on Indigenous and Chicanx literatures of the Southwest. Authors will include Aaron Abeyta, Ramona Emerson, Stephen Graham Jones, and Luis Alberto Urrea. We will be particularly interested in questions of homeland and borderlands as well as ethnic identity.

ENGL 4392-70 | Special Topics:  History of Video Games and Narrative Gaming

M/W 1:00 – 2:15 | Instructor: Sarah Sprouse 

Description: Can you ‘play’ Sir Gawain and the Green Knight? From the very beginning humans have played games, but in what ways have we played stories? In this course we will consider the narrative structures of games (D&D, video games, riddles) and the ways in which premodern people gamed the narratives they read. This course is reading, writing, and play intensive.

ENGL 4390-01  | English Capstone 

M/W 2:30-3:45 | Instructor: Eric Meljac

Prerequisite: Must be of senior standing. Focuses on research, documentation methods, and academic prose style. Enables students to develop, expand, and finalize their capstone projects for online publication and formal presentation.

Course: Gods and Monsters: ENGL 2321-70 - Intro to British Lit. | Online Only | Instructor: M. Hart
Description: In this course, we will investigate some of the most famous villains ever depicted - Grendel and his mother; Macbeth; Satan; Frankenstein's Creature; Mr. Hyde; Dracula - focusing on the intersections between creation and destruction, inspiration and desolation, divinity and monstrosity.

Course: Global Science Fiction: ENGL 2331-70 - Intro to World Lit. | Online Only | Instructor: P. Tyrer
Description: This fully online course will expose students to classic and contemporary science fiction from diverse cultures and periods in the world community. Students will gain an understanding of the cultural and historical significance of Sci-Fi as a critique of culture, social conditions, and the limits of our own reality.

Course: Love Stories: ENGL 2343-01 - Literature and Ideas | T/Th 1:00 - 2:15 | Instructor: M. Harrison

Course: Heartland Rock: ENGL 2343-02 - Literature and Ideas | M/W 11:00 - 12:15 p.m. | Instructor: D. Klaehn

Course: Creative Writing, Fiction: ENGL 3301 | Online | Instructor: Tyrer
Description: Workshop in the art of writing poetry, focusing on the basic elements such as forms and structures of both classical and contemporary poetry. May be repeated once for a maximum of six credit hours.

Course: Language Structure: ENGL 3311-01 | Monday/Wednesday 1:00 - 2:15 p.m. | Instructor: Jacobsen
Description: Language is what makes us, us. To understand language structure is to understand the foundation of the human condition. From sounds (phonology) to words (morphology) to sentences (syntax) to speeches (discourse), linguistics illuminates the basic components of language and the fundamental behavior of humanity itself.

Course: History of English Language: ENGL 3312-01 | Wednesday, 6:00-8:40 p.m. | Instructor: Jacobsen

Course: Bible as Literature | ONLINE ONLY | Instructor: Hart

Course: British Literature Until 1700: ENGL 3352-01 | T/Th 2:30 - 3:45 p.m. | Instructor: Harrison
Description: This course is a survey of British literature from the Old English period through the Restoration.

Course: Literary Analysis: ENGL 3380-01 | Monday/Wednesday, 11:00-12:15 p.m. | Instructor: Meljac
Description: Introduction to fundamentals of literary analysis, critical vocabulary and close reading of a wide range of literature across a variety of periods and genres.

Course: World Masterpieces: ENGL 3383-01 | Tuesday/Thursday, 1:00-2:45 p.m. | Instructor: Staff
Description: Introduction to significant international literatures and their contexts. Topics may include postcolonial literatures, world literatures in translation, surveys of non-Anglo national literatures, world literatures as resistance.

Course: American Literature Until 1865: ENGL 3360-01 | ONLINE | Instructor: Macdonald
Description: American literature from its beginnings through Whitman.

Course: Advanced Topics in Editing and Publishing: ENGL 4306-01 | Monday/Wednesday 1:00 - 2:15 | Instructor: Staff

Course: English Capstone for Instructors: ENGL 4389-01 | Monday/Wednesday 2:30 - 3:45 p.m. | Instructor: Roos
Description: Prerequisite: Must be of senior standing. Focuses on research, documentation methods, and academic prose style. Enables students to develop, expand, and finalize their capstone projects for online publication and formal presentation.

Course: Llaneros, Forgotten Frontera :ENGL 4392-70/ENGL 5392-70 | Tuesday 6:00-8:40 (Online Synchronous) | Instructor: Hunt and Reynolds

English 2000-level courses 

Unless otherwise noted, these courses satisfy University Core 40 requirements. English Majors are also required to take an additional 2000-level English class as part of their degree.  

Course: Gods and Monsters: ENGL 2321-70 - Intro to British Lit. | Online Only | Instructor: M. Hart
Description: In this course, we will investigate some of the most famous villains ever depicted - Grendel and his mother; Macbeth; Satan; Frankenstein's Creature; Mr. Hyde; Dracula - focusing on the intersections between creation and destruction, inspiration and desolation, divinity and monstrosity.

Course: Global Science Fiction: ENGL 2331-70 - Intro to World Lit. | Online Only | Instructor: P. Tyrer
Description: This fully online course will expose students to classic and contemporary science fiction from diverse cultures and periods in the world community. Students will gain an understanding of the cultural and historical significance of Sci-Fi as a critique of culture, social conditions, and the limits of our own reality.

Course: Nature, Culture, and Agriculture: ENGL 2343-01 - Literature and Ideas | M/W 11:00 - 12:15 p.m. | Instructor: A. Hunt
Description: This literature course is specifically designed for people with interests in Natural Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, and Environmental Science. Authors read in the course include Rachel Carson, Edward Abbey, Annie Proulx, E.O. Wilson, Wendell Berry, and Paolo Bacigalupi.

Course: Literature and Video Games: ENGL 2343-02 - Literature and Ideas | T/Th 1:30 - 2:45 | Instructor: M. Harrison
Description: What do video games mean? We’re accustomed to talking about a game’s narrative or art design, the pleasure or challenge of playing it. But how can we talk about what a game means or argues? About how to interpret them? We’ll play a small handful of games alongside ideas from literature, literary studies, game studies, and film studies. This course is reading, writing, and play intensive.

Course: Creative Writing, Women's Poetry: ENGL 3306-70 | Online Only | Instructor: Tyrer
Description: Workshop in the art of writing poetry, focusing on the basic elements such as forms and structures of both classical and contemporary poetry. May be repeated once for a maximum of six credit hours.

Course: Language Structure: ENGL 3311-01 | M/W 11:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. | Instructor: Jacobsen
Description: Language is what makes us, us. To understand language structure is to understand the foundation of the human condition. From sounds (phonology) to words (morphology) to sentences (syntax) to speeches (discourse), linguistics illuminates the basic components of language and the fundamental behavior of humanity itself.

Course: Film Studies: ENGL 3342-01 | M 6:00 p.m. | Instructor: Brooks

This course will focus on two broad questions: how do movies make sense, and what sense have they made about the persistence of class conflict and economic inequality in contemporary life? To answer these questions, we will analyze aspects of cinematic form – narrative, visual design, cinematography, editing, and sound design – in a series of socially conscious films, from classics like The Grapes of Wrath to contemporary classics like Parasite.

Course: British Literature Since 1700: ENGL 3352-01 | T/Th 9:30 - 10:45 a.m. | Instructor: Hart
Description: This course is a survey of British literature from the Neoclassical period to the present.

Course: Advanced Topics in Technical Communication: ENGL 4305-01 | T/Th 1:30 - 2:45 | Instructor: McCormick
Description: Exploration of a number of advanced issues related to technical communication and scientific discourse, including topics such as management of the document development process, professional ethics and specialized document forms; the role that professional and technical communicators play in the workplace, and such issues as career development, professional societies and time-management resources. May be repeated once when topics vary for a maximum of six credit hours.

Course: Works of William Shakespeare: ENGL 4352-01 | T/Th 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Instructor: Harrison
Description: A course exploring the world and works of William Shakespeare, with an emphasis on drama.

Course: American Regionalism: ENGL 4360-01 | M/W 1:30 - 2:45 p.m. | Instructor: Hunt
Description: American literature from the late 19th through the mid-20th century in a variety of genres to include local color writing as well as the broader cultural and intellectual movements within regionalism as geographically defined.

Course: The African Diaspora in Art and Literature: ENGL 4366-01/ARTS 3392) | M/W 9:30 - 10:45 a.m. | Instructors: Meljac and Von Lintel
Description: This course examines the art and literatures of the African diaspora, including the spaces and places where African peoples have settled or been settled through force, by scrutinizing the social forces, politics, gender dynamics, and cultural aesthetics that have influenced people of African descent around the world.

Course: English Capstone: ENGL 4390-01 | T/Th 3:00 - 4:15 p.m. | Instructor: Roos
Description: Prerequisite: Must be of senior standing. Focuses on research, documentation methods, and academic prose style. Enables students to develop, expand, and finalize their capstone projects for online publication and formal presentation.

Course: Desiring Statues: Love, Race, and Aesthetics in Pygmalion Stories :ENGL 4392-01/ENGL 5392-70 | T 6:00-8:40 (On-Campus & Online) | Instructor: Roos and Harrison

Ranging from Praxiteles’s monumental Aphrodite of Knidos to modern cyborgs and sex dolls, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses to Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions, this class explores the complex cultural history of Pygmalion stories: the sculptor infatuated with his art; the object that awakens from marble.  

Combining canonical texts (Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale, Shaw’s Pygmalion) with understudied masterpieces, we’ll explore the relationships between life and art, education and colonialism, culture and gender and race. How does love shape artistic creation? And how are we shaped by others’ petrifying desires?  

This is a reading-intensive class, combining art history, literature, and some literary theory. We are happy to waive prerequisites for interdisciplinary students!

Course Rotation Notes: While it is subject to change, we tend to offer some courses on a regularly scheduled basis. So, while you are planning out finishing your English BA or English Language Arts and Education BA, you should be aware of a few consistent offerings we make in regards to courses that are required for our degrees. Be sure to check your degree checklist and your degree plan to determine which of these courses you'll need to take. 

English BA degree checklist OR English Language Arts and Education degree checklist

NOTE for English Language Arts and Education Majors: Schedule of Teacher Qualification Classes

Every Fall and Spring Semesters: 

• ENGL 3380: Literary Analysis. We prefer for you to take this course early in the program. 
• ENGL 3311: Language Structure. 

Every Fall Semester: 

• ENGL 3312: History of the English Language
• ENGL 3351: British Literature to 1700
• ENGL 3360: American Literature to 1865
• ENGL 3383: World Masterpieces
• ENGL 4301: Advanced Composition

Every Spring Semester: 

• ENGL 3352: British Literature after 1700
• ENGL 3361: American Literature after 1865
• ENGL 4305: Advanced Technical Communication
• ENGL 4310: Advanced Grammar
• ENGL 4352: Shakespeare
• ENGL 4390: Capstone