Centenary > Academic Catalogue > English

English (ENGL)

The Department of English offers a traditional curriculum with an emphasis on writing and on English and American literature as well as ample opportunities to study the related areas of the English language, communication, and film. The minimum core requirements of the College are supplemented by specific supportive requirements in art, music, and foreign languages to give majors a strong foundation in the humanities and to prepare them for admission to graduate and professional schools in the humanities, business, law, and any other area or occupation where liberal education and language competency are the important requisites.

Major Requirements

English majors will engage in a number of experiences that provide ways of organizing their knowledge of literature within critical, cultural, and historical contexts.

• (12 hours) Introduction to literary methodology (methods of approaching literature; all three courses required unless exempted by the department chair)
  • Introduction to Literature (102)
  • Studies in Representative British Authors (241)
  • Studies in Representative American Authors (242)
  • Literary and Cultural Theory from Plato to the Present (478S)
• (3 hours) Major authors (focus on the literary corpus of one or two significant authors, selected from the following)
  • The World of Jack London (243)
  • Seminar in Major Authors (341)
  • Shakespeare (342)
• (3 hours) Genre studies (kinds of literary production, selected from the following)
  • The Lyric in English (331)
  • Seminar in the Novel (332)
• (6 hours) Period studies (or movements, historically-based, selected from the following; must include at least one course from category A)

Departmental Honors

To be considered for departmental honors, students must fulfill the general College requirements for honors programs. In addition they must:

1. Apply to the chair of the department during the junior year.
2. Complete a substantial project based on scholarly or creative work in three hours of Independent Study (ENGL 491-496W) during their senior year. (Note: Candidates for Departmental Honors must earn those three hours in Independent Study in addition to the requirements for the English major.)
3. Present the project in a colloquium of English faculty and students.
4. Pass an oral examination by English faculty on the departmental reading list.

English with an Emphasis on Communication

In addition to the college requirements for a degree and the supporting requirements (through the intermediate level of a foreign language), students must complete 38 hours beyond English 101, including the following (unless exempted by department chair):

1. From English offerings, all of the following:
   • Studies in Literary Masterworks (201)
   • Studies in Representative British Authors (241)
   • Studies in Representative American Authors (242)
   • Six hours selected from the "Period" designation (including at least one course from category A)
   • English or Communication Senior Seminar and coordinate Tutorial (471, 441)
2. At least twelve hours selected from the following writing and communication courses:
   • Introduction to Communication Studies (181)
   • Advanced Rhetoric and Composition (212)
   • Communication for Business and the Professions (217)
   • Creative Writing (219)
   • Multimedia Writing and Literature (282)
   • Literary Journalism (312)
   • Advertising and Public Relations (314W)
     ** The Essay (315)
   • Writing for the Mass Media (316)
   • Screenwriting (319S)
3. 24 hours of the major courses must be taken at the 300-level and above.

Minor Requirements

For a minor in English, students must take at least 21 hours beyond English 101, including the following (unless exempted by the department chair):

1. Studies in Literary Masterworks (201)
   • Studies in Representative British Authors (241)
   • Studies in Representative American Authors (242)
2. At least 6 hours at the 300-level and above (excluding Communication courses)

101. Seminar in Rhetoric and Culture (4)
A writing-intensive introduction to cultural inquiry and the art of persuasion. Through the analysis of texts in various genres and through the production of their own written arguments, students will learn to recognize and employ appropriate strategies for effective communication. Students will also attend and respond critically to co-curricular cultural events, including art exhibits, concerts, films, lectures, and plays. Students are encouraged to take this class as early as possible in their Centenary careers and must, in any event, take the course no later than their third semester at Centenary. Fall and spring.

102. Rhetoric II: Introduction to Literature (3)
Pre- or Co-requisite: ENGL 101. An Introduction to literary appreciation, analysis, and interpretive techniques, with emphasis upon close reading enhanced by class discussions and expository essays.

171. Introduction to Literary Studies (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. This course introduces the history and current practices of literary criticism. The course uses a variety of literary texts for testing and exploring each method. Every other spring.

172. Introduction to Visual Culture (3)
This course introduces issues and debates about how we shape, and are shaped by, different forms of visual culture such as film and video, television, painting, photography, performance art, the built environment, and information technology. Issues such as the role of visual cultures in (re)producing ideas about race, identity, sexuality and gender will also be explored. Every spring. (Same as Art 172 and COMM 172)

178. Introduction to Film Art (3)
This course provides an introduction to the study and analysis of film. Students will learn the fundamentals of film form, style, and history. Topics include narrative structure, cinematography, editing, sound, and genre. This course also prepares students for more advanced study in film seminars as well as film and video production. This course meets six hours per week, three of which are devoted to screenings. Every fall. (Same as ART 178 & COMM 178)

201. Studies in Literary Masterworks (3)
Pre- or Co-requisite: ENGL 101. Intensive readings of literary masterworks in such generically or topically oriented subjects as the American Short Story, Gothic and Horror Literature, Literature and War, Modern American Poetry, Multicultural Autobiography, and Southern Literature. May be elected for up to six hours credit as topic changes.

212. Advanced Rhetoric, Grammar, and Composition (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. English 212 is an advanced writing class in which students develop their writing through intensive composition, combined with close readings of essays and literature. The course also examines the impact of current transformations in the rhetorical world due to the rapid proliferation of computer technologies. Spring of alternate years. (Same as COMM 212)

217. Communication for Business and the Professions (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. Instruction and practice in the various forms of practical communication, such as correspondence and reports, with an emphasis on communicating through electronic technology. Spring of alternate years. (Same as BUSN 217 and COMM 217)

219. Creative Writing (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. An advanced course in writing for students interested in producing original pieces of prose fiction and verse. Every fall. May be elected for up to six hours credit as topic changes. (Same as COMM 219)

241. Studies in Representative British Authors (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101 or permission of department. An Introduction to the poetry, fiction, drama, and intellectual prose of representative British authors, Medieval to Modern. Spring of alternate years.

242. Studies in Representative American Authors (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101 or permission of department. An Introduction to the poetry, fiction, drama, and intellectual prose of representative authors in the American tradition. Spring of alternate years.

243. The World of Jack London (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. A study of the legendary career of America's "Greatest World Author," with attention to the historical and cultural as well as the literary significance of his works. Every fall.

262. Shakespeare and Film (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. This course is the meeting ground of the single most influential English author, Shakespeare, and the most distinctive and pervasive modern artistic form, the film. From its beginnings, film recognized Shakespeare as one of its most reliable and popular sources of material, and Shakespeare remains a potent presence in contemporary film. The course investigates this peculiar dedication to Shakespeare by considering both film versions of Shakespeare's plays ("Shakespeare on Film ") and the frequent presence of Shakespearean material in films that have only the most tenuous connection to the actual playwright ("Shakespeare in Film "). Fall of alternate years. (Same as COMM 262)

282. Multimedia Writing and Literature (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. A survey of multimedia literature in English, from the medieval illuminated manuscription through contemporary hypertext, this course also introduces students to practical electronic media writing and design. Every fall. (Same as COMM 282)

291. Literature and the Environment (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. This course offers a window into the sub-canon of American writing that takes as its primary subject, the natural world. Taking our cue from Lawrence Buell and starting with Henry David Thoreau, we will consider how writers have reflected on new conceptions of humankind's relationship to nature. Some specific issues addressed in our readings will include: ecocriticism, gender and ecology, postmodernism, technoculture, consumerism, urban space, and ecological apocalypse. Every fall.

300. Study Abroad (Credit Evaluated) (3)
Centenary-approved enrollment in English courses pursued abroad, such as participation in the student exchange program with the University of Aarhus.

312. Literary Journalism (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. A seminar and workshop for writing literary journalism. Students will survey the genre from a historical perspective, analyze contemporary examples that may serve as models, and produce substantial work of their own. Students will gain experience in interviewing and research as well as employing literary techniques such as narrative, description, and dialogue. Spring of alternate years. (Same as COMM 312)

314W. Advertising and Public Relations (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. This course surveys the related fields of advertising and public relations and examines their role in contemporary society. Topics include history, law, ethics, social dynamics, and economic implications as well as the creative and technical elements of the advertising and public relations campaign. The process of advertising and public relations is studied from the perspectives of art, business, and communication. Every fall. (Same as COMM 314W)

315. The Essay (3)
A workshop course for writing belletristic or personal essays. Includes readings from representative essay literature. Every Spring. (Same as COMM 315)

316. Writing for the Mass Media (3)
Students study basic techniques and formats used in print and broadcast journalism, along with the similarities and differences in style among them. Grammar, syntax, accuracy, logical construction, and other elements of good writing are emphasized, along with learning to write, under deadline pressure, basic, error-free copy. Additional emphasis on keeping up with current events and trends in the world through improved research skills. Spring of alternate years. (Same as COMM 316)

319S. Screenwriting (3)
This course is primarily a writing workshop in which students produce several different kinds of scripts for broadcast media—specifically film and video, television, and radio. Student peers as well as the instructor will act as both audience and critics in helping participants become more imaginative and disciplined writers. Goals of the course include polishing the art of good storytelling and learning how stories work within the system of the media as business. Fall of alternate years. (Same as COMM 319S)

321W. Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Literature (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. This course takes as it focus the period from Beowulf to Paradise Lost, particularly the fissures and continuities in this span of almost 1000 years. One special emphasis is the transition from the medieval comitatus to the emergence of a distinctively modern sense of individualism. Readings for the course include a variety of genres, modes, and authors, always representing both the earlier and later parts of the historical period. Fall of alternate years.

323W. Studies in Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. This seminar introduces students to the wide variety of British literature from the Restoration into the early years of Romanticism and the French Revolution. Spring of alternate years.

326W. Studies in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century British Literature (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. A topical consideration of representative works of Romantic and post-Romantic poetry, fiction, drama, and intellectual prose. Topics may include Faith and Doubt, Love and Marriage, Versions of Pastoral, Matters of Empire. The seminar may also explore a theme within a single genre (Novels of Repression and Release) or examine the transition from one literary movement to another (Decadence to Modernism). Spring of alternate years.

327. Studies in American Literature to the Civil War (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. An intensive as well as extensive survey of significant cultural and literary forces in American literature from pre-colonial times to 1860. Fall of alternate years.

328. Studies in American Literature from the Civil War to the Present (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. An intensive as well as extensive survey of significant American cultural and literary forces
through the late nineteenth century up to the present. Spring of alternate years.

329W. Studies in Contemporary Literature (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 1101. Intensive reading in contemporary writers (since 1950). Emphasis is on significant literary
figures and movements. Works studied may vary from year to year. Fall of alternate years.

331. The Lyric in English (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. An intensive study of the short poem, including theoretical statements on the genre by such poets as Sidney, Jonson, Wordsworth, Emerson, Arnold, and Ransom. Spring of alternate years.

332. Seminar in the Novel (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. A study of the novel with particular attention to historical and artistic influences. May emphasize either British or American traditions. May be elected for up to six hours credit as topic changes. Every spring.

341. Seminar in Major Authors (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. An intensive study of authors whose work has significantly affected the traditions of literature written in English. A class might focus on one author— for instance, Chaucer, Milton, Austen, or Faulkner— or might examine several authors whose works are historically linked or mutually illuminating — for example, Johnson and Boswell, Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group, or Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelites. On demand. May be elected for up to six hours credit as topic changes.

342. Shakespeare (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. A study of the poems and plays of Shakespeare and their place in English Renaissance and in contemporary culture, organized by chronology or topic. The focus of the course is the Shakespearean text and its 400-year history, though considerable attention is devoted to techniques of reading that recuperate performance. Spring of alternate years.

351. Seminar in Women's Literature (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. An intensive study of literature written by women. On demand.

357S. Seminar in Other Literary Traditions (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. Intensive readings of literature produced outside of Britain and America. May include such generically or topically oriented subjects as the African Short Story, the Post-Colonial Novel, The Diaspora in Literature, Images of Apocalypse, Caribbean poetry. Spring of alternate years.

361. The Arts of Representation (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. An interdisciplinary course focusing on theories of representation in various arts and cultures from the Renaissance to the present. The course examines the invention of perspective, the development of cartographic projection, the Introduction of double-entry accounting, the emergence of the city as a semiotic system, as well as theatrical representation and portraiture. Spring of alternate years.

368. History of Film to 1939 (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. A chronological survey of the cinema from its beginnings in the 1890s to the development of Classical Hollywood Cinema to 1939. Special attention is paid to major directors (Griffith, Eisenstein, Renoir), influential national cinemas (American, Russian, French, and German), and to dominant styles and genres (silent comedy, expressionism, Hollywood gangster and Western films). This course meets six hours per week, three of which are devoted to screenings. Fall of alternate years. (Same as COMM 368)

369. History of Film from 1939 to the Present (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. A chronological survey of film from 1939 to the present. Special attention is paid to the breakdown of the classical Hollywood model, the reaction of film makers to the challenge of television, and the rise of independent filmmaking. This course meets six hours per week, three of which are devoted to screenings. Spring of alternate years. (Same as COMM 369)

373S. Theory and Criticism of Film (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. This course is concerned primarily with the aesthetics of film and the ways in which these theories are applied to practical criticism. Among those approaches to be studied will be feminist, semiotic, and historical methods of analysis. This course meets six hours per week, three of which are devoted to screenings. Fall of alternate years. (Same as COMM 373S)

382. Radio Broadcasting (3)
This course is a workshop in radio history, production, and station management. The class works in close association with the student-operated KSCL radio station, creating projects for possible broadcast. Students will read media texts, interact with local radio professionals, write scripts, and design programming. Spring of alternate years. (Same as COMM 382)

383. Digital Cultures (3)
Prerequisites: ENGL 101. This course explores the intersections of contemporary critical theory, new digital technologies, and literature. By examining computer-mediated cultures and major topics through these lenses, students develop sophisticated, scholarly and critical analyses of this rapidly-developing world. Spring of alternate years. (Same as COMM 383).

395, 396. Selected Topics (3)
Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor. Specialized studies in areas of language and literature not normally covered in regular English courses. Offered each semester.

399. Seminar in Film and Television Studies (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 101. An analysis of cinema or television as aesthetic forms and social documents, usually with an emphasis on American and European film or television. Recent topics have included: "Masculinity and Femininity in Film ," "Film and Literature" and "Television Studies." May be elected for up to six hours credit as topic changes. This course meets six hours per week, three of which are devoted to screenings. Spring of alternate years. (same as ART and COMM 399)

400E. English Internship (3)
Supervised internship with an approved employer in an appropriate professional area, such as editing, publishing, and public relations. Students are required to submit a term paper or project of equivalent value to the program director at the end of the internship. May be repeated for credit in another area. Offered each semester.

441, 442. Tutorial in Literature (1,1)
Directed reading on a subject to be agreed upon by the student and faculty-tutor. May require presentation of pertinent materials in undergraduate courses under the direct supervision of an English Department faculty member. Offered each semester.

444W. Seminar in American Literature (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 327 or 328 or permission of instructor. Intensive reading in major writers who represent significant trends in the development of American literature. Considerable work in bibliography and research, with presentation of individual papers. Fall of alternate years.

471. Senior Seminar in English (1)
A capstone course investigating topics in literary and communication theory, in which theoretical insights relate to practical experiences within the course. Specific course-related duties may include participating in a mentoring internship in the First-Year Experience or English 101, staffing the Centenary Writing Laboratory, and constructing a web-based portfolio. Requires concurrent enrollment in ENGL 441. Every fall.

478S. Literary and Cultural Theory from Plato to the Present (3)
Prerequisite: ENGL 201. An overview of literary and cultural theory from ancient Greece to the contemporary world of multimedia narrative and design. Heavy emphasis is placed on theory and criticism emanating from the "theory explosion" of the past few decades, especially ideological, psychoanalytic, and gender analyses of texts. Fall of alternate years.

491-496W. Independent Study (1-6)
Prerequisites: Junior standing and permission of the instructor. Research and writing or creative work in an area of mutual interest to the student and faculty member. Three hours required for honors (see Departmental Honors above). Offered each semester.

199. Module Studies (3)
Special topics offered during the Module.

Last updated May 23, 2007.

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