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English Course Descriptions

  • ENGL 101. Writing Seminar
    Credits: 4. Workshop format; writing as process of discovery and exploration of possibility (invention, drafting, revision, peer editing); focus on writerly voice. Students must earn a grade of at least C- to move on to ENGL 102.
  • ENGL 102. College Reading and Writing: Many Voices
    Credits: 4. Discussion of and practice in composition with analysis of related readings that are chosen to celebrate a range of diverse populations that collectively define the American landscape. Texts and specific approach to writing indicated in instructors’ course descriptions available at registration. Normally required in first year. Fulfills college reading and writing requirement.
  • ENGL 141. Intermediate Composition
    Credits: 4. This course is for students who wish to reinforce the academic reading, writing and thinking skills introduced in ENG 101 and ENGL 102. Emphasizing analysis, persuasion and revision, it builds on basic knowledge of academic writing conventions and strengthens students’ ability to compose clear, concise and coherent prose in the writing situations they face in other courses and beyond college. The course also includes significant research.
  • ENGL 150. Special Topics
    Credits: 4. May also be offered at 250, 350 and 450 levels.
  • ENGL 151. Historical Perspectives (Variable Title)
    Credits: 4. Prerequisite: ENGL 102. Fulfills Historical Perspectives requirement.
  • ENGL 160. Greek Myth, Art and Literature
    Credits: 4. Study of the earliest Greek stories and images that have made their way into the art, religion and literature of later periods. Includes The Odyssey and selected plays. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 200. Introduction to Literary Studies
    Credits: 4. Introduction to the study of English; a survey of historical periods and major critical schools. Required of all sophomore majors. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.
  • ENGL 205. Introduction to Creative Writing
    Credits: 4. Introduction to the fundamentals of writing creatively in various genres. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills arts requirement.
  • ENGL 206. Introduction to Poetry
    Credits: 4. Focus on analysis of poetry with attention to both formal and interpretive issues. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills arts requirement.
  • ENGL 207. Introduction to Fiction
    Credits: 4. Study of narrative conventions in the short story and novel. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills arts requirement.
  • ENGL 210. Playwriting Workshop (THEA 244)
    Credits: 4. Twelve weekly scenes read and critiqued in class and a one-act play as a final project. Exploration of various elements of playwriting such as conflict, manipulation of chronology, life studies, character exposition and development, “found” language, passive participation in and transcription of actual events.
  • ENGL 211. Poetry Workshop
    Credits: 4. In-class critiques of student poems, reviews of contemporary poetry magazines and collections, craft discussions with visiting writers, evolution of literary principles, manuscript preparation. Requires either ENGL 206 or instructor permission. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.
  • ENGL 212. Fiction Workshop
    Credits: 4. In-class critiques of student writing, reviews of contemporary literary magazines and short story collections, craft discussions with visiting writers, evolution of critical principles, manuscript preparation. Requires either ENGL 207 or instructor permission. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.
  • ENGL 215. Play Analysis (THEA 215)
    Credits: 4. Explores the methodology of script analysis used by actors, designers and directors as they prepare to execute a stage production. Techniques at the heart of the course lay the foundation for thoughtful understanding of literature and perceptive creativity in productions that effectively serve a text. Students also develop the interpretive skills needed by artists working in a theatre that responds to and addresses issues of oppression and social justice. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
  • ENGL 221. British Literature I
    Credits: 4. Intensive study of representative works and survey of issues from Anglo-Saxon period through the 18th century. Recommended for all beginning majors and prospective majors. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 222. British Literature II
    Credits: 4. Intensive study of major literary figures and changing forms from the Romantic period to the present. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 223. Shakespeare
    Credits: 4. General introduction to the comedies, histories and/or tragedies. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 225. American Literature Survey I
    Credits: 4. The American mind in literature from the Puritans to the Civil War. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 226. American Literature Survey II
    Credits: 4. The American literary tradition from the Civil War to the present. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities and diversity in the U.S. requirements.
  • ENGL 228. American Nature Writing (REL 120)
    Credits: 4. Examines literary nature writing in America from the 19th century to the present, with a primary focus on the different ways writers have presented the natural world as sacred. Writings consider both individuals' current estrangement from the natural world and possibilities for developing intimacy with the earth through a deep sense of "place." Fulfills humanities and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
  • ENGL 230. African American Literature
    Credits: 4. Literary study focusing on major figures of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Wheatley, Douglass, Hughes, Wright, Hurston, Walker and Morrison. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities and diversity in the U.S. requirements.
  • ENGL 234. Native American Literature
    Credits: 4. Explores the themes, genres and techniques used in American Indian writing and examines the connections between the works of Indian authors and the history of Indian-white relations, particularly regarding class. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities and diversity in the U.S. requirements.
  • ENGL 260. Independent Study
    Credits: 1-4. May also be offered at 360 and 460 levels. Work at the 460 level may apply toward departmental honors if prior arrangement is made by student. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.
  • ENGL 270. World Literature
    Credits: 4. Study of selected literature from the seven continents. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 272. World Cinema
    Credits: 4. Explores the craft and cultural significance of contemporary films from East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills arts and intercultural requirements.
  • ENGL 282. Journalism
    Credits: 4. A hands-on introduction to journalistic writing. All students will be working Guilfordian staffers while learning the fundamentals of news, feature and opinion writing as well as newspaper style. No journalistic experience required.
  • ENGL 285. Guilfordian Practicum
    Credits: 1-4. Workshop involving editing, Web work, layout, photography or advanced writing for The Guilfordian. Prerequisite: Instructor permission. Repeatable.
  • ENGL 286. Classic American Cinema
    Credits: 4. Study of the craft and cultural significance of key films of the 1930’s through 1950’s, the golden age of Hollywood. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 287. Cult Movies
    Credits: 4. Studies the role of cult movies in American culture from the 1930's through the 1990's. Themes include social Darwinism, the Other, conformity, Freudian thanatos, feminism vs. patriarchy and the nature of consciousness. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 288. Shakespeare and Film
    Credits: 4. Explores Shakespearean plays in relation to films that reconstruct a Shakespearean narrative in an entirely different imaginary realm. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 290. Internship
    Credits: 1-4. May also be offered at the 390 level.
  • ENGL 306. Medieval Literature
    Credits: 4. Studies texts from the earliest period of English literary production (roughly from the fall of Rome to 1485). Genres may include epic, romance, drama, lyric, allegory, hagiography. May also include developing introductory skills in Anglo-Saxon, history of the English language, Middle English or paleography. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 309. Early Modern Literature
    Credits: 4. Examines one of the most prolific literary periods in the English tradition (roughly 1485-1700). Texts may include epic or lyric poetry, fiction, essays and tragic, comedic or closet drama. Special emphasis will be given to non-Shakespearean texts. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 327. British Romantic Literature
    Credits: 4. Selected British poetry, fiction and non-fiction prose written between 1780 and 1832 with special attention to intellectual and cultural issues such as imagination and perception, nature, aesthetic theory and industrialization and/or the relationship between literature and the political/historical issues of the period. These include human rights, abolition and the slave trade, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and reform. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.
  • ENGL 328. Victorian Literature
    Credits: 4. Selected British poetry, fiction and non-fiction prose written between 1832 and 1901 with special attention to intellectual and cultural issues such as the divided self, gender, childhood, science and religion and sexuality. The course also draws attention to the relationship between literature and the political/historical issues of the period including imperialism, the monarchy and the rise of the middle class. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.
  • ENGL 331. Black Women Writers
    Credits: 4. Explores a cross-section of the contemporary and historical writings produced by women of African descent primarily in North America, but also of South America, Europe, the Caribbean or Africa. Includes the novel, short story, poetry, drama, autobiography, narrative, essay, interview, letters, reviews and literary criticism. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities and diversity in the U.S. requirements.
  • ENGL 332. Black Men Writers
    Credits: 4. Explores classic and contemporary novels, short stories, drama, poetry, literary criticism, essays and issues by writers such as Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, Amiri Baraka, August Wilson, Randall Kenan, James Baldwin, Yusef Komunyakaa and Nathan McCall. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities and diversity in the U.S. requirements.
  • ENGL 334. African Women Writers
    Credits: 4. Explores a range of literary voices from black and white women writers born in countries such as Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Botswana and Uganda. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities and intercultural requirements.
  • ENGL 336. The Elizabethan Age (HIST 336)
    Credits: 4. This course centers on the political, religious and cultural changes in the British Isles between the reign of Henry VIII and the Glorious Revolution. Main topics of discussion include the Reformation and the Civil War (1642-45). Fulfills humanities requirements.
  • ENGL 342. American Romanticism
    Credits: 4. Study of Irving, Cooper, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville and Whitman as well as the painting of the era. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.
  • ENGL 372. Modern Poetry
    Credits: 4. Significant 20th-century poetry in British and American literature. Includes forms, techniques and themes; addresses poets such as Pound, Eliot and Williams. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.
  • ENGL 376. Contemporary Fiction
    Credits: 4. Survey course that engages students in reading works written in the years following the end of the Vietnam War by authors who live and work outside the United States and who come from a variety of nationalities and ethnicities.
  • ENGL 378. Caribbean Literature
    Credits: 4. Focus on the Post-Colonial novel—writing which is sophisticated, often experimental and poised on the cutting edge of contemporary literature. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities and intercultural requirements.
  • ENGL 380. Rhetoric and Composition
    Credits: 4. A history of rhetorical studies and a survey of major schools of thought, with emphasis on the practice of teaching writing. Includes study of grammar and the history of the English language. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.
  • ENGL 382. Technical and Professional Communication
    Credits: 4. Introduction to the practice of the profession of technical communications; includes work at off-site non-profits. Designed for students from many disciplines. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.
  • ENGL 400. Senior Seminar
    Credits: 4. Required of all senior English majors. Rotating seminars in special themes and literary figures. Sample topics include Violence in Early Modern Drama, Melville, and Literature and Ethics. Prerequisites: ENGL 200 and 20 credits toward the English major (at least 12 credits taken at Guilford, including one 300-level literature course).
  • ENGL 470. Senior Thesis
    Credits: Credit variable. Work may apply toward departmental honors if prior arrangement is made by student.