English Courses

101 Writing Seminar 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.

102 College Reading and Writing: Many Voices. 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 fall semester of first year. Fulfills college reading and writing requirement.

141 Intermediate Composition. 4. This course is for students who wish to reinforce the academic reading, writing and thinking skills introduced in ENG 101 and 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.

151 Historical Perspectives (Variable Title). 4. Fulfills historical perspectives requirement.

160 Greek Myth, Art and Literature. 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.

200 Introduction to Literary Studies. 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.

206 Introduction to Poetry. 4. Focus on analysis of poetry with attention to both formal and interpretive issues. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills arts requirement.

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207 Introduction to Fiction. 4. Study of narrative conventions in the short story and novel. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills arts requirement.

210 Playwriting Workshop (THEA 244). 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.

211 Poetry Workshop. 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 206 or permission of instructor. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.

212 Fiction Workshop. 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 207 or permission of instructor. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.

215 Play Analysis (THEA 215). 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.

217 Literacy Seminar (EDUC 217, JPS 217, PSY 217, SOAN 217, WMST 217). 2.
Students are trained as literacy tutors and spend four hours per week tutoring in community literacy programs. Wider issues of literacy and related problems are considered. CR/NC.

221 British Literature I. 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.

222 British Literature II. 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.

223 Shakespeare. 4. General introduction to the comedies, histories and/or tragedies.. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement

225 American Literature Survey I. 4. The American mind in literature from the Puritans to the Civil War. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.

226 American Literature Survey II. 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.

228 American Nature Writing (REL 120). 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 our 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.

230 African American Literature. 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.

234 Native American Literature. 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.

250 Special Topics. 4. May also be offered at 350 and 450 levels.

260 Independent Study. 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.

270 World Literature. 4. Study of selected literature from the seven continents. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities requirement.

272 World Cinema. 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.

282 Journalism. 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.

285 Guilfordian Practicum. 1-4. Workshop involving writing, editing or technical work for The Guilfordian. No journalistic experience required. Repeatable

286 Classic American Cinema. 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.

287 Cult Movies. 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, the nature of consciousness. Fulfills humanities requirement.

288 Shakespeare and Film. 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.

290 Internship. 1-4. May also be offered at the 390 level.

306 Medieval Literature. 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.

309 Early Modern Literature. 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.

327 British Romantic Literature. 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 such as human rights, abolition and the slave trade, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and reform. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.

328 Victorian Literature. 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 and/or 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.

331 Black Women Writers. 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.

332 Black Men Writers. 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.

334 African Women Writers. 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.

338 Harlem Renaissance (IDS 422). 4. This critical-thinking-based discussion course will introduce students to the “Jazz Age” of the 1920’s and 30’s from an Afro-centric perspective and will explore the significance of the era to the development of the African American literary and historical traditions. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities and diversity in the U.S. requirement.

342 American Romanticism. 4. Literary study focusing on such major figures as Emerson, Thoreau, Poe, Hawthorne, Melville and Whitman. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.

372 Modern Poetry. 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.

376 Contemporary Fiction. 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.

377 Readings in Gay and Lesbian Studies (IDS 409). 4. An intensive study of the literature and culture of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender and queer movements in 20th-century American with particular focus on the intersections among Queer theory, Women's Studies and African-American Studies. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities and diversity in the U.S. requirements.

378 Caribbean Literature. 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.

380 Rhetoric and Composition. 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.

382 Technical and Professional Communication. 4. Introduction to the history, technology and practice of the profession of technical communications. Designed for students from many disciplines. Prerequisites: ENGL 102 and Historical Perspectives.

400 Senior Seminar. 4. Required of all senior English majors. Rotating seminars in special themes and literary figures. Sample topics include Violence in Early Modern Drama, Melville, 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).

470 Senior Thesis. Credit variable. Work may apply toward departmental honors if prior arrangement is made by student.

490 Departmental Honors. 4-8.