Cultural Engagement Courses Spring 2027
ENGL 305: World Indigenous Literatures
Instructor: Robert Warrior
64662 | TuTh 9:30-10:45 AM | Strong 334A
ENGL 306: Global Environmental Literature
Instructor: Phillip Drake
59323 | By appointment | Online
This course surveys global perspectives of environments, environmental aesthetics, ecological dynamics, and environmental politics through literature. Coursework will draw on literature by authors in various geographical and cultural contexts, covering a broad time period to explore major historical movements and events that animate environmental literature, from the Enlightenment to the anthropocene. Theoretically, this course traces the emergence of ecocriticism as it evolves in conversation with feminism, postcolonialism, animal studies, and posthumanism. These theoretical movements will guide our discussions and inquiries into relevant issues that impact the environment, like colonialism, racism, patriarchy, industrialization, science, development, warfare, technological advancement, imperialism, conflict, and disaster. A broader goal of the course is to foster critical tools and perspectives to improve our conduct as social and ecological actors. Likely texts will include: Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place; Robert Barclay, Melal; Kang, The Vegetarian; Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide; Samanta Schweblin, Fever Dream; and selected works that will be posted on the class Canvas page.
ENGL 336: Jewish American Literature & Culture
Instructor: Samantha Cooper (Jewish Studies)
65433 | MW 3:30-4:45 PM | Wescoe 1045
This class explores the literary and cultural history of Jews of the United States, Latin America, and Canada. Each week, we will assess representative examples of fiction, poetry, drama, music, film, and visual art that speak to the American Jewish experience from their 1654 arrival in New Amsterdam to the present day. We will evaluate how examples of Jewish literature and culture demonstrate themes characteristic of the American Jewish experience, such as (im)migration, assimilation/acculturation, religious reform, intergenerational conflict, political activism, and tensions between cultural heritage and modernity, while also considering how they reflect Jewish contributions to the Americas.
ENGL 338: Introduction to African-American Literature
Instructor: Zay Dale
62480 | TuTh 2:00-3:15 PM | Wescoe 4020
This course introduces students to prominent works of African-American literature from the 18th century to the present as well as to the basic approaches to study and principles of this body of work, including its connection with African sources. Literature will include a wide variety of genres, and course materials may be supplemented by folklore, music, film, and visual arts.
Prerequisite: ENGL 102 or ENGL 105 or the equivalent, or consent of the instructor.
Satisfies: Goal 4 Outcome 1 (AE41) , US Culture (USC)
ENGL 382: Composing Cultures
Instructor: Mary Jo Reiff
64667 | TuTh 12:30-1:45 PM | Wescoe 4075
In this course, you will explore how texts are culturally situated and will carry out your own investigations of a culture/subculture, community, group, or organization of your choosing. Through analysis of the rhetorical and social situations that motivate writing and investigation of a culture's discursive interactions, we will explore how a group's goals and actions are shaped by cultural contexts for writing/communicating. We will complete a range of related writing projects: an observation of a place/setting for a culture's interactions; an analysis of a culture's language or cultural artifacts; and interviews with participants in a culture or oral histories, culminating in a descriptive and analytical account of a culture or subculture.
ENGL 390: Studies in: Travel Writing & Costa Rica Experience
Instructors: Marta Caminero-Santangelo
63808 | Study Abroad (Dec 21-Apr 15)
Costa Rica is known for its natural beauty, extraordinary biodiversity, and commitment to the environment. This Study Abroad program focuses on experiencing a different landscape and culture while writing about these experiences. Pre-departure meetings discuss the history and geography of Costa Rica and the genre of travel writing, including how “travel writing” can incorporate creative nonfiction, personal reflection, and even fiction and poetry. Possible writing themes include Costa Rica’s biodiversity and cultural diversity, adventure travel, worldview, and personal transformation.
Highlights during the program itself include two volcanoes, Lake Arenal, two waterfalls including La Fortuna (over 200 feet tall), hot springs, the cloud forest, a sloth sanctuary, and beaches on both the Caribbean and Pacific sides of the country, as well as an Indigenous reserve (Bri Bri), an Indigenous cultural demonstration (Maleku), and Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side, which is heavily influenced by Afro-Costa Rican culture. Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific Ocean has three beaches and an incredible hike through a biodiverse landscape boasting a variety of monkeys. The program culminates in the spring with a dinner/reading at which students share their travel writing projects.
*This program enrolls through Study Abroad, with application deadlines in September. For more information on how to enroll in nexr year's program, please visit Costa Rica Study Abroad.
ENGL 390: Happily Ever After: Romance as Freedom
Instructors: Hannah Scupham
66178 | TuTh 11:00-12:15 PM | Wescoe 4020
Often maligned and misunderstood, popular romance fiction is both a best-selling and under-studied genre. In this course, we will explore the wide, wild, and wonderful world of the romance novels and its critical reception by scholars and readers alike with an emphasis on gender, race, sexuality, and disability. Our course begins with the "bodice rippers" of 1980s and 1990s and the early scholarship/critiques of the genre. We will then shift to discussing how romance media from the past 20 years depicts dating/relationships, pleasure, agency, joy, and readership. In our final unit, we will examine current trends in romance, readership, and publishing, including BookTok, Bookstagram, dark romances, the emergent New Adult genre, and fanfiction, just to name a few. Whether you’re a romance lover or a romance hater, this course is for you. Looking forward to exploring the delightful world of popular romance with you!
ENGL 492: The London Review
Instructor: Doug Crawford-Parker & Sarah Crawford-Parker
51207 | M 4:30-5:50 PM | Study Abroad (Mar 13-Mar 21)
The London Review is a Spring Break study abroad program through which students explore their individual interests in London with faculty support and guidance. Before Spring Break, students research museums, monuments, neighborhoods, sports venues, and other sites in preparation for the visit. They also read examples of travel writing as inspiration for the writing they will do upon return. After Spring Break, students collaborate to create a book documenting and analyzing their experiences. Students participating in the London Review enroll in ENGL 492 (anyone) or HNRS 492 (must be an Honors student).
*This program enrolls through Study Abroad, with application deadlines in October. For more information on how to enroll in nexr year's program, please visit London Review Study Abroad.
ENGL 534: Major Authors (Capstone): Momaday & Erdrich
Instructor: Robert Warrior
64669 | TuTh 12:30-1:45 PM | Fraser 225
