General Literature Courses Spring 2026
ENGL 306: Global Environmental Literature
Instructor: Paula Console-Soican
51495 | By Appointment | Online (Jan 20-Mar 13)
55797 | By Appointment | Online Mar 23-May 15)
An examination of a variety of literary and other representations of human and non-human environments and environmentalism. Particular attention will be paid to how race, gender, class, sexuality, and geography produce and are produced by those representations. (Same as EVRN 306 and GIST 306.) Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or consent of the instructor. Recommended: Prior completion of one 200-level English course.
ENGL 309: The British Novel
Instructor: Hannah Scupham
55798 | TuTh 2:00-3:15 PM | Wescoe 4076
Adventure, passion, intrigue, humor, deception – just a few elements of the wonderful world of the British novel. Have you ever wondered how the novel became the dominant, beloved genre of literature? In this course, we will explore the development of the British novel from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. From early epistolary novels to lush Realism, from quiet domestic tales to dramatic sensation fiction, we will examine the social, cultural, and political backdrops to some of the best novels in the British tradition. Join us for a world filled with luscious prose, thrilling plots, complex characters, and vivid explorations of the mind and heart. Texts will include: Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White, and E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India.
ENGL 320: American Literature I: Beginnings to 1865
Instructor: Laura Mielke
56491 | TuTh 9:30-10:45 AM | Wescoe 4076
This course surveys works of American literature from Indigenous oral and visual literatures through responses to the U.S. Civil War and asks students to reflect on how literature contributed to the formation of cultures in what Europeans called the New World. Over the course of the semester, we will consider the variety of ways in which residents of North America, and later the United States and various Tribal Nations, used texts: to create community, to promote settlement, to worship and proselytize, to control those in the minority (especially through the category of “race”), to establish or challenge political authority, to contemplate the beautiful, to pursue social reform, and to shape national identity. This semester, we will frame literature across these decades in the context of the US semiquincentennial (i.e. 250th birthday).
ENGL 338: Introduction to African American Literature
Instructor: Dr. Zay Dale
55800 | MW 3:30-4:45 PM | Wescoe 4020
An introduction 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: Prior completion of the Core 34: English (SGE) requirement. Recommended: Prior completion of one 200-level English course.
ENGL 492: The London Review
Instructors: Doug Crawford-Parker & Sarah Crawford
42329 | M 4:30-5:50 PM | Wescoe 4023 & ABROAD Mar 14-22 (Spring Break)
Students participating in the London Review enroll in ENGL 492 or HNRS 492. 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. As well, they 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.
