Introductory English Courses Spring 2025
ENGL 105: Honors Introduction to English – Mythic Epic
Instructor: Sarah Van der Laan
46700 | TuTh 1:00-2:15 PM | Wescoe 4021- Lawrence
A victorious hero, cast adrift on uncharted seas on his return from a cataclysmic war, struggles through unimaginable dangers and powerful temptations to return to the wife and home he left twenty years ago. The Odyssey—one of the oldest surviving works of European literature—continues to inspire films, plays, novels, poems, graphic novels, and artworks: war stories and love stories, postcolonial and feminist revisions, parodies and tragedies. We will explore the Odyssey and three contemporary adaptations: Caribbean poet Derek Walcott's stage adaptation for Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company, the Coen brothers' film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and Madeline Miller's recent novel Circe. We will ask why Homer’s tales of Troy, with their questioning of ideals of honor and glory, their awareness of the human cost of warfare, and their struggle to find heroism in human experience, remain necessary today. And we will engage with adaptation theory to discover how contemporary authors and directors reinvent myths for new audiences and examine the nature of adaptation itself.
ENGL 209: Introduction to Fiction
Instructor: Brian Daldorph
44969 | MWF 10:00-10:50 AM | Wescoe 4035 - Lawrence
46491 | MWF 11:00-11:50 AM | Wescoe 4035 - Lawrence
ENGL 210: Introduction to Poetry
Instructor: Lydia Noland
55684 | MWF 10:00-10:50 AM | Fraser 111 - Lawrence
55685 | MWF 11:00-11:50 AM | Fraser 111 - Lawrence
Springing from William Carlos William’s definition of poetry– “new form dealt with as a reality in itself”– we will explore a wide expanse of realities in this class, uncovering all the wonderful layers poets use to capture their ideas. While our focus will be located in the 20th century, we will reference past poetic movements to better understand how we got to the poetic scene of today. We will cover poems that discuss history, relationships, the everyday and the exciting. We will practice being both critics and creators to develop your mastery of poetic technique. Assignments will include a short analysis paper, informal writings, and options for creative projects along the way.
ENGL 220: Introduction to Creative Writing
Instructor: Landon McGee
55686 | MW 11:00-12:15 PM | Strong Hall 334A - Lawrence
55687 | MW 12:30-1:45 PM | Strong Hall 334A - Lawrence
In this course, students will read and write poetry and short fiction. In the poetry section of the course, we’ll ask serious questions about the craft of poetry and the practice of seeing and engaging with the world as poets. In the short fiction section, we’ll use contemporary speculative fiction as a primary lens for exploring storycraft. To end each section of the course, students will participate in workshops, with the goal of creating a genuinely transformative critical atmosphere in which we help shepherd good writing into existence through care and attention. At the end of the semester, students will do a deep revision of their most successful writing. The primary goal we’ll set ourselves all semester is this: to approach both reading and writing with radical generosity.
Instructor: Kevin Mulligan
53641 | TuTh 1:00-2:15 PM | Fraser 111 - Lawrence
55674 | TuTh 2:30-3:45 PM | Fraser 111 - Lawrence
In this course, students will study the practices of creative writing in three genres: short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Through rigorous inquiry, discussion, and creative experimentation, students will gain a strong understanding of each genre’s conventions, strategies, and contexts--and then will put that knowledge into practice to produce original writing. Writing assignments in the course will be split between critical work, which analyzes the technique and function of various creative pieces and allows students to read creative works as potential models or sites of learning opportunities, and creative work, which allows students to develop their own creative philosophy as it applies to each genre they work within. In lieu of a final exam, students will submit a portfolio of their revised work, along with a short reflection paper.
ENGL 300: Introduction to English Studies
Instructor: Colleen Morrissey
50914 | MW 3:00-4:15 PM | Wescoe 4076 - Lawrence
51923 | By Appointment | Online
What do we mean when we say we “study English” in the 21st century? How is it possible that the same academic field includes the study of Shakespeare’s plays, Toni Morrison’s novels, Kendrick Lamar’s song lyrics, politicians’ social media posts, business memos, and the crafting of an original poem? What do you actually get out of an English major or minor? In this course, students will learn the histories, approaches, and intersections of the three major areas of English: Literary Studies, Rhetoric and Composition, and Creative Writing. Together, we will examine and enact the core techniques that make up the study of English, including literary analysis, rhetorical analysis, cultural criticism, craft analysis and creative composition. Students will hone the critical thinking, research, and writing skills that are the backbone of English studies by analyzing texts of all kinds—literary, professional, political, just to name a few—and practicing those techniques in their own original and research-based projects. Course work will consist of 3 essays and a capstone final project along with shorter, informal writings, readings, and in-class discussion. Expert speakers will provide inside knowledge on the work of an English researcher, writer, critic, etc. Ultimately, students will leave this course with a firm grasp of the different branches of English studies, the place of English studies in academia and the broader world, and a sense of their own future potential pathways as students and thinkers.
ENGL 308: Intro to Literary Criticism & Theory
Instructor: Paul Outka & Emma Webster
55663 | MW 11:00 - 12:15 PM | WES 4047 - LAWRENCE
Study of significant problems in literary interpretation and methodology, in which basic critical principles and approaches are systematically examined and applied. These approaches might include, but are not limited to, feminism, Marxism, deconstruction, psychoanalysis, and cultural studies.
