English Courses
English classes in our department range from general survey courses to classes that offer a more in-depth look at a literary genre, writer, literary time period, and theoretical approach. Below is the list of English courses offered in Fall 2024. Please see the University Catalog for a complete list of courses offered by our department.
| ENGL 106 Intro to Literary Studies | Dr. Christina Jarvis Section 01 Section 02 | Exploring the theme of “human journeys,” this course offers an overview of the major areas within and current approaches to literary studies. In addition to gaining practical research and analysis skills, students will discover and spread literary joy through engagement projects, such a"Lit bombs." |
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| ENGL 127 Becoming Americans | Stephine Hunt Section 01 | Students will delve into historical and recent American literature across multiple genres and in relation to multiple institutions and media that relates to the experience of "becoming Americans." |
| ENGL 131 Word and Image | Dr. Ici Vanwesenbeeck Section HR | In this course, we will explore the interrelation between word and image in ekphrastic poetry, calligraphy, cartoons, and graphic novels. Our broad thematic approach will be romance. |
| ENGL 132 Word and Sound | Alison Pipitone Section 01 Section 02 | This is an online/asynchronous course, open to students with or without songwriting experience. Students will complete assignments on lyrics; music; production; close listening- and more! We will also explore the concept of Resilience in songs, using three eras in history as a starting point. |
| ENGL 144 Reading Humanity | Prof. Daniel Laurie Section 01 | This section of Reading Humanity focuses on group dynamics and the sense of belonging. The key questions we will consider are: What does it mean to belong? What does it mean to be an outsider? And what’s at stake in conformity? |
| ENGL 144 Reading Humanity | Dr. Emily VanDette Section 02 Section 03 | This section of Reading Humanity focuses on the theme "Representing Animals," and the course explores depictions of animals in literary works, philosophical discussions, and examples from art history. |
| ENGL 167 Border Crossings | Dr. Jeanette McVicker Section 01 | We’ll explore narratives of geographic, linguistic, temporal, spatial, and species border crossings, and consider formations of the human, inhuman and non-human located in the in-between spaces and contact zones. |
| ENGL 167 Border Crossings | Dr. Birger Vanwesenbeeck Section 02 | Can the Holocaust be represented? To capture the scope and magnitude of the Nazi atrocities has been said to lie beyond the limits of literary or artistic imagination, even as artists have recognized the need to do so. This course offers an overview of how various writing types sought to bear witness to the Holocaust. |
| ENGL 204 Survey of English Literature | Dr. David Kaplin Section 01 | The Greatest Hits of English literature. Only one wolf in this section. We will role play. |
| ENGL 204 Survery of English Literature | Dr. Shannon McRae Section 02 | Inside you are two wolves: one is Beowulf. The other is Virginia Woolf. You are a Survey of British Literature. There will be other wolves. |
| ENGL 213 Texts and Contexts | Dr. Jeanette McVicker Section 01 | A core foundations course for the various majors in English, it prioritizes reading strategies for considering texts, including theoretical and critical frameworks, historical, cultural and other kinds of contexts. |
| ENGL 216 Science Fiction | Dr. Bruce Simon Section 01 | I'll be choosing works and organizing units for this "historical, comparative, and generic survey of science fiction" with an eye toward their contemporary relevance and resonance. Please see the Fall 2022 syllabus for a look back at my most recent such decisions, and scroll to the end for links to earlier syllabi. |
| ENGL 221 Great Books: Witches & Metal Men | Dr. Shannon McRae Section 01 | Arthurian Lit: Men Who Hit Each Other Over the Head to Get Ladies, and the Witches who Mess With Them. |
| ENGL 227 Stage/Screen | Dr. Ann Siegle Drege Section 02 | As one would guess, students in this course study plays and films, and in this case, through the lens of change and our response to change. We'll explore the impact of choices made in the visual representation. This course also fulfills the requirement for Humanities and Creativity & Innovation in Fredonia Foundations. |
| ENGL 274 Social Justice and the Written Word | Dr. Birger Vanwesenbeeck Section 01 | A study in which writers and others use the written word as a form of social critique and to effect social change. |
| ENGL 274 Social Justice and the Written Word | Dr. Saundra Liggins Section 01 Section HR | A study of how the written word is used as social critique and to effect social change. We will examine speeches and stories of the American Civil Rights Movement to explore ways literary texts can reflect and be an instrument of social justice. Students will write about social justice issues of their own interests/experiences. |
| ENGL 280 Introduction to Film | Dr. Shannon McRae Section 01 | Everybody watches movies, and everybody has opinions about them. But would you like to see more deeply into them, to understand them on multiple levels? Yes you would! |
| ENGL 296 American Identities | Dr. Bruce Simon Section 01 Section 02 | What has it meant, what does it mean, what could it mean, what should it mean to be an American? This semester, we will focus on the power and future of the stories we tell ourselves and each other about “America." |
| ENGL 329 Graphic Literature | Dr. Iclal Vanwesenbeeck Section 01 | In this course, we will read a diverse list of graphic novels that explore animal human bond and identity and trauma. |
| ENGL 338 Contemporary American Literature | Dr. Christina Jarvis Section 01 | Do you like to follow peculiar travel suggestions? Are you ready for the next airborne toxic event? Do you love novels and short stories that make you think, laugh, and go slightly crazy all at the same time? If these questions intrigue you, consider studying contemporary (postmodern) American fiction with Dr. Jarvis! |
| ENGL 340 Black Women Writers | Dr. Saundra Liggins Section 01 | On his final appearance on The Daily Show, Trevor Noah said that America should "talk to Black women because, unlike everybody else, Black women can't afford to f*ck around and find out." In this course we will examine works of fiction and non-fiction to see how Black women writers addressed their times and continue to speak to ours. |
| ENGL 349 Theories of Gender | Dr. Jeanette McVicker Section 01 | This course prioritizes an intersectional, transnational approach to studying the work of various gender theorists. We’ll discuss complex identity formations with a strong focus on the integration of literature, the arts, and activism with theory to challenge social and institutional practices. X-listed as WGST 301. |
| ENGL 373 Grammar for Everyone | Dr. Susan Spangler Section 01 | Need to improve your language use? In Grammar for Everyone, you'll learn about the building blocks and structure of English, and how to eliminate the grammar errors that plague your own communication. You'll also explore attitudes toward dialects and language use that promote positive interactions. |
| ENGL 382 Icelandic Noir | Dr. Iclal Vanwesenbeeck Section 01
| In-depth study of Icelandic Noir offers two broad thematic approaches. "Setting and Landscape"; "Conflict between Modernity and Tradition". We will examine in Icelandic crime fiction and films imagery of angst about globalism & foreign-funded energy industry; human rights & immigration laws; ancestry & genetic research, etc. |
| ENGL 397 Discourses of Enlightenment | Dr. Birger Vanwesenbeeck Section 01 | Study of the literary and philosophical transformations during the age of Enlightenment(s) (Aufklarung, Illuminismo, Lumieres, etc.). Focuses on the genre of satire and concepts such as liberty, discovery, rationality, natural law, revolution, difference, belonging and the idea of Europe. |
| ENGL 427 Major Authors: Fern and Twain | Dr. Emily VanDette
| This section of ENGL 427 features Mark Twain and Fanny Fern, 2 US authors famous for their wit and satire. The course includes readings by Twain and Fern, as well as research and writing assignments. |