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English > Courses

Courses

Department of English

From the 2011-12 Millsaps College Catalog

Literary Studies

1000 Introduction to Interpretation (4 sem. hours). This course is a prerequisite to most courses in the English department. It focuses on a variety of interpretive problems and on different kinds of texts, including films.

2010 British and American Literary History I (4 sem. hours). A history of British and American literature from the beginnings to 1800, with an emphasis on the meaning and development of literary history.

2020 British and American Literary History II (4 sem. hours). A history of British and American literature from 1800 to the present, with an emphasis on the meaning and development of literary history.

2110 Southern Literature and Culture (4 sem. hours). This course involves a study of Southern poets, dramatists, and/or writers of fiction in the context of the southern culture out of which and about which they write. Content will vary. Offered in alternate years.

2120 Multicultural Literature (4 sem. hours). This course will focus on various aspects of African-American, Asian-American, Chicano, Jewish, Native American, and/or other ethnic American literatures. Sometimes the focus will be comparative, and sometimes the focus will be on a particular tradition, such as African-American writing. Offered in alternate years.

2130 Women Writers (4 sem. hours). The particular writers, periods, and genres covered will vary, but the works of women writers will be read in light of their cultural contexts and of current feminist methodologies. Texts will reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of women writing in English. Offered in alternate years.

2440-2450 Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature (4 sem. hours). Courses in this category cross disciplinary boundaries and are cross-listed with another department. Possibilities include literature and history, literature and art, literature and philosophy, or literature and religion. Offered occasionally.

3100 Studies in Medieval Literature (4 sem. hours). This course is designed to introducestudents to a wide range of themes, genres, and texts written before 1500. The specific topics will vary in different years, but may include the romance, women's spiritual autobiography, cycle plays, or religious writings. This course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 (recommended) or with permission of the instructor. This course or ENGL 3300 is offered in alternate years.

3110 Studies in Renaissance Literature (4 sem. hours). This course will include the study of poets, playwrights, and prose writers of the Tudor, Stuart, and Commonwealth periods. This course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 (recommended) or with permission of the instructor. Offered occasionally.

3120 Studies in Restoration and 18th-Century Literature (4 sem. hours). This course will focus on a variety of themes and topics in literature from the English Restoration through the 18th century. The topics, which will vary from year to year, will include satire, the novel, drama, and Johnson and His Age. This course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 (recommended) or with permission of the instructor. Offered occasionally.

3130 Studies in 19th-Century British Literature (4 sem. hours). The specific content of this course will vary from year to year, with topics focusing on significant issues in Romantic and/or Victorian literature. This course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 (recommended) or with permission of theinstructor. Offered occasionally.

3150 Studies in American Literature Before 1920 (4 sem. hours). A study of the literary history of the United States, focusing upon the poetry, drama, and/or fiction of the Colonial and Federal period, on the American Renaissance, or on the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Course content will vary from semester to semester. The course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 (recommended) or with permission of the instructor. Offered occasionally.

3170 Studies in 20th-Century Literature (4 sem. hours). Students will read, discuss, and write about English-language literature of the 20th century. The specific content will vary from year to year, but possibilities include such topics as modernism as a literary movement, the modern novel, modern and contemporary poetry, and 20th century drama. This course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 (recommended) or with permission of the instructor. Offered occasionally.

3180 Studies in Contemporary Literature (4 sem. hours). Students will read, discuss, and write about contemporary English-language literature. The specific content will vary, but possibilities include works in such genres as fiction and non-fiction prose, poetry, drama, and film. The course may also emphasize such special topics as Cultural or Gender Studies, Literary History or Theory, and may be repeated for credit with a different topic. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 (recommended) or with permission of the instructor. Offered in alternate years.

3190 Postcolonial Literature (4 sem. hours). Students will read, discuss, and write about English-language literature produced by writers from former British, and American colonies or spheres of influence in Africa, the Caribbean, and South Asia. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 (recommended) or with permission of the instructor.

3200 Special Studies in Literary History (4 sem. hours). This course will involve the study of the transformations, transitions, and continuities in literary history. Specific topics will vary, but possibilities include the transition from Neoclassical to Romantic literature, the move from the Victorian to the modern period, or the development of American autobiography. This course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 (recommended) or with permission of the instructor. Offered occasionally.

3300 Chaucer (4 sem. hours). This course will consider Chaucer's major works, including "The Canterbury Tales" and "Troilus and Criseyde", in the larger cultural context of the 14th century. Special attention may be given to Chaucer's experimentation with a wide variety of poetic forms. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 (recommended) or with permission of the instructor. This course or ENGL 3100 offered in alternate years.

3310 Shakespeare and the Play of Genre (4 sem. hours). This course will explore the poetic and dramatic career of William Shakespeare from the perspective of contemporary critical approaches, with particular attention to literary genre. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 is recommended. Offered in alternate years.

3320 Milton (4 sem. hours). With a primary emphasis on "Paradise Lost", this course will consider Milton's works and his career. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 is recommended. Offered in alternate years.

3330 Shakespeare and the Play of Culture (4 sem. hours). While considering a different set of plays and secondary readings from those offered in ENGL 3310, this course will explore the poetic and dramatic career of William Shakespeare within the context of his time, with a particular focus on the theory and practice of cultural studies and/or literary theory. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 and ENGL 3310 are recommended. Offered occasionally.

3340 Special Studies in Shakespeare (4 sem. hours). While considering a different set of plays from those offered in ENGL 3310 or ENGL 3330, this course will explore areas of continuing relevance to literary studies. With Shakespearean drama providing our primary focus, the course may emphasize such special topics as gender studies, literary theory, history, or film. This course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 and ENGL 3310 are recommended. Offered occasionally.

3350 Authorial Studies (4 sem. hours). This course will be devoted to the works of one ormore authors, focusing on their texts in the context of their lives and cultures. Possible authors include Hawthorne, James, and Wharton; Joyce and Woolf; Faulkner and Welty; or Austen and Scott. The course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 (recommended) or with the permission of the instructor.

3500 Studies in Genre (4 sem. hours). This course will be devoted to studying genres such as the novel, the lyric, the short story, and the drama. The particular genre will vary from year to year; students may repeat the course for credit when the topic is different. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 is (recommended) or the permission of the instructor.

3540-3542 Film Studies (1, 2, or 4 sem. hours). This course will consider the cultural and artistic significance of film. The content of the course will vary, potentially emphasizing such issues as the relationship between film and another genre, films of a particular period or style, or the history of film.

3550 History of Literary Criticism (4 sem. hours). This course includes an historical survey of major theorists and movements from the ancient world through postmodernism. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 is recommended. Offered occasionally.

3570 Theory and Practice of Narrative (4 sem. hours). This course addresses the nature of narrative with attention given to some of the leading theorists of narrative and to the reading of selected narratives—drawn from fables, myths, poems, short stories, and novels, as well as historical narratives, case studies, and movies—in light of these theories. Prerequisite: ENGL 1000 is recommended. Offered occasionally.

3750 Special Topics in Literature and Culture (4 sem. hours). The specific content will vary, but this course will consider the interplay of texts and their cultural or multicultural contexts. Offered occasionally.

3800-3803 Directed Study in English (1, 2, 3, or 4 sem. hours). If students wish to pursue a subject or problem beyond the standard curricular offerings, they must plan such a course with an instructor and obtain that instructor's permission to register for this option.

3852 Internships in English (2 sem. hours). Under the guidance of an English department faculty sponsor, students may elect to take up to two internships (each worth two semester hours), working in such areas as public relations, advertising, theatre, or journalism.

4900 Senior Seminar (4 sem. hours). English majors are required to take this course designed to help students consolidate and build on their studies.

Writing

2400 Introduction to Creative Writing (4 sem. hours). Students will study the forms, techniques, and processes of fiction, poetry, or script writing by reading models and by practicing their own writing. Students will discuss their own writing in the context of readings from traditional and contemporary works. The specific focus of the course will vary from year to year.

2410 Expository Writing (4 sem. hours). This course will focus on the art of essay writing in various modes. Required readings will vary, but there will always be a substantial amount of writing and revising. Offered occasionally.

2430 Journalism (4 sem. hours). This basic course teaches the skills of news writing and reporting, including the history and principles of journalism, and the techniques of layout and copywriting. Offered occasionally.

3400-3402 Writing and Reading Fiction (2 or 4 sem. hours). An intermediate class in the reading and writing of fiction. Prerequisite: ENGL 2400 or with the permission of the instructor. Offered occasionally.

3410-3412 Writing and Reading Poetry (2 or 4 sem. hours). An advanced class in the reading and writing of poetry. Class time will be divided between discussing poems by writers outside the class and by students in it. Prerequisite: ENGL 2400 or with the permission of the instructor. Offered occasionally.

3420 Writing and Reading Creative Nonfiction (4 sem. hours). Students will read and study examples of published nonfiction (the personal essay, the memoir, etc.) and will write their own creative nonfiction. Prerequisite: ENGL 2400 or with the permission of the instructor. Offered occasionally.

3450 Writing for New Media (4 sem. hours). An investigation of the approaches, styles, and challenges of writing in a Web 2.0 environment. Offered occasionally.

3760-3762 Special Projects in Writing (1, 2, or 4 sem. hours). This course is designed for students who want to pursue an independent writing project beyond work done in one of the established courses. Students must obtain permission of the instructor to register for this option.

3900 Senior Workshop in Creative Writing (4 sem. hours). Students writing in a variety of genres will work together to complete substantial creative projects. Prerequisites: ENGL 2400 and two courses designated by the English department as intermediate courses in creative writing, or the consent of the instructor.