Department of English and Comparative Literature
BEVERLY TAYLOR, Chair
English Program
Professors
William L. Andrews (101) African American, American
Christopher M. Armitage (1) Renaissance, Poetry
David Baker, Shakespeare
A. Reid Barbour (83) Renaissance, Renaissance Studies
James W. Coleman (89) American, African American, 20th-Century American, Southern
Pam Durban (114) Creative Writing
Connie C. Eble (9) English Language, Medieval
Darryl J. Gless (62) Renaissance
Philip Gura (78) American, American Studies
Minrose Gwin (123) Southern, 20th-Century American
Trudier Harris (60) 20th-Century American, African American, American, Southern, Novel, Poetry
Mae Henderson (102) African American, 20th-Century American, Critical Theory
Fred Hobson (84) American, Southern, 20th-Century American, American Studies
Joy Kasson (90) American, American Studies
Edward Donald Kennedy (22) Medieval, Medieval Studies, Comparative Literature, Medieval Drama
Laurie Langbauer (97) 19th-Century British, Critical Theory
George S. Lensing Jr. (26) 20th-Century American and British, Poetry
Michael A. McFee (99) Creative Writing
John P. McGowan (92) Critical Theory, 19th-Century British, Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies, Novel, Women's Studies
Jeanne Moskal (77) 19th-Century British, Critical Theory, Women's Studies
Patrick P. O'Neill (66) Medieval, English Language, Celtic, Medieval Studies
Ruth Salvaggio (124) 18th Century, Critical Theory
James Seay (87) Creative Writing
Alan R. Shapiro (96) 20th-Century American, Creative Writing
Beverly W. Taylor (70) 19th-Century British, Novel, Women's Studies
James P. Thompson (72) 18th-Century British, Critical Theory, Novel
Joseph S. Viscomi (76) 19th-Century British
Linda Wagner-Martin (80) American, 20th-Century American, Southern, Comparative Literature, Novel, Poetry, Women's Studies
Joseph S. Wittig (51) Medieval, English Language
Associate Professors
Nicholas Allen (117) Irish Literature, 20th-Century British
Daniel R. Anderson (104) Rhetoric, Composition and Literacy
Erin Carlston (108) 20th-Century American and British, Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies, Women's Studies
Pamela Cooper (88) 20th-Century British, Cultural Studies, Novel, Women's Studies
Tyler Curtain (109) Critical Theory, Cultural Studies, Novel
Jane M. Danielewicz (98) English Language, Rhetoric, Composition and Literacy
María DeGuzmán (110) Latino/Latina Studies, 20th-Century American, Critical Theory
Mary Floyd-Wilson (116) Renaissance
Marianne Gingher (111) Creative Writing
Randall Kenan (119) Creative Writing
Ritchie D. Kendall (64) Renaissance, Drama, Renaissance Studies
Theodore H. Leinbaugh (65) Medieval, Medieval Studies, Comparative Literature
Allan R. Life (55) 19th-Century British
Megan Matchinske (94) Renaissance, Cultural Studies, Renaissance Studies, Women's Studies
Thomas Reinert (103) 18th-Century British, Novel, Poetry
Eliza Richards (120) American
Bland Simpson (100) Creative Writing
Todd W. Taylor (105) Rhetoric, Composition and Literacy
Jane Thrailkill (112) American, 20th-Century American
Jessica Wolfe (106) Renaissance
Assistant Professors
Gregory Flaxman (118) Film Studies, 20th-Century British
Jennifer Ho (121) Contemporary Literature, Asian American Literature, American Studies
Jordynn Jack (122) Rhetoric and Composition
Rebecka Rutledge Fisher, African American Literature, Caribbean Literature, Theory and Criticism, Cultural Studies, American Studies, Metaphor, Post-Structuralism, Black Nationalism
Professors Emeriti
Laurence G. Avery
Doris W. Betts
Allen Dessen
Joseph Flora
Johnny Lee Greene
William Harmon
Howard M. Harper Jr.
J. Kimball King
Erika C. Lindemann
C. Townsend Ludington Jr.
Margaret A. O'Connor
Daniel W. Patterson
Julius R. Raper III
Richard D. Rust
Thomas A. Stumpf
Weldon E. Thornton
David Whisnant
Charles G. Zug III
Comparative Literature Program
Professors
Dino Cervigni (44) Medieval and Renaissance Italian Literature
Marsha S. Collins (42) Modern Peninsular Literature, Golden Age Spanish Literature
Eric S. Downing (4) 18th- and 19th-Century Literature, Literary Theory, Classics
Edward Donald Kennedy (3) Medieval, Medieval Studies, Comparative Literature, Medieval Drama
Clayton Koelb (4) Modern Literature, Literary Theory, Philosophy and Aesthetics, Comparative Literature
John P. McGowan (92) Critical Theory, Cultural Studies, Novel, Women's Studies
James L. Peacock (11) Anthropology, Symbolic Systems
Associate Professors
Diane R. Leonard (2) Modern Narrative, Modern Criticism and Theory
José Manuel Polo de Bernabé (34) 19th- and 20th-Century Spanish Drama and Poetry, Modern Critical Theory and Film
Alicia Rivero (38) Contemporary Spanish American Literature, Modern Critical Theory, Gender Issues, Literature and Science, Intellectual History
Assistant Professor
Inger S. B. Brodey (5) Prose Fiction in Late 18th- and Early 19th- Century Europe and Meiji Japan
Adjunct Professors
E. Jane Burns (1) Medieval French Literature, Feminist Theory
David J. Halperin (14) Judaism in Antiquity; Jewish Mysticism; Comparative Study of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Madeline G. Levine (4) Russian and Polish Literature, Translation Theory
Jessica Wolfe (106) Renaissance
Lecturer
John A. (Tony) Day, Southeast Asian Literature and History
Professors Emeriti
Paul Debreczeny
Lilian R. Furst
S. K. Heninger Jr.
George A. Kennedy
G. Mallary Masters
Richard A. Smyth
Philip A. Stadter
The Department of English and Comparative Literature offers an M.A. and Ph.D. in comparative literature and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English. Each program is described in detail below.
The English program offers work leading to the doctor of philosophy degree. The M.A. degree, earned in the first two years of graduate study, aims at mastery of scholarly techniques and broad knowledge of British and American literature. Building on the M.A., the Ph.D. is a more specialized degree, with a major in one of the following areas of specialization:
• The English language
• English literature from its beginnings to 1485
• English literature from 1485 to 1660 (including Milton)
• English literature from 1660 to 1789
• English literature from 1789 to 1900
• American literature to 1900
• American literature from 1900 to the present
• British literature from 1900 to the present
• Critical theory and cultural studies
• Rhetoric, composition and literacy
• African American literature
• Southern literature
Ph.D. students also focus on a minor, chosen from one of these fields just listed, or from a genre (drama, novel, poetry) or the English language or from the following alternative minors: American studies, Celtic, comparative literature, cultural studies, Latina/Latino literature, medieval studies, Renaissance studies, and women's studies. Alternatively, students may develop their own minor within the department or take an appropriate minor outside the department, with the approval of the director of graduate studies.
Candidates for the M.A. in English must complete nine courses, demonstrate a reading knowledge of a foreign language, write a thesis (ENGL 993) or fulfill a thesis option (ENGL 992), and pass an oral defense of their thesis or thesis option. The courses elected by an M.A. student must include one course in the English language, chosen from among the following: ENGL 719 (Old English); ENGL 814 (History of the English Language); ENGL 613 (Modern English Language); ENGL 720 (Old English Literature: Beowulf, prerequisite ENGL 719); or, with permission of the director of graduate studies, a graduate course in linguistics, theory of language or philosophy of language. M.A. candidates must also take Rhetorical Theory and Practice (ENGL 606); two ProSeminar courses that introduce the student to professional work in designated periods; two courses that satisfy distribution requirements and three additional courses in areas of interest. A student must also complete three additional credit hours in any course offered within the department or in any of the fields described as alternative minors. If a minor outside the department (normally nine semester hours) is chosen, the program must be adjusted and the adjustment approved by the student's advisor and the director of graduate studies. Students must also satisfy residence credit requirements set by The Graduate School. Most students take one and a half years to complete the M.A. degree. With permission of the director of graduate studies, a regularly admitted graduate student whose native language is not English may follow a special program of studies leading to a terminal master's degree with a concentration in American literature.
Graduate School requirements for the doctor of philosophy degree in English are set forth under the heading "Graduate Degrees and Degree Requirements." A Ph.D. student must fulfill the following course requirements: ENGL 606; two seminars in the major; one seminar in the minor, and one additional seminar. In addition to course work, a candidate for the Ph.D. must pass two examinations administered by the department for which they prepare by working closely with a faculty committee a year in advance: a written examination in the major and minor, and an oral examination in the major and minor and on the dissertation subject area. Doctoral candidates must also demonstrate a reading knowledge of two foreign languages (one of which fulfilled a requirement for the M.A.). The program culminates with the candidate writing a dissertation (and registering for at least three semester hours of ENGL 994) and successfully defending it in an oral examination. Students must also satisfy residence credit requirements set by The Graduate School. The department strongly recommends that candidates for the Ph.D. have supervised classroom teaching experience before receiving the degree. Such experience, when it can be offered, is considered as fulfilling a requirement for the degree. Students generally take four years beyond the M.A. to complete the degree.
The graduate program in comparative literature stresses, from an international perspective, the exploration of styles, themes, genres, movements, literary theory and literary criticism. Students take many of their courses in the cooperating literature departments and may choose among the rich offerings in the literatures of England, France, Germany, Ancient Greece and Rome, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Latin America, Russia, Asia and the United States. Students in the Ph.D. program take courses in three national literatures.
Requirements for the M.A. include CMPL 700, two courses in the history of criticism covering together the period from the Greeks to the 20th century, at least one course in literary theory and at least six courses in literature—ordinarily two in each of two national literatures and two from offerings in the program, and successful completion of an oral examination and a thesis. One theory or criticism course may be postponed until the student enters the Ph.D. program and another Comparative Literature course substituted for it.
Requirements for the Ph.D. program include the requirements for the M.A. or their equivalent taken at UNC-Chapel Hill or elsewhere; seven courses (counting those taken for the M.A.) in one national literature chosen to provide study of its historical development; five courses (counting those taken for the M.A.) in a second and third national literature (ordinarily distributed 3/2) and 10 courses (counting those taken for the M.A.) from offerings in the program. At least two of the courses should be seminars. Doctoral students are expected to develop one major and one minor track of special interest in some aspect of comparative studies through course work and independent reading. The Ph.D. written examination is devoted to these special interests. Among tracks currently available are medieval studies, Renaissance studies, feminist studies, folklore, history of criticism, literary theory, narrative studies, rhetoric, romanticism, realism and naturalism, but students may request the approval of other tracks. The Ph.D. oral examination is devoted to discussion of the prospectus for a dissertation.
Admissions Requirements
Application for admission must be made on forms provided by The Graduate School or by The Graduate School's electronic application process. These also serve as applications for fellowships and assistantships if the applicant marks the appropriate statement on the form.
Applicants for advanced degrees must have completed an undergraduate degree, customarily with a major in English, literature or related field, at the time of enrollment. To be reviewed for admission by the department's Graduate Advisory Committee, applications must be supported by Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, at least three letters of recommendation, and official transcripts showing courses, grades and degrees awarded. A writing sample and a personal statement should also be submitted. Only applicants with an M.A. in English are eligible for admission directly into the Ph.D. English program. Students who complete an M.A. in the Department of English and Comparative Literature and wish to proceed into the Ph.D. program are reviewed by the Graduate Advisory Committee for possible permission to do so. More information about the department can be obtained via its Web site at www.english.unc.edu.
Fellowships and Assistantships
Financial support for graduate students is described in the Admissions and Financial Information chapter. All applicants to the Department of English and Comparative Literature are eligible to compete for University fellowships and assistantships. In addition, the department awards two types of assistantships—research assistantships and teaching fellowships. Neither is usually available in the summer. Research assistants are assigned to faculty members to help with research projects. Teaching fellows have full instructional responsibility for sections of beginning composition courses. Graduate students in the third year of the Ph.D. program who also have taught at least four sections of composition become eligible for teaching literature courses. Only persons beyond their first year of study in the M.A. program are eligible for teaching fellowships. Non-native speakers are not considered for teaching fellowships until they have been enrolled in the Ph.D. program for at least a year. The stipend for a teaching fellow is $7,350 per section, the initial assignment usually being one section a semester. A full teaching load is typically three courses per academic year. Teaching fellows are trained and supervised by the directors of composition and undergraduate studies and are subject to student and faculty evaluation.
Foreign Language Proficiency
The Department of English and Comparative Literature considers a reading knowledge of foreign languages essential to the educational and professional aims of its degree programs. M.A. candidates must show proficiency in one foreign language and Ph.D. candidates in two languages. The department recommends Latin, French, German, Italian or Spanish. The use of other languages to fulfill the requirement must be approved by the director of graduate studies. An undergraduate major in an approved language automatically satisfies the requirement. Ordinarily, however, students fulfill the requirements by passing an examination administered through the University; by completing reading courses for graduate students offered by the Classics, German and Romance Languages departments; or, while enrolled as graduate students, by completing with a grade of at least B an undergraduate literature course in a foreign language. The foreign language requirement for the M.A. must be satisfied before the student can be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D.
Library and Research Facilities
The library system at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is ranked among the top 20 research libraries in the United States. It has excellent holdings for the study of English philology and British and American literature, including the Southern Historical Collection (containing manuscripts, letters and diaries) and the Hanes Collection of Incunabula. Through cooperative arrangements, university libraries in the Triangle area are open to graduate students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Publications
Early American Literature, Studies in Philology, The Southern Literary Journal, a/b: Auto/Biography Studies and The Keats-Shelley Journal are edited by English Department faculty members and have their editorial offices in the English Department building.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree with a Minor in
Renaissance Studies
Students working on their doctorate in one of the regular departmental programs may, with the approval of their departmental director of graduate studies, submit for the degree an interdisciplinary minor in Renaissance studies. The program is based in the Comparative Literature program and administered by the Arts and Sciences Committee for Renaissance Studies. The minor requires a minimum of five courses. Of those five, one must be CMPL 892, Seminar in Renaissance Studies. The remaining four courses must represent equally two fields other than the major field (e.g., a student with a major in Italian could offer from the approved list two courses in French, two in Latin and CMPL 892).
CMPL 892, Seminar in Renaissance Studies, serves as a nucleus for the minor, affording students the opportunity to bring together seemingly divergent strains in an interdisciplinary context. Normally the faculty member giving the course invites other members of the Renaissance faculty to participate in the discussions and to present related materials from their own field of inquiry. Student participants choose a related topic or area for research and all report regularly on their own projects under investigation. The course is cross-listed as appropriate, under departmental offerings.
The minor in Renaissance studies for the Ph.D. is examined orally at the departmental oral examination (not the defense), unless written examination is required by departmental policy; normally faculty with whom the candidate has taken courses serve as examiners.
A working knowledge of Latin is strongly recommended for students in the program.
Master of Arts Degree with a Minor in Renaissance Studies
Students working on their M.A. in one of the regular departmental programs may also, with the approval of their departmental director of graduate studies, submit for the degree an interdisciplinary minor in Renaissance studies. The program, like that for the Ph.D., is in the Comparative Literature program and is administered by the Arts and Sciences Committee for Renaissance Studies. The minor requires a minimum of three courses. The three courses must be from the offerings of two fields other than the major field. The minor in Renaissance studies at the M.A. level should encourage students to broaden their program early and should prepare them for continued interdisciplinary work at the doctoral level. It is not designed for terminal M.A. students.
Faculty in Renaissance Studies and Related Areas
Art History: Mary Pardo, Jaroslav Folda
English: Christopher Armitage, David Baker, Reid Barbour, Mary Floyd-Wilson, Ritchie Kendall, Darryl Gless, Megan Matchinske, Jessica Wolfe
History: Melissa M. Bullard, Barbara Harris, Michael McVaugh, Jay Smith
Music: John Nádas, Thomas Warburton
Religious Studies: Peter Kaufman
Romance Languages: Lucia Binotti, Dino Cervigni, Marsha Collins, Frank Dominguez, Carmen Hsu, Hassan Melehy, Ennio I. Rao, Frederick Vogler
English
Courses for Graduates and Advanced Undergraduates
487 [186] FOLK NARRATIVE (FOLK 487) (3). The study of three genres of folk narrative—fairytale, personal narrative and legend—and their distinctive roles in contemporary life.
489 CULTURAL STUDIES—CONTEMPORARY ISSUES (3). The student will have an opportunity to concentrate on topics and texts central to the study of culture and theory.
525 SENIOR SEMINAR IN RENAISSANCE LITERATURE (3). Senior-level survey of one or two key themes or issues in the literature of the English Renaissance.
564 INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO LITERATURE (3). Examines the ways knowledge from other disciplines can be brought to bear in the analysis of literary works. Questions of disciplinary limits and histories will also be addressed.
566 LITERATURE AND PSYCHOANALYSIS (3). This course offers an introduction to the theoretical intersection of psychoanalysis and literature and to the spectrum of what is called "psychoanalytic theory."
578 IRISH AMERICAS, AMERICAN IRELANDS (3). Course will explore the cultural connections between Ireland and America in literature and film to examine how each has imagined the other.
580 FILM—CONTEMPORARY ISSUES (3). This course is designed to introduce students to a particular historical or cultural aspect of the cinema.
581 [047] CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES TO FICTION (3). Examines the formal features of narrative and its role in shaping social values, groups and identities through readings in literary theory, short stories and novels.
582 [048] CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES TO POETRY (3). The course is an introduction to the genre of poetry and its subgenres, to the practice of reading it in both form and content, and to the work of selected poets or individual poets.
583 [046A] DRAMA ON LOCATION (3). Offered as part of summer study abroad programs in Oxford, London, and Stratford-on-Avon. Students experience plays in performance and as texts, and discuss their literary, dramatic, cultural and historical aspects.
585 [147] BRITISH AND AMERICAN FOLKSONG (FOLK 585) (3). Explores the forms, functions and relationships of British and American folksongs, charting the emergence of Anglo- and African American vernacular musics and the dynamic processes of tradition, creolization, innovation and revival.
587 [187] FOLKLORE IN THE SOUTH (FOLK 587) (3). An issue-oriented study of Southern folklore, exploring the ways that vernacular artistic expression (from barns and barbecue to gospel and well-told tales) come to define both community and region.
589 [189] AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLKLORE (FOLK 589) (3). Focuses on the richness and variety of oral traditions that define African American culture, with some emphasis on African origins.
600 [130] ADVANCED EXPOSITORY WRITING (3). The course, restricted to graduate students in English, offers students practice writing vitae and job application letters, grant or conference proposals, dissertation or thesis chapters, book reviews or journal articles.
601 ACADEMIC WRITING FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS (3). Designed to help international graduate students improve skills in academic writing. attention to organization, flow and presentation of an academic paper. Fall and spring.
603 ORAL COMMUNICATION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS (1-3). Designed to help international graduate students refine oral communication skills in academic contexts. Attention to pronunciation, participating in group discussions and making presentations.
605 [132] HISTORY OF RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION (3). A survey of major figures in the history of rhetoric, beginning with classical rhetoric, but emphasizing contemporary rhetorical theory.
606 [131] RHETORICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE (3). A study of rhetorical theories and practices from classical to modern times. Emphasis is on translation of theories into instructional practice for teaching in the college writing classroom.
613 [136] MODERN ENGLISH GRAMMAR (LING 613) (3). A study of current English structure and usage using a traditional approach modified by appropriate contributions from structural and generative grammar, with some attention to the application of linguistics to literary analysis.
619 [151] SURVEY OF OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE (3). An introduction to English literature from the eighth to the 15th century, focusing on the primary works of Old English and Middle English literature.
621 [153] ARTHURIAN ROMANCE (CMPL 621) (3). British and continental Arthurian literature in translation from the early Middle Ages to Sir Thomas Malory.
625 [258] SHAKESPEARE (3). A study of selected plays and poetry by Shakespeare and some of the key critical and theoretical approaches to his work.
626 [255] RENAISSANCE DRAMA (3). A study of a representative group of plays by dramatists writing between the establishment of the permanent theaters in the 1570s and the closing of those theaters in 1642.
627 [254] LITERATURE OF THE EARLIER RENAISSANCE (3). A graduate-level survey of the literature of the earlier Renaissance in England.
628 [260] LITERATURE OF THE LATER RENAISSANCE (3). In this course, students will interrogate the social, historical and representational dimensions of 17th-century literature and culture in England.
629 [264] MILTON (3). A study of Milton's prose and poetry in the extraordinary context of 17th-century philosophy, politics, religion, science and poetics, and against the backdrop of the English Civil War.
630 [358] SHAKESPEARE AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES (3). This course will examine drama written and performed in England from 1570 to 1640, situating Shakespeare's plays in relation to others in his generation.
631 [166] 18TH-CENTURY LITERATURE (3). Studies in a variety of British writers from Rochester to Cowper.
637 [172] CHIEF BRITISH ROMANTIC WRITERS (3). A survey of the major British Romantic writers, including Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Percy and Mary Shelley, and Keats, with an introduction to the chief scholarly and critical problems of this period.
639 [174] VICTORIAN LITERATURE (3). Survey of major Victorian writers such as Tennyson, the Brownings, Arnold, Dickens, the Brontes, G. Eliot, Mill, Ruskin.
643 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LITERATURE TO 1860 (3). A graduate-level survey of American literature from the European settlement of the New World through 1860. Consideration of authors in their aesthetic, historical, and contemporary critical contexts.
644 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LITERATURE, 1860–1900 (3). A graduate-level introduction to the range of American writing from the Civil War through 1900. Attention given to major critical concerns, e.g., the cultural force of realism, etc.
651 [195] BRITISH AND AMERICAN DRAMA OF THE 20TH CENTURY (3). A survey of British and American drama, poetry, fiction and criticism.
657 [190] ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE OF THE 20TH CENTURY (3). A survey of 20th-century English and American drama, poetry, fiction and criticism.
659 [196] WAR IN 20TH-CENTURY LITERATURE (PWAD 659) (3). A study of literary works written in English concerning World War I, or the Spanish Civil War and World War II, or the Vietnam War.
660 [196D] WAR IN SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS (PWAD 660) (3). The focus is on Shakespeare's various treatments of war in his plays: all his Roman histories, most of his English histories, all his tragedies, even some of his comedies.
661 [140] INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY THEORY (3). Examines contemporary theoretical issues and critical approaches relevant to the study of literature.
662 [240] HISTORY OF LITERARY CRITICISM (3). A history of literary criticism from the Greeks to mid-20th century, focusing on recurrent concerns and classic texts that are indispensable for understanding the practice of literary criticism today.
663 POSTCOLONIAL THEORY (3). This course covers major works of and topics in postcolonial theory.
664 [190Q] THE CHALLENGE OF QUEER THEORY TO LITERARY STUDIES, CULTURAL STUDIES, AND THE HUMANITIES (3). An advanced-level investigation of queer theory's challenges to literary criticism, cultural studies and questions of critical methodology in the humanities. Cutting-edge research and just-published articles will be used.
665 [155] QUEER LATINA/O LITERATURE, PERFORMANCE AND VISUAL ART (WMST 665) (3). This course explores literature, performance art, film and photography by Latinas and Latinos whose works may be described as "queer" and that question terms and norms of cultural dominance.
666 [180] QUEER LATINA/O PHOTOGRAPHY AND LITERATURE (WMST 666) (3). This course explores Latina/o literature about photography in relation to photography by "queer" Latina/o artists and, through this double focus, poses certain questions about identity, subjectivity and culture.
673 [188] LITERATURE OF THE U.S. SOUTH (3). A study of the literature of the United States South, in most cases focusing on 20th-century Southern literature and on prose fiction.
680 FILM THEORY (3). This course offers a rigorous introduction to the various theories (aesthetic, narratological, historiographic, ideological, feminist, poststructuralist) inspired by the cinema.
684 WOMEN IN FOLKLORE AND LITERATURE (FOLK 684, WMST 684) (3). An exploration of representations of women in oral traditions as well as in literature based on oral traditions.
685 [179] LITERATURE OF THE AMERICAS (AMST 685, CMPL 685) (3). Prerequisite, two years of college-level Spanish or the equivalent. Multidisciplinary examination of texts and other media of the Americas, in English and Spanish, from a variety of genres.
686 READINGS IN LITERATURE AND ENVIRONMENT (3). Readings course selects an author, genre or method as a means of deepening awareness of the politics, poetics and paradoxes in the field of literature and environment.
687 [191] CANADIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH (3). A study of Canadian literature in English, with emphasis on writing since 1940, particularly the novels by, for example, Margaret Laurence, Robertson Davies, Mordecai Richler and Margaret Atwood.
Courses for Graduates
701 [201] INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL STUDIES (3). Introduction to medieval studies for graduate students in any department. Intended to expose students to research problems, tools and techniques in fields other than their own.
719 [237A] OLD ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND READINGS (3). An introduction to Old English language and literature that also attempts to relate that language to Modern English and to the larger context of the history of the English language.
720 [250] OLD ENGLISH POETRY (3). The translation and interpretation of Old English poetry including works such as The Wanderer, The Seafarer, Deor, The Dream of the Rood, and Beowulf. Course prerequisite, a working knowledge of Old English.
721 [251] EARLY MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE (3). An introduction to Early Middle English, its varieties and genres from c. 1150 (The Peterborough Chronicle) to c. 1330 (the Harley lyrics).
722 MIDDLE ENGLISH ALLITERATIVE POETRY (3). Prerequisite, a working knowledge of Middle English. An exploration of the Middle English poetry of the 14th-century alliterative "Revival," including the works of the Gawain/Pearl poet of the Langland.
723 LATER MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE (3). English literature of the late 14th and 15th centuries, including Gower, the English and Scottish Chaucerians and Sir Thomas Malory.
724 [252] CHAUCER (3). A study of Chaucer's major poetry, including Troilus and Criseyde, at least some of the "dream" poems such as Parliament of Fowls, and most of The Canterbury Tales.
747 [283] STUDIES IN THE AMERICAN NOVEL (3). A wide-ranging, graduate-level survey of the American novel from the late 18th century through the 20th century.
748 STUDIES IN AMERICAN POETRY (3). A wide-ranging, graduate-level survey of American poetry from the late 18th century through the 20th century.
762 [241] SPECIAL TOPICS IN CULTURAL STUDIES (3). An introduction to myriad texts, topics, controversies, institutions and personalities that make up the ongoing knowledge projects that are loosely affiliated under the rubric "cultural studies."
776 OLD IRISH I (3). The main emphasis of the course will be on mastering the basic grammar of the language. There will be some readings from selected Old Irish glosses and from "Aislinge Oenguso."
777 OLD IRISH II (3). Prerequisite, ENGL 776. Readings from a variety of genres of Old Irish literature: Stories from the Tain, Crith Gablach, Cambrai Homily, Early Irish Lyrics, Scela Mucce Meic Datho.
778 MEDIEVAL WELSH I (3). An introduction to Medieval Welsh language and literature.
779 MEDIEVAL WELSH II (3). Prerequisite, ENGL 778. Readings in Old and Middle Welsh Literature.
780 [211] PROSEMINAR IN BRITISH LITERATURE, 800–1500 (3).
781 [212] PROSEMINAR IN BRITISH LITERATURE, 1500–1660 (3).
782 [213] PROSEMINAR IN BRITISH LITERATURE, 1660–1770 (3).
783 [214] PROSEMINAR IN BRITISH LITERATURE, 1770–1870 (3).
784 [215] PROSEMINAR IN AMERICAN LITERATURE, PRIOR TO THE CIVIL WAR (3).
785 [216] PROSEMINAR IN LITERATURE AFTER 1870 (3).
800 [231] TECHNOLOGY AND THE HUMANITIES (3). Course explores the impacts of information technology on teaching and scholarship in the humanities. Students critique and learn to integrate emerging technologies into their pedagogy and research interests.
801 [299] RESEARCH METHODS IN COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Course introduces graduate students to methodologies of research in the field of rhetoric and composition. Emphasis is on theoretical and practical concerns that improve teaching and help develop research agendas.
805 [300] STUDIES IN RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION (1–4). Focus varies by semester, but generally investigates intersections of literacy, pedagogy and rhetorical theory. Courses range from explorations of technology and literacy, to investigations of forms of writing and pedagogy.
814 [238] HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (LING 814) (3). Study of English from its Proto-Indo-European origins through the 18th century focusing on historic events and the major changes to the structure and usage of English they occasioned.
819 [350] SEMINAR IN OLD ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (3). Topics in Old English poetry and prose that vary with each seminar and instructor.
821 [351] SEMINAR IN MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE (3). Intensive study of major Middle English authors or genres or of medieval cultural influences. Topics have included Malory, Piers Plowman and its tradition, drama and intellectual backgrounds of medieval literature.
824 SEMINAR IN CHAUCER (3). Advanced graduate seminar on Chaucer.
825 RENAISSANCE LITERATURE IN CONTEXT (3). A study of select works of Renaissance literature, both dramatic and nondramatic, in its intellectual, social, political or religious context.
826 STUDIES IN RENAISSANCE GENRES (3). This course traces the historical trajectory of renaissance literary genres. Each offering focuses on a generic kind or set of kinds. (Topics may include pastoral, epic, satire, etc.)
827 STUDIES IN RENAISSANCE AUTHORS (3). Concentrated studies of single authors, groups of authors thematically linked, or authors in their families or coteries.
828 PERSPECTIVES ON RENAISSANCE LITERATURE AND CULTURE (3). Students will study Renaissance literature while assessing the usefulness and status of a theoretical approach, such as feminist theory, queer theory, cultural materialism, new historicism or psychoanalytic theory.
829 [261] STUDIES IN RENAISSANCE LITERATURE: DRAMA (3). A study of Renaissance drama linked thematically, or framed by select cultural practices and historical issues.
830 [354] STUDIES IN RENAISSANCE LITERATURE: PRIMARILY NONDRAMATIC (3). A focused examination of an aesthetic, historical or theoretical problem in the study of Renaissance literature.
831 [366] SEMINAR IN 18TH-CENTURY LITERATURE (3). Selected topics in 18th-century Literature.
832 [265] RESTORATION AND 18TH-CENTURY DRAMA (3). Studies in Restoration and 18th-century drama from Etherege to Sheridan.
833 [266] STUDIES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE, 1660–1740 (3). Studies in Restoration and Augustan writers from Dryden to Haywood.
834 [267] LATER 18TH-CENTURY WRITERS (3). Studies in later 18th-century writers from Gray to Wollstonecraft.
835 [343] 18TH-CENTURY FICTION (3). Studies in 18th-century fiction from Behn to Austen.
836 STUDIES IN 18TH-CENTURY WOMEN WRITERS. Behn, Haywood, Manley, Montague, Burney, Wollstonecraft and Austen.
837 [272] STUDIES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE, 1780–1832 (3). Sections: 1) Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, 2) Byron, Shelley, Keats. Examination of the major Romantic poets, supplemented by readings in other Romantic authors.
838 [244] 19TH-CENTURY BRITISH NOVEL (3). Examination of important 19th-century British novels, such as those by Austen, Scott, Dickens, the Brontes, sensation novelists, Gaskell, Carroll, Thackeray, Eliot, Trollope, Doyle, Hardy, Meredith.
839 [273] VICTORIAN NONFICTIONAL PROSE (3). Examination of Victorian critics, travel writers, feminists, scientists and historians in relation to the controversies of the period.
840 [274] STUDIES IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE: POETRY (3). Study of Victorian poets, focused on a group or a topic, including figures such as Tennyson, the Brownings, Arnold and the Pre-Raphaelites.
841 [372] SEMINAR IN 19TH-CENTURY ROMANTICISM IN ENGLAND (3). Topics concerning major authors and issues of the Romantic period.
842 [373] SEMINAR IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE (3). Topics concerning major authors and issues of the Victorian period.
843 [381] SEMINAR IN AMERICAN LITERATURE TO 1860 (3). Topics vary: e.g., New England Puritanism, New England response to American literary nationalism; Emerson; Irving, Hawthorne and Poe and the development of the American short story.
844 [382] SEMINAR IN AMERICAN LITERATURE, 1860–1900 (3). In-depth exploration for doctoral students of selected topics or authors in American literature from 1860 to 1900.
847 [383] SEMINAR IN THE AMERICAN NOVEL (3). Doctoral-level seminar in the selected topics or authors.
848 SEMINAR IN AMERICAN POETRY (3). Selected topics of authors.
850 [292] STUDIES IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN POETRY OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (3). Usually taught as a survey of major poets: Yeats, Frost, Stevens, Williams, Pound, Eliot, Auden, with some more recent poets.
851 [295] STUDIES IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN DRAMA OF THE 20TH CENTURY (3). Usually taught as a survey of major playwrights of the modern era, from the continental influences (Ibsen and Strindberg) to such contemporary figures as Pinter and Stoppard.
852 [395] SEMINAR IN MODERN DRAMA (3).
857 [290] STUDIES IN 20TH-CENTURY ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE (3). Studies in special modern and/or contemporary topics; e.g., the Irish literary renaissance, Latina/o studies, Asian American studies, cultural, visual culture, postcolonial, gender and/or ethnic studies and British and/or American literature.
858 [293] STUDIES IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN FICTION OF THE 20TH CENTURY (3). Usually taught as a survey of major writers: Joyce, Lawrence, Woolf, Hemingway, Faulkner, with some other writers.
860 [390] SEMINAR IN 20TH-CENTURY LITERATURE, ENGLISH AND AMERICAN (3).
861 [391] SEMINAR IN LITERARY AND CULTURAL THEORY (3). Seminar with varying topics, focusing on recent developments in literary and cultural theory, including narratology, feminism, psychoanalysis and postcolonial and materialist theory.
862 [341] SEMINAR IN CULTURAL STUDIES (3). Advanced exploration of myriad tests, topics, controversies, institutions and personalities that make up the ongoing knowledge projects that are loosely affiliated under the rubric "cultural studies."
863 [390C] SEMINAR IN POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE (3). Course examines the shifting meanings of postcoloniality in 20th- and 21st- century literature from formerly colonized countries.
864 [286] STUDIES IN LATINA/O LITERATURE, CULTURE AND CRITICISM. Representative work by Latina/o writers and critics in relation to major social and historical trends and critical models-border theory, biculturalism, mestizaje, tropicalization, diaspora, pan-latinidad, Afro-Latina/o disidentifications and LatinAsia studies.
867 [284] AFRICAN AMERICAN AND AFRICAN DIASPORAN LITERATURE TO 1930 (3). Representative writers and literary and cultural traditions from the beginning of African American literature to 1930.
868 AFRICAN AMERICAN AND AFRICAN DIASPORAN LITERATURE, 1930–1970 (3). Key writers within the context of selected literary, cultural and critical traditions from 1930 to 1970.
869 AFRICAN AMERICAN AND AFRICAN DIASPORAN LITERATURE, 1970 TO THE PRESENT (3). Representative writers and literary, cultural and critical traditions from 1970 to the present.
871 [384] SEMINAR IN AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE (3). An intensive study of a major writer or text, a group of writers or texts, or an important trend, tradition or literary period.
872 STUDIES IN AFRICAN AMERICAN AND AFRICAN DIASPORAN LITERATURE (3). An intensive study of a particular aspect of African American literature, such as speculative fiction, subject formation, comparative diasporan literatures, gender issues, theoretical and critical approaches or formal innovations.
873 [288] SEMINAR IN THE LITERATURE OF THE U.S. SOUTH (3). An in-depth treatment of selected writers of the U.S. South, focusing on a single genre or historical period.
874 [388] LITERATURE OF THE U.S. SOUTH: SPECIAL TOPICS (3). An in-depth treatment of selected topics (e.g., the Southern Renaissance, postmodern southern fiction, the racial conversion narrative) in Southern literature.
876 INTRODUCTION TO MODERN IRISH I (3). An introduction to modern Irish grammar.
877 INTRODUCTION TO MODERN IRISH II (3). Prerequisite, ENGL 876. Readings in modern Irish literature.
878 CRITICAL IRELAND (3). This course explores the creation of Irish culture in literature and history through the medium of 20th-century critical texts.
879 WRITING THE NORHTERN IRISH TROUBLES (3). This course examines literature's response to "the troubles" in Northern Ireland, that outbreak of civil violence which has taken place, most recently, since 1968.
880 [294] IRELAND IN MODERNITY (3). This course will examine the relationships between Irish writing, culture and modernism, in the context of international developments in literature and art.
881 STUDIES IN CINEMA (3). This course offers graduate students the opportunity to investigate, in a seminar setting, a particular subject within the domain of film studies.
886 SEMINAR IN ECOLOGICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE (3). In-depth evaluation of ecological theory, ecocritical pedagogy and literary criticism.
990 [397] DIRECTED READINGS (3). Topics vary according to the needs and interests of the individual student and the professor directing the reading and writing project.
992 [392] NONTHESIS OPTION (3).
993 [393] MASTER'S THESIS (3–6).
994 [394] DOCTORAL DISSERTATION (3–9).
Comparative Literature
Courses for Graduates and Advanced Undergraduates
A. Period Courses
450 [150] MAJOR WORKS OF 20TH-CENTURY LITERARY THEORY (3). Comparative study of representative works on literary and cultural theory or applied criticism to be announced in advance. Koelb, McGowan, Leonard.
452 [170] THE MIDDLE AGES (3). Study of selected examples of Western medieval literature in translation, with particular attention to the development of varieties of sensibility in various genres and at different periods. Kennedy.
454 [172] LITERATURE OF THE CONTINENTAL RENAISSANCE IN TRANSLATION (3). Discussion of the major works of Petrarch, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Castiglione, Ariosto, Tasso, Rabelais, Ronsard, Montaigne, Cervantes, and Erasmus. Wolfe.
456 [174] THE 18TH-CENTURY NOVEL (3). English, French and German 18th-century narrative fiction with emphasis on epistolary novel. The relation of the novel to the Enlightenment and its counterpart, the cult of sentimentality and on shifting paradigms for family education, gender and erotic desire. Downing.
458 [173] SENSE, SENSIBILITY, SENSUALITY, 1740–1810 (3). The development of the moral aesthetic of sensibility or Empfindsamkeit in literature of western Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Brodey.
460 [175] ROMANTICISM (3). An exploration of the period concept of Romanticism, using selected literary works by such writers as Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Goethe, Novalis, Schlegel, Hugo, Nerval, Chateaubriand. Furst.
462 [176] REALISM (3). An exploration of the period concept of Realism through selected works by such writers as George Eliot, Dickens, James, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Balzac, Stendhal, Flaubert, Zola. Furst.
464 [177] NATURALISM (3). The Naturalist movement in European and American literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing on its philosophical, psychological and literary manifestations in selected plays and novels. Furst.
466 [178] MODERNISM (3). An exploration of the period concept of modernism in European literature, with attention to central works in poetry, narrative and drama, and including parallel developments in the visual arts. Leonard.
468 [181] AESTHETICISM (3). Aestheticism as a discrete 19th-century movement and as a major facet of modernism in literature and literary theory. Authors include Kierkegaard, Baudelaire, Nietzche, Huysmans, Wilde, Mann, Rilke, Nabokov, Dinesen, Barthes, Sontag. Downing.
496 [140] READING COURSE (1–21). Readings vary from semester to semester. The course is generally offered for three credits. Staff.
B. Genre Courses
470 [180] CONCEPTS AND PERSPECTIVES OF THE TRAGIC (3). History and theory of tragedy as a distinctive literary genre and as a more general literary and cultural problem. Authors include Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Shakespeare, Racine, Goethe, Nietzsche, Wagner, Mann, Samuel I and II, Faulkner. Also engages theorists, ancient and modern. Downing.
472 [184] THE DRAMA FROM IBSEN TO BECKETT (3). The main currents of European drama from the end of the 19th century to the present. Includes Chekhov, Strindberg, Pirandello, Lorca, Brecht, Anouilh.
476 [191] AUTOBIOGRAPHY AS A LITERARY FORM (3). The rise and evolution of interest in the self in literary forms from St. Augustine's to Rousseau's Confessions and from Abelard through Dante, Petrarch, Cellini and Montaigne. Cervigni.
485 [185] APPROACHES TO 20TH-CENTURY NARRATIVE (3). An examination of central trends in 20th-century narrative. Leonard.
C. Special Topic Courses
481 [182] RHETORIC OF SILENCE: CROSS-CULTURAL THEME AND TECHNIQUE (ASIA 481) (3). The uses of literary silence for purposes such as protest, civility, joy, oppression, nihilism, awe or crisis of representation. Authors include Sterne, Goethe, Austen, Kawabata, Soseki, Oe, Toson, Camus, Mann. Brodey.
482 [142] PHILOSOPHY IN LITERATURE (PHIL 482) (3). Philosophical readings of literary texts, including novels, plays and poems.
483 [183] CROSS-CURRENTS IN EAST-WEST LITERATURE (ASIA 483) (3). The study of the influence of Western texts upon Japanese authors and the influence of conceptions of "the East" upon Western writers. Goldsmith, Voltaire, Soseki, Sterne, Arishima, Ibsen, Yoshimoto, Ishiguro. Brodey.
486 [186] LITERARY LANDSCAPES IN EUROPE AND JAPAN (ASIA 486) (3). Changing understandings of nature across time and cultures, especially with regard to its human manipulation and as portrayed in novels of Japan and Europe. Rousseau, Goethe, Austen, Abe, Mishima. Brodey.
487 [190] LITERATURE AND THE ARTS OF LOVE (3). Love and sexuality in literary works from various historical periods and genres. Authors include Sappho, Plato, Catullus, Propertius, Ovid, Dante, Petrarch, Shakespeare, LaClos, Goethe, Nabokov and Roland Barthes. Downing.
490 [195] SPECIAL TOPICS (3). Topics vary from semester to semester. Staff.
492 [192] THE FOURTH DIMENSION: ART AND THE FICTIONS OF HYPERSPACE (3). An exploration of the concept of the fourth dimension, its origins in non-Euclidean geometry, its development in popular culture and its impact on the visual arts, film and literature. Leonard.
560 [160] READING OTHER CULTURES: ISSUES IN LITERARY TRANSLATION (SLAV 560) (3). Prerequisite, reading knowledge of a language other than English. Starting from the proposition that cultural literacy would be impossible without reliance on translations, this course addresses fundamental issues in the practice, art and politics of literary translation.
621 [153] ARTHURIAN ROMANCE (ENGL 621) (3). British and continental Arthurian literature in translation from the early Middle Ages to Sir Thomas Malory.
685 [179] LITERATURE OF THE AMERICAS (AMST 685, ENGL 685) (3). Prerequisite, two years of college-level Spanish or the equivalent. Multidisciplinary examination of texts and other media of the Americas, in English and Spanish, from a variety of genres.
Courses for Graduates
CMPL 700 [201] PROBLEMS AND METHODS IN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE (3). The course deals with the history of comparative literature, bibliographical materials, orientations of the subject in Europe and America, and problems of methodology, periodization, literary movements and concepts of literary theory. Fall.
CMPL 737 [202] TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY LITERARY AND CULTURAL THEORY (SPAN 737) (3). Selected critical topics in poststructuralist thought, chosen by the instructor and announced in advance. Polo de Bernabé.
CMPL 796 [240] READING COURSE (1–21). Staff.
CMPL 821 [221] READING IRONIES (3). Study of processes of recognizing and constructing ironies in texts, with consideration of both theoretical issues and practical readings.
CMPL 841 [241] HISTORY OF LITERARY CRITICISM I: CLASSICISM (3). Study of Platonism, Aristotelianism, Ciceronianism and Horatianism as critical traditions from antiquity to the 18th century. Downing, Koelb.
CMPL 842 [242] HISTORY OF LITERARY CRITICISM II: 1750–1950 (3). Study of major theoretical and critical writings in Europe from the middle of the 18th to the early 20th century. McGowan, Koelb.
CMPL 843 [243] 20TH-CENTURY LITERARY THEORY (3). An overview of major theoretical developments of the 20th century, including such movements as Saussurean linguistics, Russian Formalism, Prague Circle Semiotics, poststructuralism, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, feminism and Marxism. Leonard.
CMPL 844 MODERN WOMEN WRITERS (3).
CMPL 890 [295] SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE (3). Fall or spring. Staff.
CMPL 892 [309] INTERDISCIPLINARY SEMINAR IN RENAISSANCE STUDIES (3). Topic announced annually in advance. Collins.
CMPL 894 [310] SEMINAR (3). Topic announced annually in advance. Staff.
CMPL 900 [395] RESEARCH. Staff.
CMPL 993 [393] MASTER'S THESIS (3–6). Fall and spring. Staff.
CMPL 994 [394] DOCTORAL DISSERTATION (3–9). Fall and spring. Staff.
Cross-Listed Courses
CMPL 435 [135] CONSCIOUSNESS AND SYMBOLS (ANTH 435, FOLK 435) (3). Peacock.
CMPL 482 [142] PHILOSOPHY IN LITERATURE (PHIL 482) (3).
CMPL 535 BOCCACCIO AND NARRATIVE (ITAL 735) (3).
CMPL 560 [160] LITERARY TRANSLATION (SLAV 560) (3). Levine.
CMPL 621 [153] ARTHURIAN ROMANCE (ENGL 621) (3). Kennedy.
CMPL 685 [179] LITERATURE OF THE AMERICAS (ENGL 685) (3). DeGuzman.
CMPL 741 SPANISH AMERICAN ESSAYS AND SHORT STORIES (SPAN 741) (3).
CMPL 745 VANGUARDS (SPAN 745) (3).
CMPL 747 CONTEMPORARY NOVEL (SPAN 747) (3).