Courses

A two-part sequence of introductory courses, offering instruction and guidance designed to develop college-level writing and reading skills. ENG 105 focuses on increasing students’ written fluency—their ability to use the writing process as a means of discovering ideas, to see revision as a necessary and recursive part of the writing process, to see good writing as dependent on its context, and to create relationships between reading and writing. The second course in the two-course sequence, ENG 106 focuses on increasing students’ academic literacy—their ability to use writing as a tool for learning and discovery, to articulate ideas to a variety of audiences, to analyze and synthesize challenging ideas in an effectively written document, and to construct from sources a logical and persuasive argument. Information literacy instruction will prepare students to assess and use academic research library materials and facilities.

Prerequisites: ENG 105 or transfer equivalent, an acceptable score on the Elmhurst University Writing Placement Test, or a composite score of 29 on the ACT or SAT score of 1900 or higher or SAT evidence-based Reading and Writing sub-score of 580 or higher.

A general course designed to enrich students’ appreciation of the creative literary imagination. Specific objectives include increasing students’ capacities to understand how literary language works; to recognize literature’s connection with its historical, cultural, spiritual and personal contexts; and to appreciate literary study’s value as a process through which individuals and communities connect. Students read, interpret and evaluate selected literary texts, which may include poetry, drama, fiction and/or nonfiction.

Prerequisite: ENG 105 or equivalent.

A study of ancient rhetorical traditions and their applications. Students will learn classical approaches to the arts of persuasion and apply them in reading and writing contemporary discourse.

Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent.

An examination of various critical approaches to the study of literature. Required for English majors and recommended for other students especially interested in language and literature.

Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent.

A study of literary and other texts that respond to race, class and gender. Examines how various social groups are impacted by the powers embedded in social, political, historical and economic theories, events and institutions. As offered.

Students will be introduced to the history of cinema and various types of film analysis. Students will examine films from a filmmaking perspective, analyzing elements such as writing, cinematography, and sound, as well as from a theoretical perspective, examining films through various lenses which may include, but are not limited to: feminism, Marxism, queer theory, psychoanalytics, and genre studies. Students will be introduced to filmmakers from around the world and will study films ranging from the birth of cinema to contemporary blockbusters. Students will examine the impact new technology has had on filmmaking as well as how filmmaking has created new technologies used beyond the world of cinema.

Prerequisite: ENG 105 or equivalent.

What makes a good story? This class will examine the fundamental principles of effective storytelling in literature, film, television, and other media. Students will study Aristotle’s “Poetics” and see how much of what he described centuries ago still applies to contemporary storytelling, such as character, plot, and theme. While examining literature, film and television, students will learn traditional three-act structure as well as alternative structures such as the ensemble, nonlinear, dual-protagonist, and experimental.

Prerequisite: ENG 105 or equivalent.

Students will be introduced to various areas within the world of digital media, which may include but are not limited to: filmmaking, screenwriting, animation, game design, virtual reality, broadcast journalism, motion graphics, documentary production, sound design, cinematography, video editing, audio recording, and more. Students will learn history and theory within each area and will then put it into practice in a series of production-based projects. Students will be able to create projects using numerous software applications used in the media fields.

Prerequisite: ENG 105 or equivalent.

To assist students in developing skills for writing as professionals in the workplace, as distinct from academic settings. Students will develop an understanding of, and skills necessary for, writing in teams in organizational contexts. The course will introduce students to empirical research about writing in the workplace. Rhetorical aims will shape document preparation and design.

Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent.

Introduction to and practice in journalistic style and the techniques of writing for mass communication, including interview techniques, media law, ethics and other components of print media.

Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent. Fall Term.

Focuses on advanced journalism and creative nonfiction. Students will be producing nonfiction articles for magazines (in print or online) as well as critical reviews (from music to politics) suitable for newspapers and/or online blogs and publications.

Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent. Spring Term.

Writing fiction, with study of various creative processes, literary techniques and poetic forms. Extensive analysis of student work and selected models. Recommended for those interested in imaginative writing and reading.

Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent. Fall Term.

Writing poetry, with study of various creative processes and literary techniques. Extensive analysis of student work and selected models. Recommended for those interested in imaginative writing and reading.

Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent. Alternate years, Spring 2022-2023.

A survey of the development of literature for children. Criteria will be established for selection of books for students from preschool through grade 6. Emphasis on extensive reading and evaluation of titles appropriate to each level. Fall Term.

.50 credit

A survey of adolescent literature. This course emphasizes extensive reading and evaluation of literature appropriate for adolescents for Grades 6 through 12 or ages 11 to 18; developing criteria for selecting and using literature with adolescents at various stages in their development; and analysis and discussion of issues in the field of adolescent literature. Spring Term.

This course will introduce students to the world of screenwriting. Students will learn the difference between writing feature films, episode shows, web series, and more. Students will read examples of well-written screenplays to learn about structure, character development, theme, and dialogue writing. Students will learn proper screenplay format as well as how to write visually. Students in this class will each write a short original screenplay.

Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent.

Covers the development of British literature from its oldest recorded legends through the poetry and prose of the Enlightenment. Representative works and authors include: Beowulf, Chaucer, Spencer, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Behn, Pope, Johnson and Austen. Course focuses primarily on drama, poetry and nonfiction.

Prerequisite: Sophomore or higher standing. Fall Term.

Covers Romantic and Victorian literary movements in British literature to include study of prominent Neoclassical precursors. Considers how literature was impacted by the rise of individualism, industrialization, colonialism, science, increasing secularization and gender roles. Writers such as Blake, Wollstonecraft, Wordsworth, Austen, the Shelleys, Dickens, Barrett Browning and Kipling may be studied.

Co-/prerequisites: ENG 220 or equivalent and sophomore or higher standing. Spring Term.

An examination of selected stories, ancient and modern, that have come to possess wide significance for their cultures. Attention will be given to the development of narrative style and technique as well as to the interaction between story and culture. Representative writers might include: Homer, Virgil, Dante, Woolf, Fitzgerald and Wilson.

Prerequisite: ENG 105 or equivalent.

The course will examine the potentially gendered nature of writing using texts written by women. Students will explore possible ways in which women authors may choose a subject, bring a particular perspective or tell the story differently because of their gender. Possible authors for study include Toni Morrison, Amy Tan, Virginia Woolf, Alice Walker, Edith Wharton, Wendy Wasserstein and Adrienne Rich.

Prerequisite: ENG 105 or equivalent.

The study of leading writers in literature since World War II. May focus on a specific genre or type of contemporary literature.

Prerequisite: ENG 105 or equivalent.

An intensive study of selected histories, comedies, tragedies and romances.

Prerequisites: ENG 106 or equivalent and sophomore or higher standing. Spring Term.

In-depth exploration of a topic in literary or composition studies selected by the instructor. Does not duplicate subject matter in any regularly offered course.

May be repeated for credit with approval of instructor. Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent. As offered.

A survey of American literature beginning with European exploration of the continent in the 15th century and ending with the Civil War. The course explores the historical and cultural forces that shaped such writings as Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Thoreau’s Walden, Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the poetry of Whitman and Dickinson.

Co-/prerequisites: ENG 220 or equivalent and sophomore or higher standing. Fall Term.

A survey of American literature from the end of the Civil War to the contemporary period. The course will use American history and culture to examine such writings as Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, James’ Daisy Miller, Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, poetry by Langston Hughes and Sylvia Plath and short stories by Louise Erdrich and Toni Cade Bambara.

Co-/prerequisites: ENG 220 or equivalent and sophomore or higher standing. Spring Term.

.25 credit

This course in applied journalism helps students learn the skills needed to produce a publication for a mass audience. Students must be a member of a student organization that produces media for the campus community. A minimum of five hours of activity per week is required.

May be repeated for credit. Up to four quarter-course practica may be counted for credit.

Prerequisite: ENG 105 or consent of instructor.

A study of the development, themes and characteristics of modernism and postmodernism in British, American and world literature. The course will explore ways in which these movements exist in relationship to and are defined by each other.

Prerequisite: ENG 220 or equivalent. As offered.

A study of how literature written by writers from a range of racial and ethnic backgrounds explores and responds to contemporary ideas, political developments and various quests for social justice. Writers with such diverse aesthetic and political interests as Toni Morrison, Amy Tan, August Wilson, Kurt Vonnegut, Leslie Marmon Silko, Chinua Achebe, Laura Esquivel, Yusef Komunyakaa, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Bharati Mukherjee could be explored.

Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent. Fall Term.

This course explores the literary techniques and deeper significance of non-fiction, fiction, and poetry inspired by, and addressing, our relation to the natural world. Students practice writing about the environment for non-specialist audiences.

Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent. Spring Term.

A writing course that introduces students to the scholarly field of composition studies. Students will read and respond to texts that define contemporary theories of, and report recent research in, composition and rhetoric. The course will include practical experience in tutoring students in 100-level writing courses. Recommended for students with junior or senior standing and required for students seeking teacher licensure.

Prerequisite: ENG 201 or equivalent. Fall Term.

Building on foundational theories and practices of professional writing, this course engages students in the study and production of advanced genres of professional writing. Students learn rhetorical theory and apply rhetorical skills to produce an array of sophisticated multimedia and traditional print texts. Includes a possible public/civic-engagement component in which students may draft print and digital texts for local charitable organizations.

Prerequisite: ENG 303 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor and department chair. Spring Term, alternate years, 2022-2023.

A writing-intensive course. Topics vary and may include rhetoric and composition, journalism, professional writing or literacy theory. May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: ENG 201 or equivalent and sophomore or higher standing. Fall Term.

This course will concentrate on advanced work in fiction writing and practices with a strong emphasis on class workshops and intensive study of published fiction and student work. Scheduled conferences with the instructor will focus on individual student development.

Prerequisite: ENG 312 or equivalent, or permission of instructor upon submission of a sample writing portfolio. Spring Term, alternate years, 2023-2024.

An examination of literary critical history, or what is said and assumed about texts, writers and readers in selected historical moments or by thematic connection. Considers both Western classical and contemporary critical texts. Recommended for students with junior or senior standing.

Prerequisite: Any ENG-prefixed literature course. Alternate years, 2023-2024.

A study of the origins and development of English with attention to both internal and external aspects of that development. Studies are directed toward an understanding of English grammar, usage, spelling and pronunciation. Recommended for students with junior or senior standing. Required for teacher licensure.

Prerequisite: ENG 106 or equivalent. Spring Term.

Students will write a complete original feature-length screenplay or the “pilot” (first) episode of an idea for an original television show, along with an outline for the story arcs of the complete first season. The product written in this class will serve as a portfolio piece that can be sent to agents, managers, and producers. The writers in this class will learn about the business side of becoming a screenwriter, including but not limited to: how to obtain representation; how to pitch; how to approach rewriting; and techniques and strategies to use when hired to write on assignment.

Prerequisite: DM/ENG 317 or permission of instructor.

A study of selected texts in poetry and prose from the Elizabethan period to the time of Dryden. Examines the development of lyric and narrative poetic form as well as the development of English prose. Works by writers such as Sidney, Spenser, Herbert, Bacon, Donne, Milton and Dryden.

Prerequisite: Any ENG-prefixed literature course. As offered.

Examines the development of the novel from Defoe through the mid-19th century, in the light of historical, social and intellectual changes during the period. Genres include realism, experimentalism, comedy of manners, satire and the Gothic.

Prerequisite: Any ENG-prefixed literature course; one literature course from C or D strongly recommended. As offered.

In-depth exploration of a literary topic selected by the instructor, with focus on the British Romantic Period (roughly 1789 through 1832), the British Victorian Period (1837 through 1901) or both.

Prerequisite: Any ENG-prefixed literature course; one literature course from D strongly recommended. Alternate years, 2023-2024.

A study of the development of prose fiction in America from colonial to modern times. Examines the effect of British models on the development of American fiction. May include works by writers such as Hawthorne, Cather, Hemingway, Faulkner and Welty. Recommended for students with junior or senior standing.

Prerequisite: Any ENG-prefixed literature course; one literature course from D strongly recommended. Alternate years, 2022-2023.

A consideration of methodology, materials and modes of evaluation as applied to the teaching of English in secondary schools.

Co/prerequisite: SEC 300, SEC 310 and consent of the instructor. Fall Term only.

An intensive, guided capstone investigation of a literary problem, age, theme, genre or writer through which students will be introduced to the purposes and techniques of literary research and scholarship in class discussions and lectures and via development of a scholarly research paper. Focus of the course will vary from year to year. Senior standing is highly recommended. May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: ENG 220 or equivalent; one Literature course from C or D. Fall Term only.

In this capstone course, students will reflect on their long-term goals as writers and develop a portfolio of writings suitable for publication or professional purposes, in part generated from a mandatory field experience. Senior standing is highly recommended.

Prerequisites: Two upper-level writing courses. Spring Term only.

An internship designed to allow students (sophomore level or higher) the opportunity to gain professional work experience in media, publications and other agencies or institutions as deemed appropriate for earning credit in the major. May be repeated for credit; however students serving the internship with an Elmhurst University student publication may earn credit only for one semester in an editing role.

Prerequisites: ENG 201, ENG 220 and at least one additional 300- or 400-level English course. The course can be counted only once to satisfy the 400-level elective requirement for the major, and does not count as credit toward the minor. Permission of the department chair and designated faculty required to receive credit.

A course designed for English majors who wish to pursue an intensive program of reading and/or writing on an individual basis.

May not duplicate the content of other English course offerings. Consent of the department chair is required.

.50 credit

This course gives Honors Program students the opportunity to design and implement a significant research project in the field of English, culminating in an appropriate public dissemination of research methods and findings. This research must build upon previous coursework taken within the major or minor, facilitating faculty supervision and guidance.

Repeatable for credit. Permission of the faculty supervisor and the director of the Honors Program required prior to registration.