ABOUT THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT 

FACULTY 

EVENTS 

CONTESTS & AWARDS 

PUBLICATIONS 

CAREERS IN ENGLISH 

LINKS FOR STUDENTS

FACULTY RESOURCES

HOME

In the English Department’s numbering system, 100 level courses are beginning courses that fit directly into our discipline and to our mission of advancing the study of language and literature. English 120, Introduction to Literature, is a prerequisite for all upper division literature courses. Advanced Placement credit or some introductory literature courses taken at other institutions may be substituted for it; if you want to use such a course from another institution that way, be sure to check with the department chair.

Freshman Writing at Whittier is not a departmental course; neither Freshman Writing Seminar nor a freshman writing course taken at another institution may be counted towards the English major or minor. 200 level courses are courses that we offer to serve various needs and interests of the institution as a whole. If their orientation is not primarily literary, they do not require English 120 as a prerequisite. They are not necessarily more advanced than 120, and, as they do not include the study of the full range of basic literary genres, they may not serve as a substitute for it. They may count towards the English major; however, you should note that no more than 12 of the required 36 credits in the major may be at the 100 or 200 level.

Most of our courses are at the 300 level. Any student who has completed 120 is eligible to take literature courses at this level, whether you are a sophomore, junior, or senior. Freshman students who have Advanced Placement literature credit may also take 300 level courses. Practically speaking, your chances of getting into Shakespeare or some of the paired courses in your earlier years are not very good, but you are eligible to take them. Poetry courses from periods prior to the eighteenth century (e.g., Chaucer, Milton) may not be the best choice for your very first upper division course; do consult your advisor, and the course instructor. Also, there is not much point to taking the History of Literary Criticism until you have had some upper-division course experience with literature itself, but on the whole our numbering system is not designed to suggest a sequence or hierarchy. Instead it describes various areas of study and literary periods that are required for the major.

With the exception of courses in the writing of fiction and poetry, the 300 level courses listed in the catalogue under Language and Composition do not require Introduction to Literature as a prerequisite. Advanced College Writing is not specifically designed for majors, but they are eligible to take it; this course is intended for juniors and seniors, while the courses directed towards the study of language may be taken at any time after the completion of the Freshman Writing Seminar.

Hierarchy is relevant, however, to our two 400 level courses, Critical Procedures in Language and Literature and Senior Seminar. The former is a study of various theoretical approaches to literary study; the latter is a study in depth of a particular writer or literary movement. Both require extensive interaction among a small group of advanced students; together they provide the capstone experience for an English major. They may be taken together or not, as suits your schedule. Occasionally, juniors and qualified non-majors may be admitted to these courses if space permits, but preference is always given to senior majors. Note that while we do allow 300 level courses to fill both period and genre courses, Senior Seminars stand on their own and may not be used to meet any other major or minor requirements.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

I. Foundational Courses in Language and Literature

155* Language and Critical Thought 

Introductory exercises in recognizing and controlling ambiguity with the tools of classification, definition, and exposition of critical thought.  Prerequisite: INTD 100.  One semester, 3 credits. 

120 Introduction to Literature

Exploration of various forms of literature from a variety of critical perspectives.  (Appropriate for students at all levels who have not had a college course in literature.)  Prerequisite: INTD 100.  One semester, 3 credits.  

124* Modern European Literature

An introductory course in literary analysis that focuses upon major works of European literature written since 1648.  May be substituted for English 120 as a prerequisite for taking upper-division English courses.  Students having credit for ENGL 120 may not take 124.  One semester, 3 credits. 

220 Major British Writers to 1789

A team-taught introduction to major writers in British literature to 1789, with particular emphasis on their historical and thematic contexts.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120 or instructors’ permission.  One semester, 3 credits. 

221 Major British and American Writers from 1789

A team-taught introduction to major writers in British and American literature from 1789, with particular emphasis on their historical and thematic contexts.  Prerequisites: ENGL 120 and 220.  One semester, 3 credits. 

222* Literature of the Bible

A study of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, with an emphasis on biblical texts both as literature in their own right and as sources for other literature, art, and music.  Prerequisites: INTD 100 and ENGL 120 or instructor’s permission.  One semester, 3 credits.  (Same as REL 216.) 

223* Greek and Roman Literature

A survey of the epic, drama, lyric, and literary theory of Classical Greece and Rome--from its beginnings in the ninth century B.C.E. through the early common era--including works of Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Horace, Virgil, Ausonius, and Paulinus of Nola. Prerequisites: INTD 100 and ENGL 120 or instructor’s permission.  One semester, 3 credits. 

II. Courses in Writing and Language  Majors are required to take at least one course from either the Writing or the Language and Linguistics category below.  Both introductory and upper-division writing courses from this list may be counted toward the major. 

A. Courses in Writing

201* Introduction to Journalism

The fundamentals of writing for a newspaper; introduction to the profession of journalism; problems of reporting, editing, and publishing.  Not open to those who have had INTD 105.  One semester, 3 credits. 

202 Writing Short Fiction

By writing short stories and critiquing those of peers and published writers, students learn in workshops and conferences to analyze the problems of writing short fiction.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120 and instructor permission.  One semester, 3 credits. 

203 Writing Poetry

An introduction to poetry writing, focusing on form and technique.  Workshops, outside readings, visits by established poets.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120 and instructor permission.  One semester, 3 credits. 

302* Advanced Fiction Writing

Intensive workshop in the writing of short stories.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120 and instructor permission.  May be repeated for credit.  One semester, 3 credits. 

303* Advanced Poetry Writing

Intensive workshop in the writing of poetry.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120 and instructor permission.  May be repeated for credit.  One semester, 3 credits.    

304* The Other Creative Writing

A class in forms of creative writing other than poetry or fiction, such as op-ed, memoir, translation, craft essays, travel writing, interviews, profiles, and meditative essays, as well as experimental forms involving collage, reduction, mail art, performance and/or found art.  The final project will be a substantial undertaking.  Students will learn how to write query and cover letters, and how to identify the correct market for their creations.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120 and instructor permission.  One semester, 3 credits.    

305 Screenwriting

An introduction to writing scripts for films, including artistic and professional aspects of the trade. Workshops, readings, and writing exercises will lead toward a full-length screenplay. Prerequisite: instructor permission. One semester, 3 credits. 

B. Courses in Language and Linguistics 310 Linguistics

A Study of the sounds, forms, structure, and meanings of human language, alongside the biological and social forces that shape its use and control its evolution over time.  Prerequisite: INTD 100.  One semester, 3 credits. 

311* History of the English Language

A study of the origins of English and its dialects, and of the historical, social, and linguistic forces that shaped its evolution from Prehistoric Germanic through Old English, Middle English, and Modern English.  Prerequisite: INTD 100.  One semester, 3 credits. 

315* The System of Basic English

An introduction to C.K. Ogden’s system of Basic English in light of traditional and modern philosophy.  This course is designed for students who want to develop systematic control of written and spoken English.  Prerequisite: INTD 100.  January, 4 credits. 

316* Semiotics 

Introduction to the major schools of semiotics.  Particular attention will be paid to the distinction between signs and symbols, abstracting, multiple uses of language, and the role that symbols and other conceptual tools play in human behavior.  Prerequisite: INTD 100.  One semester, 3 credits. 

III. Advanced Courses in Literature  Majors are required to take at least one course from areas A – D listed below. 

A. British and European Literature, 500–1700 

320* Literature of Medieval Europe

A survey of the main trends and genres of literature in Europe from the Fall of Rome (c. 500) to the Protestant Reformation (c. 1500).  Most texts (coming from Italy, France, and Germany as well as from England) will be read in translation.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 220 or 222 recommended.  One semester, 3 credits. 

321* British Literature, 700 - 1500

A survey of major genres and works of the British Isles to the close of the Middle Ages.  Readings include Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Second Shepherd’s Play, and the Morte d’Arthur.  Except for Middle English texts, works will be read in translation.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 220 recommended.  One semester, 3 credits. 

323* Dante

A close reading (in translation) of Dante’s Divine Comedy  in the context both of his Vita Nuova  and of various historical and literary movements of his time.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 220 or 223 recommended.  One semester, 3 credits.  (Same as REL 316.) 

324* Chaucer

A close reading of The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde, in Middle English and with  their medieval background.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 220 or 321 recommended. One semester,

3 credits. 

325* Literature of the English Renaissance

Representative literary works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries read in the context of historic events which helped shape these works.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 220 recommended. One semester, 3 credits.  (Same as REL 356.)

326* Shakespeare and his Contemporaries

An examination of several of Shakespeare’s plays in connection with plays by such dramatists as Kyd, Marlowe, Jonson, Webster, and Beaumont and Fletcher.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 220 recommended.  One semester, 3 credits. 

328 Shakespeare

Introduction to the major plays.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits.  (Same as THEA 328.)

329* Milton

An examination of John Milton’s poetry and major prose in its biographical and historical context, culminating in a close reading of Paradise Lost.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 220, 222 or 223 strongly recommended.  One semester, 3 credits.  (Same as REL 357.) 

B. British and European Literature, 1700–1900 

330* British Literature, 1640 - 1789

A survey of British literature of the English Civil Wars, Restoration, and eighteenth century, with particular attention to its social context.  Special emphasis is given to Dryden, Defoe, Pope, Fielding, and Johnson, as well as to the numerous women writing during the period.  Prerequisite: ENGL 160; 220, 222, or 223 strongly recommended.  One semester, 3 credits. 

331* Rise of the Novel 

The pioneers of the novel in English: Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, and Sterne.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits. 

332* Nineteenth-Century English Novel

Major nineteenth-century novels, selected from the works of Austen, Dickens, Thackeray, the Brontes, Eliot, and Hardy.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits. 

334* Romantic Poetry

Poetry of Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.

One semester, 3 credits. 

335* Victorian Poetry

Major works by such poets as Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, and Hopkins, and some prose. Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits. 

336* The European Novel

Selected European novels of the nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on Russian fiction. Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits. 

C. British and Global Literature From 1900

350* Modern Drama

A survey of modern dramatic works from the 1870s to the 1960s, from naturalism to the Theater of the Absurd.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits. 

352* The Modern British Novel

An examination of British novels from 1900 through the 1940s, with an emphasis on modernism and such novelists as Conrad, Woolf, Joyce, Ford, Forster, Lawrence, and Orwell.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits. 

353* Irish Literature, 1888 - 1949

Irish nationalism and Irish renaissance; emphasis on Yeats, Joyce, Synge, and O’Casey. Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  January, 4 credits. 

354* Contemporary British Literature

A study of British literature and culture since 1950, and of the relationship between literature and national identity in the period.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits. 

355* Contemporary Drama

A study of key figures and movements in drama and performance art since the 1950s.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits.     

358* Postcolonial Novel

Twentieth-century novels by Third World writers whose language of composition is English, with emphasis on India and Africa.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits. 

D. American Literature 

360* The Origins of American Literature

The colonial period through the early republic.  Consideration is given to the ways in which American literary expression began to concern itself with unique forms and ideas, in such writers as Bradford, Bradstreet, Wheatley, Edwards, Franklin, Brown, Irving, and Cooper.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 221 recommended.  One semester, 3 credits.   

361* American Romanticism

The major writers of the literary movement known as “transcendentalism” and the response to them.  Such writers as Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, Hawthorne, Melville, Poe, Douglass, Whitman, Dickinson, Whittier, Longfellow, and Bryant will be considered.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 221 recommended.  One semester, 3 credits.  

362* American Realism and Naturalism

The major writers of the last half of the nineteenth century to World War I, with emphasis on the two movements of the course title.  Such writers as Stowe, Twain, Howells, Crane, James, Norris, London, Chopin, Gilman, Wharton, and Adams will be considered.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 221 recommended.  One semester, 3 credits.  

363* Modern American Novel

The modernist movement in the American novel from World War I to 1950.  Such writers as Cather, Faulkner, Hemingway, Dos Passos, Hurston, Dreiser, Welty, Stein, Steinbeck, Lewis, Fitzgerald, Hammett, and Chandler will be considered.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 221 recommended.  One semester, 3 credits.  

364* Modern American Poetry

Poets of the modernist era in America, such as Williams, Stevens, Eliot, and Moore.  May include some contemporaneous British poets (i.e. Yeats) and American precursors (i.e. Dickinson and Whitman).  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits.   

365* Hemingway and Eliot

Close reading of major works by Ernest Hemingway and T.S. Eliot, with attention to literary form, ethical situations, and world views.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  January, 4 credits.  (Same as REL 358.) 

370* Postmodern American Novel

An examination of American novels since 1950 in relation to postmodern aesthetics, theory, and culture.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits.   

371* Contemporary American Poetry

Readings in American poetry from post-World War II to the present.  May include some contemporaneous world poetry.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits. 

373* The African-American Literary Tradition

An examination of the development of the African-American literary tradition.  Among the writers and topics which may be considered are slave narratives, the oral tradition, Wheatley, Douglass, the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes, Hurston, Baldwin, Wright, Ellison, Walker, Angelou, and Morrison.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits.   

374* Asian-American Literature

A course in contemporary Asian-American fiction, poetry, and drama, with an emphasis on immigrant history and on media images of Asian-Americans.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester or January, 3 or 4 credits. 

275* Chicano Literature

A survey of the works of Mexican-American authors of poetry, prose, and drama, which delves into questions of gender, textual interpretation, and socio-historic contexts.  One semester, three credits.  (Same as SPAN 225.) 

377* Autobiography and American Culture

Examination of autobiography as a particularly American genre.  Consideration of the theory and history of the genre.  Emphasis on autobiography as a literary expression of a variety of literary, historical, and cultural concerns.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits.     

378* Wilderness Writing

American writing that explores the human relationship with the natural world.  Selected works by Puritan and colonial authors, Emerson, Thoreau, Twain, Muir, Austin, Leopold, Carson, Snyder, Abbey, McPhee, Dillard, Lopez, Momaday, and others.  Journal and narrative writing, integrative term paper, and experiential components such as hiking, camping, backpacking, and map/compass navigation are central features of this course.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  January, 4 credits.

IV. Literary, Formal, and Thematic Alternatives

280* Literature on Film

An examination of the complex relationships between literary works and their cinematic realization. Prerequisite: INTD 100.  January, 4 credits. 

381* Images of Love in European Literature

The development of the theme of romantic love from the Song of Songs and Plato’s Symposium, through the Middle Ages and Renaissance, to Milan Kundera and the end of the twentieth century. Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester or January, 3 or 4 credits.  (Same as REL 359.) 

382* History of Literary Criticism

Major approaches and critical assumptions in the history of literary criticism; special attention to critical movements since 1930.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120; 220-21 recommended.  One semester, 3 credits. 

383* Asian Literature

Masterpieces, ancient and modern, of Asian  literature--including philosophical writings, poetry, drama, short stories, and novels—from classiscs such as  the Analects  of Confucius to contempories such as  Kobo Abe and Bharati Mukherjee.  This class will focus on two or three of  the following areas: India, China, Japan, and the Middle East.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits. 

284* Quaker Writers

An examination of the lives and works of writers who are Quakers, including Jan de Hartog, Jessamyn West, and John Greenleaf Whittier, as well as such seminal Quaker thinkers as George Fox and Lucretia Mott.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  January, 4 credits. 

386* Satire

The main currents, techniques, and purposes of satire from ancient Greece to the present. Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  One semester, 3 credits.

387* Science Fiction

A reading and viewing of science fiction from H.G. Wells to Octavia Butler in historical, thematic, stylistic, and socio-political terms.  Prerequisite: ENGL 120.  January, 4 credits.  

390* Selected Topics in English and American Literature

Advanced study in a major figure or movement.  Permission required.  One semester or January, 3-4 credits.  May be repeated for credit. 

395 Directed Studies

Credit and time arranged.  Permission required.  May be repeated for credit. 

420 Preceptorship: Teaching Literature

Collaboration with professors in teaching introductory literature courses.  For advanced majors interested in the theory and practice of teaching literature.  Requires attendance at the relevant course (120, 220 or 221) and intensive work with the instructor.  Prerequisites: ENGL 120 and instructor permission.  One semester, 1 credit.  May be repeated for credit.   

V. Capstone Courses and Paper in the Major 

Majors are required to take these two courses during their senior year.  Senior Seminars may require prerequisites to ensure preparation for advanced work in the area.  Students should consult their advisors at least two years in advance to select, then prepare for, an appropriate seminar. 

400 Critical Procedures in Language and Literature

Consideration of the major theoretical positions in contemporary criticism with their application to selected literary texts.  Designed for senior English majors.  The portfolio produced in this course satisfies the Paper-in-the-Major college writing requirement for English majors.  Permission required.  One semester, 3 credits.  (Same as REL 365.) 

410 Senior Seminar

Intensive study of a particular figure or topic, for seniors.  Prerequisites as appropriate to the subject.  Permission required.  May be repeated for credit.  One semester or January, 3 credits.