English

Professors C. Engbers, S. Felch, D. Hettinga, J. Holberg, L. Klatt, L. Naranjo-Huebl, D. Rienstra, K. Saupe (cochair), G. Schmidt (cochair), D. Urban, J. Vanden Bosch, E. Vander Lei
Associate Professors J. Williams, J. Zwart
Assistant Professors J. Holcomb, K. Johnson

The department offers both majors and minors in all of the following: literature, writing, linguistics, and secondary and elementary English education. It also offers interdisciplinary minors in ESL and journalism. A student may alter any of the recommended programs with the permission of an academic advisor. Normally, all faculty will advise for the literature and writing majors and minors. The advisor for the linguistics major is Kristine Johnson. The advisors for the secondary-education programs are K. Saupe and J. Vanden Bosch. The advisor for the elementary-education programs is D. Hettinga. The advisor for the journalism minor is D. Hettinga.

Students who plan to graduate with honors in English must complete a minimum of six honors courses (or 18 hours of honors work): at least three in the English Department (not including ENGL 101 ) and at least two from the general curriculum. Honors ENGL 101  may count as the sixth honors course required for graduation. Honors students must also complete ENGL 399 - Honors Thesis  as one of their three honors courses in English. In addition to maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, both within the major and overall, a student must also earn at least a B+ on the Honors Thesis in order to graduate with honors. For specific questions about honors requirements in the English Department, contact the chair of the English Department’s Curriculum Committee.

A minimum grade of C (2.0) in ENGL 101  or ENGL 102  is required both for graduation and as a prerequisite to any concentration in the English Department. Typically, ENGL 101  is the first course taken in the department. The core requirement in written rhetoric is met by ENGL 101 , ENGL 100 / ENGL 102 , or by examination. The literature core requirement is met by ENGL 200 , ENGL 202 , ENGL 212 , ENGL 213 , ENGL 214 , ENGL 220 , ENGL 221 , ENGL 225 , ENGL 226 , ENGL 230 , or ENGL 234 , and ENGL 299 .

Programs

• English Major: Secondary Education
• Linguistics Major
• Literature Major
• Writing Major

• English Minor: Secondary Education
• Journalism Minor
• Linguistics Minor
• Literature Minor
• Writing Minor

• Language Arts Group Major: Elementary Education

• Language Arts Group Minor: Elementary Education

Courses

For more detailed descriptions of the courses offered for any given semester, see the English Department website.

• ENGL 100 - Enhanced Written Rhetoric I
• ENGL 101 - Written Rhetoric
• ENGL 102 - Enhanced Written Rhetoric II
• ENGL 200 - Literature in a Global Context
• ENGL 202 - Russian Literature
• ENGL 212 - Survey of British Literature I
• ENGL 213 - Survey of British Literature II
• ENGL 214 - Survey of British Literature III
• ENGL 220 - Survey of American Literature I
• ENGL 221 - Survey of American Literature II
• ENGL 225 - African American Literature
• ENGL 226 - Ethnicity in American Literature
• ENGL 230 - Understanding Literature
• ENGL 234 - Gender and Literature
• ENGL 238 - Film as a Narrative Art
• ENGL 260 - The Craft of Writing
• ENGL 261 - Academic & Professional Writing
• ENGL 262 - Business Writing
• ENGL 264 - Basic Journalism
• ENGL 266 - Feature Journalism
• ENGL 299 - Special Topics in Literature
• ENGL 300 - Advanced World Literature
• ENGL 310 - British Literature of the Middle Ages
• ENGL 312 - British Literature of the Renaissance and Reformation
• ENGL 313 - British Literature of the Eighteenth Century
• ENGL 314 - British Literature of the Early Nineteenth Century
• ENGL 315 - British Literature of the Middle and Later Nineteenth Century
• ENGL 316 - British Modernism
• ENGL 317 - Contemporary British and Commonwealth Literature
• ENGL 320 - Literature of the United States I: Settlement to Civil War
• ENGL 321 - Literature of the United States II: Civil War to Great Depression
• ENGL 322 - Literature of the United States III: World War II to the Present
• ENGL 330 - Hermeneutics and the Study of Literature
• ENGL 332 - The Novel
• ENGL 333 - Poetry
• ENGL 334 - Drama
• ENGL 335 - Genre Study
• ENGL 337 - Major Authors
• ENGL 338 - Shakespeare
• ENGL 340 - Children’s Literature
• ENGL 341 - Adolescent Literature
• ENGL 350 - Teaching of Writing
• ENGL 351 - Language, Grammar, and Writing for the Elementary Classroom
• ENGL 352 - Teaching of Literature
• ENGL 359 - Seminar in Principles of and Practices in Secondary Education
• ENGL 360 - Creative Nonfiction
• ENGL 362 - Creative Writing
• ENGL 365 - Writing in Digital Environments
• ENGL 370 - Linguistics
• ENGL 371 - History of the English Language
• ENGL 372 - Sociolinguistics and Issues in Language Education
• ENGL 373 - Stylistics and Discourse Analysis
• ENGL 374 - English Grammar
• ENGL 375 - Grammar for Teachers of ESL
• ENGL 380 - Internship
• ENGL 390 - Independent Study
• ENGL 395 - Senior Seminar
• ENGL 399 - Honors Thesis