Explores the literary power and expression of biblical material. The Bible will be read as a work of literature, sensitive to issues of plot, character, point of view, theme and other matters integral to understanding the richness and interconnectedness of the Old and New Testaments. Prerequisites: BSTH 101, 102 plus 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Intensive introduction to children’s literature. Students will investigate various genres of children’s literature and critically analyze significant books in each area. Includes a lecture at the Osborne Collection of historical children’s literature. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Focuses on Tolkien and Lewis’ response to the problem of alienation in contemporary culture, more specifically the genre of science fiction. It explores the literary, philosophical and theological sources of alienation in the writing of the Enlightenment. Required reading includes Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Lewis’ science fiction trilogy, as well as the “classics” of the science fiction genre. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Study of English literature from the reign of James I to the Restoration, emphasizing Donne, Herbert, Bunyan and Milton. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Survey of Old Norse literature in translation, including Eddic and Skaldic poetry, King’s sagas, Icelandic sagas, ancient sagas and later re-interpretations of such material by writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien or Thomas Gray. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Survey of poetry, drama and prose from 1660–1798, which may include John Dryden, Aphra Behn, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Johnson and Frances Burney. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Focuses on the poetry of the Romantic period (c.1789-1832), including some of the works of the major Romantic poets, such as Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Keats and Shelley. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Examines representative works of the early novel, including such authors as Austen, Hugo, the Brontës, Dostoevsky, Gaskell, and Eliot. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Focuses on the poetry of the Victorian period (1837-1901), including works by poets such as Tennyson, Arnold, Hardy and Browning. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Study of representative works reflecting the various influences of the major wars and social upheavals characteristic of the 20th century. Authors may include Eliot, Woolf, Morrison, Atwood, Achebe and Marquez. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

This independent study option is open to third and fourth year students who wish to explore a topic not covered in the regular curriculum and in which the professor has an interest and expertise and is willing to direct studies. Prerequisite: 12 credit hours in ENGL. Permission required.

Instructs and practices the student in the methods of creative writing. Through reading and writing short stories, dramatic works and poetry, students will be familiarized with and coached in aspects of writing such as plot, characterization, point of view, voice, genre and dialogue. Additionally, students may consider matters of inspiration, influence and revision. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Through reading and writing dramatic works students will become familiar with aspects of playwriting such as plotting, characterization, point of view, voice, genre and dialogue. Additionally, students may consider matters of inspiration, influence and revision. Canadian and international plays will be analyzed and students will be encouraged to master the techniques of clear and effective communication. Through the writing and rewriting process, they will begin to discover their unique, creative voice. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Surveys major works of Geoffrey Chaucer, including selections from The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde and the dream poetry. Students will be introduced to the language of Middle English, but most works will be read in modern translations. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

A study of the life and works of one of 17th century England’s supreme poets, drawing on biographies and other secondary sources to illuminate Herbert’s poetry in The Temple and his wise reflections on pastoral duties and village life in The Country Parson. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Surveys Jane Austen’s major novels in their cultural and religious contexts. Through subtle commentary, Austen’s narrators allude to the French Revolution, British imperialism, the oppressive practices of West Indian slavery, and the rise of Anglican evangelicalism. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Exploration of the major theological and fiction works of C.S. Lewis. The ongoing tension between reason and imagination, informing both his life and his writing, is the major theme of discussion. Required readings include Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, Till We Have Faces, and The Chronicles of Narnia. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Survey the major genres of Shakespeare’s plays and study a series of selected critical works. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Emphasizes Milton’s major poetry, including Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes, and provides an introduction to such influential prose pieces as Areopagitica, The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, Of Education and Christian Doctrine. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Focuses on literature of countries that were once British colonies and have since become independent nations. Among the literatures discussed are those of South Africa, Nigeria, India, Trinidad and Canada. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Study of literature produced by writers of African descent in the United States. Writings include the slave narrative, essay, poetry, novel, short story, play, sermon, prayer and song. Authors include Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Zora Hurston, Langston Hughes, Ralph Ellison, Lorraine Hansberry and Toni Morrison. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Introduction to influential American writers of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries up to the Civil War, shaping the direction of American letters, including Edwards, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, Emerson and Dickinson. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Focuses on post-Civil War and 20th century American literature, in the major genres of poetry, drama and fiction. Representative authors include some of the following: Twain, James, Wharton, Hurston, O’Neill, Williams, Stevens, Levertov, Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Morrison and O’Connor. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.

Draws on a selection of twentieth and twenty- first century literature in English from both North and South America. Representative authors may include Jorge Luis Borges, Annie Dillard, Ralph Ellison, Louise Erdrich, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Yann Martel, Toni Morrison, Alice Munroe, Pablo Neruda, Michael Ondaatje, Amy Tan, and Alice Walker. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in ENGL.