ENGL508: Shakespeare Studies: Tragedies (3 hours lecture)

Shakespeare's tragic drama against a background of classical and Medieval theories of tragedy, and in relation to the practice of his contemporaries. Consideration is given to Shakespeare's use of plot sources and to Elizabethan theories of rhetoric. 3 sh.

ENGL509: Shakespeare Studies: Comedies (3 hours lecture)

Shakespeare's comic art in the light of comic theory and practice from Aristotle to the present. Areas of analysis include Shakespeare's use of Roman and native English comedy, his language, characters, sources, and the traditions of Shakespearean criticism. 3 sh.

ENGL510: Shakespeare Studies: Histories (3 hours lecture)

A study of the ten English history plays. Shakespeare's use of historical sources and variations from historical fact are examined carefully. Attention is given to scholarship, criticism, and production of the history plays. 3 sh.

ENGL511: Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama (3 hours lecture)

A comprehensive view of the period of the apex of English drama, from 1550 to the closing of the theaters in 1642. Major works by Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists other than Shakespeare are studied in the light of Medieval English drama and the new Renaissance theories of Shakespeare's contemporaries. Attention is given to changes in subject matter, tone, dramaturgy, and staging during the latter part of the period. 3 sh.

ENGL518: Milton (3 hours lecture)

Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and some of the minor works are analyzed intensively. Styles, themes and techniques are considered in the light of Milton's life and the political and religious controversies of his time. The poetry is also studied in terms of its relation to Milton's Italian and classical models, his Elizabethan masters, and his contemporaries. 3 sh.

ENGL532: Victorian Studies II: Novel (3 hours lecture)

The Victorian novel in its historical and cultural contexts, with emphasis on the responses of the most vital art form of the age to the unprecedented changes in English life that took place during the era. Works by Thackeray, Trollope, Dickens, the Brontes, Eliot, and others. 3 sh.

ENGL533: Victorian Studies III: Poetry (3 hours lecture)

The course concentrates on the major mid-Victorian poets, Tennyson, Browning, and Arnold, and to a lesser extent on their successors among the pre-Raphaelites, the aesthetes, and the rhymers. 3 sh.

ENGL535: Turn-of-the-Century British Writers (3 hours lecture)

An examination of British literature in the transitional period between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Writers might include Hardy, Conrad, Joyce, and Lawrence. Attention is given to the ways in which their works illuminate the movement from Victorian to modernist thinking and demonstrate the relation between literary consciousness and society. 3 sh.

ENGL540: The Modern British Novel (3 hours lecture)

Innovations in characterization, narrative technique, and theme under the impact of major twentieth-century political, economic, and cultural developments. Works by Forster, Huxley, Waugh, Orwell, Greene, Amis, Murdoch, Lessing, and others. 3 sh.

ENGL550: Studies in Early American Literature (3 hours lecture)

All major and several minor American writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are studied within several contexts: literary, religious, philosophical, and political. Topics include the development of American literature, 1620-1800; the effects of puritanism and deism; the concept of the American dream; the originality of the founding fathers; and the extent to which modern American literature and culture reflect the colonial heritage. 3 sh.

ENGL555: American Romanticism (3 hours lecture)

An exploration of the Romantic movement in America with attention to transcendentalism and other social movements. Writers might include Brown, Irving, Cooper, Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, Louisa May Alcott, and Whitman. 3 sh.

ENGL556: Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville (3 hours lecture)

An intensive examination of the writings of the three "Dark Romantics" of the American Renaissance, set against their biographical backgrounds and the literary and historical contexts in which they worked. 3 sh.

ENGL557: American Realism (3 hours lecture)

The development of American realistic fiction, with emphasis on the works of Twain, Howells, and James in relation to their literary heritage and to their social milieu. Attention will also be given to local-color writers, such as Jewett and Freeman, and to naturalist writers, such as Crane, Norris, and London. 3 sh.

ENGL560: Modern American Fiction (3 hours lecture)

After a brief examination of late nineteenth-century realism, the major writers of the twentieth century (up to World War II) are studied with special attention to the critical attitudes of the period and to related scholarship. Authors include Dreiser, Stephen Crane, Sherwood Anderson, Hemingway, and Faulkner. 3 sh.

ENGL561: Modern American Poetry (3 hours lecture)

Beginning with background material on late nineteenth-century poetry, the course examines selected major modern poets. The changing scene in modern poetry is noted, and the reading of contemporary poets is included. Works by Hart Crane, Hilda Doolittle, T. S. Eliot, Robert Lowell, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, and others. 3 sh.

ENGL563: Recent American Fiction (3 hours lecture)

American fiction of approximately the last forty years in the context of American culture and traditions. The course analyzes the characteristics of theme, technique, and sensibility which form the basis of a writer's response to the ambiguities of life in the contemporary world. Works studied might include Bellow, Roth, Didion, Walker, Doctorow, and Morrison. 3 sh.

ENGL564: American Drama (3 hours lecture)

The major American playwrights, such as Eugene O'Neill, Thornton Wilder, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams, are placed in the perspective of their contemporaries and of the traditions of the American stage. 3 sh.

ENGL565: Black American Women Writers (3 hours lecture)

This course explores the writings of Black American women. We will examine the conditions out of which Black women write and the ways in which their works are critiqued and theorized. Discussions will center on questions of race, gender, sexuality, and class; narrative approaches and literary devices; and the Black "womanist" creative tradition. 3 sh.

ENGL597: Independent Study in British Literature

The student completes a research project under the supervision of a member of the graduate faculty. This course is designed to allow investigations into areas not covered by regular courses and seminars. Permission of the graduate program coordinator and of the project supervisor is required before registration. May be repeated once for a maximum of 6.0 credits as long as the topic is different. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

ENGL598: Independent Study in American Literature

The student completes a research project under the supervision of a member of the graduate faculty. This course is designed to allow investigations into areas not covered by regular courses and seminars. Permission of the graduate program coordinator and of the project supervisor is required before registration. May be repeated once for a maximum of 6.0 credits as long as the topic is different. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

ENGL600: Seminar in British Literature (3 hours seminar)

Advanced study of an author, genre, movement, theme, or critical theory. See current announcement for specific topic. May be repeated without limit as long as the topic is different. 3 sh.

ENGL601: Seminar in American Literature (3 hours seminar)

Advanced study of an author, genre, movement, theme, or critical theory. See current announcement for specific topic. May be repeated without limit as long as the topic is different. 3 sh.

ENGL605: Seminar in Literary Research (3 hours seminar)

Instruction and practical experience in such areas as reference sources, textual study, kinds of criticism, and the basics of editing. Recommended for the first or second semester of graduate study. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

ENGL698: Master's Thesis

Independent research project done under faculty advisement. Students must follow the MSU Thesis guidelines, which may be obtained from the Graduate School. Students should take ENGL 699 if they don't complete ENGL 698 within the semester. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

ENLT514: Theoretical Approaches to Literature (3 hours lecture)

An in-depth study of late 19th and 20th Century theoretical approaches to literature and issues of representation. Critical methodologies to be studied will include: Formalism, Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, Historical Materialism, Psychoanalysis, Feminism, Post-colonialism and New Historicism. Students will study literary and/or filmic texts along with the critical theories. Does not count towards the International Literature specialization, as this is a required core course. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

ENLT515: Ancient Tragedy (3 hours lecture)

Selected plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Seneca in English translation; origins of Greek and Roman tragedy; religion and myth in tragedy; Aristotelian criticism; stage production; the influence of ancient tragedy on modern literature. 3 sh.

ENLT517: Ancient Epic (3 hours lecture)

The Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid in English translation. Topics include ancient and modern literary criticism of Homer and Virgil; oral versus literary epic; history, folklore, and saga in the ancient epic; basic epic themes (the nature of heroism, fate, people and the gods, etc.); Homeric and Virgilian influence on subsequent literature. 3 sh.

ENLT536: The Romantic Movement (3 hours lecture)

The origins and development of romanticism in England and Germany are compared with the later triumph of the movement in France. Representative works of Chateaubriand, Goethe, Novalis, Kleist, Hoffmann, Heine, Musset, and Nerval are studied, and their themes compared with those of the English romantics. (Taught in English. Recommended to French majors as a free elective.) Cross listed with French, FREN 536. 3 sh.

ENLT565: Ibsen, Strindberg, and Shaw (3 hours lecture)

Intensive study of three great modern playwrights with an emphasis on dramatic theory and criticism, social context, and literary/theatrical values. 3 sh.

ENLT569: Major Writers of Africa and the African Diaspora (3 hours lecture)

The course will concentrate on literature from sub-Saharan Africa and the African diaspora and may include writers from the Caribbean, Asia, and the Americas. Discussion topics may address issues of place; power and its effects, including colonialism and slavery; gender relations, family structures, religious beliefs; the arts and other cultural expressions. 3 sh.

ENLT571: Trends in the Contemporary Novel (3 hours lecture)

Significant fiction of the last fifty years from at least five countries. Students will be introduced to a variety of fictional forms which will include work from diverse geographical regions. 3 sh.

ENLT577: Film Studies (3 hours lecture)

On a rotating basis, different cultural, historical, and aesthetic aspects of American, British, or world film will be examined. See current announcement. Students may repeat Film Studies so long as the topic is different each time. 3 sh.

ENLT578: Science Fiction (3 hours lecture)

This course compares international authors' contributions to science fiction, focusing on those texts that highlight its history and meaning: fiction of the future that speculates and extrapolates from the physical and social sciences. It provides graduate students with the critical perspectives to explore the reach of speculative fiction across the globe. Students will become familiar with the roots of literary tropes such as utopias/dystopias and the uncanny, through literature that interrogates what it means to be human. 3 sh.

ENLT599: Independent Study: International Literature

The student completes a research project under the supervision of a member of the graduate faculty. This course is designed to allow investigations into areas not covered by regular courses and seminars. Permission of the graduate program coordinator and of the project supervisor required before registration. May be repeated once for a maximum of 6.0 credits as long as the topic is different. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

ENLT602: Seminar in International Literature (3 hours seminar)

Advanced study of an author, genre, movement, theme or critical theory. See current announcement for specific topic. Students may be repeated without limit as long as the topic is different. 3 sh.

ENWR583: Teaching Writing Through Literature (3 hours lecture)

The course considers the best theories and practices for teaching writing through literature. Students will also examine the social and historical intersection of literary studies and writing pedagogy. 3 sh.

ENWR586: Theory and Practice of Teaching Writing (3 lecture hours)

This course explores the social, educational, and linguistic foundations of writing instruction, including various models of composing and approaches to writing pedagogy. Students will learn how to respond to writing, identifying strengths and strategies for improvement, and explore ways to encourage revision. Practicing and prospective teachers will examine the theory, research, and practice of writing instruction through a process of inquiry, workshops, and analysis of their own writing. 3 sh.

ENWR588: Research in Writing Studies (3 lecture hours)

An introduction to representative empirical research in composition pedagogy and writing studies. In the first half of the semester students will be introduced to a range of methodologies used in research in writing and composition studies. Inquiry models will include survey, ethnography, case study, the interview. In the second half of the semester students will explore a research question using one or more of the methodologies taught. 3 sh.

ENWR590: Graduate Writing Seminar (3 hours seminar)

Writing in one or more of the following: essay, scholarly research, autobiography, creative non-fiction, poetry, drama, screenwriting. May be repeated three times for a maximum of 12.0 credits as long as the topic is different. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

ENWR598: Rhetorical Theories and the Teaching of Writing (3 hours lecture)

An inquiry into the rhetorical and theoretical roots of current questions, methods and practices of writing instruction--to investigate the possibility that both teaching writing and writing itself are deeply constructed endeavors, rooted in structures of language, perception, knowing and being that are often discussed in theoretical discourse. 3 sh.

ENWR600: Seminar in Writing Studies (3 hours lecture)

Advanced study of a topic, issue or theory in the field of Writing Studies. See current announcement for specific topic. Students may repeat the Writing Studies Seminar up to 2 times for a total of 9 credits as long as the topic is different each time. 3 sh.