University Distinguished Professor: N. Giovanni
Alumni Distinguished Professor: L. Roy
NationsBank Clifford A. Cutchins III Professor: P.W. Graham
Edward S. Diggs Professor: E. Sullivan
Professors: E. Falco; V. Fowler; T. M. Gardner; P. W. Graham; J. O. Hoge; M. A. Isani; C. Kiebuzinska; D. W. Mosser; F. Oehlschlaeger; D. H. Radcliffe; L. H. Roy; L. Scigaj; R. W. Siegle; N. C. Simmons; P. Sorrentino; M. Squires; J. C. Stubbs; E. L. Tucker
Associate Professors: L. M. Anderson; A. J. Colaianne; V. A. Cook; J. Eska; S. Fowler; L. Hatfield; B. Hausman; P. Heilker; S. M. Knapp; N. A. Metz; K. T. Soniat; J. D. Stahl; K. Swenson; D. M. Welch
Assistant Professors: E.R. Brumberger; S. Carter-Tod; J .H. Collier; J. J. Collins; C. Dannenberg; J. Dubinsky; D. G. Moss
Instructors: M. Armstrong; C. Bean; M. Bliss; E. Bloomer; R. Canter; C. Dennison; H. Dyer; L. C. Garrison; K. Graham; S. Hagedorn; D. Hall; C. L. Hardy; J. Harvill; C. Hudgins; S. Kark; A. F. Kinder; S. J. Kotz; A. LoMascolo; L. Leslie; A. K. Lorber; J. Mann; J. Mooney; S. Mooney; M. D. Moore; A. Murphy; L. Neilan; L. Norris; M. Paretti; R. Patton; M. Piersol; S. Poirer-Bures; S. Reisinger; C. Ruggiero; S. Saffle; M. S. Smith; J. Swami; G. Voros; W. Warncke; B. Watson; M. Zaldivar
Career Advisor: J. Mooney (231-6175)
Internet Addresses: http://www.athena.english.vt.edu http://www.english.vt.edu
The curriculum in English offers various approaches to the study of language and literature for students who seek humanistic learning, who are preparing for graduate or professional schools, who plan to teach, and who are seeking careers that involve writing.
The major in English requires a minimum of 39 hours of English beyond the freshman level, distributed as follows:
Early English: 2224, 4104, 4114, 4124, 4154, 4165, 4166, 4214, 4254, 4405, 4554.
Later English: 2224, 3554, 4254, 4304, 4354, 4406, 4504.
American: 2234, 3614, 3624, 3634, 4504, 4604, 4614, 4654.
20th-Century: 3544, 3644, 4406, 4504, 4514, 4564, 4654, 4664.
Fiction: 2214, 2314, 2334, 2344, 2804, 3364, 4405, 4406, 4654, 4664.
Poetry: 2214, 2304, 4104, 4114, 4214, 4304, 4354, 4504, 4514.
Drama: 2214, 2324, 4165, 4166, 4554, 4564.
Professional Writing: 3104, 3754, 3764, 3774, 3804, 3814, 3824.
Cultural Studies: 2254, 2264, 3524, 3534, 3614, 3624, 3634, 3644.
Background, Theory: 3574, 4024, 4034.
Language: 3304, 4044, 4054, 4064, 4074, 4084, 4124.
Creative Writing: 3704, 3714, 4704, 4714.
With the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, students may also design their own nine-hour clusters.
(A student may take eleven additional hours of English electives toward the 120 hours needed for graduation.)
The department also strongly recommends that its majors develop proficiency in reading a foreign language and take a minor in another department in the College of Arts and Sciences or in another college. For additional information, see the department's homepage.
Undergraduates interested in pursuing advanced degrees (M.A. or Ph.D.) in English and American Literature should, with the assistance of their professors and academic advisors, carefully plan their programs of study. Broad familiarity with English, American, and World literary history and with critical approaches to literary study is most desirable. Students should improve their language and writing skills and focus their attention on upper-division (especially 4000-level) courses, including studies of major eras in literary history (for example, the Romantic Age), major authors (Chaucer, Shakespeare, or Milton, for example), and language. A good reading knowledge of a modern and/or classical foreign language also is strongly recommended.
Undergraduates interested in pursuing careers in creative writing should, with the assistance of their professors and academic advisors, carefully plan their programs of study. Admission to a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program is typically based on writing samples, recommendations, academic history, and, increasingly, publications; therefore, undergraduates interested in pursuing the MFA should concentrate on developing an excellent portfolio of fiction, creative non-fiction, and/or poetry. Those interested in M.A. or Ph.D. programs in creative writing, as well as those who plan to enter into the fields of publishing and/or editing should also follow these guidelines. Creative writing workshop courses (2744, 3704, 3714, 4704, 4714, and occasional special topics courses offered under the numbers 3984 and 4984) offer students opportunities to study the craft of writing while developing portfolios. In addition to workshop courses, students are well advised to take a range of literary courses, particularly those which focus on their primary genre(s), in order to familiarize themselves with major writers and literary traditions.
The most directly marketable specialization in English is the Professional Writing option. It prepares students to work in a variety of fields including technology, science, education, business, government, and the non-profit sector. The option combines courses which address various types of writing, methods, and issues with hands-on practical experience to diversify and enhance communication skills. The department's nine-hour cluster comprises 3104 (Introduction to Professional Writing), 3754 (Advanced Composition), 3764 (Technical Writing), 3774 (Business Writing), 3804 (Technical Editing and Style), 3814 (Creating User Documentation), 3824 (Designing Documents for Print), and a variety of special topics courses offered under the numbers 3984 and 4984. A grammar or language course such as 4044 (Language and Society), 4064 (Modern English Linguistics), and 4074 (English Syntax) also enriches a student's understanding of professional language.
Becoming comfortable in the digital environment is a final component of this specialty; students are encouraged to seek courses with strong on-line components, as well as internships or part-time employment, all of which offer opportunities to learn more about how digital media can frame and otherwise affect discourse.
The minor in English consists of 18 hours of English beyond the freshman level, of which at least 9 hours must be on the 3000 or 4000 level. The department offers three separate minors, each with its own list of courses. Students who complete one of these minors may ask the English department to certify completion by means of a letter for their placement file. Checksheets for completion of the minor are available in Williams 126. Students who wish further information or advice about minoring in English should consult the coordinator of undergraduate advising in that office.
The University Core Curriculum in Area I requires a two-semester freshman sequence. ENGL 1105-1106, which the English Department offers as part of its Writing Program, fulfills this Area I Core requirement.
Advanced Standing (AS): Some students are exempted from the first semester (ENGL 1105) and granted Advanced Standing on the basis of three scores: SAT I Verbal, SAT II Writing, and Standardized High School Class Rank. Advanced Standing students fulfill their Freshman English requirement with the single advanced course into which they are placed: ENGL 1106 or Honors ENGL H1204. If Advanced Standing students complete the assigned advanced course at Virginia Tech with a C- or better in the first enrollment, they receive pass/fail credit for ENGL 1105, the course from which they are exempted. Advanced Standing is a placement category for students at Virginia Tech; it is not related to the Advanced Placement (AP) courses offered in high schools or the AP exam offered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
Credit from AP, CLEP, and IB exams can fulfill the Freshman sequence requirement. See "Advanced Placement," "Advanced Standing," and "International Baccalaureate" information in the Admissions section of this catalog.
University policy requires that students who are making satisfactory progress toward a degree meet minimum criteria toward the University Core (see Academics chapter in this catalog), toward the Arts and Sciences College Core (see first part of this chapter), and toward the degree in English.
Satisfactory progress toward the B.A. in English requires that:
Completion of the freshman English requirement is prerequisite for all English courses above the freshman level.
0014: ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE II
For international students taking regular academic loads. Practice in preparing and delivering oral reports in an academic field, as well as advanced pronunciation and aural comprehension exercises for effective classroom communication. Pass/fail only. X-grade allowed. ((3H,1C) I,II.
1105-1106: FRESHMAN ENGLISH
1105: Critical literacy: Introduction to analytical, critical, and interpretive writing and reading of primarily essay-length work; research; intensive practice in writing and revision; fundamentals of oral presentations. 1106: The Writing Project: Continued study in analytical, critical, and interpretive writing; reading of multiple book-length texts; intensive instruction and practice in writing and revision of longer work, including research; experience in oral presentation. (3H,3C).
1204H: HONORS FRESHMAN ENGLISH
Introduction to analytical, critical, and interpretive writing and reading at an advanced level and accelerated pace for students whose test scores and high school work indicate readiness for the Honors level of complexity, responsibility, and initiative; in a single semester, reviews the work of 1105 and focuses on the work of 1106 at the Honors level. Placement by the English Department required. (3H,3C).
1604: INTRODUCTION TO POETRY
This course examines the genre of poetry from the Old English period up to contemporary writers. Emphasis is on close reading and poetic forms and conventions. (3H,3C).
1614: INTRODUCTION TO SHORT FICTION
This course introduces the knowledge and skills required to read and understand short stories and novellas. Readings trace the development of short fiction from the fable and myth to contemporary narrative forms. (3H,3C).
1634: INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE
This course introduces Shakespeare's drama and poetry, including at least one modern adaptation of a Shakespearean play (play, novel, movie, opera, etc.). Emphasis will be placed on how to read a play, how to read Shakespearean verse, and how the various genres of Shakespearean drama differ. (3H,3C).
1654: INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY
This course introduces a variety of speculative works within the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Attention will be given to the development and principal characteristics of each genre. Emphasis will be placed on the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which specific speculative texts have been produced. (3H,3C).
1664: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN'S LITERATURE
This introductory course will examine literary and cultural questions raised by women writers throughout history and from different cultural backgrounds. Emphasis will be on women's writing in English, but the course may include some literature in translation. (3H,3C).
1674: INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE
This course introduces students to some of the major writers of the African American literary tradition from such early poets as Phillis Wheatley to such contemporary novelists as Toni Morrison. The course will situate the literary works within their historical and cultural contexts, but will also emphasize close readings of the texts. (3H,3C).
2234: INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LITERATURE
An introduction to important writers of American culture. The specific authors explored will vary somewhat by section, but the focus will be on such writers as Poe, Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Melville, Twain, Hemingway, Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and Toni Morrison. Pre: 1106 or 1204. (3H,3C).
2244: WORLD LITERATURE & CULTURE
An examination of conflicts and continuities between tradition and modernity in the works of writers from around the globe. In this course, students learn about the political, cultural and gender-based issues emerging in world literature, particularly in the conflicts arising from colonialism and the post-colonial era. The course focuses on literary expressions of the search for national, cultural and gender identity in the context of Western values and institutions in tension with indigenous traditions, beliefs, and ways of thinking. Pre: 1106 or 1204. (3H,3C).
2444 (CLA 2444): ANCIENT GREEK & ROMAN MYTHOLOGY
Survey of Ancient Greek and Roman mythology and modern interpretations. In English. No knowledge of Ancient Greek or Latin required. Not for credit toward a Latin Minor. (2H,3C).
2454 (CLA 2454): ANCIENT GREEK & LATIN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION
A variable content course devoted to the study of major works of Ancient Greek and Latin literature in English translation. May be repeated for credit with different content. In English. No knowledge of Ancient Greek or Latin required. Not for credit toward a Latin Minor. (2H,3C).
2515, 2516: SURVEY OF BRITISH LITERATURE
A two-course sequence introducing students to the major writers of the British literary tradition; 2515 extends from the medieval period to the death of Alexander Pope in 1744; 2516 continues to the present day. This course provides the literary, historical, and social contexts necessary to comprehend significant developments in poetry, drama, prose fiction, and criticism. Pre: 1106 or H1204 or COMM 1016. (3H,3C).
2604: INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL READING
An introduction to the techniques and theoretical implications of close reading, required of all English majors and minors, and potential majors and minors. Emphasis will be given to how readings of texts are constructed and defended, and to the connection between close attention to textual details and various critical approaches. Writing intensive class. Pre: 1106 or 1204. (3H,3C).
2744: INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING
A workshop for beginning writers who want to explore their talents in poetry, drama, and fiction. Pre: 1106 or 1204. (3H,3C).
2804 (AINS 2804): CONTEMPORARY NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURES
This course offers a sampling of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction by the most influential American Indian writers since 1970; authors such as Momaday, Silko, Deloria, Welch, Harjo, and Alexie. Students will also learn about those aspects of cosmology and storytelling traditionally shared by all American Indian Nations, as well as about those aspects specific to the individual tribal traditions from which the authors and their characters come. Pre: 1106 or H1204. (3H,3C).
2964: FIELD STUDY
Pass/Fail only. Variable credit course.
2974: INDEPENDENT STUDY
Variable credit course.
2984: SPECIAL STUDY
Variable credit course.
3014: TEXTS & CONTEXTS: MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
A range of works symptomatic of the social, intellectual, and aesthetic crises and cruxes of the Middle Ages. Insular traditions such as Celtic, Old Norse, Anglo-Norman, and Anglo-Saxon will be considered in relation to such issues as their continental and classical analogues and antecedents. I,II Co: 2604. (3H,3C).
3024: TEXTS & CONTEXTS: THE RENAISSANCE
A range of Renaissance texts, considered in relation to such issues as the struggle to create distinctively "English" genres and the way such concerns as spiritual expression, power and patronage, trade and colonization, and other social issues are reflected in literary forms. Co: 2604. (3H,3C).
3034: TEXTS & CONTEXTS: RESTORATION & 18TH C. LITERATURE
An introduction to the major authors and genres of the era. Developments in aesthetic forms and literary movements will be discussed in relation to contexts such as the beginning of religious toleration, empirical philosophy and aesthetic criticism, nationalism and colonialism, commerce and the development of a reading public, and the incorporation of women into the republic of letters. The course will emphasize the role of Restoration and 18th-century literature in instituting social and historical changes and the implications of those changes for contemporary practice. Co: 2604. (3H,3C).
3044: TEXTS & CONTEXTS: 19TH-CENTURY BRITISH EMPIRE
A variety of important texts written in and about England and its Commonwealth nations in the 19th century. Along with the political and cultural issues raised by the notion of empire, texts will also be read in relation to questions posed by science, religion, history, and the period's new focus on the structure, psychology, and ethics of the individual self. Co: 2604. (3H,3C).
3054: TEXTS & CONTEXTS: AMERICAN LITERATURE BEFORE 1900
Selected texts by representative writers, read in relation to such issues as the way various voices, regions, and peoples join together in constituting an "American" literature; and the way different literary forms and movements engage different religious, political, and social ideals. Co: 2604. (3H,3C).
3064: TEXTS & CONTEXTS: TWENTIETH CENTURY
A range of modern works whose themes and complex, innovative forms respond to the notions of liberation, mastery and limitation raised by the social, intellectual, and aesthetic crises of the twentieth century. Co: 2604. (3H,3C).
3104: INTRODUCTION TO PROFESSIONAL WRITING
This course introduces students to the theory and practice of professional writing and its functions in workplace settings. In this rhetorically-based course, students gain experience with a variety of writing situations, composing documents that solve problems or help readers make decisions. Students learn current conventions and broadly applicable procedures for analyzing the audiences, purposes, and situations of professional writing, and learn strategies for adapting these conventions and procedures to meet the unique demands of each new situation and task. Pre: 1106 or 1204H. (3H,3C).
3304 (AINS 3304): THE LANGUAGES OF NATIVE AMERICA
Study in the structures of the native languages of the Americas; their interrelationships; their use in individual speech communities; contact with other languages; the interrelationships of linguistic structure, culture, and thought; their future survival. Pre: 1106 or H1204. (3H,3C).
3315-3316 (TA 3315-3316): PLAYWRITING
A workshop course in the craft and art of playwriting which emphasizes the development of craft and the nurturing of vision and art. 3315: primary focus is on the writing of original scripts with additional attention paid to the work of influential playwrights and critics. 3316: promary focus is on the creative process of developing a play with the collaborative influences of a director, actors, designers, and other theatre professionals. Pre: 3315: 1106 or 1204H or COMM 1016 and consent of instructor; 3316: 3315. (3H,3C).
3364: TOPICS IN LITERATURE BY WOMEN
This rotating topics course examines literature written by women with different national and ethnic identities and from different historical periods. Specific content varies, but the common focus is on the fundamental issues surrounding women's writing, the critical methodologies commonly employed to analyze this writing, and the historical, social, and literary contexts influencing the particular writing being studied. May be repeated once with different content. Pre: 1106 or H1204 or COMM 1016. (3H,3C).
3404 (FR 3404): FRENCH LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
Variable content course devoted to the study of major writers or periods of French literature. May be repeated with different content. May not be taken for credit toward a major or minor in French. In English. One 2000 level English literature course required. (3H,3C).
3414 (GER 3414): GERMAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
A variable content course devoted to the study of major German literary works in English translation. May be repeated with different content. May not be taken for credit toward a major or minor in a foreign language. No knowledge of German required. In English. One 2000 level English literature course required. (3H,3C).
3424 (RUS 3424): RUSSIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
Variable-content course devoted to the study of Russian literary classics. Readings and lectures in English. Topics will range from general surveys of 19th or 20th century Russian literature to more intensive study of the works of a single major author like Tolstoy or Dostoevsky. May be repeated with different content. No knowledge of Russian required. In English. One 2000 level English course required. (3H,3C).
3434 (SPAN 3434): HISPANIC LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
Variable content course devoted to the study of major works of Spanish and Spanish-American literature in translation. May be repeated with different content. May not be taken for credit toward a major or minor in Spanish. No knowledge of Spanish required. In English. One 2000 level English literature course required. (3H,3C).
3524: LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN
General critical and historical survey of traditional and contemporary writing for children: picture books, folk literature, modern fantasy, poetry, drama, modern fiction, historical fiction. (3H,3C).
3534: LITERATURE & ECOLOGY
Study of the poetry, prose and dramatic literature that stresses human cooperation with nature conceived as a dynamic, interrelated series of cyclic feedback systems. Included are ways esthetic values (literary themes, form, vision, perception, language) intersect with selected ecological concepts such as biocentrism, the food chain, energy transfer, Gaia theory, and ecofeminism; selected works by contemporary ecologists and environmentalists, and a study of the origins of ecology in the Greek oikos or home. This is a writing intensive course. Pre: 1106 or 1204. (3H,3C).
3544 (COMM 3544): LITERATURE & FILM
Works of literature and the films into which they have been transformed; emphasis on differences between media. (3H,3C).
3584: THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE
This course focuses on the Bible both as a work of literature and as a major influence on the literatures of the world. Specific books of the Bible to be covered as well as literacy-critical approaches will vary. Pre: 1106 or H1204 or COMM 1016. (3H,3C).
3614: SOUTHERN LITERATURE
The literature of the American South from 1840 to the present with emphasis on 20th-century fiction, drama, and poetry. Concentration on such writers as Faulkner, Capote, Chopin, Langston Hughes, O'Connor, Welty, Alice Walker, and others. Exploration of such themes as importance of land, family, community; roles of industry and agrarianism; race relations. (3H,3C).
3624: APPALACHIAN LITERATURE
Appalachian writers from the 1800s to the present, including Murfree, Wolfe, and selected contemporary authors. Course will treat artistic merit and such selected themes as the mountains, Appalachia as a frontier, ambivalence about the Civil War, religion, folk ways and traditions, coal mining, and cottage industries. (3H,3C).
3634 (BLST 3634): AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE
Afro-American writings from Phyllis Wheatley through the slave narratives of the nineteenth century to such modern figures as Wright, Hughes, Baldwin, and Morrison. Pre: 1106 or 1204. (3H,3C).
3644: POSTCOLONIAL CULTURAL STUDIES
Correlates theoretical, literary, and historical materials from both "western" and "indigenous" sources in order to study at least two postcolonial settings (e.g. Indian, African, South American, Caribbean). Issues will include both contextual matters and literary problems. Pre: 1106 or 1204. (3H,3C).
3704: CREATIVE WRITING: FICTION
Study of the techniques of fiction writing and workshop for the beginning writer. Primary focus on short story writing. (3H,3C).
3714: CREATIVE WRITING: POETRY
A course for beginning poets in an informal workshop setting. Primary emphasis is on writing and analyzing original work by members of the class, with some outside reading and discussion of established poets and critics. (3H,3C).
3754: ADVANCED COMPOSITION
Advanced training in writing analytical and critical essays. Practice in addressing a range of audiences and in using varied styles and organizational patterns. Workshop and conference for students in arts and humanities, as well as for technical and extension students who wish to address non-specialized audiences and to practice forms outside their own fields. Junior standing required. (3H,3C).
3764: TECHNICAL WRITING
Principles and procedure of technical writing; attention to analyzing audience and purpose, organizing information, designing graphic aids, and writing such specialized forms as abstracts, instructions, and proposals. Junior standing required. (3H,3C).
3774: BUSINESS WRITING
Extensive practice in forms of persuasive and informative writing such as memos, case analyses, reports, abstracts, and letters. Designed for students in all curricula. Junior standing required. (3H,3C).
3804: TECHNICAL EDITING AND STYLE
This course explores the art of editing from the initial writing task to the final delivery of the document. In addition to learning document management, students study and practice the roles, responsibilities, and tasks that editors perform. The course also covers the rules that govern the fundamentals of style (correctness, clarity, and propriety) and the principles needed to match the tone and formality to the aim, audience, and occasion of the work. Pre: 3104 or consent of instructor.
3814: CREATING USER DOCUMENTATION
This course prepares students to produce both print and online user documentation that enables people to accomplish a gven set of tasks (e.g., user guides, online help, policy and procedure manuals, tutorials, and how-to books). Readings include rhetorical theory and discussions of professional practice. Students learn the principles of user and task analysis, information design, usability testing, and indexing. In addition, they have opportunities for hands-on experience with clients and end-users. Pre: 3804 or consent of instructor. (3H,3C).
3824: DESIGNING DOCUMENTS FOR PRINT
This course prepares students to design and produce complex documents such as proposals, brochures, booklets, and newsletters using computer technologies. Students learn rhetorical and visual factors (e.g., legibility, readability, layout, and integration of text/images) that contribute to the effectiveness and usability of documents. In addition, students study the use of color and electronic image editing. They also master some of the technologies necessary to publish documents from their desktops. In addition to working on individual projects, students engage in collaborative exercises intended to sharpen their teamwork, editing, writing, audience-awareness, and design skills. Pre: 3804 or consent of instructor. (3H,3C).
3954: STUDY ABROAD
Variable credit course. X-grade allowed.
3984: SPECIAL STUDY
Variable credit course.
4024: LITERARY CRITICISM
Background of contemporary literary criticism. Axioms and procedures of significant and representative critics; focal points in critical theory (mimetic, formalist, expressive, and affective); application of critical values and methodologies to literary texts. (3H,3C).
4044: LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY
English language variation in the United States is considered from a current sociolinguistic perspective. Social, regional, ethnic, gender, and stylistic-related language variation are covered, along with models for collecting, describing, and applying knowledge about language variation. Students are exposed to a wide range of data on language variation, with emphasis on vernacular varieties of American English. Pre: 1106 or 1204H. (3H,3C).
4054: HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Development of English including both its internal history (sounds, vocabulary, inflections, syntax) and its external history (political, social, and intellectual forces). Indo-European origins through the present, with special emphasis on the English Language in America. (3H,3C).
4064: MODERN ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
Study of language as a rule-governed system of knowledge, with special attention to the following: transformational analysis of the structure of English sounds, words, and sentences; the history of the language, the dialects of English, and the pragmatics of communication. (3H,3C).
4074: ENGLISH SYNTAX
This course introduces the grammatical structures of the English language and the processes by which we create and comprehend English sentences. Emphasis is on recent linguistic models. Topics include morphological structure, form- and structure-class taxonomy, phrase structure, transformational and generative approaches, language variation. Alternative models will be considered. Pre: 1106 or 1204. (3H,3C).
4084: TOPICS IN LINGUISTICS
An advanced course in such areas of linguistics as phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, language change, dialectology, etc. Emphasis will be placed on the analysis of natural language data within contemporary theoretical frameworks. Individual sections will focus upon differing areas of linguistics (to be specified in the subtitle of the course). Repeatable with different content for a maximum of nine credits. Pre: 4064 or 4074. (3H,3C).
4104: OLD & MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE
Selected works in Old and Middle English literature, beginning with Beowulfand other Anglo-Saxon poetry in translation, and including works by the Gawain poet, Malory, Langland, and Chaucer, as well as readings in lyric, drama, and late medieval verse. (3H,3C).
4114: CHAUCER: CANTERBURY TALES
Reading and explication of the Canterbury Tales, with attention to the philosophical, moral, religious, and literary ideas. Examination of sources, backgrounds, manuscript tradition, language, and meter. (3H,3C).
4124: INTRODUCTION TO OLD ENGLISH
Introduction to Old English grammar and reading of Old English poetry and prose. Senior standing required. (3H,3C).
4154: RENAISSANCE LITERATURE
Literature of the Renaissance with an emphasis on prose and poetry from 1500-1660 including the works of such writers as More, Sidney, Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne, Burton, Browne, Herbert, and Marvell. (3H,3C).
4165, 4166: SHAKESPEARE
The plays of Shakespeare. 4165: Shakespeare's early career (1590-1600), including history plays from Henry VI to Henry V, comedies from The Comedy of Errors to The Merry Wives of Windsor, and early tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. 4166: the later career, including "problem plays" such as Measure for Measure, the great tragedies (Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth), and the romances such as The Tempest. (3H,3C).
4214: MILTON
Milton's poetry from the early works, including Comus, Lycidas, and the sonnets, to his major late works Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes; with some attention to the important prose and to the historical context in which he wrote. (3H,3C).
4254: RESTORATION & 18TH-CENTURY LITERATURE
Poets, dramatists, and prose writers from 1660 to the end of the 18th century. Selected figures include Dryden, Finch, Swift, Pope, Gray, Johnson, and Wollstonecraft. (3H,3C).
4304: ROMANTIC LITERATURE
Representative poets and prose writers of the period 1798-1832. Such figures as Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Keats, Shelly, Lamb, Hazlitt, and DeQuincey are covered. (3H,3C).
4354: VICTORIAN LITERATURE
Representative poets and prose writers of the Victorian Age. Such figures as Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, Carlyle, Newman, Ruskin, Hardy, Hopkins, and the Pre-Raphaelites are covered. (3H,3C).
4405, 4406: THE ENGLISH NOVEL
4405: Development of the English novel to 1850, including such novelists as Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Austen, the Brontes, and Thackeray. 4406: Major novels from 1850 to World War II, including Dickens, Trollope, Eliot, Gaskell, Hardy, Woolf, Joyce, Lawrence, Huxley, and Waugh. (3H,3C).
4504: MODERN POETRY
British and American poetry from 1900 to World War II with emphasis on such figures as Pound, Williams, Stevens, Yeats, Sylvia Plath, Stevie Smith, and Eliot. (3H,3C).
4514: CONTEMPORARY POETRY
British and American poetry from World War II to the present, with emphasis on such figures as Bishop, Lowell, Ashbery, Heaney, and Hughes. (3H,3C).
4554: BRITISH DRAMA TO 1800
Plays from the Middle Ages through the 18th century (excluding Shakespeare). Includes works by the anonymous authors of the medieval mystery and morality plays and by such playwrights as Marlowe, Johnson, Webster, Ford, Dryden, Wycherly, and Goldsmith. (3H,3C).
4564: MODERN DRAMA
Plays by 19th- and 20th-century British, American, and continental dramatists, beginning with Ibsen and Shaw and culminating with Beckett and the contemporary Theatre of the Absurd. (3H,3C).
4604: AMERICAN RENAISSANCE & EARLY 19TH CENTURY LITERATURE
Literature of the American Renaissance and the earlier 19th century, including such writers as Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson, Thoreau, Cooper, Irving, Stowe and Whitman. (3H,3C).
4614: LATER 19TH CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE
American literature during the latter part of the 19th century, including such writers as the later Whitman, Dickinson, Twain, James, Jewett, Chesnutt, and Crane. (3H,3C).
4654: AMERICAN FICTION TO WW II
Development of American fiction (novels, short stories) between World Wars I and II; emphasis on Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Wharton, Cather, and Steinbeck. (3H,3C).
4664: CONTEMPORARY FICTION
Fiction since 1945 with emphasis upon the most recent two decades: the late modernist narratives of Bellow, Updike, and Percy; the new fiction of Barth, Hawkes, Barthelme; and the postmodern fiction of Federman, Carter, Fowles, Katz, and Sukenick. (3H,3C).
4674: STUDIES IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE
This course studies the emerging changes across arts media (including architecture, cyberculture, essay, fiction, film, painting, performance, photography, poetry, theatre, and video) in relation to current cultural and social theory from a variety of disciplines (including architectural theory, art, history, literature, philosophy, psychoanalysis, and social sciences). (3H,3C).
4704: ADVANCED CREATIVE WRITING: FICTION
Intensive advanced workshop for fiction writers. Through a study of criticism and models for excellent fiction and through peer critiques, students can develop their talents at fiction writing to a high level. Pre: 3704. (3H,3C).
4714: ADVANCED CREATIVE WRITING: POETRY
Intensive advanced workshop for poetry writers. Paying close attention to established and experimental models and to criticism articulating the differences among these models, students will pursue their own writing in a workshop setting. Pre: 3714. (3H,3C).
4784: SENIOR SEMINAR
In-depth study of a particular topic in language or literature. A capstone course aimed at integrating previous work in the discipline, open to non-majors by consent of instructor only. May be repeated once for credit with different content. Pre: 1106 or 1204. (3H,3C).
4964: FIELD STUDY
Variable credit course.
4974: INDEPENDENT STUDY
Variable credit course.
4984: SPECIAL STUDY
Variable credit course. X-grade allowed.
4994: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Variable credit course.
Please see the Graduate Catalog for graduate course listings.
Virginia Tech -- Undergraduate Catalog, 2002-2004
Last update: August 2002
URL: http://www.vt.edu/academics/ugcat/ucdEngl.html